- I heard from a young age that, you know,
our parents are gonna be asked about how they raised us.
We're gonna be questioned about our actions
and I never want to be the reason why they don't
pass on to Jannah or something,
because something that I did goes back and falls on them.
(wind whooshing)
Captioning provided by MUHSEN (www.muhsen.org)
(reciting in Arabic)
- So it's not just that Ibrahim 'alayhi salaam
is gifted with progeny but it's when he makes that dua
that's actually really profound.
Allah 'Azawajal mentions that he makes this dua
as he is walking away from the fire
and distance from his father and his people.
"falamma i'tazalahum wama ya'buduna min dun ilah"
Once he left them and what they worship
besides Allah Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la.
"wahabna lahu Is'haq wa Ya'qub"
we gifted him with not just Is'haq but Ya'qub.
Years, years later it wasn't gonna come yet,
but not just his son, Isaac but Jacob, as well.
Is'haq and Ya'qub
It was at that moment that he says.
"Rabbi habli min al-salihin"
Oh my Lord, grant me from the righteous.
Now, this is a really interesting point
with Ibrahim 'alayhi salaam, right, the timeline.
So you got this long period where
he doesn't experience having that progeny.
Then he has Ismail 'alayhi salaam and then he has to give up
Ismail 'alayhi salaam.
Then 13 years later Is'haq.
And then he lives long enough
to where he gets to see children, grandchildren
and dies surrounded by many.
And he made that dua
"rabbana hab lana min azwajina
wa dhurriyatina qurrata ayuin"
Grant us from our spouses and our offspring,
the coolness of our eyes.
What makes them the coolness of your eyes?
The ulama (scholars) mention, for the believer
when you see them increase in righteousness
then they become the coolness of your eyes.
It's not just, you know,
the parent that becomes obsessive about
seeing their kids get straight A's,
get through med school, the coolness of their eyes,
you know, a certain wedding or whatever it may be.
But you know, the moment that you see your progeny
worshiping Allah Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la,
praying, reading Quran, having a moment of reflection
and realization for themselves.
And what you start to notice is that with the prophets
this has a much more expansive meaning.
Ibrahim 'alayhi salaam is "Abu al-Anbiya".
He is the father of the prophets.
The Prophet SallAllahu 'Alaihi Wasallam,
he said that "I am to you like a father"
"u'alimakum", I teach you.
So my relationship to you as my ummah is like a father,
I teach you.
And SubhanAllah that last proud moment
of a father was when he's seeing his ummah in prayer, right?
The Prophet SallAllahu 'Alaihi Wasallam moves his curtain,
and like, I'm going to die now.
And as Ibrahim said, "ma ta'buduna min ba'di?"
What are you people gonna worship after me?
And they affirm Allah.
And then the children of Is'haq, Jacob, Allah
and then Jacob talking to his kids
we're gonna worship one god.
And the Prophet SallAllahu 'Alaihi Wasallam,
that proud father moment, right?
Where he pulls that curtain to the side
and my ummah is in prayer.
Alhamdulillah, like my children are good.
There's something to be taken
from this about legacy, imprint.
And I wanna take from that, insha'Allah Ta'ala,
obviously, the notion of praying for children,
righteous children, not just children
but righteous children or progeny.
But also, this idea of actually leaving behind an imprint
in someone's life that increases in righteousness
because of something that you infuse in them.
And that becoming a Sadaqah Jariyah that goes on after you.
And some of the scholars say, SubhanAllah,
look at Aisha radiAllahu anha, our mother.
Aisha radiAllahu anha our mother
technically biologically, she was childless,
but she has all of these children that quote her
in the ahadith and that come close
to the Prophet SallAllahu 'Alaihi Wasallam through her.
And that imprint that you leave behind,
that legacy that you want to leave behind.
What does the phrase "coolness of my eyes"
what cools your eyes?
What do you think about, you know,
in those last moments of, may Allah Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la
grant us good lives and righteous endings.
