Children are a trust from Allah SWT

In the Name of All, The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful.

All Praise due to Allah, The Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah, and That Muhammed is the Messenger if Allah.

Children, no doubt, are a Blessing of Allah SWT. From the time a baby is conceived, we start planning ahead for their future, and the joy that comes with its arrival has no bounds. The love for our child in our hearts is something so natural and it comes with no strings attached.

But we must remember that children are an amanah (trust) from Allah SWT, and therefore, we have certain duties and responsibilities towards them, and Allah SWT, for He is The One who blessed us with them in the first place. Allah mentions wealth and children together, many a time in the Quran. Both, wealth and children are a test to us, to test how we deal with this Blessing. Allah Azza wajal tests some people with wealth, and some without wealth. Similarly, Allah tests some people with children, and some without. We should always keep a check on ourselves that both of these do not take us farther from Our Dheen, and therefore, it is our Duty as a believer to bring our children up, in a fashion that pleases Allah SWT. It is our responsibility to give them Islamic Guidance and instill in them values of love, fear, hope, Submission, Worship of Allah SWT.

Allah says in the Qur’an:

الْمَالُ وَالْبَنُونَ زِينَةُ الْحَيَوةِ الدُّنْيَا وَالْبَـقِيَاتُ الصَّـلِحَاتُ خَيْرٌ عِندَ رَبِّكَ ثَوَابًا وَخَيْرٌ أَمَلاً

Wealth and children are the adornment of the life of this world. But the good righteous deeds that last, are better with your Lord for reward and better for hope. (Surah-Al-Kahf: 46)

Children should not be an obstacle in our worship of Allah, in our strive to do righteous deeds. Instead from a very young age, we should inculcate the importance of worship of Allah, and performing good deeds. We also have a duty towards our ummah, and this is also a very important reason for moulding our children in the best way. InshAllah, we need to give to our community good muslims, so that our ummah grow stronger. While I say this, I would also like to reflect upon what I heard in a documentary of our palestinian brothers and sisters. One of the sisters said: We, the people of palestine want to give birth to more and more children so that the population of our ummah increase. And this was also the niyyah(intention) of Sahabah Radhiyallahu anhum when they were with their wives. And so should be ours. We should always make duah(supplicate) to Allah SWT in the way that Prophet Zakariyyah alihissalam did:

رَبِّ هَبْ لِى مِن لَّدُنْكَ ذُرِّيَّةً طَيِّبَةً إِنَّكَ سَمِيعُ الدُّعَآءِ

"O my Lord! Grant me from You, a good offspring. You are indeed the All-Hearer of invocation.'' (Surah AAl Imraan: 38)

And the way Prophet Ibraheem Alihissalam invocated to Allah SWT:

رَبِّ هَبْ لِى مِنَ الصَّـلِحِينِ

"My Lord! Grant me (offspring) from the righteous.'' (Surah As-Saafaat: 100)

A duah should come along with our working towards the goal and then supplicating to Allah Azza wajal, and doing tawakkul. May Allah give us the Tawfeeque to bring our children up, the future generation of our ummah, in a way that will benefit our ummah, and us in both the worlds, aameen...