 Bismillah. Mama weave true tales. Tales of people filled with light, love, and kindness. Ahmad will love these stories. And here's a picture here. You can see a little boy, and actually in this cut of the story, he's about three years old. Does anyone three here? Who's four or five? Are you five? Six? You five? Five, how about you? Seven, you said? Six, yeah. So he's three years old, right? And his mom would tell him these amazing stories about people from the past who loved Allah. And he wanted to be like them. So you have to think about in this part of the story, he's only three years old, right? Mama weave true tales. Tales of people filled with light, love, and kindness. Ahmad will love these stories. Mama scanned the rooms of the family compounds. She's just looking for him. And in this society, you have like a compound which has like a large area enclosed by a fence. And then you have all these smaller houses within it. So she's just looking for her son. Ahmedoo, Ahmedoo, where are you? She called out. She walked outside. Her soft voice rose as she searched the courtyard. Ahmedoo, Ahmedoo, where are you? She stopped. Still as a night, little Ahmedoo stood on a soft rug surrounded by moonlit stones. Mama waited. Ahmedoo turned and Mama caught him over. What were you doing? Standing Mama, just like the people in your stories. Mama nodded and smiled. Ah, you mean the people of God who stand at night? Yes. Mama continued. Stand at night means to pray. These people who get up, these are people who get up and pray at night. Do you know why they do that? She asked. Ahmedoo wasn't sure. Mama continued. They're standing prayer because they love God. They moved from a young age when he would hear these stories, he wanted to be just like that. This is a picture of his mother. Mama gave gifts. She gave gifts to the young. She gave gifts to the old. She gave freely and everyone loved her. No matter how difficult things were, she helped others. She was a lady of love, light and liquor. Remembering God. Allahumma salli ala Muhammad. Ahmedoo loved the sound of Mama's liquor. He closed his eyes and joined in. Allahumma salli ala Muhammad. Allahumma salli ala Muhammad. The sound of Mama's liquor was the sound of his home, safe and happy. Sadly, Senegal was changing. The French arrived on their shores. At first they stayed on the coast, the coast being this area closest to the water, right? But by the time Ahmedoo was a little boy, they had begun to move inland. They were moving away from the coast into the actual continent. Grabbing land, grabbing the land they liked, they moved closer to the coast. They moved closer to the kingdom of Baal, where Ahmedoo lived. The French wanted to control as much of the old Songhai empire as they could. They were expanding in search of wealth and even more land. The people of Senegal didn't like this. They wondered why the French left their homes in France to take the homes of others. It didn't make sense. They tried to protect their land, but the French had destructive weapons and many Senegalese were hurt as the French took over their homeland. Elders and scholars all over the region worked hard to keep their people safe. When Ahmedoo turned five, he began to learn the Quran. Mama was a half-ether. A woman with every word of the Quran preserved in her heart. Baba was a qadi or a judge. He welcomed people from far and wide. He listened to their problems and helped solve their disputes. Ahmedoo studied with Baba, but he wasn't his only student. People from across the land sat and learned that Ahmedoo learned with them. Each day he dipped his reed pen. I wish I put a pen with me because you make these pens out of either reed or bamboo and you use a knife to sharpen the edge until you get a nib and then you use that's the kind of pen you use. But I should have bought one that way you can see what it looks like. And actually the students sometimes would make their own ink. So I'll go, let's go back to that. Each day he dipped his reed pen into the dark glistening dar, a special ink the students made. The ink swirled on his low, his wooden tablet and out came words. Words from God who loves us so much and teaches us how to love him. The jet black ink on the smooth wooden board was like the deep dark sky when the moon is hidden. So his days passed. Ahmedoo, Ahmedoo learned to read and write and memorize. He studied by day, heard stories by night. The days turned into weeks, the weeks into months and the months into years. When Ahmedoo turned seven, it was time for him to travel to the neighboring kingdom to study. Uncle Mohammed, grandma Asta and to have sitting back he lived in Jalof. So if you look at this map here, Baal is where he is, right? Jalof is the kingdom over here. And this is where his mother's family is and they have a school here. This school's all over the land but he wants to study with this particular school because this is his grandmother, his uncle, his grand uncle. They were all great teachers. Ahmedoo knew he'd miss mama and baba but he was excited to study with mama's family in the kingdom of Jalof. It was late June when his uncle Mohammed came to fetch him. The dark blue skies opened. It's a pattern, it's a pattern. The rainy season had arrived and it would be many months before the skies would empty. So you know, like in different parts of the world you have different seasons. Like I think in California it's just two seasons, right? Or is it four? You have a four? Last night someone told me it's only two seasons in California because in some places like Atlanta you have four seasons, Georgia, different parts of the country. But in Senegal you have two seasons, you have your dry season, then you have your rainy season. Dry season is hot and it's just lovely because I enjoy dry season myself. But rainy season, it rains and it rains and it rains and it's wonderful because the farms, you know, gives life to the earth, the crops grow but it can be challenging. Anyway, so