Wrestling Against Anger - Aliya Vaughan

Wrestling Against Anger

Sulaiman’s Challenging Neighbour

Aliya Vaughan

Wrestling Against Anger – Sulaiman’s Challenging Neighbour

First Published in 2023 by THE ISLAMIC FOUNDATION

Distributed by KUBE PUBLISHING LTD

Tel +44 (0)1530 249230

E-mail: info@kubepublishing.com

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Text copyright © Aliya Vaughan, 2023

Illustration copyright © Rakaiya Azzouz, 2023

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner

Author Aliya Vaughan

Illustrator Rakaiya Azzouz

Book design Nasir Cadir

A Cataloguing-in-Publication Data record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN 978-0-86037-977-5

eISBN 978-0-86037-982-9

Printed by Elma Basim, Turkey

“

The Messenger of Allah () said,

The strong person is not one who is good at wrestling, but the strong person is one who controls themself in a fit of rage.”

Reported by Abu Hurairah (). Bukhari and Muslim

Note to reader and parents

Wrestling against Anger is a story about a young Muslim boy who learns the importance of controlling his emotions and not reacting when he is angry, especially when other people are angry. Sulaiman’s nasty neighbour can’t control his temper but when he has an accident Sulaiman learns that being compassionate and understanding shows greater strength of character than fighting with someone who is weaker and more vulnerable.

Chapter 1

“I’m bored!” Sulaiman moaned; his face pressed into the cushions on the sofa. He only complained when he knew his mum was listening. Every time she came into the room, he’d sigh and flop dramatically in front of her. His mum was trying to ignore him up until now. It was the middle of half term and despite taking him to the park and

the swimming pool he was still unable to occupy himself.

“Find something to play with?” Mum urged, gently nudging Sulaiman’s feet to rest the laundry basket of damp clothes on the sofa.

“I’ve got to dry these, and I’ve got loads of other things to do this afternoon.”

“But I’ve played with everything,” Sulaiman whined, “Hannah’s on the laptop and I’m bored of my other games.”

“I don’t know what else to suggest,” Mum shrugged. “But you need to think of something as I’m super busy right now.”

Sulaiman knew exactly what to do to relieve his boredom. As soon as his mum left the room, he tiptoed behind Hannah’s computer chair and released the lever tilting her backwards unexpectedly. Quick as lightning he released the height adjuster.

“Aaaah!” Hannah squealed plummeting to the floor with a jolt. She grabbed a cushion from the sofa and walloped Sulaiman across the back of his legs. Their noisy fighting brought their mother running back into the room. Stepping in amongst their flailing arms she managed to break them apart.

“Stop it!” She scolded, holding Sulaiman back by his arm. “Calm down! You won’t solve anything by fighting.”

“Yeah, only cowards pick on weaker people,” Hannah goaded, poking out her tongue and taunting him from a safe distance behind her mother. Sulaiman snarled at her aggressively.

“Say your duas, both of you,” i Mum insisted. Sulaiman and Hannah knew the dua she was referring to and immediately sought refuge in Allah from Shaytaan to remove their anger.

A‘ūdhu billāhi minash-shaiṭānir-rajīm. Bukhari.

“Alhamdulillah. Right, I need some bread and milk,” Mum sighed wearily. “If I give you some money, can you go to the shop for me please?” Sulaiman nodded eagerly. His mum had promised to give Sulaiman more responsibility in the house and shopping was one of the chores he enjoyed most. Sometimes if there was any money left over, he was allowed to spend it on sweets to share with Hannah and Musa.

Coming out of the block of flats, Sulaiman noticed his neighbour sitting on a wall. He was shouting horrible things at people passing by. Sulaiman didn’t like him very much. In fact, no one did. He was rude and mean. He was always scruffy and unshaven, his eyes were permanently glazed, and his cheeks were flushed against a ghostly white complexion.

“What are you staring at?” the old man

Chapter 4

“I’ve seen that look before. What were you going to say?” Dad asked nervously.

“He’s right though, isn’t he? Why did we help him? Sulaiman asked in annoyance. “He’s never been nice to us. We should have just left him there.” Sulaiman’s father took in a deep breath and placed his hand on his son’s shoulder.

“Just because he’s nasty to you doesn’t mean you have to be nasty to him.” Sulaiman clenched his fists and huffed loudly. He looked away feeling ashamed yet frustrated at the same time.

“You mustn’t let your anger get the better of you,” Dad reminded him.

“But someone needs to give him a taste of his own medicine,” Sulaiman snapped, “then maybe he’ll stop picking on people.”

“But if Hannah punched you, would it stop you fighting her?” his dad asked smiling. After a little thought, Sulaiman grinned and shook his head. He knew it would only provoke him to fight her more. His dad reminded him of the prophetic statement that a strong person is not someone who can wrestle another person to the ground. A strong person is someone who can control their temper when they’re in a rage.

Comprehension Questions

1. Why did Sulaiman take up judo and why did his dad think it would help him?

2. What was the colour of Sulaiman’s new judo belt?

3. What did Sulaiman compare the fallen snow to?

4. What is the number Mum was ringing

Evidence from the Qur’an and Sunnah

‘Worship Allah; associate nothing with Him. Be good to your parents, to relatives, to orphans, to the needy, to neighbours near and far, to travellers in need, and to your slaves.’

Surah al Nisa 4:36