What do you think about when you think about
the coolness of your eyes?
- I think there's a science behind the type of tears
that you have, like there's a warmth
when you're really upset.
There is a coolness when you're happy.
And I think that there is, it's an interesting play
on the effect of our tears
as well as, you know, just like emotion in general.
Normally when your body is hot
there's some kind of anger or frustration
- Right
but when it's cool,
there's calm and serenity - Right.
- So, I mean, for me,
I find the coolness of the eyes means peace.
And that's what I would grasp out of that.
- SubhanAllah, beautiful.
And, you know, SubhanAllah, the coolness of the eyes,
the Prophet SallAllahu 'Alaihi Wasallam said
that his ultimate quratu'ain, his ultimate coolness
of his eyes was in salah, like prayer.
As much as I love my family and things of this world,
sweet scents, the way that people like sweet scents
and perfume and whatever it may be just,
he said, my quratu'ain, the coolness of my eyes
is in my salah, is in prayer.
Like that's where my true joy and comfort comes from.
But undoubtedly, Rasulullah SallAllahu 'Alaihi Wasallam
looking at Ali radiAllahu ta-A'la anhu
and Fatima radiAllahu anha, Zayd radiAllahu anhu,
I mean that's the coolness of his eyes.
Al-Hassan wa al-Hussain, right.
May Allah be pleased with them.
Like that's the coolness of his eyes, right.
Looking at them like, wow, what beauty here.
When he picks up al-Hassan radiAllahu ta-A'la anhu,
he's on the mimbar giving khutba
and he picks up al-Hassan radiAllahu anhu,
you know, Hassan is tripping over his garment to get to him.
It's cute little kids, right.
And he pulls him up and he says,
this son of mine is a Sayyid, he's a leader.
One day Allah is gonna bring together two massive parties
amongst the Muslims, two massive groups
amongst the Muslims that are fighting.
Allah will bring them together through this sayyid of mine.
It's interesting.
SubhanAllah, these visions that Allah gave to them.
Umar ibn al-Khattab radiAllahu ta-A'la anhu he saw a dream
of Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz rahimahullah, his grandson
who he'd never live to see, but he wakes up smiling.
He says, who is this?
"man hatha al-fata min nasli?"
Who is this young man from my offspring
that's gonna fill the earth with justice.
And after it's been filled with injustice
who's gonna carry this legacy and carry it well.
So SubhanAllah, if you realize that the connotation
of coolness of their eyes is really about that which is
pleasing to the sight of Allah Subh'anaha Wa Ta-A'la
and leaving things on this earth that please the sight
of Allah Subh'anaha Wa Ta-A'la
It's what you constantly see here.
And, you know, whether it's children or elsewise.
- Something for me that I always get emotional about
and that I love about Islam is that stress on family
and legacy and to think that the decisions that you make
can affect the ones that come after you.
And, I don't have children yet, Insha'Allah, you know
may Allah grant us that blessing
one day. - Ameen.
- But, you know, just thinking about who this future child
could become that maybe my dua for them
or my dua for their children.
And, whoever they marry can, you know,
affect them in a positive way.
And to think that maybe I would never
live long enough to see who that grandchild is,
or the great great grandchild
but to think that the duas that we make
can ultimately affect how they become.
And you know from the story of Maryam's mother,
that the dua that she made for them was,
I'm gonna give my child to you for service for their life.
And reflecting on that as a child,
you know, with parents,
I heard from a young age that
our parents are gonna be asked about how they raised us.
We're gonna be questioned about our actions
and I never want to be the reason
why they don't pass on to Jannah or something,
because something that I did
goes back and falls on them.
- May Allah make you the source
of the coolness of their eyes.
Ameen. - [All] Ameen.
- SubhanAllah, it's a different perspective.
I wanna be the coolness of my parents eyes.
You know, this idea that we're the answer to a dua,
it could be a parent's prayer or a grandparents' prayer
that we talked about earlier that
Allah molds your entire life in accordance
with that person's prayer.
