The Pretty Tumbler

“Mummy, mummy! May I please have some cold water to drink,” asked Shakira.

“Yes, my dear,” said mummy. She took the jug of cold water from the fridge and poured out some water into a pretty tumbler.This tumbler was very special as it had been a farewell gift from Muallimah Aarifa. It served as a reminder to Shakira to drink the sunnah way. Shakira took the tumbler and sat down as only Zam Zam water and water left over after making wudhu, can be drank standing.

She held the tumbler in her right hand as she didn’t like to copy shaitaan who drinks with the left hand. Then reciting “Bismillah” she drank in three separate sips. Shakira never drank water in one long breath, like a camel.

After drinking the water, Shakira said, “Alhamdulillah“ which means “Allah be praised”. Then Shakira and her mummy went into the lounge.

Soon they noticed that it had become very windy. Shakira’s mummy rushed around closing the windows. Suddenly there was a loud bang, followed by the sound of breaking glass. The noise had come from the kitchen. Shakira and her mummy rushed to see what had happened.

They saw that the kitchen window had slammed shut and a gust of wind had knocked over the pretty tumbler. It had fallen to the floor and shattered into pieces. Shakira’s mother saw that her daughter was barefoot and swiftly sent her to wear her shoes. She then took a broom and began to sweep up the glass.

When Shakira returned, her mother was busy emptying the glass into some newspaper. She then threw it away into the bin.

“Why didn’t you throw the glass straight into the bin? Why did you wrap it in newspaper?” asked Shakira.

Her mother smiled and answered, “If we are careless when throwing away broken glass, people handling the refuse could get cut. We should take care never to harm anyone.”

Just then Shakira realised that it was her pretty tumbler which had broken. She felt very sad and tears filled her eyes. Her mother noticed her sorrow and said, “Tumblers are not important. We can buy you another pretty tumbler. What is important is that you always drink the sunnah way!”