Commentary on Imam Sajjad’s (AS) Treaties of Right (Part 45)

Shafaqna English- Commentary on Imam Sajjad’s (AS) Treaties of Right By Mohammad Sobhanie.

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

وَأمّـــــــــا حَقُّ الصَّغِيرِ فَرَحْمَتُهُ وَ تَثْقِيفُهُ وتَعْلِيمُهُ[1] وَالعَفْوُ عَنْهُ وَالسِّترُ عَلَـــــــــــــــيهِ وَالرِّفْقُ بهِ وَ الْمَعُونَةُ لــــــــــــــــَهُ وَ السَّتْرُ عَلَى جَرَائِرِ حَدَاثتِهِ فَإنّهُ سَبَبٌ لِلتَّوبَةِ وَالْمُدَارَاةُ لَـــــــــــهُ وتَرْكُ مُمَاحَكَتِهِ، فَإنَّ ذَلِكَ أَدنى لِرُشْدِهِ.

The Right of a Younger Person (45^th)

Translation: The rights of the young generation include receiving love and affection, as well as proper training and education. It is essential to forgive their mistakes, overlook their faults, be patient with them, and offer help and support. It is crucial to conceal their youthful missteps, as doing so encourages them to correct their behavior. Treating them with kindness and avoiding arguments is likely to foster their maturity.

Commentary:

Imām Sajjād (AS) states that the right of children and adolescents which their elders are obligated to respect are as follows.

• Showing them love and affection.
• offering them proper training and education
• Exercising patience and forbearance towards their faults and mistakes.

Love and Affection: Children and youth should be treated with love, affection and care. The Prophet (PBUH) said: [2]

أكرِمُوا أولادَكُم وأحْسِنوا آدابَهُم يُغْفَرْ لَكُم.

Honor your children and teach them good manners so that you may be forgiven.

In another narration, the Prophet (PBUH) said: [3]

اَحِبُّوا الصِّبْيانَ وَ ارْحَمُوهُمْ ، وَ اِذا وَ عَدتُموهُمْ شَيْئا فَفُوا لَهُمْ ، فَاِنَّهُمْ لايَدْرونَ اِلاّ اَ نَّـكُمْ تَرْزُقونَهُمْ ؛

Love children and show compassion towards them. If you promise them something, keep your word, for they only know that you are their provider.

Training & Education: The second important right is to train and educate children for their future. From an Islamic perspective, raising children involves teaching them religious values, moral principles, and essential life skills. This education should prepare children for effective participation in society and help ensure their prosperity in the Hereafter. Imām Ṣādiq (AS) stated: [4]

العالِمُ بِزَمانِهِ، لا تَهجُمُ علَيهِ اللَّوابِسُ.

A knowledgeable person of his time will not be easily overwhelmed by ambiguous or confusing issues.

It is narrated that one day Imām Ḥassan (AS) gathered his children and the children of his brothers and said: [5]

إنّكُم صِغارُ قَومٍ ويُوشِكُ أن تَكونوا كِبارَ قَومٍ آخَرينَ، فَتَعَلَّمُوا العِلمَ ، فَمَن لم يَستَطِعْ مِنكُم أن يَحفَظَهُ فَلْيَكتُبْهُ و ليَضَعْهُ في بَيتِهِ

You are the children of today and will soon become the adults of tomorrow. Therefore, you should seek knowledge. Whoever among you struggles to memorize what he has been taught should write it down and keep it at home.

Imām Sajjād (AS) and Imām Bāqir (AS) provided detailed guidelines on raising a child during their developmental years. The hadith states the following steps: [6]^,[7]

1. At the age of three, he should be taught to say “La Ilaha Illallah.”
2. At the age of three years, seven months, and twenty days, he should be taught to say, “Muhammad (PBUH) is the Messenger of Allah (SWT).”
3. At the age of four, he should be taught to say, “May Allah’s (SWT) Blessings be upon Muhammad (PBUH) and his family (AS).”
4. At the age of five, he should be tested to see whether he recognizes the right hand from the left. If identified, he should be taught about the Qiblah and prostration towards it.
5. At the age of seven, he should be taught to wash his hands and face and make daily prayers.
6. At the age of nine, he should be taught ablution and be asked to perform the five daily prayers regularly. The parents should remind the children to attend daily prayer if they miss it.
7. Once the child learns ablution and prayer, God Willing, Allah the Almighty will forgive the child’s parents.

Patience & Tolerance: A child’s life is filled with mistakes, often stemming from mischief, playfulness, or inexperience. Therefore, Imām Sajjād emphasized that the third right of younger individuals is for elders to treat them with patience and tolerance when they err. It is essential to help children learn from their mistakes and understand the consequences of their actions.

Pointing out a child’s mistakes in front of their peers can result in humiliation and a decrease in self-esteem. On the other hand, providing private advice about their errors can motivate them to correct their behavior. As the Imām (AS) stated: “Covering their mistakes will lead to correcting their behavior.”

