In one of the countries lived a beautiful child with his mother and father. He was called Sadik, and Sadik was loved by all the people of the city, for he used to laugh with his mouth and tongue and would not speak an ugly word or foul. One day, the father left and went to his work.
The Beginning of the Story: Sadik asked his mother that he go out to play with the children in the street, but she refused. He kept begging her and crying until she would have mercy on him to let him go out of the house. He kept screaming and making his voice above his mother’s voice.
Here his mother became silent, for she was grieving for her beloved son. She was not accustomed to his loud voice and left him alone and walked away sadly, with tears in her eyes from sadness for her child.
Sadik approached her and put his hand on her hand, with intense regret in his eyes. He raised his hand and asked her to forgive him and ask her whatever she wanted so that she would forgive him and let him go out to play with the children in the gardens.
She informed him that she had forgiven him, but she would let him go out only if he finished his food completely, and Sadik entered the kitchen and prepared his food to eat it. When he finished his food, his mother immediately let him go out to play with the children.
The Story’s Dialogue: Mother: You did well, oh Sadik. May God heal you, oh my little one.
Sadik: Thank you, oh mother. Do you forgive me to go out now?
Mother: Yes, oh my little one, but I must inform you of some matters before you go out.
Sadik: Come on, come on, oh mother. Inform me.
The mother laughed at her child’s eagerness to go out and began to count on the fingers of her hand.
Mother: You must be attentive while you are playing. Do not go far away from our house. Do not disturb anyone. Do not raise your voice at all, for “Indeed, the most repulsive of sounds is the voice of donkeys” — Surah Luqman, verse 19. Lower your voice always, oh my little one. Smile in the face of everyone who meets you — “Your smile at your brother is charity.” Do not throw refuse on the ground.
Sadik: Good, oh mother. Is that all now?
Mother: Yes, now you can go, but do not forget my instructions to you, for they are very important and you are a wonderful boy. You will follow all my instructions and warnings to you and execute them all, will you not?
Sadik: Yes, oh mother. I will execute them exactly, exactly. Do not worry. I will go to play now.
The child “Sadik” went out to play with the children in the orchard. Among them was a child who would always raise his voice without reason and scream from time to time. Suddenly, “Sadik” moved away, saying:
Sadik: Oh Saeed, I will not play with you again.
Saeed: Why, oh my friend Sadik?
Sadik: Because your voice is loud.
Saeed: I am surprised at you, oh Sadik. You do not want to play with me because my voice is loud?
Sadik: Yes, oh Saeed. God does not love the loud voice.
The children gathered around them and began to ask them about the reason for stopping their playing.
Mahmoud: Why are you standing far apart, oh Sadik, you and Saeed?
Saeed: Sadik says that he does not want to play with me because my voice is loud.
Mahmoud: Sadik is right. Your voice is loud and extremely annoying, oh Saeed.
Saeed: He also tells me that God does not love the loud voice.
Mahmoud: How, oh Sadik, does God not love the loud voice? Inform us.
Sadik: God loves that we speak with a calm voice that those around us hear without annoying them with our loud voice, for the loud voice resembles the voices of donkeys and animals. His voice must not resemble the voices of animals, for God — blessed and exalted — has preferred us over all His creation and said — blessed and exalted — in the Noble Quran about the loud voice, “Indeed, the most repulsive of sounds is the voice of donkeys” — Surah Luqman, verse 19.
Mahmoud: Yes, oh Sadik, you spoke the truth. I thank you, oh my friend, for that wonderful information.
Saeed: I thank you, oh Sadik, and I apologize to you for this mistake. From today, I will not raise my voice at all.
The children returned to play again after Sadik taught them this lesson and informed them that the loud voice is an annoying matter like the voice of donkeys, as his mother had taught him.