Muhammad (Peace be Upon Him) – an Infinite Source of Light!
He was a man who would never curse even his deadly enemies. He has set an example of a character you can never find in the entire history of humanity.
And when it comes to his treatment towards children, one only expects kindness, gentleness, and unconditional love. Indeed, Muhammad (PBUH) was ultimately loving towards kids. Be it, children, from his family or friends, it made no difference to him.
For example:
- Whenever children came towards him, he used to pick them up in his arms and caress them with love
- At times, he used to put his tongue out playfully, and the kid near him would become excited
- He used to stroke their heads and made loving prayers for them
- When he used to lie down, he made the child sit on his chest or his feet
Apart from this general behavior, we find numerous examples in his life when he had been exceptionally kind towards children. Some of these incidents are listed below:
Interaction with the Bedouins
In many of his teachings, Prophet Muhammad (Peace be Upon Him) emphasized the importance of teaching children with kindness and compassion.
Hazrat Aisha (RA) reports that “Some Bedouin people came to the Prophet (Peace be Upon Him) and said: ‘Do you kiss your children?’ He said: ‘Yes.’ [The Bedouin] said: ‘But we, by Allah, never kiss (our children).’ The Prophet (Peace be Upon Him) said: ‘What can I do if Allah has taken away mercy from you?’”
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Sunan ibn Majah
Treatment to the Slave Kid – Anas bin Malik (RA)
Slavery, at that time, was quite common in the Arabian society. Our beloved Prophet (Peace be Upon Him) has Anas bin Malik (RA) as his servant for ten years. He was the personal servant of Muhammad (PBUH) and served him till his death.
The devoted companion later stated that “I served the Prophet (Peace be Upon Him) at Medina for ten years. I was a boy. Every work that I did was not according to the desire of my master, but he never said to me: Uff, nor did he say to me: Why did you do this? or Why did you not do this?”
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Sunan Abi Dawud
Reflection: How do we treat our house help or those inferior to us? How do we react when they make a mistake?
Praised the Kids
Kids, like adults, also have sensitive self-esteem. They do not like it when someone insults or ridicules them in front of everyone. On the contrary, they love it when adults praise them and talk good of them.
A companion among the believing women called Umm Khaled narrates an incident happened to her during her childhood she still remembers. She says: “I came to the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) with my father, and I had a yellow dress on me.
The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said “Sanah, Sanah” (Sanah means nice in Ethiopian language), she said “then I went to play with the ring of the Prophet whereupon my father stopped me” then the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said “leave her” then he said to me “Wear out and consume, wear out and consume, wear out and consume (he was supplicating for her to wear more clothes and consume).”
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Bukhari
Reflection: How often do we praise our kids or children around us? We think there is no point in praising them, so we never do it!
Allowed the Kids to Behave Childishly
There is one other famous incident. The Prophet (Peace be Upon Him) was leading the prayer. He had made the prostration extra long, and only after the prayer was completed did the congregants realize why. His grandson had actually climbed on his back while he was in the prostration and order not to disturb him, the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) waited until he was done to rise from the prostration.
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Sunan an-Nasa’i
Reflection: What do we do if kids climb on our backs or do not let us pray? We push them away, harshly!
This is an excellent lesson for us. Children may sometimes behave irrationally. They talk about things that do not make any sense. They may make it difficult for you to carry out your routine tasks. However, this certainly doesn’t allow you to be rude towards them or scold them.
Final Thoughts
Those tiny souls will not stay little for long. You must incorporate teachings of our beloved Prophet Muhammad (Peace be Upon Him) in your tarbiyah. And when you begin following the best example, there is very little chance for your children to turn out bad people. Right?
In the end, it is not only your kids or children in your family that should be treated the Muhammad way. It is for every child you interact with! Show them mercy, love, respect, and trust. Insha’Allah, the Almighty will reward you for it. After all, you are following the Sunnah of His Beloved.
