The Moon That Followed Baby Mo

That night Baby Mo and Baby Ais were driving home. Outside the window, the sky was already dark and sprinkled with stars. Then Baby Mo saw it — a big, round, silvery moon.

"Umi!" cried Baby Mo. "The moon is moving! The moon is following Mo!"

And it was true. Every time the car turned, the moon turned too. The car sped up, the moon sped up. Baby Mo waved. "Hi, Moon!" And he was quite sure the moon waved back.

"Do you know," said Abi softly, "why the moon looks like it's following us?" Baby Mo shook his head, eyes shining. "Because the moon is very, very far away. Sooo far. So even though our car moves, the moon looks like it stays in place — as if it's faithfully keeping us company on the way home."

Baby Ais pressed her nose to the glass. "Moo-n," she whispered in awe.

"And there's another secret," Abi went on. "The moon doesn't actually have its own light. Moonlight is borrowed from the sun! The sun shines on the moon, and the moon reflects it down to us, so the night isn't too dark. Allah arranged it as a night light for the whole world."

"A night light for the whole world," repeated Baby Mo, amazed. He pictured one giant night light for every child on earth.

By the time they got home, Baby Mo's eyes were heavy. But he didn't want to sleep yet. "Mo's not sleepy," he said — while yawning enormously, "yaaawn" — until Baby Ais yawned too. (Did you know? Yawning is contagious. When one person yawns, others often follow. Try watching!)

Abi chuckled. "Your little body has worked hard all day, sweetheart. Sleep is like recharging a battery. While you sleep, your body quietly repairs itself, so tomorrow you can run and play all over again."

So Baby Mo and Baby Ais climbed into bed. Abi switched off the light, and from the window, that silvery moon still peeked in, faithfully keeping watch.

"Before sleep, let's entrust ourselves to Allah," whispered Abi. Then they recited together, slowly:

Bismika Allahumma ahyaa wa amuut. — In Your name, O Allah, I live and I die.

"It means," said Abi, "when we sleep and can't see anything, Allah still sees us. Allah never sleeps. So we can rest in peace."

Baby Mo looked at the moon one last time. "Goodnight, Moon," he mumbled. "May Allah watch over us all."

And with that, his little eyes closed — beneath the world's night light that Allah switched on, just for children about to fall asleep.

Goodnight, sweetheart. Sweet dreams. 🌙