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Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board
| SLM Bag |
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| Kathy |
| 08/29/03 at 10:46:42 |
| [slm] slm I got an idea from this board and it is working well. I thought I would share it with you. I have been thinking about our kids alot. So many times as I walk into the Masjid I send my salaams to the kids and usually barely get a response. I often wondered why. Are they shy? Maybe they haven't learned the 'wa salaam' part yet and are afraid to try. Maybe they are just shocked that an adult gave them salaams or on the day I am feeling a bit rejected... maybe they just don't think I am worthy of one! So a couple months ago if a kid did give me salaams back, I told them I was proud of them, in front of the others, and made a point of telling their mother. That was mildly successful, as those kids now continue to give salaams! So what about the others? As I was drifting off to sleep, for some reason I was thinking about the slm code on this board and remembered I had forgotten to salaam an Im, because I was just too much in a hurry. sigh... I went to k-mart and bought a 4 dollar purse... a red one... want it to be obvious! I then stenciled 'slm' on both sides. I filled it with candy and off to the Masjid I went for my son's class. The first kid that gave me salaams... I threw a piece of candy to him. He wondered why and I explained the reason for the salaam bag. Off he went and within a couple of minutes a few more curious kids came over and offered salaams to me. tee hee. It is really taking over well. Last night I was sitting in the car with my back to the Masjid door. I heard the creak of the door being opened and all of a sudden there was a stampede! I got so many salaams! I am thinking of making new "rules" for each time I carry the bag...and the kids will not know it...until they get rewarded. For example... todays will be....If I see them giving salaams to another adult, not me, they will get the candy. Any suggestions for future "rules?" |
| Re: SLM Bag |
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| Maliha |
| 08/29/03 at 12:09:03 |
[slm] Kathy you are just toooo cool Mashaallah ;D ;D ;D Are you sure you don't want to move into my community??!!! For the SLM bag stick to the Salaam theme for now, let them get used to it...in it's various forms...salaamz to each other, salaams to a younger child...salaamz to an adult... then maybe you can move over to little kindnesses: like if one holds the door for someone, or helps move chairs, or picks up trash, or even smiles first... :-[ and then maybe Masjid Ettiquette (sp) the one who sits quietly and listens to the Khateeb while others are running around, the one who puts his/her shoes in the proper place :), the one who listens to instructions etc. ..i don't know some of these maybe corny but you get the gist:) PresidentofKathy'sFanClub :-) [wlm] |
| Re: SLM Bag |
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| Maliha |
| 08/29/03 at 18:31:36 |
| [slm] I thought of sumthing else ;D might even steal ya idea for our community ;) but okay you know how you did those fortune cookies that had the sayings inside? you can do the same with this...like tie around them little pieces of paper, that quote a hadith,saying etc that speaks of the good thing that they are doing and the hasanat they get. I remember one girl in my community learnt that for every time you say Assalamu Alaykum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuhu you get thirty hasanat (i think it's a hadith)..she went around all day saying that to everyone and then took the pains to explain to everyone why it was important :-* so it's cute..it may actually be a learning experience...also don't write too much, cuz kids will prolly be like.."oh we have to read?" ::) anywho, that's it: ::) May Allah reward you Inshaallah :-* [wlm] :-) |
| Re: SLM Bag |
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| onemuslimgirl |
| 08/30/03 at 08:54:53 |
| asalaam alakum, MashAllah! that is such a good idea......may Allah reward you and inshAllah give you more more ideas to share with the rest of us who are so not creative ....hehehe.... |
| Re: SLM Bag |
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| Kathy |
| 08/30/03 at 10:45:47 |
