The Prophet's Manners Towards Children

it was narrated that anas, may allaah be pleased with him, said, “the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, used to greet boys as he passed by them.” [al-bukhaari and muslim]

it was also narrated that ‘aa’ishah, may allaah be pleased with her, said, “young boys would be brought to the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and he would invoke the blessings of allaah upon them. once a baby boy was brought to him and he urinated on his clothes. he, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, asked for water and poured it over the place of the urine but did not wash his clothes.” [al-bukhaari and muslim]

on hearing the cries of a child, the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, used to cut the prayer short, as he disliked to trouble the child's mother. [al-bukhaari and muslim]

in fact, there are many incidents that clearly show the kindness of the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, towards children such as when he, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, let al- hasan or al-husayn ride on his back while he was prostrating and so he remained so until he (his grandson) had had enough and descended. then, when the messenger of allaah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, finished praying, people said, “o messenger of allaah, during your prayer you prostrated for so long that we thought something had happened or that you were receiving revelation.” he said: “nothing at all happened, but my son was riding on my back and i did not want to disturb him until he had had enough.” [an-nasaa’i and ahmad]

the messenger of allaah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, would put the young usaamah ibn zayd, may allaah be pleased with him, on his thigh and put al-hasan ibn ‘ali on his other thigh, and then embrace them and say: "o allaah, be merciful to them as i am merciful to them.” [al- bukhaari]

it was narrated that anas, may allaah be pleased with him, said, “the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, would play with zaynab, daughter of umm salamah, saying: ‘o zuwaynib, o zuwaynib (a diminutive of zaynab)’ repeatedly.” [adh-dhiyaa’ al-maqdisi in al-mukhtaarah; al-albaani: saheeh (authentic)]

sometimes the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, would be praying and he would carry umaamah, the daughter of his daughter zaynab, may allaah be pleased with her; when he stood up would pick her up, and when he prostrated he would put her down.

while the messenger of allaah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, was once delivering a speech, al- hasan and al-husayn came stumbling, wearing red shirts. he came down from the pulpit, carried them and put them in front of him. he then said: “allaah the almighty truly says (what means): {your wealth and your children are but a trial.} [quran 64: 15]. i saw them stumbling, and i could not wait, so i interrupted my speech to pick them up.” [abu daawood, at-tirmithi, an-nasaa’i and ibn maajah; al-albaani: saheeh (authentic)]

the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, outlined the instructions of the emotional care for children by treating them kindly and mercifully, and joking and playing with them.

the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, paid much attention to children. he showed careful consideration to their feelings and psychological wellbeing. he would play with them and treat them nicely. it was never said that he frowned at any of them. rather, he would have a broad smile on his face whenever he met any of them. in fact, his biography is a practical example of this.

it was also narrated that ya‘la ibn murrah, may allaah be pleased with him, said, we went out with the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and were invited somewhere for food. on the way, we found al-husayn playing in the street. the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, rushed and extended his hand to him. the boy ran here and there and the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, was laughing with him. then, he picked him up and put one of his hands under his chin and the other over his head and embraced him. then, the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: "husayn is from me, and i am from husayn. may allaah love he who loves husayn. al-hasan and al- husayn are men of comprehensive goodness.” [al-bukhaari in al-adab al-mufrad;ahmad, at-tirmithi and ibn maajah; al-albaani: hasan]

also, it was narrated that umm khaalid bint khaalid ibn sa‘eed, may allaah be pleased with her, said, i came to the messenger of allaah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, along with my father and i was wearing a yellow shirt. the messenger of allaah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: "sanaah sanaah!" (‘abdullah, the sub-narrator of this narration, said, "this (word) eans, 'nice, nice!' in the language of abyssinia.”) umm khaalid added, "then i started playing with the seal of prophethood. my father rebuked me but the messenger of allaah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi was sallam, said (to my father): "leave her."

the messenger of allaah (then addressing me) said: "may you live so long that your dress gets worn out, and you will mend it many times, and then wear another till that gets worn out." [al-bukhaari]

he also consoled abu ‘umayr, a little boy, on the death of his bird saying: “'o abu 'umayr! what did the nughayr do?”

it was narrated that anas, may allaah be pleased with him, said, “the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, would visit us. i had a younger brother nicknamed abu ‘umayr who had a nughayr (a kind of bird) with which he would play. his bird died and one day the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, came to us and found him sad. then he asked: ‘why is abu ‘umayr so sad?’ people replied, ‘his bird with which he used to play died, o messenger of allaah. then the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: 'o abu ‘umayr! what did the nughayr do?’” [al-bukhaari and muslim]

the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, was the most compassionate person towards children. he gave them special and careful consideration and considered whatever may be beneficial for them. it was narrated that anas, may allaah be pleased with him, said, “i never saw anyone who was more compassionate towards children than the messenger of allaah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.” [muslim]

allaah the almighty, the most truthful says (what means) describing him: {and indeed, you are of a great moral character.} [quran 68:4]