About the Shaykh
Commentary of "dear beloved son" Imam Al Ghazali.
We begin by sending gratitude to Allah, a gratitude sent by those on Earth who are the best of those who give gratitude. We also send thanks such as that which is shown by the best of those who show thanks. We ask Allah to forgive us, to be gentle upon us, and to increase the blessings of the shahadah – la ilaha illa Allah Muhammadur Rasul Allah salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa salam – which He has given to us as a gift.
May Allah increase the nur which emanates from each and every one of our shahadah, and that we benefit from the testification of faith. We send our salutations on the Prophet Muhammad, salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa aalihi wa sahbihi wa salam, the one who is of the highest rank in creation. Allah gave him the highest rank. He is the most complete and most perfect of slaves to Allah. He was sent as a mercy to the world. May the best of salutations also be passed onto his family, his companions, and the followers thereafter.
We continue now with the lesson of Ayuhal Walad and what we have been studying in the last few weeks with the meanings of taking a way to Allah and how is it that we should venture on the path to Allah. Last week we were talking about anwaar al ma’arifah (انوار المعرفة) which is the illumination which comes with gnosis or knowledge of Allah. This gnosis or ma’rifah of Allah is a spiritual condition. It is of the highest spiritual conditions. It is not just words. It is not about words at all. Whatever descriptions and words we gave and even whatever words that Imam Ghazali tries to elucidate in his explanation of ma’rifah are just to give us an idea or to sort of bring us close to the meaning of ma’rifah. However, it is only a pure heart that will truly understand and experience ma’rifah (gnosis of Allah). Why? Because it is his spiritual condition. You will not know or understand it until you taste it. You can appreciate possibly and have some inkling or idea of what is being spoken about, but until you taste this, then you will not know. The ahl al ma’rifah of the past tasted it. They are worthy of listening to. They have every right to speak about ma’rifah because they taste it and they have the experience. May Allah make us from among these people, inshaAllah wa ameen.
So we continue with the sixteenth counsel in the book “Ayuhal Walad” by Abu Haamid Al Ghazali where he says, “My dear son, some of your questions are of this type ,but the portion which can be answered we have mentioned in Ihya ‘Ulum Ad Din [which is also his work] and other works. We shall mention here some of the relevant extracts. The traveller of the path must be in possession of four things.”
This lesson is very important for all of us. Here Abu Haamid Al Ghazali says that the answers to many of your questions and what you are wondering about can be found in his magnum opus Ihya ‘Ulum Ad Din, a very famous book that all the true ‘ulema study from.
When it is said that the student (murid) has now taken the path, he has taken the first steps and ventured on the journey? There are four things.
What Abu Haamid Al Ghazali mentions here we will explain.
1) Having a correct aqidah (belief) free of bid’ah or heretical innovation. The correct creed or belief is your operating system as a believer. If this is spoilt, then everything else is spoilt. Your aqidah as a Muslim should have absolutely no bid’ah, no faults, no impurities, no innovation because the bid’ah of aqidah is more severe than the bid’ah of actions.
By bid’ah of actions we mean you might see somebody doing a particular action which does not have any basis in the shari’ah or in the sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad, salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa salam. If it has no basis, then it is an action which is spoilt in the form of bid’ah. It is a bid’ah type of action. In terms of the adqidah which is innovative, this is what we mean when we say a person has gone astray. When a person goes astray, then the reason for this is that there is something wrong in their belief (aqidah/creed) as a Muslim, even if it is something small. It can be something tiny that you may not be aware of. It could be your belief in Allah subhana wa ta’ala or it could be part of your beliefs of the prophets or any of the issues of aqidah such as a the Day of Judgment or whatever it might be. It could be a small factor. That small error in your belief could render all of your actions futile. It could render all of your iman futile and useless simply because you’re ignorant of that.
It is said that the science of aqidah is to be taken from ahl as-sanad. Ahl as-sand are those that have a continuous connection going back all the way to Prophet salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa salam. It is not allowed for the believer to have copycat iman or imitative iman. You cannot say, “I am of the aqidah or iman of my father. Whatever my father believes, I believe.” Or “whatever this particular imam [the imam of the masjid is just a salaat officer, he may not be an ‘aalim] of the masjid believes, I believe.” This is something that has to be taken from ahl as-sanad, those that have a continuous, unbroken, reliable chain going back to the Prophet salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa salam. It is said that having a correct aqidah is what makes a person firm at the time of death.
