The Prophet’s Compassion for Children

[kadafi]

By Amatullah Abdullah

Children are a great blessing from Allah. With their tender hearts, children can be molded into righteous people only with a positive and tender approach. Islam considers children to be an amanah (trust) given to the family and says it is fard (obligatory) for the family to raise a child in a righteous manner. One should not favor one child over another. In Islam, both male and female children should be treated equally and should be loved and cherished. The children have certain rights over their parents; it is the family’s obligation to shelter, feed, clothe, educate, support, nurture, and love them.

In today’s world many parents are so immersed in worldly life that they forget to pay attention to their children. Many parents think that providing financial support for their child is enough. The fact is, financial support alone doesn’t fulfill a parent’s duty towards their child. One can only win a child’s heart through love and a gentle attitude. It is the child’s right to be loved and cherished.

I remember that, as a child, I yearned for the attention of my family, but being in a joint family—my family and my uncle’s family lived together and a few other cousins stayed with us as their parents were working abroad—did not give me the opportunity to experience the kind of attention I expected. My parents felt that they should not express their love for their children in front of others, as people might think they were favoring us. As a child (and even now), I heard people saying “We need not to express our love to prove that it is there, it is enough to have a loving heart.” But the fact is that only when one expresses love to a child will the child feel more confident and stronger. Children have the capacity to easily distinguish when there is a difference in the attitude of the adults. Whether an adult shows or does not show love will have a significant impact on a child. Hence, we adults have to be conscious with our behavior in the child’s presence and be constantly aware of the emotions we project to our children.

Nowadays, we see people have become hardhearted so that their attitude towards children is unpleasant. There are some who show much partiality toward one gender, and there are some who don’t treat others’ children with the same kindness or affection which they show to their own children. It is common to see even people who claim that they act on the Qur’an and Sunnah showing less interest in playing with their children or giving them the due attention or expression of love.

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is the model for the whole of humankind. His attitude towards children was always compassionate and merciful. Being fond of children, Prophet Muhammad showed great interest in playing with them. His involvement in children’s games shows us the great importance in playing with our children. He would have fun with the children who had come back from Abyssinia and tried to speak in Abyssinian with them. It was his practice to give lifts on his camel to children when he returned from journeys.

Prophet Muhammad never held back his love for the children and always expressed his fondness to them. In one hadith Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated:

I went along with Allah’s Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) at a time during the day but he did not talk to me and I did not talk to him until he reached the market of Banu Qainuqa`. He came back to the tent of Fatimah and said, “Is the little chap (meaning Al-Hasan) there?” We were under the impression that his mother had detained him in order to bathe him and dress him and garland him with sweet garland. Not much time had passed that he (Al-Hasan) came running until both of them embraced each other, thereupon Allah’s Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “O Allah, I love him; love him and love one who loves him.” (Muslim)

Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him), the servant of the Prophet, had another recollection:

I never saw anyone who was more compassionate towards children than Allah’s Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). His son Ibrahim was in the care of a wet nurse in the hills around Madinah. He would go there, and we would go with him, and he would enter the house, pick up his son and kiss him, then come back. (Muslim)

The Prophet’s love for children was not restricted to his children and grandchildren. The scope of his mercy and affection embraced all children, and he showed the same interest and gentleness to his Companion’s children. The following hadith narrated by Usamah ibn Zaid (may Allah be pleased with him) shows this humane aspect of the Prophet’s personality:

Allah’s Messenger used to put me on (one of) his thighs and put Al-Hasan ibn `Ali on his other thigh, and then embrace us and say, “O Allah! Please be merciful to them, as I am merciful to them.” (Bukhari)

Some people who were not able to understand the power of expressing love to children wondered why the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) played with children and took such an interest in them. Narrated Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him),

Allah’s Messenger kissed Al-Hasan ibn `Ali while Al-Aqra` ibn Habis At-Tamim was sitting with him . Al-Aqra` said, “I have ten children and have never kissed one of them.” The Prophet cast a look at him and said, “Whoever is not merciful to others will not be treated mercifully.” (Al-Bukhari)

The Prophet was always concerned about everyone’s thought and feeling. The following hadith narrated by Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) proves his thoughtful character:

The Prophet said, “(It happens that) I start the prayer intending to prolong it, but on hearing the cries of a child, I shorten the prayer because I know that the cries of the child will incite its mother’s passions.” (Al-Bukhari)

The Prophet was always patient and considerate with children and took great pain not to hurt their tender feelings.

