Paradise Under Your Feet — Page 27
Chapter 2: Pre-Birth and Infancy 27 Holy Qur ’ an by his mother before he was born. This may well have been a major factor in creating love of the Holy Qur ’ an and love of Allah in his heart. Thus, expectant mothers are strongly encouraged to regularly recite the Holy Qur ’ an aloud. In addition to taking care of her spiritual and emotional well-being, an expectant mother has to take care of her physical health and be sure to have a nutritional diet, exercise and to rest well. Lastly, but most importantly, the months of waiting are a time for prayers for the unborn child: َ وَ ال ذیۡنَ یَقوۡلوۡنَ رَبَنَا َ و منۡ اَزۡوَاجنَا ہَبۡ لَنَا ذریّٰتنَا للۡمتَقیۡنَ امَامًا َ اجۡعَلۡنَا قرَۃَ اَعۡینٍ و “ And those who say, ‘ Our Lord, grant us of our wives and children the delight of our eyes, and make us a model for the righteous. ” 2. 4 Waqf-e-Nau Schem e At this time parents, may want to consider the Waqf-e-Nau scheme initiated by Hazrat Khalifatul-Masih IV (rh) on April 3rd, 1987. Under Divine guidance, Hazrat Khalifatul-Masih IV (rh) called on Ahmadi Muslims to dedicate their children before birth to the service of Islam in the same manner as Hena (ra), mother of Mary (as), dedicated her unborn child to the service of Allah, as narrated in the Holy Qur ’ an in Chapter Al-e- ’ Imran. In announcing this scheme, he said: “ I thought that I will convince the whole Jama ’ at that as we are trying to increase our spiritual progeny before the next century through propagation, we should also offer our yet to