[Translator’s comment: Along with the point that Habib mentioned, I would like to add that this is one of the secrets of our deen, Alhamdulillah. This is one of the secrets of iman of Islam.]
The meaning of taking aqidah from ahl as-sanad [pay attention carefully] is that when you are learning about your beliefs from a mu’min and you’re learning it from ahl as-sanad, the shaykh or the ‘aalim who is teaching you - because he is from ahl sanad (an unbroken chain going back to the Prophet salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa salam) - is teaching you the affairs of iman based upon what the Prophet Muhammad salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa salam intended for you to understand from each and every point of iman that you’re supposed to learn. Contrast this to the teacher who does not have a sanad, he who does not have an unbroken chain. Whatever he is teaching you in terms of iman, he is teaching you based upon his own understanding. So there is no link between what he is teaching you and what the Prophet salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa salam intended. So good luck to you if he gives you what is supposed to be delivered or not. It is a risk.
Of the things which help a person remain steadfast during the times of fitna or when the fitan evolve is when the child is young and the parent teaches them of the different points of iman that they need to carry in their hearts. When the child is around six or seven years old, you should start educating your child on our creed as Muslims and what it means to be a Muslim in terms of the points of aqidah and iman. When you plant the seeds of iman in the child’s heart, then you continue with this until they reach the age of discretion. You have to have this continuous relationship with the child from the age of five, six, or seven – every child is different – until they reach the age of discretion and they can differentiate and they are aware, and they are responsible, young adults. What has happened is that you’ve planted the seed, so you continuously nourish the seed, you continue to feed that seed until it becomes strengthened in the child.
You’ll find that when the child is a young teenager or a young adult and the affairs of iman arise around them, their iman is not shaken or they do not waver. Beware lest you become lazy in doing this because if you delay in teaching your children about the affairs of iman and aqidah, then you’ve planted the seeds late and so the plants won’t be strong and they’re already growing up crooked, so to speak. This is why the Prophet salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa salam said, “Every child is born upon fitra (a natural state).” The natural state of a human being is acknowledging that there is only One God – la ilaaha illa Allah. This is the fitra of every single human being. It is the duty of the parents to feed and nourish this fitra. By nourishing it, it’s like planting a seed. As the seed breaks and roots break forth down in the earth, they become firm into the earth and the branches go up branching out into the sky, this is how Allah describes it in the Quran. So beware in being slow in planting the seed and nourishing that seed.
Some of you may be asking, “Do we teach our children adiqah, the creed of Islam? It’s difficult. It’s very technical. How is it that we teach them creed?” No. What is intended is that we work to have our children’s hearts connected with Allah. This is what is required. Aqidah in terms of a child is their connection and their relationship with Allah.
The number one and the last point of aqidah is the child’s connection to Allah and who is Allah. For example, you address your children in ways that they understand on a daily basis, and you say “Who is it that gave you a tongue that you speak so nicely with and that you have such a wonderful voice?” Or “Who is that gave you your beautiful ears that allowed you to listen to the Quran or your shaykh or to listen to the birds in the garden? Who is it that gave you this?” Allah. The answer is Allah gave you this. Allah is so generous. Thus, they have a positive association with Allah.
You’ll say, for example, “Who is it that gave you your brain?” They could have come and got 100% on their test. “MashaAllah, who gave you such an intelligent brain?” Allah subhana wa ta’ala. You teach them to thank Allah. “Who is it that created Mom and Dad? Allah. He gave you Mom and Dad.” Talk to them in this gentle manner. When you’re sitting at the dinner table eating your food, ask “Who gave us the food?” Allah. “Who gave you the water?” “Who created the universe?” “Who gave you life? Who is the One that gives life?” Allah. Everything is from Allah.
As you live and link every single thing in the life of the child with Allah, then they will say “This Allah is someone great. What must be the most important aspect of my life? Allah.” When you constantly address your children with Allah, then you have surely planted, inshaAllah, the tree of imaan in their hearts. So instead of reaching the age of puberty, they (at that time) reach the age of gnosis with Allah (المراقبة) so they are constantly aware of Allah. The salaf, the righteous of the past, did this and it was a part of their lives.
We’re now going to tell a story about one of our mashayikh.