Narrated Abu Qatadah: “The Messenger of Allah came towards us while carrying Umamah the daughter of Abi Al-`As (Prophet’s granddaughter) over his shoulder. He prayed, and when he wanted to bow, he put her down, and when he stood up he lifted her up.” (Al-Bukhari)

In a another hadith,

Narrated Umm Khalid: I (the daughter of Khalid ibn Said) went to Allah’s Messenger with my father and I was wearing a yellow shirt. Allah’s Messenger said, “Sanah, Sanah!” (`Abdullah, the narrator, said that sanah meant “good” in the Ethiopian language). I then started playing with the seal of prophethood (between the Prophet’s shoulders) and my father rebuked me harshly for that. Allah’s Messenger said, “Leave her.” The Prophet, then, invoked Allah to grant her a long life thrice. (Al-Bukhari)

In another narration we see the Prophet’s tolerance towards children.

Narrated `A’ishah: The Prophet took a child in his lap … and then the child urinated on him, so he asked for water and poured it over the place of the urine. (Al-Bukhari)

Finally I would like to add another saying of the Prophet that proves that Muslims should be conscious to treat their sons and daughters justly:

“Fear Allah and treat your children [small or grown] fairly (with equal justice).” (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)

From all the above hadith we see Prophet Muhammad’s attitude toward children is an example for the whole human race that shows how to treat them and cherish them at all times.

** Amatullah Abdullah is a freelance writer and her essays have been published in India, US, and UK. She is divorced and resides in Chennai, India with her 4-year-old son and her parents. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English literature and is currently working on her master’s degree. Amatullah Abdullah is an active member of the Islamic Writers Alliance (IWA). She can be reached at: amatullah110@yahoo.com .To read more of her works visit: http://writerinislam.blogspot.com/.

[Khayal]

:sl:
MashaAllah beautiful sharing...:rose: jazak ALLAH khair..

:w:

[Protected_Diamond]

Anas radhiallahu `anhu said: “I have never seen a man more kind with children than the Prophet (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam).” (Muslim) Anas also said: “The Prophet (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam) had the sharpest sense of humor with children.”

The Prophet (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam) exhorted justice when he said: “Allah likes that you be just with your children as He likes that you be just among your own selves.” (Al-Daraqutni)

It was reported from ‘A’ishah that the Prophet (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam) kissed Al-Hassan and Al-Hussain, the sons of ‘Ali radhiallahu `anhu while Al-Aqra’ bin Habis Al-Taimi was in his audience. Al-Aqra’ said: “I have ten children, none of whom I have ever kissed.” The Prophet (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam) looked at him and said: “Those who do not show mercy to others will not be shown mercy.”

‘A’ishah radhiallahu `anha narrated: A Bedouin came to the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam) and said: “You kiss your children, while we do not kiss them.” The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam) said: “I can not help that Allah has removed mercy from your heart.”

It was reported by At-Tirmidhi and others on the authority of ‘Abdullah bin Buraidah from his father (radhiallahu `anhuma) who said: I saw the Messenger of Allah sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam while he was delivering a sermon. Al-Hassan and Al-Hussain radhiallahu `anhuma came wearing red garments and stumbling while walking. The Prophet sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam descended Al Minbar (the pulpit) and carried them and put them in front of him. He then said: “Your property and children are only a trial. I saw these two boys stumbling in their walk and could not help stopping my sermon and raising them.”

