A summary of the life of the Salaf between words and deeds | Episode (50) | The ancestors’ care for children - Part Two

0:00 In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

0:04 The life of the salaf between speech and action.

0:12 The concern of the salaf for their children.

0:16 Their encouragement of them and their refusal to belittle them.

0:20 One day, Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, said to the Companions of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him:

0:27 "What do you think this verse was revealed about?"

0:30 “Would any of you like to have a garden of palm-trees and vines, with rivers flowing underneath it, with all kinds of fruit for him therein; and old age hath stricken him and he hath feeble offspring; and a fiery whirlwind striketh it and it is (all) consumed by fire. Thus Allah maketh plain His revelations unto you, in order that ye may give thought.” (2:266)

0:34 They replied, "Allah knows best."

0:37 Umar became angry.

0:39 He said, "Say 'we know' or 'we do not know'."

0:44 Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said:

0:47 "I have something in my mind regarding it, O Commander of the Faithful."

0:51 Umar said, "O my brother, speak and do not belittle yourself."

0:56 Ibn Abbas said, "I have struck a parable for an action."

1:00 Umar asked, "What action?"

1:03 Ibn Abbas replied, "For an action."

1:06 Umar asked, "For a wealthy man?"

1:09 "Who acts in obedience to Allah, the Almighty and Majestic," Ibn Abbas said.

1:12 "Then Allah sends the devil to him."

1:15 "So he commits sins until he drowns his deeds."

1:19 Regarding Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, he said:

1:24 "Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, used to include me with the elders of Badr."

1:29 Some of them said:

1:31 "Why do you bring this youth in with us when we have sons like him?"

1:36 He replied, "He is of those whom you know."

1:40 He said, "So he called them one day and called me with them."

1:45 He said, "I do not think he called me that day,"

1:49 "except to show them what I knew."

1:52 He asked, "What do you say about [the verse]..."

1:55 “When Allah's succour and the triumph cometh” (110:1)

1:58 “And thou seest mankind entering the religion of Allah in troops,” (110:2)

2:03 ...until he finished the surah.

2:05 Some of them said:

2:07 "We are commanded to praise Allah and seek His forgiveness when He grants us victory and opens [the lands] for us."

2:13 Others said:

2:15 "We do not know," or some of them said nothing.

2:19 Then he said to me:

2:21 "O Ibn Abbas, is that your view?"

2:24 I said, "No."

2:26 He asked, "Then what do you say?"

2:29 I said, "It is the term of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him."

2:34 "Allah informed him of it."

2:36 "When the victory of Allah and the conquest—the conquest of Makkah—comes,"

2:41 "that is the sign of your term."

2:43 “Then hymn the praises of thy Lord, and seek forgiveness of Him. Lo! He is ever ready to show mercy.” (110:3)

2:46 "Indeed, He is ever Accepting of repentance."

2:49 Umar said:

2:51 "I know nothing of it other than what you know."

2:56 Yusuf Ibn al-Majishun said:

2:59 Ibn Shihab, may Allah have mercy on him, said to us:

3:02 "I, my nephew, and my cousin,"

3:05 "while we were young boys,"

3:07 "would ask him about hadith."

3:10 "Do not belittle yourselves because of your youth."

3:14 "For Umar Ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him,"

3:18 "whenever a difficult matter befell him,"

3:21 "would call the young men and consult them."

3:25 Justice between them.

3:30 Ibrahim, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

3:34 "They used to like to treat their children equally,"

3:38 "even in kissing them."

3:41 And from Umar Ibn Abd al-Aziz, may Allah have mercy on him:

3:44 That he embraced a son of his whom he loved.

3:47 He said, "O so-and-so,"

3:50 "By Allah, I truly love you,"

3:53 "but I cannot favor you over your brother with even a morsel."

3:59 Al-Hasan, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

4:02 "If a teacher does not treat the children equally,"

4:05 "he is recorded among the oppressors."

4:10 Marrying off sons and daughters.

4:14 Asma Bint Abi Bakr, may Allah be pleased with her, said:

4:18 "Marriage is a form of bondage,"

4:21 "so let one of you look at where he places his freedwoman."

4:24 Sa'id Ibn al-'As, may Allah be pleased with him, said:

4:28 "If I teach my child the Qur'an,"

4:31 "have him perform Hajj, and marry him off,"

4:34 "then I have fulfilled his right,"

4:37 "and my right upon him remains."

4:40 A man said to al-Hasan, may Allah have mercy on him:

4:43 "I have a young daughter, and she is being sought for marriage."

4:46 "To whom should I marry her?"

4:49 He replied, "Marry her to one who fears Allah."

4:52 "For if he loves her, he will honor her,"

4:55 "and if he dislikes her, he will not oppress her."

4:58 Showing them affection and love.

5:04 And playing with them.

5:07 Al-Bara' Ibn 'Azib, may Allah be pleased with him, said:

5:10 "I entered with Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him,"

5:13 "when he first arrived in Madinah."

5:16 "And there was 'A'ishah, his daughter, may Allah be pleased with her,"

5:19 "lying down, having been struck by a fever."

5:22 Abu Bakr came to her and said to her:

5:25 "How are you, my daughter?"

5:28 And he kissed her cheek.

5:31 'Uqbah Ibn al-Harith said:

5:35 "I went out with Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him,"

5:38 "after the 'Asr prayer,"

5:41 "a few nights after the death of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,"

5:44 "and 'Ali, may Allah be pleased with him,"

5:47 "was walking beside him."

5:51 He was playing with some boys.

5:54 He carried him on his neck while saying:

5:57 "By my father, he resembles the Prophet,"

6:00 "he does not resemble 'Ali."

