THE STATUS OF CHILDREN

This world is like an examination hall; everything bestowed upon humans is an examination paper. Wealth, children, and everything else must be considered as a test.

A person called me on the phone and asked me what the Quran means when it refers to children as a trial or tribulation (8:28; 64:15). Muslims commonly understand that children are a gift from God; they do not perceive their children as a trial. So, how should we interpret the Quranic verses that describe children as a trial?

In response, I explained that children themselves are not inherently a trial. Poison, for example, is intrinsically harmful, but the issue with children does not lie in their inherent nature. The reality is that the wrong disposition of parents can turn their children into a trial for them. If parents possess a righteous spirit, their children will not be a trial for them. The word ‘trial’ literally means a test. This world is like an examination hall; everything bestowed upon humans is an examination paper. Wealth, children, and everything else can be considered a test. One should perceive all these aspects from the same perspective and constantly strive to pass this test.

The essence of this matter is that individuals should make their Creator their most significant concern. No worldly possessions should be their sole focus whether wealth, children, or power. One who makes other things besides God their concern will not pass the test and rise in the Hereafter as a destitute person when all his support has been cut off from him. At that time, they will lament, realizing their wealth did not benefit them and their power has vanished (Quran 69:28-29).

Therefore, children, in reality, are a matter of responsibility rather than a matter of pride.