Story of Spider
Seven years old Sameeh is in P3 in his local school. One day, their class visited a local garden centre to learn about different varieties of plants. Sameeh also observed various creatures and insects on the plants. He was so intrigued by those creatures that when he returned home, he searched for them in his own garden and shed. There, he saw an eight-legged insect who has made its nest. The nest was sticky and broke easily. Sameeh did not like it. He showed it to his father and asked a lot of questions. His father remembered one significant historical event where spiders helped the Prophet of Islam, Muhammad (PBUH).
Approximately 1400 years ago, Muhammad (PPBUH) was living in a city called Makkah. The Prophet (PBUH) spread the word of Allah to the people of Makkah. However, the people did not like his teachings and were getting angrier at him. They teased him frequently and planned to harm him. Allah ordered Muhammad (PBUH) to leave Makkah and go to Yathrab, a nearby city. One night he asked his cousin Ali (RA) to lie on his bed in his place and started his journey towards Yathrab along with his companion Abu Bakr (RA). As the dawn approached they hid in a cave. Next morning, when the people of Makkah realised that he was missing, they got very angry. They sent groups of people to search for him in various directions. One of the tracking party came very close to the cave where he was hiding. Muhammad (PBUH) and Abu Bakr (RA) could hear their voices from inside and prayed to Allah to save them. That same morning some spiders made their web on the mouth of the cave and a wild pigeon had also laid her eggs. The Meccans looked around the cave and observed the cave covered with spiders’ nest. For them, it was obvious that no one could have entered the cave otherwise, the nests would have broken so did not bother to look inside and left. In this way the spiders came to help Muhammad (PBUH). Allah protected Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) because he had left his house, his belongings, and his city for sake of Allah.
This story shows that with Allah’s Will, the smallest of His creatures can play a role in significantly changing the course of history. It also shows that following the right path may endure hardships but one has to stick by it in order to succeed.
RA – May Allah be pleased with him
PBUH – Peace be upon him
