Kid's Good News
Vol 1-issue 32-  Sep-26 -2002

Contents:

Bible Story
Story time
This Week's Riddle #31
Answer of Riddle #30 and Winner
Change of Email Addresses

Bible Story:

Birth of Joseph
Jacob ran for his life as his brother Esau was looking to kill him.  He came to his uncle Laban's house where he got married with Rachel but they had no kids.  Many years later Joseph was born as a result of Rachel's prayers.  She said, "The LORD shall add to me another son."  When Joseph was born, Jacob asked Laban "Send me away, that I may go to my own place and to my country."  But Laban did not allow him to go.  He made his life miserable by changing his wages many times.  Jacob heard false accusations about him from Laban's sons and he saw that Laban was not much favorable toward him as before.  Then God told Jacob to return to his homeland and He also told, "I will be with you."

Jacob called his wives Rachel and Leah and told them about his plan to leave that place.  Both Rachel and Leah agreed and said, "Whatever God has said to you, do it."  So Jacob took his sons, daughters, wives and live stocks and departed in the early morning when Laban was not at home.  Jacob fled from that place with all his belongings and crossed the river.  He was headed toward Gilead to go to his father Isaac's house.  On the third day, Laban was told about Jacob's departure.  He took his brethren and pursued him for seven days journey.  Finally he overtook him on the mountains of Gilead.  Laban told him, "It is in my power to do you harm, but the God of your father spoke to me last night, saying, 'Be careful that you speak to Jacob neither good nor bad.'  So Laban could not harm Jacob. 

He went from there and met Esau his elder brother.  Though Jacob was very much afraid, but God protected him and helped him to return safely after meeting his brother.  From there Jacob and family went to Bethel then from there they were on the way to Ephrath where Binyamin the brother of Joseph was born and their mother Rachel died.   

Story time....

O Jesus, Son of Maryam, heal me - 6

Till this time you have read that, Gulshan Fatima was paralyzed at her left side when she was only 6 months old. Her mother died when she was an infant. Her father loved her so much that he took her to England for treatment but when they heard the disappointing words of doctor, "it has no cure", their hearts broke down. Her father encouraged her and said, "We will go to Mecca and knock the door of Allah, and he will heal you." So they went to Mecca and visited Ka'aba - the house of Allah. Even she kissed the cubical shape of ka'aba but to their utter despair nothing happened. To avoid her father's troubled look, she kept her face down. Then they visited Safa and Marva from where they bought Zamzam water. She bathed with that water but nothing happened. She and her father returned home heart broken. Next blow for her was, her beloved father's death!! But while she was so disturbed, she heard a low, gentle voice telling her to read about Jesus in Quran Sura Maryam.
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Aunt has just gone out of the Gulshan's room after spending little time with her and silence wrapped around her. She opened her Urdu Quran and started reading from Sura "The Imrans" as she was searching more about Jesus and His healing power. She read in there, "By Allah's leave I shall give sight to the blind man, heal the leaper, and raise the dead to life." Many of the things said in those Suras she could not understand. Whether Jesus was a mere prophet, a created thing, made like Adam but still he could perform all these miracles by Allah's power? She thought, "but who is this prophet who knew about my need and spoke to me like a living person out of heaven?"

She lost her best friend and father in this young age and she knew that a lonely future is ahead of her but she was seeing a ray of hope that somehow one day she could be able to unveil the unknown and mysterious prophet from the pages of Quran.

Days were passing though the blue Mercedes of father stood in the garage and driver Majid came regularly and polished it very often. Brothers and sisters had their own lives to live but they faithfully followed the commandment of their father about Gulshan. One day Samina her sister asked about her troubles seeing her sad face. She told about being burden for them then Samina said, "no you are not a burden for us, we love you very much." So whenever she had those feelings of disappointment, she told herself the encouraging words saying, "I have so much luck that father left this much property for me. I am not born in a poor home. My sisters and brothers care about me." She also remembered the words of her father saying, "God will one day heal you." And more than that she remembered the voice about, Jesus the healer. Everyday she repeated these thoughts until she came out of her despair. Still she was in the grip of fear thinking about the uncertainty of her healing.

Her whole day was scheduled on the basis of five-prayer times of Muslims. Everyday she woke up in the morning to prepare herself for dawn prayer (Fazr ke Namaz). Till the morning she would read Arabic Quran then four more prayer time in whole day. Though she was doing all these prayers, still she had the growing fear in her heart about Allah who was so far away from her that she could not approach him in anyway. She had a drastic change in her heart and life during the three years after her father's death that was hidden from others even from her two maids. She reserved the night time for reading the Urdu Quran when other go to bed. She was surprised and puzzled thinking that, if Jesus is such a powerful healer then why Quran talks about him so little? One day she asked her Aunt about Jesus. Aunt told her that, "He is the only prophet in the Holy Quan who gives eyes to the blind and raised the dead and who is coming again. I do not remember at which Sura it is written, she said." When Gulshan tried to show her from the Urdu Quran, she felt that her thoughts were not accepted there.

"By Allah's leave I shall give sight to the blind man, heal the leaper, and raise the dead to life." these words seemed echoing on her ears every time. It seems Aunt told about it to other members of the family because when Safdar Shah, her brother came, he asked her about her faith and about reading the Arabic Quran. Gulshan told him that she read both Arabic and Urdu Quran and she did not give up her faith. He left her room satisfied and thinking that his sister is deeply rooted in her faith. For years she read the Quran with great respect but gradually she was losing her faith in Allah and Quran but still she believed that what was written about Jesus is true and that he could heal her. She started praying, "O Jesus, Son of Mary it says in the Holy Quran that you have healed the leaper and raised the dead and done miracles. So heal me too." As she prayed this prayer again and again she felt new hope of healing which she never felt in Muslim prayers. She took her string of beads which she bought from Mecca, rolled every bead and after that she said Bismillah. And with every bead rolling she prayed, "Oh Jesus, Son of Maryam, heal me".

Her prayers changed even between the five-prayer times, after every prayer and every bead, she prayed, "Oh Jesus, Son of Maryam, heal me." The more she prayed the more she felt attracted toward this secondary prophet who had amazing power of healing which Mohammed the greatest prophet of Islam never claimed of. She kept on praying this prayer for three long years after her father's death.

To be continued...

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