Killing the child, saving the Faith
The
Limits set by Allah
Allah has set limits
and boundaries for us as Muslims. Every person who has reached the age of
puberty and is sane is required to follow these laws. Parents and teachers play
a crucial role in the upbringing, development and education of the child.
Parents play a greater role, especially these days, in that they choose (and/or
pay fees towards) the schools and other recreational activities. In making
these decisions, do parents abdicate responsibility or are the accessories to
their children breaking the laws of Allah and, in turn, themselves breaking the
law. How do our children impact us and our relationship with Allah.
Allah
sparing the parents
فَانْطَلَقَا
حَتَّى إِذَا لَقِيَا غُلاَمًا فَقَتَلَهُ قَالَ أَقَتَلْتَ نَفْسًا زَكِيَّةً
بِغَيْرِ نَفْسٍ لَّقَدْ جِئْتَ شَيْئاً نُّكْراً
Then they
both proceeded till they met a boy, and he (Khidr) killed him. Musa said:
"Have you killed an innocent person without Nafs Verily, you have
committed a thing Nukr!'' [Quran 18:74]
Ibn
Katheer tafsir: Then
they both proceeded,) means, after the first incident, (till they met a boy,
and he (Khidr) killed him.) It has been stated previously that this boy was
playing with other boys in one of the towns, and that Al-Khidr deliberately
singled him out. He was the finest and most handsome of them all, and Al-Khidr
killed him. When Musa, peace be upon him, saw that he denounced him even more
fervently than in the first case, and said hastily:
(Have you killed an
innocent person) meaning, a young person who had not yet committed any sin or
done anything wrong, yet you killed him (without Nafs) with no reason for killing
him. (Verily, you have committed a thing Nukr!) meaning, something that is
clearly evil.
وَأَمَّا
الْغُلَـمُ فَكَانَ أَبَوَاهُ مُؤْمِنَيْنِ فَخَشِينَآ أَن يُرْهِقَهُمَا
طُغْيَـناً وَكُفْراً - فَأَرَدْنَآ أَن يُبْدِلَهُمَا
رَبُّهُمَا خَيْراً مِّنْهُ
زَكَـوةً وَأَقْرَبَ رُحْماً
"And as for the
boy, his parents were believers, and we feared he would oppress them by
rebellion and disbelief.''.. "So we intended that their Lord should
exchange him for them for one better in righteousness and nearer to mercy.' [Quran
18:80-81]
The general
understanding is that this boy would have been the reason his parents were
doomed. His death was a means to save his parents and this boy was replaced
with a son who was righteous.
Allah
mercy on us
Many of us read
Quran and especially Surah Kahf on a Friday. How many of us ponder on its
meaning and relate it to our own lives? Crime, vice, promiscuity and general
decline in morals have become the order of the day. There is no doubt that this
situation has not come about overnight. There has been a steady decline until
about when we became parents or just before then.
Our parents and us
are fortunate that, right at this moment, Allah has not removed His mercy from
us and thus we are still Muslim, we still have eemaan (faith). While we are
alive, we have not yet completed our test on this earth and so we need to
continue to strive in His path in order to gain His love and Mercy. We have
become parents now and we must leave a legacy that will count for us or against
us in the Hereafter - May Allah protect us and guide us always.
Children make huge
demands on parents, with peer pressure, non-stop advertising, social media and
society in general. It is a time when parents are seeking ways to keep the
family happy. Parents, both mothers and fathers, work long hours and undergo
huge stress to give their families a comfortable life. Taking all of this into
consideration, not much focus, if any, is on the hereafter. So what will be our
state on the Day of Reckoning? Nay, what will be our state when we die or even
while we are actually still living? Children have been given virtually free
reign to do as they please with little or no emphasis on religion and, sadly,
when religion does play a role, it likely has
shortcomings because neither parent nor child has sufficient knowledge of
the religion. Thus, are we sinning by raising kids and/or are our kids leading
us to sin because of their demands and lifestyle and the huge pressures under
which they are being put? Is there a chance they may apostate and/or lead us
that way - We pray Allah protects them and ourselves. But the door to our
destruction has been opened. Will we allow Sayyidina Khidr (as per the story in
Surah Kahf) to kill our child because that child may lead us to our doom?
Until we
meet Allah
We ought to live
with the maxim and understanding that "from Allah do we come and to Him we
shall return" and pray that that will be a constant reminder of our meeting
with Allah. Surely we wish to meet Him while He is satisfied with us. His
satisfaction is premised on our love for Him and that love must surpass all
else, even that of our children. Thus, instead of our love being fixated only
on them and this love being short-term, let us draw them close to Allah while
we ourselves are drawing closer to Allah. Do not let our love for them make us
losers. Do not let our love for them be such that only their physical death (at
a young age) can make us return to Allah. We must be strong in teaching, in
guiding, in persevering for the sake of Allah. We do not know what tomorrow
holds.
وَأَمَّا
الْغُلَـمُ فَكَانَ أَبَوَاهُ مُؤْمِنَيْنِ فَخَشِينَآ أَن يُرْهِقَهُمَا
طُغْيَـناً وَكُفْراً
"And as for the
boy, his parents were believers, and we feared he would oppress them by
rebellion and disbelief.'' [Quran
18:80]
We encourage our
children, or we allow them, giving them free licence to commit sin - be it
dress-code, negligence of prayer, social circles, etc. We often say things like
"what can we do, all the kids are doing it" and "they are still kids ....". One
wonders whether we can believe these words because it smacks of arrogance -
arrogance because we have forgotten that Allah is the Giver and Taker of life,
that Allah is the One who guides.
Our
responsibility
The following words
of our illustrious leader, Muhammad ﷺ serves as a reminder of our responsibility.
It was narrated that ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Umar said: I heard
the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say: “Each
of you is a shepherd and each of you is responsible for his flock. The ruler is
a shepherd and is responsible for his flock. A man is the shepherd of his
family and is responsible for his flock. A woman is the shepherd of her
husband’s household and is responsible for her flock. A servant is the shepherd
of his master’s wealth and is responsible for his flock.” He said: and I think
he said, “A man is the shepherd of his father’s wealth and is responsible for
his flock. Each of you is a shepherd and is responsible for his flock.”
Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 583; Muslim, 1829.
Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 583; Muslim, 1829.
The child, mentioned
in Surah Kahf, was on a bad path, a path of doom and he was likely to take his
parents on that path. Allah Almighty saved them, and after the boy's death,
Allah blessed the parents with a pious child. What dua are we making for our
children? Are we making a dua for destruction because we have effectively given
them a loaded gun or are we making dua for guidance and placing the Quran in
their hands and hearts. It is our responsibility! It is our responsibility.
We pray Allah showers
us with His mercy and guides and protects us all and our children.
#justinbieber #music #alcohol #drugs #dancing #rave