this, the rainy season has arrived so far. In Jalaf, in his grandma's school, they were vast farms. Grandma would often work on them herself. So even though she owned a school, she actually sometimes would work on the farms herself. While repeating, Allahumma salli ala Muhammad and other vikr, grandma taught, farmed and ran her school. Ahmad was one of the other children studied under the great, the grand baobab trees. This one example of them here. Sometimes rain drops fell as the children worked on their lessons. Ahmad worked hard. He learned from his grandma, his uncle and his grand uncle. In October when the rain stopped, Ahmad would return home to study for the dry season. In this way, the years passed. So in the rainy season, he would be in Jalaf, the dry season, he would go back to Baal to study and he spent the whole year studying because he loved studying. Mashallah. By the time Ahmad was 12, he had memorized the entire Quran. He was not a Hafid. Alhamdulillah. He had completed the first level of his education. So it was time to return home. However, while he was away, his family had been forced to move further south. They moved to get away from where the French were waging wars. The French burned farms and many Senegalese lost their lives. Ahmad was family and people from all over the region had no choice but to flee. His parents now lived in a new place, the kingdom of Salam. So if you notice here, you probably can't see it, but Baal is here and Salam is here to the south, which is further inland, further away from where the French colonists are. In Salam, sadness spread. Mama had fallen ill and after three days, she passed away in Idlulah, in Ilege Rojah. She was deeply loved by many, especially Ahmadu. His heart was full of sadness and it opened like the rainy season sky. Allahumma salli ala Muhammad. Ahmadu wrote a 50 line poem. So when this happened, Ahmadu was about 13 years old. So he wrote a poem to express how he felt. And the poem was, thank you, the poem was talking about how he felt, but also it was a du'a for his mother. So I have some of the lines here. Like remember, it's 50 lines. If I were to put the whole thing here, the book would be too heavy. So I just took a few lines for you. This is how it goes. Dear God, keep me safe. Keep my mother safe. Protect all people who love you. Dear God, forgive me, forgive my mother. Cover our mistakes with your loving kindness. Give us your generous love. Protect us from anything and everything that's scary. Dear God, erase every mistake we have ever made. Show my mother your great kindness and love. She only has you and you are truly kind and loving. Allahumma salli ala Muhammad. As the years passed, young Ahmadudu became older. Things went from bad to worse. The French now controlled much of the trade, the schools and the land in Zanagal. They taxed people heavily and burned down villages and farmlands of anyone who tried to stop them. In Salem, Ahmadudu continued his education with the teachers there. Eventually, he became a great teacher and writer. Everyone called him Sheikh Ahmadudu Bamba now. Hundreds came to him for advice, just like they once did with his father when he was little. What do we do about the French? What do we do about the changes that are going on? Ahmadudu knew that they were in a lot of pain, so he focused on teaching them how to strengthen their hearts and time went by because when your heart is strong, it makes it easier to do with things that are difficult. In Ramadan, so I don't know if I should show you the picture. I guess you should see the picture. Alright, in Ramadan, when Sheikh Ahmadudu was 40, something special happened while he was worshiping in the Masjid in Tuba. Sheikh Ahmadudu saw the blessed Prophet, Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, in a remarkable dream. And all around the Prophet were many glowing people. They were shining like bright stars. He gazed at the beloved Prophet, Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, and said, I love you. He then asked, who are the people around you? They are the people of Badr who Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam responded, Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam. I want to be with you just like them, Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam. It requires much sacrifice. I'm ready to sacrifice. You must face your foes, like the people of Badr. But unlike them, you cannot spill a drop of blood. So many people, they heard the story about Badr and how the Muslims had to defend themselves and face the Meccans who had been giving them a very difficult time for many, many years. So Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam is telling him that you have to be like those people. However, you can't fight them directly. You have to face them without spilling any blood. Sheikh Ahmadudu accepted the beloved's instruction and he made a firm promise to help his people. He had a plan to face the French. So here, because I didn't want to draw a picture of Rasoolullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, I had the artist write his name in a script that Sheikh Ahmadudu Bamba would have written when he was in, people in all of West Africa used the script and this just represents the light around. Sheikh Ahmadudu welcomed people from across the region to his school. So he started up a school and he actually built his town because what happened is when you start a school, around the school a town will grow and that's one of the things that he did. So if you notice here, you have a forest. They're cutting down the trees, they're using the trees to build to schools, to build masjids, to build the infrastructure needed. Sheikh Ahmadudu welcomed people from across the region to his school and the town that grew around it. He didn't fight the French. Instead, they focused on strengthening their love and knowledge of their faith. They set up more schools, established farms, built