A FATHER’S GIFT

A father should thank God Almighty for allowing him to provide for his children. And when he cannot bestow worldly possessions upon his children, he should offer heartfelt prayers to His Lord for his children.

When a father cannot provide material possessions like a house and wealth for his children, he often feels worthless. As a father, he has been unable to build their world for them. However, this is not a positive feeling of a father towards his children. Instead, gratitude should be the correct sentiment. A father who can offer worldly possessions to his children should be grateful to God for granting him the ability to provide. God has blessed him with hands and feet, enabling him to earn and fulfil his children’s material needs.

On the other hand, for a father who cannot bestow worldly possessions upon his children, prayer is still something significant that he can offer them. He can humbly say in his prayers, “O God, I may not have been able to provide my children with what I desired, but You are their Lord and mine. Grant my children what I could not provide. Accept my supplications on behalf of my children, just as You have inspired human beings with the prayer: ‘Our Lord, grant us good in this world as well as good in the world to come, and protect us from the torment of the Fire.’” (Quran, 2:201)

When a father makes this prayer for his children, he bestows them something more significant. He desired to give himself to his children, but his circumstances have allowed him to surrender them to their Lord through his heartfelt prayers. He wanted to offer his children something small; his circumstances enabled him to give them something far greater—God, the Lord of the Worlds.