Worry about the Islaah of Children – Part 1
أعوذ بالله من الشيطان الرجيم
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
The Tarbiat of Muslim children differs from the children of Kuffar
A muslim has children and a disbeliever too has children. A Muslim brings up his children and so do a disbeliever but a disbeliever brings up his children keeping in mind only this dunya while a muslim has both akhirah and dunya in his mind. So it is obvious that there should be difference in the children brought up by a muslim and a disbeliever. When we plant mango trees in a farm, far from its place we will find out that those are mango trees and when we plant Acacia, one will see its thorns. Now if the leaves and thorns fall off from both the trees and any other tree, then the identification will come to an end as one cannot distinguish between the trees if the tree is a mango tree or an orange tree or any other tree unless one goes very close to it. Just like how the trees would be different, the Muslim children would be very distinct from the kuffar children and if they look alike, then there is some problem in the manner of the tarbiat of muslims or else for sure one can identify from far if the child is a muslim or not if they are coming from a school or they are coming from America after their studies for they will be distinct from kuffaar. There will be a definite difference for a muslim has akhirah in front of him but unfortunately today in muslim’s society, only dunya is in front of our eyes.
Do not make the children the instruments of dunya but sadaqa-e-jaariya of akhirah
Today’s muslim has made his child a instrument of dunya. While the pious predecessors used to think the children as sadaqa-e-jariya for the akhirah, today’s muslim is keen in making money from the children. That is why he spends more than his status for his child’s education and if he sees his child deficient in his studies, he instructs him sometimes with love and sometimes with admonition so he could boast among people that his son is studying in such and such university, he is teaching in certain university and is an officer in a certain place. He totally forgot how he will face the humiliation in roza-e-kawthar tomorrow when the Prophet ﷺ inquires about his children. Darkness will cover the faces tomorrow out of humiliation. The tarbiat of a disbeliever is so that they only care that they have a good house, eat what they like, fulfill all their needs making their children instruments of dunya for akhirah is not in their tarbiat but this is not the case with muslims for there will be a clear-cut difference. But today can only really identify muslims children when they are coming out of educational institutes or when they are working in offices or when they are involved in business dealings in markets? One cannot identify them. When we don’t water the trees, when we don’t take care if its needs, when we don’t protect it from the pests, when we don’t provide manure, it will become dry and it will become so dry that it would lose all the leaves and all the distinct features it has until one cannot identify it to be an acacia tree or a mango tree or a guava tree or an orange tree.
The pious Muslim predecessors were never proud of worldly possessions
Today as the muslim children are not given the provision of eeman, the Islamic characteristics have been destroyed from them and one cannot identify if the child is really brought up by muslim parents and if the child was breast-fed by a muslim mother. Today as the muslim children were not protected just like a tree is not protected from the pests affecting its very root; the children are affected by the pests of sins like haram love, haram earnings and haram provisions. It was only the disbeliever who thinks only about how to earn, eat and drink and it is only in these things he used to feel very proud but a muslim was never proud of these things because for these were never been the things for muslims to boast about. There were two brothers Ahmad and Muhammad. Ahmad once complained to his mother that his younger brother doesn’t stand under his imamat in salah. The mother called Muhammad and told him to pray behind Ahmad. Now hearing the mother’s words Muhammad prayed behind Ahmad but he discontinued his prayer in the middle. Ahmad felt humiliated and told his mother that before he denied praying behind him and now he discontinued his prayer which is worst. When mother inquired to Muhammad, he told his mom that his brother’s mind was roaming somewhere in the prayer and so how can he pray behind him? Now look at this mother the way she expressed. She became extremely worried about the tarbiat of both her children for one’s heart was roaming somewhere in the salah and the other’s heart was wandering in his brother’s heart and none was concentrated in their salah. This was the standard of tarbiat for they cared more about righteousness of the children. Today we made money, worldly education, getting visa of certain countries as some standard of being proud. When the kuffar feel proud of these things, it is understandable for there is no akhirah in front of them but this cannot be accepted from muslims for the standard of muslims is something very different.
Luqman-e-Hakeem and the Tarbiat of his son
Luqman-e-hakeem made tarbiat of his children and it was so liked by Allah ﷻ that He ﷻ preserved those words in His Kalam, Quran till qayamat implying that this is how the tarbiat of muslim children should be. What were those first words? Ya Bunayya! He didn’t call him as son but Ya Bunayya. This word Ya Bunayya is such a word that it is so much filled with love. “laa tushrik billaah”, “Do not associate partners with Allah”. Just like a man of more ghayrah (sense of honor) cannot tolerate shirkat in his women, ghayyoor Rabb cannot tolerate shirkat in His ibadah and his shifaat (unique characteristics of Allah ﷻ). Just like how a man cannot tolerate his wife saying that she has another man as her friend other than him, even after she does his khidmat day and night, Allah ﷻ too cannot tolerate His slaves when they say there is another ilaah (God) other than Him ﷻ even if they do many good things for all their deeds will be destroyed just like the wife’s khidmat of her husband is destroyed with her words and acts. If someone tells the husband all good about his wife that his wife washes and iron his clothes, prepares food for him and obeys him at his mere glance, the husband will not tolerate her, saying that she is not loyal to him. Similarly a man may do so many good acts but if keeps shirk to Allah ﷻ, it will never be tolerable to the ghayyoor Rabb. He ﷻ can forgive any sin but not shirk. So here is a father doing tarbiat of his child, “O My dear son, Join not in worship others with Allah” Innash shirka lazulmun azeem, “Verily joining others in worship with Allah is a great Zulm (wrong) indeed”.
Part 2 to Follow InshaAllah
Source: Theheartopener by Hazrat Maulana Abdus Sattar (hafizahullah)