In Hadhramawt, when one of the very prominent ‘aarifeen billah (who was an agnostic of Allah and very close to Allah) was four or five years old, his mother used to do with him like we just explained earlier which is building in the child a relationship with or knowledge of Allah. They were of a poor family. If they happened to have any food, the only food they would have would be dates. Nothing more than that. This ‘aalim was Al Habib Abdullah bin Husayn bin Taha, and usually we recite his du’a at the end of a majlis - “يا ربنا اعترفنا” until the end of the du’a. This is the du’a that he used to recite.
When he was young, he was once very hungry. They’re a poor family, so they didn’t have food lying around the house and the kids just run into the kitchen and get whatever they like. Food was not something that they had in the home. So he ran to his mother and he said to his mother and said “Mother I’m very hungry.” He was four or five years old, and he was hungry with severe hunger pain. His mother had one or two dates, but she didn’t give them to him immediately. He was not aware that she had with her a date or two, so she said to him, “O my son, I don’t have any food. I am a servant of Allah just like you are. I am subject to what Allah gives me. I’m a slave just as are a slave of Allah.” He said to his mother, “Who will give us food? Who will feed us?” She said, “Allah is the One that will feed us. He is the one that will give us food.” Maybe it’s a good idea that you pray two raka’a and make du’a. He said, “Will He hear me? Will He listen to me? Will He answer my calls?” His mother said, “Try and see what happens.”
She then taught him how to make wudhu. Obviously, he’d seen his parents pray before. So he went into a room and he prayed two raka’a. After salah, he raised his hands and he pleaded to Allah. Usually when a child makes du’a, they ask with conviction. There is no impurity in whatever it is that they’re requesting. He called to Allah while weeping and crying. “O Allah, feed us. Send us food.” His mother, without the boy being aware or realizing, very gently and quietly opened the door while he was making du’a and she put a plate with a couple of dates in the room behind him. When he finished his du’a and as he was about to leave the room, he saw the food on the floor. He was amazed and shocked. He took the plate and he ran to his mother. “Mother, Mother! Allah answered my du’a!” From that time onwards, the child’s heart was hooked and he was a lover of Allah. He grew up to be a great ‘aalim. It is said that when he stood before people and he just opened up the lecture or talk with “Alhamdulillah,” the entire gathering just shook and started to weep. He said it from his heart with such yaqeen and sincerity.
We find, however, that instead of the children of today weeping and calling to Allah, we are weeping for them because of the state that they are in. We ask ourselves, how is it that we are raising our children? What are we feeding them? The food itself is impure. The junk that they’re being fed around them, spiritually and physically is all impure. It’s all junk, and junk knowledge is coming in and out. Whatever they’re being exposed to is all junk. So their spiritual condition that they’re exposed to is a reflection of what is going inside them. This is all because of our heedlessness as parents.
We find now that once our children go into the community, they just get taken into the whirlwind of society. They don’t know how to cope or deal with things. They just get taken in and they conform with everybody else, and they die upon that state. Unless, that is, of course, Allah wishes to save the particular child. Unless they, for example, attend majalis, gatherings of ‘ilm and they are fortunate enough to get nadharaat, the vision from the ‘arifeen billah, those gnostics or knowers of Allah subhana wa ta’ala. Today, it is a sad situation unless we go back to teach our children to be upon the path of the Prophet Muhammad salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa aalihi wa sahbihi wa salim.
The next point which Abu Haamid Al Ghazali mentions talks about tawbah (repentance). This topic requires an entire lecture in itself so we will stop there.
Next week, we’re invited to some functions to do with the month of Rabi’ al Awwal, the birth of the Prophet Muhammad salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa salam. InshaAllah the week after next, we may have some naseeb in spending time in the company of the Prophet salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa salam in the sir an nabawiyya.
Just as we were talking about teaching our children aqidah and the creed of Islam, we should also be teaching them about the Prophet Muhammad, salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa salam – his sunnah, his characteristics, his way of life, how he behaved, his manner, his character, everything about him, and teaching them about how we love him, why we love him. We should be teaching them about the heart of the Prophet Muhammad, salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa salam and what was his rank and place with Allah even if it is just to make a point, even if some of which you teach your children is above their heads. However, if you find that you are able to plant in the heart of your son or your daughter one aspect which they love about the Prophet Muhammad, salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa salam, and eventually they implement it, then this is a great blessing and there’s a lot of goodness in it, inshaAllah.
