Little Mahmood attended a nearby Islamic School. For his school uniform, he had to wear a white kurta (long shirt), a white pants (worn above the ankles) and a topee (hat). He would often go to school clean and neat in the morning but would return at the end of the day, with his kurta stained black, brown and green from sliding down the grass banks. His mother despaired of ever having her son return home clean and decent.

One day she taught him that the Angels make dua for a person wearing white clothes, as long as his garment remains clean. Thereafter Mahmood tried really, really hard to keep his kurta clean and white. Whenever he succeeded in retuming home neat, his mother would praise him. He thus felt very happy when his kurta remained clean and would resort to try harder if he ever stained it.

One day his mother gave him a white, brand new kurta to wear to school. “Please Mahmood,” she said to him, “take good care of it! It’s an expensive kurta that granny brought back for you, from her last umra trip. I want it to be able to last you long.” Alas, that same day Mahmood returned home in tears. “What’s wrong?” asked his mother.

 “It’s my new kurta,” replied Mahmood. “I took extra care of it the whole day. However, as I was returning home, I snagged it on a nail and it ripped and tore.”

His mother examined his torn kurta and then said, “It’s torn quite badly son but don’t worry! I will put a patch on it for you.” 

“But mum,” said Mahmood, “won’t I look like a beggar, with a patch on my kurta!” “No, Mahmood,” said his mother. “You will in fact be emulating our Noble Prophet (s.a.w)’s example. He and his Sahaaba always patched their torn clothes. We should be proud to wear patches on our clothes, as it is a sunnah. We should also remember to never wear torn clothes but to always mend holes and tears and then wear them.”

A few days later Mahmood wore his patched kurta and went off to school. Soon some of the boys started teasing him about it. They sniggered and called him a beggar. He was quick to inform them however, that his kurta was neither torn, nor full of holes. It was merely patched. He also informed them smartly that he was proud to be wearing a patched kurta and to be thus following a noble Sunnah of our beloved Prophet (s.a.w). 

The boys thereafter not only felt ashamed but also felt envious. Soon Mahmood was not the only boy in school wearing a patched kurta. The others also had their kurtas patched when theirs got burnt or torn. All the boys in his class often competed with each other therafter to see how long their kurtas could last AND to see how many patches they could obtain, before they outgrew each kurta.

Do you ever mend your torn clothes and wear them patched too?