Looking after children

'A'isha said, "Abu Bakr said, 'By Allah, there is no man on the faceof the earth that I love better than 'Umar.' Then he went out and came backand said, 'How did I swear, daughter?' I told him what he had said. Thenhe said, 'He is dearer to me although one's child is closer (to one's heart).'"

Ibn Abi Nu'm said, "I was with Ibn 'Umar when a man asked him about theblood of gnats. He asked, 'Where are you from?' 'From the people of Iraq,'he replied. He said, 'Look at this man! He asks about the blood of gnatswhen they murdered the grandson of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and granthim peace! I heard the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,say, 'They are my sweet basil in this world.'"

Al-Bara' said, "I saw the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant himpeace, when al-Hasan was on his shoulder. He was saying, 'O Allah, I lovehim, so love him.'"

Jubayr ibn Nufayr said, "One day we were sitting when al-Miqdad ibn al-Aswadwhen a man passed us. The man said, 'Blessing be to those two eyes whichsaw the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. By Allah,I wish that I had seen what you have seen and witnessed what you have witnessed!'This angered al-Miqdad and that surprised me as the man had said nothingbut good things. Then he turned to them and said, 'What made the man desireto summon back what Allah has taken away? Does he not realise what his situationwould be if he had seen him? By Allah, if certain people had been with theMessenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, Allah wouldhave thrown them on their faces into Hellfire since they would neither haveanswered nor confirmed him? Do you not praise Allah Almighty since He broughtyou forth and you only know your Lord and confirm what your Prophet, mayAllah bless him and grant him peace, brought? You see enough affliction inother people. By Allah, the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and granthim peace, was sent in the harshest state in which any Prophet was ever sent- in a gap (in the line of prophethood) and the time of Ignorance. Theydid not believe that the deen was better than worshipping idols. He broughtthe Discrimination by which it is possible to discriminate between the trueand false, and which can part a father from his child. Then a man will thinkof his father, child or brother as an unbeliever. Allah has loosened thelocks of his heart by faith and he knows that the other person will be destroyedin the Fire. Therefore his eye is not cool since he knows that the one heloves will be in the Fire. It is what Allah says, "Those who say, 'OurLord, give us joy in our wives and children." (25:
74)'"

Anas said, "One day I visited the Prophet, may Allah bless him and granthim peace, and there was only myself, my mother and my aunt, Umm Hiram. Whenhe came to us, he asked us, 'Shall I pray with you?' It was not the timeof an obligatory prayer." One of those listening to the person relating thisasked, "Where did he put in Anas in relation to him?" The reply was, "Heput him to his right." The report from Anas continues, "Then he prayed withus and made supplication for us, the people of the house, that we would havethe best of the blessings of this world and the Next. My mother said, 'Messengerof Allah, make supplication to Allah for your little servant,' and he askedAllah to grant me every blessing. At the end of his supplication, he said,'O Allah, grant him a lot of money and many children and bless him!'"

Anas ibn Malik said, "A woman came to 'A'isha and 'A'isha gave her threedates. She gave each of her two children a date and kept one date for herself.The children ate the two dates and then looked at their mother. She tookher date and split it into two and gave each child a half of it. The Prophet,may Allah bless him and grant him peace, came and 'A'isha told him aboutit. He said, 'Are you surprised at that? Allah will show her mercy becauseof her mercy towards her child.'"

'A'isha said, "A bedouin came to the Prophet, may Allah bless him andgrant him peace, and asked, "Do you kiss your children? We do not kiss them.'The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'Can I put mercyin your hearts after Allah has removed it from them?'"

Abu Hurayra said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, kissed Hasan ibn 'Ali while al-Aqra' ibn Habis at-Tamimi was sitting with him. Al-Aqra' observed, 'I have ten children and I have never kissed any of them.' The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, looked at him and said, 'Whoever does not show mercy will not be shown mercy.'"

Numayr ibn Aws said, "They used to say, 'Correct action is a gift fromAllah, but adab comes from the parents."

An-Nu'man ibn Bashir said that his father had carried him to the Messengerof Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. He said, 'Messenger ofAllah, I testify to you that I have given an-Nu'man such-and-such. (It wasa slave). The Prophet asked, "Have you given each of your children the same"?""No," he replied. He said, "Then testify to someone other than me." Thenthe Prophet asked, "Do you not want to show equal kindness to all of them?""Indeed I do," he replied. He said, "Then do not do it."

Ibn 'Umar said, "Allah has called them the 'dutiful' (al-Abrar) becausethey are dutiful (birr) to their parents and children. Just as you have aduty which you owe your parent, so you have a duty which you owe your child."

Abu Sa'id said that the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said:
'Someone who does not show mercy will not be shown mercy.'

Jarir ibn 'Abdullah said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless himand grant him peace, said, 'Allah will not show mercy to someone who doesnot show mercy to people."

Same as 97.

'A'isha said, "Some bedouins came to the Prophet, may Allah bless himand grant him peace. One of their men said to him, 'Messenger of Allah, doyou kiss children? By Allah, we do not kiss them.' The Messenger of Allah,may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'Can I put mercy in your heartsafter Allah has removed it from them?'"

Abu 'Uthman reported that 'Umar wanted to appoint a man as governor.The governor said, "I have such-and-such a number of children and I havenever kissed any of them." 'Umar said, "Allah Almighty will only show mercyto the kindest of His slaves."

Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless himand grant him peace, said, "Allah Almighty has divided mercy into one hundredparts. He kept ninety-nine parts and sent down one part to earth. Becauseof that one single part, creatures are merciful to one another so that eventhe mare will lift its hooves away from its foal so that it does not trampleon it."