We begin by sending gratitude to Allah, a gratitude sent by those on Earth who are the best of those who give gratitude. We also send thanks such as that which is shown by the best of those who show thanks. We ask Allah to forgive us, to be gentle upon us, and to increase the blessings of the shahadah – la ilaha illa Allah Muhammadur Rasul Allah salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa salam – which He has given to us as a gift.
May Allah increase the nur which emanates from each and every one of our shahadah, and that we benefit from the testification of faith. We send our salutations on the Prophet Muhammad, salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa aalihi wa sahbihi wa salam, the one who is of the highest rank in creation. Allah gave him the highest rank. He is the most complete and most perfect of slaves to Allah. He was sent as a mercy to the world. May the best of salutations also be passed onto his family, his companions, and the followers thereafter.
We continue now with the lesson of Ayuhal Walad and what we have been studying in the last few weeks with the meanings of taking a way to Allah and how is it that we should venture on the path to Allah. Last week we were talking about anwaar al ma’arifah (انوار المعرفة) which is the illumination which comes with gnosis or knowledge of Allah. This gnosis or ma’rifah of Allah is a spiritual condition. It is of the highest spiritual conditions. It is not just words. It is not about words at all. Whatever descriptions and words we gave and even whatever words that Imam Ghazali tries to elucidate in his explanation of ma’rifah are just to give us an idea or to sort of bring us close to the meaning of ma’rifah. However, it is only a pure heart that will truly understand and experience ma’rifah (gnosis of Allah). Why? Because it is his spiritual condition. You will not know or understand it until you taste it. You can appreciate possibly and have some inkling or idea of what is being spoken about, but until you taste this, then you will not know. The ahl al ma’rifah of the past tasted it. They are worthy of listening to. They have every right to speak about ma’rifah because they taste it and they have the experience. May Allah make us from among these people, inshaAllah wa ameen.
So we continue with the sixteenth counsel in the book “Ayuhal Walad” by Abu Haamid Al Ghazali where he says, “My dear son, some of your questions are of this type ,but the portion which can be answered we have mentioned in Ihya ‘Ulum Ad Din [which is also his work] and other works. We shall mention here some of the relevant extracts. The traveller of the path must be in possession of four things.”
This lesson is very important for all of us. Here Abu Haamid Al Ghazali says that the answers to many of your questions and what you are wondering about can be found in his magnum opus Ihya ‘Ulum Ad Din, a very famous book that all the true ‘ulema study from.
When it is said that the student (murid) has now taken the path, he has taken the first steps and ventured on the journey? There are four things.
What Abu Haamid Al Ghazali mentions here we will explain.
1) Having a correct aqidah (belief) free of bid’ah or heretical innovation. The correct creed or belief is your operating system as a believer. If this is spoilt, then everything else is spoilt. Your aqidah as a Muslim should have absolutely no bid’ah, no faults, no impurities, no innovation because the bid’ah of aqidah is more severe than the bid’ah of actions.
By bid’ah of actions we mean you might see somebody doing a particular action which does not have any basis in the shari’ah or in the sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad, salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa salam. If it has no basis, then it is an action which is spoilt in the form of bid’ah. It is a bid’ah type of action. In terms of the adqidah which is innovative, this is what we mean when we say a person has gone astray. When a person goes astray, then the reason for this is that there is something wrong in their belief (aqidah/creed) as a Muslim, even if it is something small. It can be something tiny that you may not be aware of. It could be your belief in Allah subhana wa ta’ala or it could be part of your beliefs of the prophets or any of the issues of aqidah such as a the Day of Judgment or whatever it might be. It could be a small factor. That small error in your belief could render all of your actions futile. It could render all of your iman futile and useless simply because you’re ignorant of that.
It is said that the science of aqidah is to be taken from ahl as-sanad. Ahl as-sand are those that have a continuous connection going back all the way to Prophet salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa salam. It is not allowed for the believer to have copycat iman or imitative iman. You cannot say, “I am of the aqidah or iman of my father. Whatever my father believes, I believe.” Or “whatever this particular imam [the imam of the masjid is just a salaat officer, he may not be an ‘aalim] of the masjid believes, I believe.” This is something that has to be taken from ahl as-sanad, those that have a continuous, unbroken, reliable chain going back to the Prophet salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa salam. It is said that having a correct aqidah is what makes a person firm at the time of death.
