Maulana Dawood Raz
Explanation:
Imam Bukhari rahimahullah has brought this hadith to support the first hadith and to clarify the name of a narrator, Ibn al-Asbahani. The death of a child before reaching maturity causes considerable grief. Therefore, the death of such a child has been made a means for the mother’s forgiveness.
Source: Sahih Bukhari: Commentary by Maulana Dawood Raz, Page: 102
Shaykh Abdul Sattar al-Hammad
Hadith Commentary:
➊
In worldly life, men face countless issues and require more knowledge to fulfill their masculine duties, but there are also many matters related to women, and their specific issues are not few either, such as:
purification and cleanliness (taharah wa nazafah), rights of the husband, upbringing of children, etc. Although women are permitted to attend men's gatherings with proper veiling, such attendance is burdensome, and women feel hesitant to inquire about their specific issues. Therefore, Imam Bukhari rahimahullah, highlighting the importance of women's education, states that the Imam should make independent arrangements for the education of women, in which the entry of men is prohibited. As is evident from the hadith, the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam could have instructed women to attend the men's gathering, which would have also saved time, but he did not do so. Rather, upon their eagerness and request, he granted them a special, dedicated time.
➋
There are two times of great trial for a person:
1. Intense joy.
2. Intense grief.
When a person is overwhelmed by extraordinary happiness, he loses self-control and considers himself exempt from the restrictions of the Shariah. Similarly, a grief-stricken person, in the intensity of sorrow, makes complaint and lamentation his habit; sometimes, he even utters inappropriate words regarding the majesty of Lordship. Especially for a woman, the shock of a child's death proves to be extremely severe and agonizing.
At times, overwhelmed by this grief, she tears her clothes and strikes her cheeks, even beginning to utter nonsense.
For this reason, the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam made special mention of this.
➌
When a mother, despite her natural love for her young child, is content with Allah's decree and exercises patience at the child's death—especially when the calamity first strikes the heart—it is as if she herself presents the child before Allah.
Although the death of an older child is also a cause of grief, there is no virtue of "veil from the Fire" (hijab al-nar) in that case, because when a child grows older, along with natural love, rational love also develops, and certain interests become attached to him, such as:
he will be a support in old age or at least a means of continuation of the lineage. Furthermore, a mother endures many hardships for her child; the hardship of pregnancy and childbirth is also mentioned in the Noble Qur'an (: al-Ahqaf 46:15).
➍
Imam Bukhari rahimahullah cited the narration of Abu Hurairah radi Allahu anhu for two benefits:
1. In the chain of the first narration, one narrator was Ibn Asbahani; in this narration, his name is explicitly stated as Abdur Rahman.
2. In the first narration, the mention was of children in general; in this narration, their being minors is specified, which is the basis of the ruling. Although being patient at the death of an older child is also rewardable, the "veil from the Fire" (hijab al-nar) is only for minor children.
The reason for this "veil from the Fire" is that the parents' love for them is selfless, and being patient at their death is extremely difficult.
Other discussions related to this hadith will be mentioned in the Book of Funerals (Kitab al-Jana'iz).
Source: Hidayat al-Qari: Commentary on Sahih Bukhari, Urdu, Page: 102