Source: “Wālidayn aur Aulād ke Ḥuqūq” by Shaykh Jāwīd Iqbāl Sīālkotī
❖ Show Love and Affection to Your Children
◈ ʿĀ’ishah رضي الله عنها narrated:
جاء أعرابي إلى النبى فقال: تقبلون الصبيان فما نقبلهم. فقال النبي: أو أملك لك إن نزع الله من قلبك الرحمة
📚 Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Kitāb al-Adab, Bāb Raḥmat al-Walad wa Taqbīlih: 5998
A Bedouin came to the Prophet ﷺ and asked:
“Do you kiss your children? We do not kiss them.”
The Prophet ﷺ replied:
“What can I do for you if Allah has removed mercy from your heart?”
◈ Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه reported:
قبل رسول الله الحسن بن على وعنده الأقرع بن حابس التميمي جالسا فقال الأقرع : إن لي عشرة من الولد ما قبلت منهم أحدا فنظر إليه رسول الله ثم قال: من لا يرحم لا يرحم.
📚 Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Kitāb al-Adab, Bāb Raḥmat al-Walad wa Taqbīlih: 5997
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ kissed Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī while al-Aqraʿ ibn Ḥābis was sitting beside him.
Al-Aqraʿ said:
“I have ten children, and I have never kissed any of them.”
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ looked at him and said:
“Whoever does not show mercy will not be shown mercy.”
◈ Yaʿlā al-ʿĀmirī narrated:
جاء الحسن والحسين يسعيان إلى النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم فضمهما إليه وقال: إن الولد مبخلة مجبنة
📚 Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Mājah, Kitāb al-Adab, Bāb Birr al-Wālid wa al-Iḥsān ilā al-Banāt: 3666
Ḥasan and Ḥusayn رضي الله عنهما came running to the Prophet ﷺ.
He embraced them and said:
“Children are a cause of miserliness and cowardice.”
(i.e., they stir deep attachment and protectiveness in a parent’s heart.)
◈ Also narrated:
The Prophet ﷺ used to carry his granddaughter Umāmah bint Abī al-ʿĀṣ during the obligatory prayer.
When he went into rukūʿ or sujūd, he would gently place her down.
When he stood up again, he would pick her up once more.
📚 Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Kitāb al-Adab, Bāb Raḥmat al-Walad wa Taqbīlih: 5996
✦ Reflection:
These narrations clearly prove that:
✔ Showing love, kindness, and affection to children — including kissing and embracing them — is from the Sunnah.
✔ The Prophet ﷺ himself was deeply affectionate towards children, especially orphans and grandchildren.
✔ Mercy toward children is a sign of faith and humanity.
✔ Those who lack compassion are themselves deprived of Allah’s mercy.
✔ Summary:
① Loving and kissing children is part of the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ.
② Harshness or emotional neglect is contrary to the character of the Prophet ﷺ.
③ Raising children with mercy brings about Allah’s mercy in return.
④ Every parent should adopt the Prophetic model of love in their parenting.