[Translator’s comment: Along with the point that Habib mentioned, I would like to add that this is one of the secrets of our deen, Alhamdulillah. This is one of the secrets of iman of Islam.]
The meaning of taking aqidah from ahl as-sanad [pay attention carefully] is that when you are learning about your beliefs from a mu’min and you’re learning it from ahl as-sanad, the shaykh or the ‘aalim who is teaching you - because he is from ahl sanad (an unbroken chain going back to the Prophet salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa salam) - is teaching you the affairs of iman based upon what the Prophet Muhammad salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa salam intended for you to understand from each and every point of iman that you’re supposed to learn. Contrast this to the teacher who does not have a sanad, he who does not have an unbroken chain. Whatever he is teaching you in terms of iman, he is teaching you based upon his own understanding. So there is no link between what he is teaching you and what the Prophet salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa salam intended. So good luck to you if he gives you what is supposed to be delivered or not. It is a risk.
Of the things which help a person remain steadfast during the times of fitna or when the fitan evolve is when the child is young and the parent teaches them of the different points of iman that they need to carry in their hearts. When the child is around six or seven years old, you should start educating your child on our creed as Muslims and what it means to be a Muslim in terms of the points of aqidah and iman. When you plant the seeds of iman in the child’s heart, then you continue with this until they reach the age of discretion. You have to have this continuous relationship with the child from the age of five, six, or seven – every child is different – until they reach the age of discretion and they can differentiate and they are aware, and they are responsible, young adults. What has happened is that you’ve planted the seed, so you continuously nourish the seed, you continue to feed that seed until it becomes strengthened in the child.
You’ll find that when the child is a young teenager or a young adult and the affairs of iman arise around them, their iman is not shaken or they do not waver. Beware lest you become lazy in doing this because if you delay in teaching your children about the affairs of iman and aqidah, then you’ve planted the seeds late and so the plants won’t be strong and they’re already growing up crooked, so to speak. This is why the Prophet salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa salam said, “Every child is born upon fitra (a natural state).” The natural state of a human being is acknowledging that there is only One God – la ilaaha illa Allah. This is the fitra of every single human being. It is the duty of the parents to feed and nourish this fitra. By nourishing it, it’s like planting a seed. As the seed breaks and roots break forth down in the earth, they become firm into the earth and the branches go up branching out into the sky, this is how Allah describes it in the Quran. So beware in being slow in planting the seed and nourishing that seed.
Some of you may be asking, “Do we teach our children adiqah, the creed of Islam? It’s difficult. It’s very technical. How is it that we teach them creed?” No. What is intended is that we work to have our children’s hearts connected with Allah. This is what is required. Aqidah in terms of a child is their connection and their relationship with Allah.
The number one and the last point of aqidah is the child’s connection to Allah and who is Allah. For example, you address your children in ways that they understand on a daily basis, and you say “Who is it that gave you a tongue that you speak so nicely with and that you have such a wonderful voice?” Or “Who is that gave you your beautiful ears that allowed you to listen to the Quran or your shaykh or to listen to the birds in the garden? Who is it that gave you this?” Allah. The answer is Allah gave you this. Allah is so generous. Thus, they have a positive association with Allah.
You’ll say, for example, “Who is it that gave you your brain?” They could have come and got 100% on their test. “MashaAllah, who gave you such an intelligent brain?” Allah subhana wa ta’ala. You teach them to thank Allah. “Who is it that created Mom and Dad? Allah. He gave you Mom and Dad.” Talk to them in this gentle manner. When you’re sitting at the dinner table eating your food, ask “Who gave us the food?” Allah. “Who gave you the water?” “Who created the universe?” “Who gave you life? Who is the One that gives life?” Allah. Everything is from Allah.
As you live and link every single thing in the life of the child with Allah, then they will say “This Allah is someone great. What must be the most important aspect of my life? Allah.” When you constantly address your children with Allah, then you have surely planted, inshaAllah, the tree of imaan in their hearts. So instead of reaching the age of puberty, they (at that time) reach the age of gnosis with Allah (المراقبة) so they are constantly aware of Allah. The salaf, the righteous of the past, did this and it was a part of their lives.
We’re now going to tell a story about one of our mashayikh.