6:03 He said, "And 'Ali was laughing."

6:06 Ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, used to:

6:09 When he met his son Salim, kiss him and say:

6:12 "An old man kissing an old man."

6:16 And from Abu Wa'ilah:

6:19 He felt a sense of resentment toward his son Yazid.

6:22 He stayed awake all night because of it.

6:25 When morning came,

6:28 he sent for al-Ahnaf Ibn Qays, may Allah have mercy on him.

6:31 He came to him, and when he entered,

6:34 he said to him, "O Abu Bahr,"

6:37 "how is your satisfaction with your child?"

6:40 "And what do you say about children?"

6:43 He said, "I said to myself,"

6:46 "The Commander of the Faithful is not asking about this,"

6:49 "except for a resentment he feels toward Yazid."

6:52 "So words came to me,"

6:55 "that if I had spent a year polishing them,"

6:58 "I would have done well."

7:01 "I said, 'O Commander of the Faithful,'"

7:04 "'they are the fruits of our hearts,'"

7:07 "'and the pillars of our backs.'"

7:10 "'We are for them a humble earth.'"

7:13 "'O Commander of the Faithful, be humble toward them,'"

7:16 "'and if they ask of you, give to them.'"

7:19 "'They will give you their pure love,'"

7:22 "'and show you their utmost kindness.'"

7:25 "'Do not be a burden upon them,'"

7:28 "'giving them only a pittance,'"

7:31 "'lest they grow weary of your life and hate your presence.'"

7:34 He said, "May Allah reward you, O Ahnaf."

7:37 "By Allah, I only sent for you,"

7:41 "because you have extracted the malice from my heart."

7:44 Some of the salaf, may Allah have mercy on them, said:

7:47 "Be dutiful to your child,"

7:50 "for it is more likely that he will be dutiful to you."

7:53 "And whoever wishes, let him be undutiful to his child."

7:56 Greeting children with peace.

8:01 From 'Uthman, from Ibrahim, he said:

8:05 "I saw Ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with him,"

8:08 "passing by us while we were children."

8:12 And Thabit al-Bunani,

8:16 may Allah have mercy on him, passed by some children,

8:19 and he greeted them with peace.

8:22 Thabit narrated that he used to

8:25 walk with Anas, may Allah be pleased with him,

8:28 and he passed by some children and greeted them.

8:31 And Anas narrated that he used to

8:34 walk with the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,

8:37 and he passed by some children and greeted them.

8:42 Playing with children and the allowance for their games.

8:45 From al-Hasan, may Allah have mercy on him:

8:49 That he entered his house,

8:52 and children were playing on top of the house.

8:55 A man with him forbade them,

8:58 but al-Hasan said, "Leave them,"

9:01 "for play is their springtime."

9:05 And Ibrahim al-Nakha'i, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

9:08 "They used to permit children all kinds of play,"

9:11 "except with dogs."

9:15 Caring for orphans and disciplining them.

9:18 From Abu al-Darda', may Allah be pleased with him, who said:

9:23 "Fear the tear of the orphan,"

9:26 "and the supplication of the oppressed,"

9:29 "for they travel by night while people are asleep."

9:32 It was said to Ibn Sirin, may Allah have mercy on him:

9:35 "I have an orphan."

9:38 He said, "Do for him what you do for your own child."

9:41 "Discipline him as you discipline your own child."

9:44 And from Farqad al-Sabakhi, may Allah have mercy on him, who said:

9:48 "There is no table created,"

9:51 "of greater honor than a table,"

9:54 "at which an orphan is fed."

9:59 Other benefits: Ibn Abbas,

10:03 may Allah be pleased with them both, said regarding the saying of Allah the Almighty:

10:06 ﴾And those who believed﴿

10:09 ﴾and whose descendants followed them in faith﴿

10:13 He said:

10:16 "The believer’s descendants will be raised to his level,"

10:19 "even if they are lower than him in deeds,"

10:22 "so that Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, may gladden his eyes with them."

10:25 He also said, may Allah be pleased with him,

10:28 regarding the saying of Allah the Almighty:

10:31 ﴾And those who say, "Our Lord, grant us..."﴿

10:34 “And who say: Our Lord! Vouchsafe us comfort of our wives and of our offspring, and make us patterns for (all) those who ward off (evil).” (25:74)

10:37 "...the coolness of eyes. It does not mean,"

10:40 "the coolness of eyes is to see them healthy,"

10:43 "or beautiful, but rather to see them,"

10:46 "obedient to Allah, the Almighty and Majestic."

10:49 Al-Hasan al-Basri, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

10:53 Regarding the saying of Allah the Almighty, "Grant us..."

10:56 “And who say: Our Lord! Vouchsafe us comfort of our wives and of our offspring, and make us patterns for (all) those who ward off (evil).” (25:74)

10:59 "...coolness of eyes in the obedience of Allah."

11:02 "And there is nothing more cooling to the eye of the believer,"

11:05 "than to see his loved one in obedience."

11:09 Malik Ibn Dinar, may Allah have mercy on him, saw:

11:12 A man performing his prayer poorly.

11:15 He said, "How merciful I am toward his family."

11:18 It was said to him, "This man performs his prayer poorly,"

11:21 "and you show mercy to his family?"

11:24 He said that he is their elder.

11:27 And from him they learn.

11:31 Ayyub al-Sakhtiyani, may Allah have mercy on him, used to—

11:34 when congratulating someone on a newborn—say:

11:37 May Allah make him a blessing for you,

11:40 and for the Ummah of Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.

A summary of the life of the Salaf between words and deeds | Episode (50) | The ancestors’ care for children - Part Two

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