Story by Hanaan Kazia, Age 11
Iman was enjoying a wonderful summer break so far. It had only been a week since school had ended and she’d already done a lot of fun things: going swimming, seeing her friends, and enjoying not having any homework. But it had been really, really hot. All the plants were in desperate need of rain. Everyone was in desperate need of rain!
Iman had been sitting on her bed reading her book when she heard a loud, crashing noise. She shot up and peeked out the window. Huge gray rolling clouds were advancing across the sky, covering everything in a dark shadow as they passed over. A flash of lightning went off, the electricity streaking across the sky and bringing in another crashing clap of thunder.
“Oh no,” muttered Iman. Thunderstorms were loud and scary and wet- not to mention how dark it became. Sure, they often only lasted ten minutes, but Iman hated thunderstorms, and considering how hot it had been, this was sure to be a big one. Rain poured down her window, streaking it in trails of water.
Another huge thunder-clap rang out, this one so loud it seemed to shake the house. Iman ran downstairs, feeling quite frightened by the storm. She remembered a couple of years ago when the power had gone out thanks to a tree falling on a power line during a storm very much like this one, at the time they didn’t have power for one whole day.
Her mom was downstairs looking at the window, muttering something under her breath.
“Oh, Mama, what if this thunderstorm is as bad as the one when the power line fell?” asked Iman fearfully, shivering at the thought.
“Inshallah, it won’t be so bad. And even if it is, we have those battery operated lights that Papa had bought! But there is a dua that is often said during thunderstorms, it was the one I was saying just now. Wanna repeat after me sweety?
“سُبْحَانَ الَّذِي يُسَبِّحُ الرَّعْدُ بِحَمْدِهِ وَالْمَلَائِكَةٌ مِنْ خِيفَتِهِ
(SubHanalladhii yusabbiHur ra’du bi hamdihi wal malaa-ikatu min kheefatihi)
“It means Glory is to Him Whom thunder and angels glorify due to fear of Him.” said her mother turning away from the window and laying a hand on Iman’s shoulder.
“So it’s saying that during thunderstorms, the thunder is glorifying Allah (SWT)? I never knew that,” said Iman after a moment of thinking.
Her mom nodded. “It is also said that a sahabi namedAbdullaah bin Zubair had always stopped whatever he was doing, even in the middle of conversation, to say this dua whenever there was thunder.”
“Must be a good dua if a sahabi stopped whatever he was doing to say it! What was it again?”
So Iman and her mother recited the dua again and watched the thunder clap out, and saw streaks of lightening fill up the sky, perhaps just as Abdullaah bin Zubair may have done so many years ago.
Information source: https://voyageure.wordpress.