In Hadhramawt, when one of the very prominent ‘aarifeen billah (who was an agnostic of Allah and very close to Allah) was four or five years old, his mother used to do with him like we just explained earlier which is building in the child a relationship with or knowledge of Allah. They were of a poor family. If they happened to have any food, the only food they would have would be dates. Nothing more than that. This ‘aalim was Al Habib Abdullah bin Husayn bin Taha, and usually we recite his du’a at the end of a majlis - “يا ربنا اعترفنا” until the end of the du’a. This is the du’a that he used to recite.
When he was young, he was once very hungry. They’re a poor family, so they didn’t have food lying around the house and the kids just run into the kitchen and get whatever they like. Food was not something that they had in the home. So he ran to his mother and he said to his mother and said “Mother I’m very hungry.” He was four or five years old, and he was hungry with severe hunger pain. His mother had one or two dates, but she didn’t give them to him immediately. He was not aware that she had with her a date or two, so she said to him, “O my son, I don’t have any food. I am a servant of Allah just like you are. I am subject to what Allah gives me. I’m a slave just as are a slave of Allah.” He said to his mother, “Who will give us food? Who will feed us?” She said, “Allah is the One that will feed us. He is the one that will give us food.” Maybe it’s a good idea that you pray two raka’a and make du’a. He said, “Will He hear me? Will He listen to me? Will He answer my calls?” His mother said, “Try and see what happens.”
She then taught him how to make wudhu. Obviously, he’d seen his parents pray before. So he went into a room and he prayed two raka’a. After salah, he raised his hands and he pleaded to Allah. Usually when a child makes du’a, they ask with conviction. There is no impurity in whatever it is that they’re requesting. He called to Allah while weeping and crying. “O Allah, feed us. Send us food.” His mother, without the boy being aware or realizing, very gently and quietly opened the door while he was making du’a and she put a plate with a couple of dates in the room behind him. When he finished his du’a and as he was about to leave the room, he saw the food on the floor. He was amazed and shocked. He took the plate and he ran to his mother. “Mother, Mother! Allah answered my du’a!” From that time onwards, the child’s heart was hooked and he was a lover of Allah. He grew up to be a great ‘aalim. It is said that when he stood before people and he just opened up the lecture or talk with “Alhamdulillah,” the entire gathering just shook and started to weep. He said it from his heart with such yaqeen and sincerity.
We find, however, that instead of the children of today weeping and calling to Allah, we are weeping for them because of the state that they are in. We ask ourselves, how is it that we are raising our children? What are we feeding them? The food itself is impure. The junk that they’re being fed around them, spiritually and physically is all impure. It’s all junk, and junk knowledge is coming in and out. Whatever they’re being exposed to is all junk. So their spiritual condition that they’re exposed to is a reflection of what is going inside them. This is all because of our heedlessness as parents.
We find now that once our children go into the community, they just get taken into the whirlwind of society. They don’t know how to cope or deal with things. They just get taken in and they conform with everybody else, and they die upon that state. Unless, that is, of course, Allah wishes to save the particular child. Unless they, for example, attend majalis, gatherings of ‘ilm and they are fortunate enough to get nadharaat, the vision from the ‘arifeen billah, those gnostics or knowers of Allah subhana wa ta’ala. Today, it is a sad situation unless we go back to teach our children to be upon the path of the Prophet Muhammad salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa aalihi wa sahbihi wa salim.
The next point which Abu Haamid Al Ghazali mentions talks about tawbah (repentance). This topic requires an entire lecture in itself so we will stop there.
Next week, we’re invited to some functions to do with the month of Rabi’ al Awwal, the birth of the Prophet Muhammad salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa salam. InshaAllah the week after next, we may have some naseeb in spending time in the company of the Prophet salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa salam in the sir an nabawiyya.
Just as we were talking about teaching our children aqidah and the creed of Islam, we should also be teaching them about the Prophet Muhammad, salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa salam – his sunnah, his characteristics, his way of life, how he behaved, his manner, his character, everything about him, and teaching them about how we love him, why we love him. We should be teaching them about the heart of the Prophet Muhammad, salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa salam and what was his rank and place with Allah even if it is just to make a point, even if some of which you teach your children is above their heads. However, if you find that you are able to plant in the heart of your son or your daughter one aspect which they love about the Prophet Muhammad, salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa salam, and eventually they implement it, then this is a great blessing and there’s a lot of goodness in it, inshaAllah.