It’s important to note that forgiving a child’s mistakes does not mean avoiding the responsibility of advising or educating them about their errors. The Holy Prophet (PBUH) said: [8]

رَحِمَ اللهُ عَبْداً اَعانَ وَلَدَهُ عَلی بِرِّه بِالاِحْسانِ اِلَیْهِ وَالتَّأَلُّفِ لَهُ وَتَعْلیمِه وَتَأْدیبِه

May God bless a servant who assists his child in good deeds, treats him with friendship, and diligently educates and disciplines him.

Childhood and youth are crucial periods that shape an individual’s personality. When children and young people receive love and care, they are more likely to develop compassionate traits. In contrast, frequent arguments can foster argumentative behaviors in them. Therefore, the Imām (AS) emphasized that one of the essential rights of children and youth is to be tactful with them and refrain from arguing, as this will contribute to their maturity.

Translation of Phrases:

The rights of younger ones are to show them love and affection.	وَأمّـــــــــا حَقُّ الصَّغِيرِ فَرَحْمَتُهُ
train and educate them	وَ تَثْقِيفُهُ وتَعْلِيمُهُ
pardon them, and cover up their faults, be patient with them and help them, cover up the guilts of their juvenility.	وَالعَفْوُ عَنْهُ وَالسِّترُ عَلَـــــــــــــــيهِ وَالرِّفْقُ بهِ وَ الْمَعُونَةُ لــــــــــــــــَهُ وَ السَّتْرُ عَلَى جَرَائِرِ حَدَاثتِهِ
because this will make him repent;	فَإنّهُ سَبَبٌ لِلتَّوبَةِ
Treating him with kindness and not arguing with him is more likely to lead him to maturity.	وَالْمُدَارَاةُ لَـــــــــــهُ وتَرْكُ مُمَاحَكَتِهِ، فَإنَّ ذَلِكَ أَدنى لِرُشْدِهِ.

 

Appendix: The Hadith from Imam Sadiq (As) and Imam Baqir (AS): [9]

الإمام الباقر و الإمام الصادق عليهماالسلام : إذا بَلَغَ الغُلامُ ثَلاثَ سِنينَ، يُقالُ لَهُ : قُل لا إلهَ إلاَّ اللّه سَبْعَ مَرّاتٍ . ثُمَّ يُترَكُ حَتّى يَتِمَّ لَهُ ثَلاثُ سِنينَ و سَبعَةُ أشهُرٍ و عِشرونَ يَوما، فَيُقالُ لَهُ : قُل : «مُحَمَّدٌ رَسولُ اللّه ِ» سَبعَ مَرّاتٍ . و يُترَكُ حَتّى يَتِمَّ لَهُ أربَعُ سِنينَ، ثُمَّ يُقالُ لَهُ قُل : سَبعَ مَرّاتٍ : «صَلَّى اللّه ُ عَلى مُحَمَّدٍ و آلِهِ». ثُمَّ يُترَكُ حَتّى يَتِمَّ لَهُ خَمسُ سِنينَ ، ثُمَّ يُقالُ لَهُ : أيُّهُما يَمينُكَ و أيَّهُما شِمالُكَ ؟ فَإِذا عَرَفَ ذلِكَ حُوِّلَ وَجهُهُ إلى القِبلَةِ و يُقالُ لَهُ : أسجُد. ثُمَّ يُترَكُ حَتَّى يَتِمَّ لَهُ سَبعُ سِنينَ، فَإِذا تَمَّ لَهُ سَبعُ سِنينَ قيلَ لَهُ : اغسِل وَجهَكَ و كَفّيكَ، فَإِذا غَسَلَهُما قيلَ لَهُ : صَلِّ . ثُمَّ يُترَكُ حَتّى يَتِمَّ لَهُ تِسعُ سِنينَ ، فَإِذا تَمَّت لَهُ عُلِّمَ الوُضوءَ، و ضُرِبَ عَلَيهِ، و اُمِرَ بِالصَّلاةِ، و ضُرِبَ عَلَيها . فَإِذا تَعَلَّمَ الوُضوءَ وَالصَّلاةَ غَفَرَ اللّه ُ عز و جل لَهُ و لِوَالِدَيهِ إن شاءَ اللّه

Note:

[1] The “Tathqifuh” (تَثقِيفُهُ) means to train them, where as “Taelimuh” (تَعْلِيمُهُ) means to teach them

[2] https://hadith.inoor.ir/fa/hadith/375003/hadith-noorlib?rownumber=NaN

[3] https://hadith.inoor.ir/fa/hadith/114502/hadith-noorlib?rownumber=NaN

[4] https://www.hadithlib.com/hadithtxts/view/22007824

[5] https://www.hadithlib.com/hadithtxts/view/27017444

[6] https://www.hadithlib.com/hadithtxts/view/1300253

[7] The Arabic text of the Hadith is given in the Appendix.

[8] https://www.hadithlib.com/hadithtxts/view/135

[9] https://www.hadithlib.com/hadithtxts/view/1300253

Part of a Series: Commentary on Imam Al-Sajjad’s (AS) treaties of right

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