Al-Nasa’i and Al-Hakim narrated: While the Prophet sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam was leading people in Prayer, Al-Hussain came and sat on his neck while he was prostrating himself. The Prophet sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam prolonged prostration, until they (the worshipers) thought there was something wrong. When Prayer finished, the people said: “You prolonged prostration, O Messenger of Allah, until we thought that there was something wrong with you.” He replied: “My son sat on me i.e. sat on my back, and I disliked to disturb him until he satisfies himself (and gets down).”

It was narrated in Al-Isabaah that “the Prophet sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam was of the habit of playing with Al-Hassan and Al-Hussain radhiallahu `anhuma, walking on his hands and knees while they both clung to him from both sides, and saying to them: “What a good camel you have and what a good camel-riders you are.”

It was narrated in Bukhari and Muslim after Anas radhiallahu `anhu that the Prophet sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam said: “I enter into Prayer intending to prolong it, but when I hear a baby crying, I shorten it, as I know how his mother is anxious about his crying.”

[mehnaz]

MashaAllah....reading about all that makes me wish i cud go back in time and see all that happen....:wub: :love:

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[F.Y.]

Wow - that is beautiful. We should definitely take these as examples so that when we have our own children, we can do the same, inshallah.

[h1jabi_sista]

Al-Nasa’i and Al-Hakim narrated: While the Prophet sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam was leading people in Prayer, Al-Hussain came and sat on his neck while he was prostrating himself. The Prophet sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam prolonged prostration, until they (the worshipers) thought there was something wrong. When Prayer finished, the people said: “You prolonged prostration, O Messenger of Allah, until we thought that there was something wrong with you.” He replied: “My son sat on me i.e. sat on my back, and I disliked to disturb him until he satisfies himself (and gets down).”

as salam alikum
mashallah jazakallah for sharing! ---^---this bit sounds really sweet, i can just imagine it!! subhanallah!
:w:

[s_123_v]

Mashallah, may Allah give us the ability to put what we have read in our lives

[BlissfullyJaded]

:sl:

Jazakallah khair sis Ninjaress. :wub: Here is another article... :statisfie

The Prophet's Compassion for Children

By Amatullah Abdullah*
Mar. 15, 2006

Children are a great blessing from Allah. With their tender hearts, children can be molded into righteous people only with a positive and tender approach. Islam considers children to be an trust given to the family and says it is obligatory for the family to raise a child in a righteous manner. One should not favor one child over another. In Islam, both male and female children should be treated equally and all should be loved and cherished. Children have certain rights over their parents — it is the family's obligation to shelter, feed, clothe, educate, support, nurture, and love them.

In today's world, many parents are so immersed in worldly life that they forget to pay attention to their children. Many parents think that providing financial support for their child is enough. The fact is, financial support alone doesn't fulfill a parent's duty towards their child. One can only win a child's heart through love and a gentle attitude. It is the child's right to be loved and cherished.

I remember that, as a child, I yearned for the attention of my family. But because I lived with my extended family — my parents and siblings, my uncle's family, and a few cousins — did not give me the opportunity to experience the kind of attention I expected. My parents felt that they should not express their love for their children in front of others, as people might think they were favoring us.

As a child (and even now), I heard people saying, "We need not to express our love to prove that it is there, it is enough to have a loving heart." But the fact is that only when one expresses love to a child will the child feel confident and stronger. Children have the capacity to easily distinguish between a difference in the attitude of adults. Whether an adult shows or does not show love will have a significant impact on a child. Hence, we adults have to be conscious with our behavior in the child's presence and be constantly aware of the emotions we project to our children.

Nowadays, we see people have become hardhearted, so many peoples attitudes' towards children are unpleasant. There are some who show much partiality toward one gender, and there are some who don't treat other peoples' children with the same kindness or affection which they show to their own children. It is common to see even people who claim that they act on the Quran and Sunnah showing less interest in playing with their children or giving them the due attention or expression of love.

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is a model for the whole of humankind. His attitude towards children was always compassionate and merciful. Being fond of children, Prophet Muhammad showed great interest in playing with them. His involvement in children's games shows us the great importance in playing with our children. He would have fun with the children who had come back from Abyssinia and tried to speak in Abyssinian with them. It was his practice to give lifts on his camel to children when he returned from journeys.

