CHILDREN'S CORNER

“So you see," said Hamza's father as he finished reading the storybook, "A Muslim never lies and alway tells the truth. That's what Islam teaches us."

Just then, the telephone bell rang sharply in the house. As little Hamza ran to answer it, his father called out, "If it is for me, tell them Daddy is not at home!!"

This is just one of the scenarios in our everyday lives. We claim to be Muslims and unhesitatingly say that we are proud to follow it, but when it comes to putting our words into actions, unfortunately, we are far from it. We teach our children one thing, but we do another. We preach piety, but we ourselves don't practice it.

We lie in our everyday lives and in our dealings with everyone, yet we are totally unaware of it. There are many of us who, pray and fast, and are the first to criticize others. But our practical lives are full of all forms of lying, fraud and dishonesty. And we see examples of such lying left and right, day in and day out.

And lying doesn't just mean out rightly telling untruths to someone on their face. Lying includes all kinds of 'little white lies', deceit, deceptions and forgery.

So, telling your kid to say "Daddy's not home' when, in fact, you are right there is absolutely a form of lying.

And not fulfilling your promises on purpose, when you had the power to do so, is a form of lying.
And cheating in the exams is a form of lying.

Your 'friend' marking you present, although you were absent, is another form of lying.
Faking a 'doctor's note' when in reality, you were not sick, you just overslept or were too lazy to go to work or school is also lying.

Telling the cop that your wife is having surgery or your kid is sick, (or whatever else excuses one can think of) when he pulls you over for speeding is also lying.

Dishonesty in your business dealings as well as in your interaction with others is lying.
Giving false witness is one of the gravest forms of lying.

Pretending to be of low income and applying for government aid, although you are not in need of it, is another form of lying and deception.

Forging or altering university certificates to get a job or visa, is just plain and simple, lying and fraud.
And the list goes on and on.......

We forget that Ibadat does not mean just praying and fasting. True Ibadat includes our 'Mu'amalaat' , how we deal with others, Muslims as well as non-Muslims, our manners and our behavior.

We forget that lying is one of the MAJOR SINS.

The Prophet (Pbuh) said: "Beware of telling lies, for lying leads to immorality and immorality leads to Hellfire. A man will keep telling lies and striving to tell lies until he is recorded with Allah as a liar." (Muslim)

Look at the picture below. You might rub your eyes in disbelief. Incredible! Isn't it?

This is the Water Bridge in Germany.... What a feat! A canal full of water crosses over a river. To boot, the canal has ships carrying passengers. The construction of the 918 metres canal over the river Elbe has taken six years of labour and 500 Euros. This photograph was taken on the day of inauguration of this engineering marvel . It has been named as the Magdeburg Water Bridge. The Water Bridge came into being after the Elbe-Havel Canal and Mitellandkanal were joined over the River Elbe. The work began in 1997 and completed in 2003. This water canal bridge joins the former East and West Germany as part of the unification project.

The canal passing over the river Elbe is 4.5 metre in depth and can take several ferries. To those who appreciate engineering projects, here is a puzzle. Should the canal be designed to withstand the weight of ships and water both. No brush up your high school physics.

Answer is: The Canal should be designed to withstand only the water flowing in the canal. A ship always displaces an amount of water that weighs the same as the ship, regardless of how heavily a ship may be loaded.