A thought for fathers
Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of longing for life.
They come through you, but not from you.
You can give them your love, but not your thoughts ,
because they have their own thoughts .
You can accommodate their bodies, but not their souls ,
because their souls reside in the house of tomorrow , which you cannot visit , not even in your dreams .
Because life does not go back and does not linger with yesterday .
You are bows from which your children are sent as living arrows .
The archer sees the face on the infinite path ,and He humbles you with His power, so that His arrows may go fast and far .
Let your bowing in the hand of the archer be for joy .
For just as He loves the flying arrow , so He also loves the steady bow."
Khalil Gibran
Children are special . They are a reward that Allah bestows on whom He wills and withholds from whom He wills .A guarantee that some , a small part of us will remain , on this small , blue , ball of rock - a connection to the future . There is nothing quite like the feeling of falling in love at first sight, when a child is small and wrinkled , reaching out into the bright , noisy , new world that has just entered . How do you describe the tightness in your chest as your heart expands to burst at the sight of that tiny , delicate , precious form ; a spark of life from Allah clothed in your blood and your bones ?
“Each of you is a shepherd, and each of you will be asked about this flock.” (Bukhari and Muslim)
The Prophet (PBUH) said that Allah did not send any Messenger except that He shepherded them for a while . Have we not seen that the shepherd watches over his flock and leads them ? He will remove the stones from their hooves , and clean the mud and feces from their coats . He will stop their tails and remove the sores from their bodies . He will protect them when they are in danger and take care of them when they are sick . He knows the weaknesses and strengths of each animal , as their survival , and his own prosperity , depends on this . His pride in his care and concern for them is such that he will deprive himself of sleep and rest to fulfill his duties. .
This is the shepherd who fulfills his duty to an animal that will not know him , nor remember him . So we, fathers , who expect the love and respect of our children ? We who expect to be honored and obeyed in our families ? What kind of shepherds are we with these precious gifts of Allah ? Do we assume the level of care and custody of the pastor as shown above ?
Or do we allow ourselves the lazy mindset that allows us to believe that caring for children is nothing more than "putting food on the table and a roof over their heads?" . Having children thus becomes an exercise that , once completed, requires no further real effort . We can sit back and watch our women struggle and suffer as they take on the Herculean task of managing everything on their own. . We have forgotten , or do not realize , what it means to be a shepherd for our children ( as well as protectors and protectors of our wives ).
Raising children is hard , ...that's why we often tend to leave it to the women ! It requires time and energy , understanding and patience , strength of character and strength of will . First of all, Childcare requires stamina... all day , every day, 7 days a week , 365 days a year . A father who hopes for his child's love and respect when he is old must remember that this love and respect is the harvest of what he sowed when the child was young . the result of the hard work he put into raising that child . Running 100m in less than 10 seconds makes a champion sprinter special. , nor is the achievement of an Olympic powerlifter that he can squat 250 kg. . As it is in sports , so it is in life and especially in raising children . As the best example said , (SEE)
"The best of you is the best for his family , and I am the best of you for my family" (Tirmidhi)
A child's love for their mother is a seed that Allah places in the heart, but which must be nurtured and nurtured. . Children love their mothers more than all people, not only because of who they are , but because of what they do .