Righteous Children Don't Come From Thin Air

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum

Dear Friends

I pray that you are well.

To love Allah is to follow His Messenger, Allah bless him and grant him peace.

Allah says,

قُلْ إِن كُنتُمْ تُحِبُّونَ اللَّـهَ فَاتَّبِعُونِي يُحْبِبْكُمُ اللَّـهُ وَيَغْفِرْ‌ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ ۗ وَاللَّـهُ غَفُورٌ‌ رَّ‌حِيمٌ ﴿٣١

"Say: 'If you love Allah, follow me, and Allah will love you, and forgive you your sins; Allah is All-forgiving, All-compassionate.' Qur'an AleImran 3:31

How can one follow the Messenger if one doesn't know him and if one doesn't know what he brought? To love is to know.

The Companions had great love for the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, because they knew him. They would sacrifice their lives for him. We can see their selfless love for him in the stories of the Companions.

Muadh ibn Al-Jumuh and his brother, Muawwadh, were very young Ansari teens of Madina. They hadn't met the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, but they wanted to kill Abu Jahl because they heard from their mother that Abu Jahl had abused and cursed the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace. On the day of the battle of Badr, they asked the great companion, Abdur Rahman bin Auf, if he knew Abu Jahl so they could kill him.

Narrated Abdur−Rahman bin Auf:

While I was standing in the row on the day (of the battle) of Badr, I looked to my right and my left and saw two young Ansari boys, and I wished I had been stronger than they. One of them called my attention saying, "O Uncle! Do you know Abu Jahl?" I said, "Yes, What do you want from him, O my nephew?" He said, "I have been informed that he abuses Allah's Apostle. By Him in Whose Hands my life is, if I should see him, then my body will not leave his body till either of us meet his fate." I was astonished at that talk. Then the other boy called my attention saying the same as the other had said. After a while I saw Abu Jahl walking amongst the people. I said (to the boys), "Look! This is the man you asked me about." So, both of them attacked him with their swords and struck him to death... (related in Bukhari)

Who were their parents? Their father was Amr bin Al-Jumuh. The extent of his love and devotion to the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, was shown during the time of the Battle of Uhud, which occured after the Battle of Badr. Amr saw his three sons (Muadh, Muawwadh and Khallad) preparing for the battle. He resolved to go out with them to wage jihad under the banner of the Messenger, Allah bless him and grant him peace. The youths, however, were all against their father carrying out his resolve. He was already quite old and was extremely weak.

“Father,” they said, “surely God has excused you. So why do you take this burden on yourself?”

The old man became quite angry and went straight away to the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace. to complain about his sons: “O Rasulullah! My sons here want to keep me away from this source of goodness arguing that I am old and decrepit. By Allah, I long to attain Paradise this way even though I am old and infirm.”

“Let him,” said the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, to his sons. “Perhaps Allah, the Mighty and the Great, will grant him martyrdom.”

Soon it was time to go out to battle. Amr bade farewell to his wife, Hind, turned to the qiblah and prayed: “O Lord, grant me martyrdom and don’t send me back to my family with my hopes dashed.” He set out in the company of his three sons and a large contingent from his tribe, the Banu Salamah.

As the battle raged, Amr could be seen moving in the front ranks, jumping on his good leg (his other leg was partially lame), and shouting, “I desire Paradise, I desire Paradise.”

His son Khallad remained closely behind him and they both fought courageously in defense of the Prophet while many other Muslims deserted in pursuit of booty. Father and son fell on the battlefield and died within moments of each other.

There was a rumor that the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, was killed at the battle in Uhud. News came to Hind that her son and her husband were martyred. She asked about the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace. Again she was told about her husband's and her son's martyrdom. And again she asked about the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, as if she didn't hear the news of her martyred family. When they said that the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, was alive, only then she could hear what the people said about her husband and son and she said inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un (to Allah we belong and to Him is our return).

These were the parents of Muadh, Muawwadh and Khallad, the 3 righteous children of Ansar. Righteous children don't come from thin air. They don't become righteous with "I hope my children become righteous" or by giving them all the best tools or sending them to the best Islamic schools/colleges, but you don't follow the sunnah of the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace. Righteous children come from good role models. Our job is to be their good role models. We need to be like Amr and his wife Hind. It is not about killing the kuffar but it is about the love of the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, and killing the Abu Jahl (the father of ignorance) in us and in them, which is the ignorance of the person and the ignorance of the teachings of the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and grant him peace.

It is very important to fill the hearts of our children with the love of the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, because without that love, they cannot taste the sweetness of this faith and worship of Allah. But it can be very difficult to do this without mutual support of both partners in marriage who should live by the sunnah of the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, and the guidance of Islam. Our deeds are of value when proceed from love, love of Allah Most High. And that love translates in our actions of following His Messenger, Allah bless him and grant him peace, supporting and protecting the Shari'ah.

So, we should fix our relationship with Allah by marrying for Allah, and raising our children to love Allah and His Messenger, Allah bless him and grant him peace. For those who are thinking about marriage, they should think ahead when choosing a spouse. One should choose a righteous and Godfearing mother/father for their children. One should teach one's children to choose a good spouse, the mother/father for their children so their children can have the best environment to grow up in, learning about their Creator and their responsibilities in life.

It is also vitally important for our children to have the right companions. It is not enough to have the right father and the right mother, we have to make sure that our children have the right friends, those who love the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, and protecting what he brought.

Remember Allah says,

ٱلْخَبِيثَـٰتُ لِلْخَبِيثِينَ وَٱلْخَبِيثُونَ لِلْخَبِيثَـٰتِ ۖ وَٱلطَّيِّبَـٰتُ لِلطَّيِّبِينَ وَٱلطَّيِّبُونَ لِلطَّيِّبَـٰتِ ۚ أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ مُبَرَّءُونَ مِمَّا يَقُولُونَ ۖ لَهُم مَّغْفِرَةٌ وَرِزْقٌ كَرِيمٌ ﴿٢٦

Corrupt women for corrupt men, and corrupt men for corrupt women; good women for good men, and good men for good women -- these are declared quit of what they say; theirs shall be forgiveness and generous provision. Qur'a An-Nur 24:26

May Allah guide us and give us tawfiq. Ameen. Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.

And Allah knows best.
Wassalaaam