Absolute Justice, Kindness and Kinship — Page 397
— Part IV 388 It is narrated by Nu‘m a n bin Bash i r ra , that once his father took him to the Holy Messenger sa and told him that he had given him, Nu‘ ma n, a slave by way of gift. At this the Holy Prophet sa inquired if he had gifted a slave to each of his sons. His father answered, 'No, I have only bestowed one slave upon this son of mine. ' At this, the Holy Prophet sa told him to take the gift back which he did accordingly. In another narration, it is mentioned that the Holy Prophet sa admonished: 'Have fear of Allah and treat your children with justice and equality. ' By way of explanation he told the father of Nu‘m a n, 'When you mentioned this gift to your son before me it was like making me a witness over this false deal. Never dare to make me witness over falsehood. I can never become a witness over any transgression. ' 67 The Reward for Treating Children with Justice Then, to firmly establish the rights of children, Allah has mentioned a reward for this act. It is a strange glory of Allah that He has fixed a reward for a naturally found trend among parents. Most of them treat their children with equal kindness. Hadrat ‘ A ’ishah ra narrates, 'Once a poor woman came to me. She was carrying two girls in her arms, one on either side. I gave her three dates and she gave one to each girl and put one in her own mouth. But before she could eat it the girls demanded it from her. At this, she took the date out of her mouth, divided it