UNITY

Bismillah. More from Imam Bukhari’s Al-Adab Al-Mufrad (Prophetic Teachings on Morals & Character), nos. 143-148.

As I write these lines, I think of the friend whose mum buried eight infant children before she was blessed with healthy offspring. These teachings have especially been important for most parts of the world and periods of history when infant-mortality rates have been high.

The teachings also apply, albeit partially, to miscarriages, foetuses that die in the womb and stillborn babies.
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ISLAMIC TRADITIONS ABOUT THE LOSS OF CHILDREN

Abraham was ready to sacrifice his son, Ishmael. [1]

“If a submitter to God loses three children, the Fire will not touch him or her.” – The Prophet, peace be upon him. [2]

A woman came to The Prophet, peace be upon him, with a small child: “Please pray for him,” she requested, “for I have already buried three children.” He replied, “You have built a thick wall protecting you from the Fire.” [3]

Khalid al-Absi [4] lost a son, and was extremely distressed about it. He asked Abu Hurayrah, “Did you hear anything from The Prophet, peace be upon him, that may console our souls about our dead?” He replied that he had heard The Prophet, peace be upon him, saying, “Your young ones will lead you by the hand into the Garden.” [3]

NOTES

[1] Qur’an, Surah al-Saffat (Those Arranged in Ranks), 37:101-113. Note that a minority of Islamic scholars held that the son concerned was Isaac. There is even a fabricated (mawdu’) hadith saying this, “Al-dhabihu Ishaq [The one to be sacrificed was Isaac].” (Silsilah al-Da’ifah by Albani)

On the other hand, some Judaeo-Christian sources accept that the son concerned was indeed Ishmael. At Norfolk House Preparatory School in London that had a strong Anglican ethos, we studied a textbook called “The Patriarchs” in Scripture lessons: this named Ishmael as the one to be sacrificed in this story.

[2] Also in Sahih al-Bukhari & Sahih Muslim

[3] Also in Sahih Muslim

[4] A disciple of the Companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him)

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[tags: Islam, Hadith, Children, Death, infant-mortality, child-mortality, Muhammad]

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