That the dua of that righteous mom.
How many people do we find in history,
the dua of the mom, right?
And you wanna please them and get that dua from them,
have those righteous duas.
And SubhanAllah, it's not even just connected
to the immediate succession here, right.
Ibrahim 'alayhi salaam made dua,
"wa-ib'ath fihim rasulan min'hum"
Someone in my offspring, oh Allah,
send this person, who's going to teach them the book
and its wisdom.
Send this person for an offspring.
The Prophet Mohammed SallAllahu 'Alaihi Wasallam
from his offspring thousands of years later, right?
He's the answer.
The Prophet SallAllahu 'Alaihi Wasallam said,
"Ana da'awatu abi Ibrahim."
That's how he introduced himself.
I am the dua of my father Ibrahim.
That's his introduction to the world.
How do you introduce yourself?
Who are you?
"Ana da'awatu abi Ibrahim."
I'm the dua of my father Ibrahim 'alayhi salaam.
That's his first way to introduce himself,
SallAllahu 'Alaihi Wasallam.
I mean, it's beautiful. It's profound.
Someone once shook me, SubhanAllah,
they were sharing, and it was recently.
And I can't remember who said this first but it shook me.
Said, you know, here in this land in North America,
what persecuted enslaved Muslim made dua for Malcolm X?
For a lot to like, who was he the answer to?
You know, was there a woman at the bottom of a ship
that was, or someone that was being tortured and oppressed
and their religion taken away from them
with everything else that said, oh Allah,
plant the seeds of this dean in this place
where it's being taken away from us.
'Cause there is a disconnect between those
that were brought in chains long years
before this revival of Islam.
Which comes through multiple people
not just Malcolm, certainly but like,
who's dua was he an answer to, you know.
And Allah knows, only Allah knows,
but it's a powerful thought, right?
It could have just been some person
that was just, SubhanAllah, in the midst of that torture
trying to hide the Quran and still practice
the religion that said, oh Allah, revive it here.
And we get that glorious history.
So that's the coolness of the eyes.
SubhanAllah, the coolness of the eyes, right.
And the people that have passed, they get the news
of those that are still here, you know?
SubhanAllah, you never know
what your dua could plant.
Your dua in and of itself could plant
in terms of righteousness and succession on this earth.
- SubhanAllah
Imagine, Ibrahim 'alayhi salaam when he saw
Ismail 'alayhi salaam and he's about to sacrifice him
and he says, "ya abati if'al ma tu'mar".
Oh my father, do as you've been commanded,
you'll find me to be from the patient.
Like what a moment of emotion, right?
Look how righteous this boy is
and I'm being commanded to take him, to sacrifice him.
SubhanAllah, like he's giving the answer of salaam, right?
Islam, peace and submission to his father.
And he has to take him and Allah blesses him
to where he's not taken but that's
I can't imagine what was in the heart of our father,
Ibrahim 'alayhi salaam in those moments.
Like, wow, what a beautiful boy this is
that he responds this way
and Allah Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la,
he spares him in those moments.
I want to add one more layer to this which is,
especially for those parents that have lost children.
'Cause that's the most painful,
arguably the most painful trial
that a person could go through
and actually losing their child.
And SubhanAllah, I think it's important to remind them
that there is no greater coolness to your eyes
than when you see your child on the day of judgment,
extending their hand ready to take you
into the gates of Jannah.
So, just because they're not the coolness of your eyes
in this life does not mean that they're not the coolness
of your eyes in the next life.
I think it's important.
You know, there was a very powerful mother
who had lost her her daughter to cancer,
may Allah hae mercy on her and grant them thabat
firmness as parents.
And she said, you know, you have these dreams.
And she died of a very specific type of cancer,
stomach cancer.
Said, you know, people have these dreams
of raising their kids to graduate
and walk across the stage and walk them down the aisle.
But Allah blessed me to have a Shaheeda,
a martyr for my children.
