THE TEST OF LIFE
AN EXAMINATION

The most excellent gift parents can bestow upon their children is education and nurturing to cultivate their moral character. This is the real responsibility of parents.

A Muslim individual migrated with his wife from Uttar Pradesh to settle in Delhi, where he ventured into the property business and accumulated considerable wealth. However, they were unable to conceive any children. On one occasion, their mother visited Delhi and observed her son living in a grand residence. Although he possessed abundant worldly possessions, the couple had been unable to have children despite a significant duration of marriage. This predicament left their mother deeply concerned, often pondering, “Who will inherit my son’s wealth?”

This incident serves as a poignant reminder of why children are described as a trial in the Quran (64:15). The underlying reason behind this is that people view their children as an extension of themselves, hoping that their hard-earned wealth will not go to waste but instead be inherited by their offspring.

The notion of children being a trial is rooted in this perception. However, the most profound consequence of this viewpoint is its tendency to make individuals oblivious to the gravity of death. They fail to contemplate the repercussions that follow death earnestly. Whether consciously or unconsciously, they become ignorant of the realities of death and the afterlife.

The true significance of children lies in their role as guarantors of the continuity and advancement of the human race. Regarding wealth, it serves as an examination paper for the father and the son. When wealth is approached from this perspective, it ceases to become a problem. This truth is encapsulated in a hadith of the Prophet, which states that the most excellent gift parents can bestow upon their children is education and nurturing to cultivate their moral character. (Sunan At-Tirmidhi, Hadith No. 1952)