Prophet Muhammad never held back his love for the children and always expressed his fondness to them. In one hadith Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated:

I went along with Allah's Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) at a time during the day but he did not talk to me and I did not talk to him until he reached the market of Banu Qainuqa. He came back to the tent of Fatimah and said, "Is the little boy (meaning Al-Hasan) there?" We were under the impression that his mother had detained him in order to bathe him and dress him and garland him with sweet garland. Not much time had passed that he (Al-Hasan) came running until both of them embraced each other, thereupon Allah's Messenger said, "O Allah, I love him; love him and love one who loves him."

Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him), the servant of the Prophet, had another recollection:

I never saw anyone who was more compassionate towards children than Allah's Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). His son Ibrahim was in the care of a wet nurse in the hills around Madinah. He would go there, and we would go with him, and he would enter the house, pick up his son and kiss him, and then come back.

The Prophet's love for children was not restricted to his own children and grandchildren. The scope of his mercy and affection embraced all children, and he showed the same interest and gentleness to his Companion's children. The following hadith narrated by Usamah ibn Zaid (may Allah be pleased with him) shows this humane aspect of the Prophet's personality:
Allah's Messenger used to put me on (one of) his thighs and put Al-Hasan ibn Ali on his other thigh, and then embrace us and say, "O Allah! Please be merciful to them, as I am merciful to them."

Some people who were not able to understand the power of expressing love to children wondered why the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) played with children and took such an interest in them. Narrated Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him),
Allah's Messenger kissed Al-Hasan ibn Ali while Al-Aqra ibn Habis At-Tamim was sitting with him. Al-Aqra said, "I have ten children and have never kissed one of them." The Prophet cast a look at him and said, "Whoever is not merciful to others will not be treated mercifully."

The Prophet was always concerned about other people's thoughts and feelings. The following hadith narrated by Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) proves his thoughtful character:
The Prophet said, "(It happens that) I start the prayer intending to prolong it, but on hearing the cries of a child, I shorten the prayer because I know that the cries of the child will incite its mother's passions."

The Prophet was always patient and considerate with children and took great pain not to hurt their tender feelings. Abu Qatadah narrated:

The Messenger of Allah came towards us while carrying Umamah the daughter of Abi Al-As (Prophet's granddaughter) over his shoulder. He prayed, and when he wanted to bow, he put her down, and when he stood up he lifted her up.

In a another hadith,
Narrated Umm Khalid: I (the daughter of Khalid ibn Said) went to Allah's Messenger with my father and I was wearing a yellow shirt. Allah's Messenger said, "Sanah, sanah!" (Abdullah, the narrator, said that sanah meant "good" in the Abyssinian language). I then started playing with the seal of prophethood (between the Prophet's shoulders) and my father rebuked me harshly for that. Allah's Messenger said, "Leave her." The Prophet, then, invoked Allah to grant her a long life thrice.

In another narration we see the Prophet's tolerance towards children. Aishah narrated:

The Prophet took a child in his lap … and then the child urinated on him, so he asked for water and poured it over the place of the urine.

Finally I would like to add another saying of the Prophet that proves that Muslims should be conscious to treat their sons and daughters justly:

"Fear Allah and treat your children [small or grown] fairly (with equal justice)."

From all the above hadith we see Prophet Muhammad's attitude toward children is an example for the whole human race that shows how to treat them and cherish them at all times.

* Amatullah Abdullah is a freelance writer who resides in Chennai, India. Her essays have been published in India, the United States and the United Kingdom. She holds a bachelor's degree in English literature and is working on her master's degree. Amatullah is a staff writer for One Ummah and is on the editorial staff of IQRA Newspaper. She is also an active member of the Islamic Writers Alliance and the Muslim Writers Society.

Source

:wub: :sister:

[Ayesha Rana]

It was narrated in Al-Isabaah that “the Prophet sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam was of the habit of playing with Al-Hassan and Al-Hussain radhiallahu `anhuma, walking on his hands and knees while they both clung to him from both sides, and saying to them: “What a good camel you have and what a good camel-riders you are.”

so so cool

I agree. The prophet was so gentle with children Masha'Allah.

