This is How to Fulfill the Rights of Your Children
The Prophet Ibrahim may Allah’s peace be upon him was indeed a great personality. A man whom Allah described as an ummah; a truthful prophet as well. All the supplications he made to Allah were accepted, especially the ones he directly made upon his progeny. The relationship he established with his kids was one full of purity and worthy of emulation. Several verses of the Qur’an illustrated how he guided and mentored them upon the fitrah. Not only did he lead them towards the right path, he constantly made supplication for them as well. Amongst his answered dua was the coming of Muhammad peace be upon him as a descendant who brought mercy to the world.
And (remember) when Ibrahim (Abraham) and (his son) Isma’il (Ishmael) were raising the foundations of the House (the Ka’bah at Makkah), (saying), “Our Lord! Accept (this service) from us. Verily! You are the All-Hearer, the All-Knower. Our Lord! And make us submissive unto You and of our offspring a nation submissive unto You, and show us our Manasik (all the ceremonies of pilgrimage — Hajj and ‘Umrah, etc.), and accept our repentance. Truly, You are the One Who accepts repentance, the Most Merciful. Our Lord, and send among them a messenger from themselves who will recite to them Your verses and teach them the Book and wisdom and purify them. Indeed, You are the Exalted in Might, the Wise.” And who turns away from the religion of Ibrahim (Abraham) (i.e. Islamic Monotheism) except him who befools himself? Truly, We chose him in this world and verily, in the Hereafter he will be among the righteous. When his Lord said to him, “Submit”, he said, “I have submitted [in Islam] to the Lord of the worlds.” And Abraham instructed his sons [to do the same] and [so did] Jacob, [saying], “O my sons, indeed Allah has chosen for you this religion, so do not die except while you are Muslims.” Or were you witnesses when death approached Jacob, when he said to his sons, “What will you worship after me?” They said, “We will worship your God and the God of your fathers, Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac — one God. And we are Muslims [in submission] to Him.” — Qur’an 2[Al-Baqarah]:127–133
So in Islam, it’s not strange that children have rights over their parents. Space wouldn’t permit us to go into full details, hence we shall enumerate a few below:
- It is incumbent upon the father to seek the hands of a righteous woman as wife and mother for his kids. The child deserves a pious woman as mother.
- The child deserves the right to be given a good name.
- It’s the child’s right to observe the sunnah upon him/her after birth. Doing tahneek, slaughtering aqeeqoh, circumcision, shaving the hair and giving charity on the seventh day.
- Part of a child’s right is that parents teach them the deen. A sound aqeedah, based upon the sunnah, free from shirk and bid’ah practices.
- A child is entitled to life and basic amenities: food, clothing, shelter, and education. This is a responsibility saddled upon the father.
- Children deserve to be brought up with a noble moral character. Islamic manners of eating, dressing and interacting should be established at an early age. You live Islam with them through practice as they emulate what you do so guide them consciously.
- Your sons and daughters deserve safety from the torment of the hereafter. The same way their protection is essential from any harm in this worldly life.
- Enjoin upon your kids religious obligations at the age of seven and enforce it upon them at ten. This is from the sunnah of Allah’s Apostle.
- When it’s time for your wards to get married, you owe them the right to find a righteous spouse and do not marry them against their will.
- A very good practice is that parents supplicate for their offsprings and not rain curses upon them. The beauty of this can be seen in the life of Prophet Ibrahim and his progeny as earlier mentioned.
Always remember this hadith:
Narrated from ‘Abd-Allaah (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Each of you is a shepherd and is responsible for his flock. The ruler who is in charge of people is a shepherd and is responsible for them. The man is the shepherd of his household and is responsible for them. The woman is the shepherd of her husband’s house and child and is responsible for them. The slave is the shepherd of his master’s wealth and is responsible for it. Each of you is a shepherd and each of you is responsible for his flock.” — Bukhari and Muslim
“O ye who believe! Save yourselves and your families from a Fire whose fuel is Men and Stones.” — Qur’an 66[At-Tahrim]:6
Islam encourages that we have kids but frowns at failure in fulfilling the rights of those children. Giving a child proper upbringing will likely lead to a more caring child, a better family atmosphere and an improved social environment as well. On the other hand, any negligence in parental responsibilities can lead to the loss of a child or maltreatment of the parent later in life.
May Allah grant us righteous offsprings who will be coolness to our eyes. Ameen!
And success lies with Allah Alone.
Yaumul Khams 25th Ramadan 1440H // Thursday 30th May 2019
