Lessons 26–27 · 2 lessons · Q. Yo‘ldoshev, V. Qodirov, J. Yo‘ldoshbekov. Literature: textbook for Grade 9 of general secondary schools. Revised and expanded 4th edition. “O‘zbekiston” NMIU, Tashkent, 2019
27
Examples from the hadiths
Textbook: pp. 132–138
GoalGroup the sample hadiths by theme and state in your own words their main idea about manners and character.
New words
duty owed to parents · ota-ona haqineighbour’s right · qo‘shni haqimodesty · hayogossip/suspicion · g‘iybat/gumon
Explanation
The sample hadiths in the textbook fall into several themes. The first group is about kindness to parents: in doing good, one should think first of the mother, then the father and close relatives, and one must not insult parents. The second concerns relations in society: giving a neighbour his due, returning kindness for kindness, avoiding suspicion, spying and envy, and not probing others’ faults. The third describes personal qualities: truthfulness, keeping promises, guarding trusts, modesty, and holding the hand back from wrongdoing. The fourth is about patience in hardship: the believer is likened to pliant grass that bends in the wind but stands up again, while a brittle tree snaps. The samples also condemn lying as one of the gravest sins and teach that one should look first at one’s own faults, not repeat every rumour one hears and not mock a person struck by misfortune. Because hadiths are religious texts, we read them here through the textbook’s explanation, from a literary and ethical point of view.
Worked examples
Example: “A believer is not stung twice from the same hole” – by the textbook’s note it has both a literal and a figurative sense: a wise person does not repeat the same mistake twice.
Example: comparing a person to grass and to a brittle tree is a simile. Bending but unbroken grass stands for patience and endurance, while a stiff but brittle tree stands for strength that looks steady yet breaks.
Class activity
Split the class into four groups: each takes one theme (parents, neighbour, qualities, patience), writes two sentences about it in its own words and gives an example from life.
Practice
1
Name two themes into which the textbook’s sample hadiths can be grouped.
For example: kindness to parents; a neighbour’s right; truthfulness; patience.
2
In the hadith about doing good, who is given first place?
The mother.
3
Explain “being modest” and “not lying” with one school-life example each.
Free answer: e.g. not putting down a friend – modesty; telling honestly about an assignment – truthfulness.
4
Why does the grass comparison express patience better than the tree comparison?
Because grass bends in the wind and recovers, while a brittle tree breaks; this shows flexible endurance.