[...]

Subhanallah! if when i was a kid i was treated by ever1 in the same way that the prophet treated children, then i'd never wanna grow up

[Umar001]

Subhanallah! if when i was a kid i was treated by ever1 in the same way that the prophet treated children, then i'd never wanna grow up

For real!

But then again I would wanna grow up to have kids of my own and be their 'camel'

[Pk_#2]

MashaAllah @ articles :)

You'd be a betta donkey Easa

[chacha_jalebi]

mashallah man RasoolAllah (saw) was the bestest in every department!! when i read about how he was with kids it alwyz brings smiles & tears, cos he had so much important thins 2 do spread the message, but he still had time for his family and friends, dats wat makes him so sweet and the bestest of men!

also lemme add to add the collection :D

Once whilst Hadhrat Fatima (ra) was with her kids and she was looking for Hadhrat Hussain (ra) because she wanted to give him a bath, but he was hiding from her lol, and she was looking for him, and RasoolAllah (saw) came in her house & asked "where are the little ones?" and Hadhrat Fatima (ra) replied "they are hiding from me, because i want to give them a bath" and when RasoolAllah (saw) called Hussain (ra), he came running out & gave a hug to the Prophet (saw) : & Hadhrat Fatima sed "i have been calling them for ages, but when you call them they came out" see mashallah
RasoolAllah (saw) was loved by everyone and he loved everyone!!

nowadays can you imagine if a kid was to climb on his grandads back during salah, they would beat the crap out of the kid :p lol

also we know dat RasoolAllah (saw) greeted Hadhrat Fatima (ra) by gettin up and kissin her & givin up his seat for her!! mashallah

nowadays our adults dont get up for ne1 & they dont sit down until we get up & they alwyz want the bestest seat in front of the telly lol :p

see in islam theres a lesson for all, young or old :D

jazakhallah again for the post!!!

[Search]

:bism: (In the Name of God, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful)

Bump. :D

[noraina]

So wonderful to read alhamdulillah, jazakAllah khayr for bumping sis.

How amazing our Prophet (saw) was, and what I love reading most of all about his beautiful character was how he was with children - many people don't know much what to do with kids, but he knew how to interact and play with them and he gave importance to their feelings and thoughts. A true role model in every sense. Loved reading this ma'sha'Allah, it brought a smile to my face.

And kids are so sweet, ma'sha'Allah, love them to bits :D

[Huzaifah ibn Adam]

بسم الله الرحمان الرحيم


ويروي ابن أبي الدنيا وابن عساكر عن جبلة بن سحيم قال: دخلت على معاوية بن أبي سفيان - وهو في خلافته - وفي عنقه حبل، وصبي يقوده، فقلت له: يا أمير المؤمنين، أتفعل هذا؟ قال: يا لكع، اسكت، فإني سمعت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول: من كان له صبي فليتصاب له

Imaam ibn Abi-d Dunyaa and Imaam ibn `Asaakir narrate from Jaballah ibn Suhaym, who said, "One day, I entered upon (Hadhrat) Mu`aawiyah ibn Abi Sufyaan رضي الله عنه - during his Khilaafah - and I saw that around his neck was a rope, and a little child was leading him by the rope (like a camel. i.e. he was playing with the child like this). I said, "O Ameer-ul-Mu'mineen (Commander of the Believers)! What are you doing??" He said, "Be quiet, you silly man! I heard Rasoolullaah صلى الله عليه وسلم saying that whoever has children should behave like a child (to make them happy)."

[farazhussain]

Our beloved Prophet (PBUH) has provided for us clear guidelines through his own childhood and through his treatment with children that the concept of mercy is never complete without showing affection towards children. The fact that even during wars he gave strict orders not to harm any child shows the level of compassion he had. His Seerah is full of lessons for us all to learn from and practice in our daily life. The result of which would be a great nation brought up in the best of ways.