CHAPTER 5: YOUNGSTERS – PART 1
How the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, treated youngsters
Introduction:
Just like the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, safeguarded the rights of the elderly, he, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, safeguarded the rights of the young as well. He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, recognised them as being weak and vulnerable and in need of greater care. He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, advised the young of the Muslim society, who will be tomorrow’s elderly, to honor the elders. Applying this Prophetic advice helps bridge the gap between generations and spreads an atmosphere of love and understanding between the young and the old.
The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, accorded children great importance and encouraged people to be exceedingly merciful and kind to them. He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “He is not one of us, he who does not show mercy towards youngsters.”(Reported by At-Tirmidhi (1920).)
He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, chose names with good meanings:
Sahl ibn Sa’d (a Companion) reported that Al-Munthir ibn Abu Usayd (a Companion) was brought to the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, at the time of his birth. The Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, placed him on his thigh and Abu Usayd (a Companion) kept sitting there. The Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, had been occupied with something else before him. Abu Usayd commanded his child to be lifted from the lap of the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and so he was lifted. When the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, finished the work (and noticed that they had taken the child away) he, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, asked: “Where is the child?” Abu Usayd said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, we took him away.’ He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “What is his name?” He said; ‘O Messenger of Allah, it is so and so’, whereupon he (the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said: “No, his name is Munthir”, and named him Munthir on that day. (Reported by Al-Bukhari (6191) and Muslim (2149).)
An-Nawawi (a scholar) said: “The reason he, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, gave him this name is because his father’s cousin’s name was Al-Munthir ibn ‘Amr, and was martyred during the battle of Bi’r Ma’oonah, and he was the leader of the Muslim forces then. So he, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, gave him this name in hope that he would follow in his footsteps.”(The explanation of An-Nawawi on the book of Muslim (128/14).)
He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, seated them in his lap and he was tolerant with them:
‘Aa’ishah reported: “A suckling baby was brought to the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, who took him in his lap to do Tahneek (Tahneek means to chew on a date or something similar, then to wipe it on the palate of the child. If it is done without dates it is fine, but to use a date is better, for its sweetness is very beneficial to the baby.) and supplicate Allah to bless him. The child urinated on him, so he, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, asked for water and poured it over the place he urinated in his lap.”(Reported by Al-Bukhari (5468) and Muslim (286).)
Umm Qays bint Mihsan (a woman Companion) narrated: “I came to the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, with my child who was not yet weaned, and I placed him in his lap; and he urinated in his (the Prophet’s) lap. He (the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) did nothing more than spraying water over it.” (Reported by Al-Bukhari (223) and Muslim (287).)
Ibn Hajar (a scholar) said: “This narration shows that it is recommended to be tolerant with children and tolerate their actions because they cannot distinguish good from bad.” (Fat-h Al-Baari (434/10).)
He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, played with them:
Umm Khaalid bint Khaalid (a woman Companion) narrated: “The Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, was brought some clothes, amongst them was a woollen striped black garment. He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “Whom do you think we should dress this garment with?” The people kept silent whereupon he, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “Bring Umm Khaalid to me.” So they brought me to him and he dressed me with it with his own hands, and then he looked at the striped garment and pointed to me and said: “O Umm Khalid, this is Sana, O Umm Khalid, this is Sana.” Sana means good (or nice) in Abyssinian.”(Reported by Al-Bukhari (5845).)
Umm Khaalid bint Khaalid was with her parents when they migrated to Abyssinia, and that is why he joked with her in Abyssinian.
Anas ibn Maalik (a Companion) narrated: “The Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, used to play around with Zaynab bint Umm Salamah (a woman Companion) and say: “O Zaynoob, O Zaynoob.” (saying her name in a playful manner) many times.”(Reported by Adh-Dhiya’ in his book Al-Mukhtarah (1733).)
Mahmood ibn Ar-Rabee’ (a Companion) narrated: “I remember that the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, splashed some water on my face from his mouth when I was five years of age which he took from a bucket.”(Reported by Al-Bukhari (77).)
He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, did so as a way to play with him.
Anas ibn Maalik narrated: “The Prophet sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam used to joke with us; he would call out to my young brother: “O Abu ‘Umayr! [a playful nickname], what happened to An-Nughayr [a bird that he used to keep as a pet]?””(Reported by Al-Bukhari (6203) and Muslim (2150).)
Anas ibn Maalik narrated: “The Prophet sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, used to play around with me and call me: “O you with two ears.””(Reported by Abu Dawood (5002) and At-Tirmidhi (1992).)
He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, would let children race to him:
He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, would make many children from the family of Al-‘Abbas (‘Abdullaah, ‘Ubaydullaah and others) stand in a row and then say to them: “The one who wins running towards me will get such and such.” So they would race and land on his lap and jump on his back, and he, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, would start flipping them over and playing with them. (Reported by Ahmad (1839).)
He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, greeted them whenever he passed by them:
Anas ibn Maalik narrated: “The Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, passed by two children playing and greeted them with Salaam (saying Assalamu ‘Alaikum).” (Reported by Al-Bukhari (6247), Muslim (2168) and Abu Dawood (5202).)
Anas ibn Maalik narrated: “The Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, passed by me while I was playing with other children and greeted us with Salaam.”(Reported by Muslim (2482).)
The Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, would do this just to bring joy to the hearts of these children and give them an emotional and psychological boost to get them used to conversing with elders. This also helped them break the barrier of fear that youngsters usually have when dealing with elders, which shows great wisdom on the part of the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.
He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, would stroke their heads affectionately:
He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, would play with children and stroke their heads with his hand which would make them feel his compassion and tenderness.
Anas ibn Maalik narrated: “The Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, used to visit the Ansaar [the original residence of Madinah]. Whenever he reached their homes, children would go to him, surround him and run around him. He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, would greet them with Salaam, stroke their heads and supplicate Allah for them.”(Reported by An-Nasa’i (2985) and At-Tahawi in his book Sharh Al-Mushkil (2985).)
‘Abdullaah ibn Hishaam (a Companion) narrated: “My mother, Zaynab bint Humayd, took me to the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, take the pledge of allegiance from him.’ He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “He is still young” then stroked my head and supplicated Allah for me.”(Reported by Al-Bukhari (2502).)
He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, would pass his hand over their cheeks tenderly:
Jaabir ibn Samurah (a Companion) narrated: “One day I prayed the dawn prayer with the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. After the prayer, he went out to visit some of his relatives and I accompanied him. As he was walking, he came across some young children and started holding both their cheeks with his hands and wiped over them one by one. He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, also wiped my cheeks and I felt coolness (and a nice smell) from his hands as if he had just taken them out of perfume container (which the perfume seller uses to mix oil perfumes in).”(Reported by Muslim (2329).)
An-Nawawi said: “Wiping their cheeks reflects his noble manners and his compassion and tenderness towards children.”(The explanation of An-Nawawi on the book of Muslim (85/15).)
By Muhammad Saalih Al-Munajjid
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