Those who are Parents

Mahfuz and Nusaiba, a newlywed couple of 1 year and 6 months, are sitting in the chamber of Dr. Shamsunnahar, a renowned gynecologist of the country. An ultrasnography report in the hands of Dr. Shamsunnahar. After looking at the report, a smile appeared on his face. He looked at Nusaiba and said,"You are going to be a mother, In sha Allah. You are 6 weeks pregnant". Mahfuz-Nusiaba once exchanged glances with strong love and contenment in sight. How many days their dream is going to be fulfilled! How many prayers, how many cries and pleas, this child!

Time went on at its own pace. The child in Nusaiba's womb grows little by little. Even after loss of appetite, weakness, discomfort, illness, Nusaiba does not seem to have any problem. When Mahfuz returned home at night after office hours, the two of them started weaving a web of dreams of different colors with their unborn child. Only God and they know how many hundreds of plans they have already made! Speaking of the firsr child. They have also decided what to name. Ahnaf if boy, Abida if girl.

On the 282nd day, labor pains became nuisance. Mahfuz took him to the next clinic. After unbearable suffering, Nusaiba gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. Nusiaba was still lost in severe labor pains. The nurse laid the baby Ahnaf next to Nusaiba. Just a glance at Nusaiba saw his absolutely adorable heart-wrenching treasure. Instantly the heart was filled with peace. Forgetting all the pain, the impression of absolute relief appeared on his face. Mahfuz was informed. He shouted happily and ran away saying "Alhamdulillah". His baby is so cute! Without delay, Mahfuz gave Azan in one ear and Iqamah in other. He drew a deep kiss on his wife's forehead and said,"Thanks for giving me the greatest gift of my life". And outside grandparents, they are flooded with happiness. Nana (Nusaiba's father) and Dada (Mahfuz's father) two of them together, offered two rak'ats of Nalf prayers from the clinic. Grandmothers are calling all their relatives, neighbours to give happy news. The little uncle left to order two ounces of sweets. Speaking first lamb of the dynasty!

Ahnaf began to grow little by little due to the intense caress and love of his parents. Crawling, sitting, standing, walking - after passing these stages, he is now 1 year and 5 months old. He started calling her 'mother', 'father' and 'uncle' in half words. Mahfuz-Nusaiba's mind was filled to the brim when he heared these sweet calls. The first day my mother uttered Ahnaf, Nusaiba cried emotionally. Ahnaf is growing up, how do I build him? What to teach? What to read -these thoughts slowly began to rise in both of them. The first child, absolutely no experience. They start thinkig about who can get wisdom advice from, with whom they can share their problem with a little open mind. Suddenly a wonderful intelligence played on Mahfuz's head. Mahfuz has s good friendship with the Imam of a big mosque in Dhaka. I heard that Imam Sahib has a good education in Family and Social Affairs. He will surely be able to give them a good direction.

On Friday after Namaj of Jumma they went to Imam Sahib. Imam Sahib listened to them attentively. He said,"Allah Himself has given guidance in the Qur'an to make the child a real human being. Luqman (AS) was a very dear servant of Allah. He taught his children six things. This teaching of Luqman (AS) was so pleasing to Allah that He gave it in the Qur'an so that His servants would have a guideline for raising children for ages.

Mahfuz and Nusaiba both read the Bengali translation of the Qur'an, but never noticed it. They became very curious. Imam Sahib began ti say:

1.Teaching of the Oneness of God:

Verse 13 of surah Luqman says,"When Luqman was admonishing his son, he said: O my son, do not associate others with Allah. Surely associating others with Allah is a great sin".

The first sentence to be taught to the child should be 'La ilaha illallah'. There is no deity worthy of worship expect Allah. No one can be worshiped, no one can be worshiped. You can read the book 'katabut Tawhid' to know more about this.

2.Giving an idea about the power of God:

"O my son, if an object is the size of a mustard seed, then if it is in the womb of a rock or in the heavens or in the earth, then Allah will bring it. Surely Allah knows the secrets and knows the secrets. [Surah Luqman: 18]

There is nothing beyond the power of God, beyond knowledge, beyond ability. He also knows the movements of a black ant under a black rock in the dark night of deep darkness. The identity of God, all the qualities must be taught to the child.

3.Ordering prayers:

After believing in Allah, the first and foremost duty of a Muslim is to offer prayers. When the child reaches the age of 8, he has to be taught the rules of prayers. If the injured child is 10 years old, then if he does not pray, the Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) has told him to do a mild injury.

4.Teaching of ordering good deeds and forbidding evil deeds

The lack of a few things in our society today is undoubtedly the lack of a courageous voice to command good deeds and forbid evil deeds. The child who has the ability and courage to do this work will surely be diffrent from the other eight or ten conventional people. Many fathers did not pray on their own before, they prayed after listening to their children. Many fathers could not quit smoking, at the request of their children. Many mothers did not wear hijab, they started wearing hijab.

5.Teaching patience

As a real human being we expect great quality like patience. Throughout his life, Allah will put His servant to various tests to verify who is His true servant and who is not. He who is a little impatient, desparing, will surely not be able to pass the tests of Allah properly. So, as a way to achieve success in life, they have to be taught to be patient from childhood.

6.Teach not to be arrogant

"Do not despire people with arrogance and do not walk proudly on earth. Surely Allah does not love any arrogant boaster. [Surah Luqman: 18]

One of the biggest flaws / weaknesses a person can have is arrogance. This arrogance is event the first sin in the eyes of Islam. When God commanded Satan to prostrate to Adam, he became arrogant and refused to prostrate.

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) gave a terrible warning about arrogance:

"No one will be able to enter Paradise who has arrogance in his heart". [Sahih Muslim]

So the child has to be taught from the begining of life, so that he does not look down on someone who is his 'inferior'. Seeing the poor boy in the next slum, I will not play with him. I will not sit with him unless he sees someone who has done worse than him in class.

Mahfuz and Nusaiba were listening to Imam Sahib's words for so long. They might have raised their child in some other traditional way. These inexperinced parents seem to get relief from a lot of stress.

Finished...

Thanks for reading.