But it wouldn't have been haram for Noah to sell lemonade?

No, it wouldn’t have been haram. The illustration led to a dried-up stream, not a fire. I’m trying to convey that our deeds done for the sake of pleasing Allah will benefit us the most, God willing, in this life and the next.

In some situations, making money might be the option you believe pleases Allah the most, but in Noah’s case, he already had a surplus of money. So his focus was on other avenues to please The God, like providing for others and fostering connection.

When my son was a newborn, driving was really hard. He would scream so much that he’d throw up on himself. I almost crashed into a truck once, trying to pull over.

I remember praying and asking God to make it easy for me to get to the grocery store. I used to say things like “God is the Provider,” but I still equated provision with money. So if a friend had offered to get me groceries, I would’ve said, “Oh no, don’t trouble yourself, I have money, alhamdulillah.”

Yes, I had money. But I still didn’t have groceries.

One day, my husband called to say he’d had a horrible day at work, and he was so excited for eggs and Afghan bread in the morning. My baby had been screaming all day. I hadn’t been able to get either the bread or the eggs. I prayed that my son would stop crying so I could go to the shops.

Then, subhanAllah, a girl I’d spoken to only a handful of times and her sister dropped off eggs. And another friend I hadn’t heard from in a while showed up out of the blue with Afghan bread and dolma.

I had asked God to help me get to the shops — but instead, He brought the provisions to me and taught me to humble myself. Our provision isn’t always written in the illusion of self-dependence, because we are all dependent on Him.

Money isn’t the Provider. God often sends provision through money, but sometimes He sends it through people.

When we try to monetise every blessing we have, we start to forget that money isn’t the goal. It’s often a means to reach a goal — but it isn’t the goal itself.

In Too Many Lemons But No Eggs, that’s what I’m trying to highlight to children.

When we let go of the illusion that money is the provider, we open ourselves to receiving provision from God in many forms — and we also open ourselves to being used by God to answer someone else’s prayer.

Zaynab, Fatima and Afrah were used by God to answer mine.

Zaynab could’ve sold her chicken’s eggs to someone or picked up another shift.

Afrah could’ve poured all her spare time into progressing her business.

And while that wouldn’t have been haram, I pray that God rewards them with far more than what they could have made, and fills their lives with barakah.

I hope Too Many Lemons But No Eggs plants the seed for your children to understand that Allah is the Provider.