She has to keep reminding herself of that.
So SubhanAllah, the coolness of our eyes
can come in multiple forms.
But the point of it at the end of the day is
what is pleasing to the sight of Allah
becomes pleasing to my eye as well.
And that was the station
that our father Ibrahim 'alayhi salaam achieved.
If anyone else says, I don't wanna close it
'cause it's a powerful subject.
- [Artisia] Can I ask a question?
- Please go ahead.
- So, we're talking about children and having children,
I think about the mothers
and the couples in general that have trouble conceiving
or infertility is not talked about a lot.
A lot of times people just expect you to have a child,
you know, that you're able to do that.
And thinking that, you know,
your child one day could reach, like you said,
reach out for your hand on the day of judgment.
For people that are not able to conceive,
what would you say to them?
- What I would say to them, SubhanAllah
is of the four perfect women
that the Prophet SallAllahu 'Alaihi Wasallam mentioned
Khadija, Fatima, Asiya and Maryam.
Everyone has a path back to Allah Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la
in that regard and it's rizq at the end of the day.
And just like when poverty is inflicted on a person
it's not a form of deprivation,
it's a pathway to Allah Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la
There's the niyah, there's the intention
and then there's also the impact, the effect
and all that is brought out of that
that a person leaves behind.
Aisha radiAllahu anha being the primary example of that.
And so legacy is not restricted to lineage.
Motherhood is obviously praised in Islam,
it has a high position but it's not the only
pathway to Allah Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la.
That doesn't mean you diminish the rank of motherhood,
that means that you increase the rank of the believer
no matter what their circumstances
that they have this way back
to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala no matter what.
- So, sister Sara, having hope is one thing,
but sometimes we only have hope.
How do we actually take our hopes to the next level,
especially as it pertains to our children?
- You know, dua is actually a very active way
of showing our hope in our children
but we can even take that dua into an actionable level.
And I think as parents, one of the most beautiful things
that we can do is to pray for our children.
But I think we also need to question
what do we bring to the table for them?
So a lot of times we make dua for our children
to be the coolness of our eyes,
to be a source of comfort for us.
And I mean, for all of us Insha'Allah,
but also asking ourselves, what am I doing to be a source
of comfort and coolness to my child as well,
and to my parents as well in order to model that
for my children.
I know my dad, may Allah Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la protect him,
the way that he dealt with his mom,
made me want to deal with him in that way, Masha-Allah.
That he was so good to his mother and prioritizing her,
that modeling made me want to do that for him as well.
And I think that that's something so beautiful.
And then in my own life with my kids thinking,
you know I want them to be a comfort to me
but am I a comfort to them?
Can I work on being more of a source of comfort to them?
And one of the things that we find in research
and in just in the field of psychology
is that a lot of times our connection
with Allah Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la emulates
our connection with our parents.
And so when we can try to develop this sense of comfort
and security and tranquility in our relationship
with our children, that Insha'Allah,
is going to help them to develop that stability
and comfort in their relationship
with Allah Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la.
And one of the things that we see in the example
of Ismail 'alayhi salaam is when his father,
Ibrahim 'alayhi salaam comes to him
and says, you know, I've had this dream
that I have to sacrifice you
and Ismail responds in such an incredible way
where he says, well Insha'Allah,
you're gonna find me from amongst the patient.
Go ahead.
And that to me is so profound.
Number one, because it shows the trust
between Ismail and Ibrahim, their relationship.
But the other thing is it shows the separate relationship
Ismail has with Allah Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la.
And that's something I think is so important for us
as parents is don't allow ourselves to be intermediaries
between our children and Allah.
Allow them to have a separate relationship
with Allah Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la
And that's something that can be very powerful
in allowing them to have that sense of comfort
and serenity and allow our hopes
to now become something even more for them, Insha'Allah.
- If you're benefiting from this content
then please make sure to click, subscribe
and make sure that you turn on your notifications.
Captioning provided by MUHSEN (www.muhsen.org)