| [wlm] Excellant Idea! I will look for Salaam hadiths and attach those first. Of course if anyone finds any... please post them! Yesterday a ;-) got me a bit irritated. He brought his kids over to give salaams. They refused just did not want to do it. So then he 'told' me to give him some candy. I said it was for the kids and jokingly said ;)I knew he knew how to give salaams. He ::) then said i gave you salaams and i expect some candy. Well, I wanted to >:( him, but kids were all around so I did. Infront of the kids he gave his non salaaming kid the candy and said. "Sister I gave my piece of candy to my child, may I have another?" :o So I gave it to him, because I was at a lack for words. I felt bad because here I am, trying to teach the kids some respect, such as giving salaams, and a parent comes right in front of them and rewards his child for not saying salaam. So much for adults respecting adults. Any suggestions on how I can tactfully handle this? |
| Re: SLM Bag |
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| SisterHania |
| 08/30/03 at 12:34:38 |
| [quote author=Kathy link=board=madrasa;num=1062164802;start=0#4 date=08/30/03 at 10:45:47] [wlm] Any suggestions on how I can tactfully handle this?[/quote] [slm] :) Yeah hide your slm bag the next time you see him! Explain the importance of brotherhood through 'salam'. As Muslims we should be forming a close bond between one another rather than divisions which are visible in our community today. Brotherhood is the key to Strengthining Muslims. A strength which is present in many jewish communites. Friday prayer is a gathering of all Muslims and an opportunity to form those bonds. The power of 'slm' is also an opportunity to build relations between Muslims. It's such a beautiful greeting, it breaks the ice between Muslims who have never met and immediately demonstrates the bond that exisists between these two strangers. After Juma prayer do you say salams to only those you know or do you make an effort to initiate salams to those you don't? Consider these Hadiths: The Prophet said: "Those who are nearest to Allah are those who are the first to give a greeting" (Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi). "You shall not enter Heaven unless you have Faith and your Faith is not complete until you show love towards one another. Let me guide you to something which will cause you to love each other: spreading the greetings of peace (Assalamu alaikum) ." (Abu Hurairah (ra) ) Saying Salam is also a great way to increase your love for a fellow Muslim, no matter where they are from. This Hadith stresses the special distinction given to the Islamic greeting: "The Jews do not envy you for anything more than they do for the greeting of peace and saying Aameen." It is a duty of a Muslim to offer a greeting to his fellow-Muslim when they meet. The one who takes the initiative is in a better position. Although offering a greeting is a sunnah, which means that it is highly recommended, returning a greeting is obligatory. From the Quran: "When a greeting is offered you, answer it with an even better greeting, or (at least) with its like. God keeps count of all things." [Surah an-Nur; 4: 86] [wlm] |
| 08/30/03 at 12:51:40 |
| SisterHania |
| Re: SLM Bag |
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| Fozia |
| 08/30/03 at 13:37:07 |
| [slm] Perhaps you should be straight forward, and say 'Brother, the sweets are for teaching children Islamic manners, not to indulge childrens bad manners...' If you find that too abrasive perhaps reword it?? Wasalaam |
| Re: SLM Bag |
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| paula |
| 09/01/03 at 00:21:16 |
| [slm][size=2][font=Verdana][color=Navy] Sometimes the way I would respond is kind of quirky Sister Kathy. I think I would ask the Brother if he felt there was anything wrong or disturbing in what I was attempting to do. If he wasn't in agreeance of it for some reason & why that may be. I do believe this could be discussed even with children around. I say this since he was non-supportive of your efforts. Perhaps he was not in favor of the concept. (I have no vision of the incident to say one way or the other..... just thinking off the top how I think I would have responded). I realize you are saying ..... He 'told' you to give him some. Talk about lack of tact ::). Yet I think I would still ask for his view whether he was rude or otherwise. You know brother, I had a purpose in my approach here, do you feel there is anything wrong in that? I would really like to see these young children encouraged to give Greeting & feel good about it. Do you have any ideas on that? At the very least those young ears would hear your words... they absorb far more than we give them credit for sometimes... Allah(swt) has his hand with them too... Insha Allah. Just a quick thought ........ Jazak Allahu Khairan Sister Kathy. [/color][/font][/size] [wlm] |
| 09/01/03 at 00:24:09 |
| paula |
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