CARE FOR CHILDREN IS A RELIGIOUS OBLIGATION

All praise is due to Allah the lord of the world. I bear witness that none has the right to be worshipped except Allah, and i bear witness that Muhammad is a messenger and servant of Allah. May the peace and blessing of Allah be upon him, his household, companions and those who follow him with rightness to the day of resurrection.

O servants of Allah! I urge you to fear Allah secretly and publicly, preserve trusts and honesty, for a servant will be accounted and questioned about them on the day of resurrection.

Among the essential trusts we are given and entrusted with are our children whose responsibilities are on our necks. If any evil or bad thing such as sickness or disease affects or befalls them, our minds will not be at rest until we do everything possible within our abilities to find a way of curing them and preventing them from such to happen in the future.

Islam has really shown concern for the children right from the wombs of their mothers. For instance, if a pregnant woman finds it difficult to fast in the month of Ramadan or fears for her fetus (unborn baby), in this case, the Shariah (Islamic law) permits her to break the fast and temporarily abandon it until she delivers the baby. Likewise, the case of a breastfeeding mother.

Furthermore, even the younger ones of animals, Islam prohibits maltreating them and orders to extend care and compassion to them as well as contained in the hadith reported by Abu Dawood, authenticated by Al- Imam Al-Albany on the authority of Ibn Masud (may Allah be pleased with him) who said: We were with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) in a journey when he drew apart (to relieve nature). In his absence, we saw a red bird which had two young ones with it. We caught them and the red mother bird came, beating the earth with its wings. In the meantime the Prophet (ﷺ) returned and said, “Who has put this bird to distress on account of its young? Return them to her.”(Recorded by Abu Dawood).

O servants of Allah! Let’s make it known to our wives and mothers that Allah has made it Compulsory on them to breastfeed their babies so as to keep them healthy all times. He has made it Compulsory on us the fathers as well to provide all the basic things our women need to take care of themselves and our children, such as food, shelter, clothes, etc.

Allah says;

“The mothers shall give suck to their children for two whole years, (that is) for those (parents) who desire to complete the term of suckling, but the father of the child shall bear the cost of the mother’s food and clothing on a reasonable basis. No person shall have a burden laid on him greater than he can bear. No mother shall be treated unfairly on account of her child, nor father on account of his child. And on the (father’s) heir is incumbent the like of that (which was incumbent on the father). If they both decide on weaning, by mutual consent, and after due consultation, there is no sin on them. And if you decide on a foster suckling-mother for your children, there is no sin on you, provided you pay (the mother) what you agreed (to give her) on reasonable basis. And fear Allah and know that Allah is All-Seer of what you do”(Quran 2:233).

Therefore a mother should refuse not to breastfeed her baby as the father as well should harm not his child by refusing to provide for the family.

Narrated Anas : the Prophet used to visit the children, greet them(by saying  Assalamu Alaikum), and wipe over their heads with his hand.

O servants of Allah! Let not the guardians oppress their wards nor consume their wealth if they are orphans, for Allah is there observing and watching over every oppressor.

O fathers and mothers! Exaggeration in punishing our children by burning them with fire, or beating them with a very sharp object is greatly an injustice, manifest transgression and a grievous sin indeed. Perhaps, the oppressed innocent child may likely pray or cause anyone who has oppressed him in any way or the other of whom you May be. And the prayers of the oppressed are quickly accepted as said by the Prophet. This is the prayer of an adult who has attained puberty, how much of a small innocent boy who has no single sin recorded for him.

Finally, it is compulsory on muslims in Nigeria to take serious actions and stand against what is becoming rampant in the country today of children kidnapping, trafficking, slavery and taking them from one place to the other especially from the north to the south as to change their religion. The examples of this are seen and heard in the recent news of the country.

The question now is:” what have you contributed, and what will you contribute to fight against this? For the Prophet said:” everyone is a shepherd and is responsible for his flock” (reported by Muslim).

May Allah purify our souls, preserve us and our children. “Our Lord! Bestow on us from our wives and our offspring who will be the comfort of our eyes, and make us leaders for the Muttaqun”(Quran 25:74).