masjids, towns and villages. They were successful in creating a strong community. But not everybody was happy to see him become such a strong leader. The French were worried that Sheikh Ahmadudu might use his influence to raise an army to destroy them. The French controlled much of Senegal and they didn't want to change that. They didn't wanna lose any power, wealth or land. So they put Sheikh Ahmadudu on trial. They were like, we think you're trying to stop us. So we're gonna put you on trial. After the trial, they exiled him to Mayumba over 2,000 miles away. 2,000 miles from his homeland. He was separated from everything and everyone he knew. So we've got the boat here. And here's the area where he was and these are the different ports he went through till he got to Mayumba, this part of the continent. Sheikh Ahmadudu Bamba was kept far from his family, his schools and students for almost eight years. But he never lost hope, nor did he become bitter or forget his promise to Allah. So Allah alaihi wasalaam. He wrote and he wrote and he wrote. Actually, we know Sheikh Ahmadudu Bamba wrote hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of books. And each book could consist of thousands and thousands and thousands of lines of poetry. He was a really prolific writer. And much of his writings actually happened during the time when he was in exile. He spent a lot of time writing. He had love, light and wisdom to keep him going. Allah alaihi wasalaam, Muhammad. Allah alaihi wasalaam. When Sheikh Ahmadudu was finally allowed to return, he came back to his people stronger than ever. He and his students focused on education, farming, worship and writing. But just after a year, he was exiled again and then returned home. The French officials watched him closely. Finally, after many, many years, the French realized that Sheikh Ahmadudu didn't want to fight them with weapons. Sheikh Ahmadudu didn't want to gather power, wealth or land. The Sheikh wasn't even angry at a French for all they'd done to him. He just wanted to serve his people and keep his promise to the blessed prophet, Allah alaihi wasalaam. Allah bless him and grant him peace. Sorry, I feel like I'm forgetting to show the pictures. So here's a picture of him here. Sheikh Ahmadudu Bamba spent the rest of his years fulfilling his promise by strengthening the hearts of the people around him. The gift he gave people was knowledge. He helped his people realize that he didn't have to fear the French or anyone. He taught them how to love the blessed prophet, so the Allah alaihi wasalaam. He taught them how to love the creator. He taught them how to trust in Allah. He taught them that hard work was an important way of showing our love for God. Sheikh Ahmadudu Bamba used poetry to help people learn these lessons and remember them. Each lesson was a gift worth its weight in gold. After he died, the great mosque of Tuba, the great mosque of Tuba, the mosque he had laid the foundation of was expanded and became one of the biggest and most visited mosques in all of West Africa. Today, his poems are sung and remembered, spreading love and light. Here are a few lines in my poem called Wadidtu. I turn my heart to God, our unique creator who loves his creation. My focus is on serving the chosen one, Muhammad. Sallallahu alaihi wasalaam. How great is the creator. I truly thank God. Even more beloved to God be Muhammad, Sallam Abdullah, Sallallahu alaihi wasalaam. I turn to the remembrance of God, the wise creator, as does the prophet, the grandson of Abdul Motalib, Allah alaihi wa sallam. God removed all ruthless enemies because he loves the chosen one, the great grandson of Hashem. My Lord is so generous to me, giving me lavish gifts. All of this because of his love of the chosen one, the great grandson of Abdul Minnaf. Oh Lord, I seek a special answer to my prayers by your love of your chosen one, the great, great, great grandson of Qusay. And so ends our story. Let me put it this way. A story of people filled with love, with light, love and kindness. A story of the gift Sheikh Ahmad al-Bamba gave to his people and gave to the world. May we be like the people who stand at night. May we be people of love and service. Allahumma salli ala Muhammad, Allahumma salli alaihi wa sallam. Oh God, increase the blessed prophet in honor and peace. Oh God, increase our love of your blessed beloved Muhammad. Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam. And that is the end of our story, inshallah. Thank you very much. Does anyone have any questions? Because there's lots of different themes in this story. Some of them with older children might catch and some of them the younger children might pay more attention to. But if you have any questions, I can take them. And then I also have some coloring sheets and some activity sheets that you can have on the table. And if any parents are interested in books, they can get some too. But we can do questions first, inshallah. None? Okay. That's good. Mashallah. Yes, go ahead. How long did it take you to write about this book? Mashallah, it took a long time. And part of it is I started the book and I stopped for a little while. And I actually started organizing children's programming. I spent a few years doing that. And I went back to the book. Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam. And that's all I first saw. It was like having a baby. You know, we have a baby. You just, like, love your baby. Like, oh, my baby's here at last. That's how I feel. It's because it's been a long time, mashallah. But any of you write, any of the children do you write? You must write, because I know you're all studying in school, whether it's at home or in the actual physical building. Do you write, anyone? No, mashallah, that's awesome. It's really important to write. Because that way, other people get to know what your thoughts are and what your stories are. That's really great, mashallah. So if you're not writing, you have to start writing.