first, the most merciful of mankind to kids

anas-bin-malek, may allah be pleased with him, said:

"never in my life, have i seen somebody more merciful to kids than the prophet, peace be upon him [1]."

boraida, may allah be pleased with him, said:

while the prophet, peace be upon him, was on the platform (minbar) making us a speech, he saw (his grandsons) al hassan and al hussein (small kids) coming in wearing red shirts, walking and falling over, every now and then. the prophet, peace be upon him, came down (the platform), carried the kids, and seated them on his lap, and then, he said:

"verily, allah (the almighty), speaks the truth:

(your wealth and your children are only a temptation…) (sorah 64, aya 15), and continued saying: "i saw these two kids walking and tumbling, i felt so impatient that i interrupted my speech in order to help them up. [2]"

it was narrated that shaddad-bin-aws, may allah be pleased with him, said:

"(one day), the prophet, peace be upon him, came in, at the time of one of the two evening prayers, carrying al hassan or al hussein. then, the prophet, peace be upon him, went forward, laid the small kid aside, and he started praying. during the prayer, he made one of his prostrations so long that i raised my head (up from the prostration position on the ground). i found the small kid mounting on the back of the prophet, peace be upon him. so, i lowered my head down again (continued the prostration). after the prophet, peace be upon him, ended the prayer, the companions asked: "messenger of allah, we have noticed that one of the prostrations was so long, that we thought there was something unusual, or that you were receiving revelation (of some qur'an)." "all that did not happen", was the prophet's reply, adding: "my grandson was mounting on my back, and i did not like to rush the kid before getting enough of what he likes. [3]".

thabet reported that anas, may allah be pleased with both of them, said: "the prophet, peace be upon him, used to hold ibrahim (his little son that died in infancy), and to kiss, and smell the kid. [4]"

second, his reproach of those who are harsh with kids:

abu huraira, may allah be pleased with him, reported that al akraa-bin-habis saw the prophet, peace be upon him, kissing al hassan (his grandson). so, habis said: "i have ten of children, but never in my life had i kissed any of them." the prophet, peace be upon him, responded: "he who is not merciful, does not deserve mercy." [6]"

this is a call to harsh-hearted people, in general, and child abusers in particular...

third, his supplication for kids:

aa'isha (wife of the prophet), may allah be pleased with her, reported:

"little kids were usually brought to the prophet, peace be upon him (by their parents). so, he prayed for god to bless them, and trained them to chew [7]" by putting soft dates chewed by his blessed jaws in their little mouths.

it was reported that ibn-abbas, may allah be pleased with him, said:

"the prophet, peace be upon him, was invoking allah to protect al hassan, and al hussein, and used to say: "your father [ibrahim pbuh] used to ask the protection of allah (the almighty) for ismail and isaak (his sons): "i ask refuge in the perfect words of allah (the almighty) to protect you from every satan, crawlers (such as scorpions, snakes, etc..) and from every attacking eye of envy. [8]"

osama-bin-zeid, may allah be pleased with him, reported that the prophet, peace be upon him, used to take osama (when he was a kid) with al hassan, saying: "oh allah, i love them; i beseech you to love them. [9]"

al baraa, may allah be pleased with him, said: "i saw the prophet, peace be upon him, and al hassan-bin-ali (the prophet's grandson) on his shoulder, and he was saying: "oh allah, i love him; i beseech you to love him. [10]"

fourth, his greeting and his sympathy with kids:

the prophet muhammad, peace be upon him, used to salute kids on the roads, pass his blessed hand affectionately over their little heads, and faces. it was reported that jaber-bin-samora, may allah be pleased with him, said:

"(while i was a little kid), i prayed with the prophet, peace be upon him, for the first time. then, he went out to go home. i went out with him, and some kids of the madina hurried to meet him. he started passing (his blessed) hand over the cheeks of one after the other." jaber added: "as for me, when passing (his blessed) hand over my cheek, i felt its coldness, and its smell, like a hand that has just come out of the jar of a perfume seller. [11]"

fifth, his special care about kids, when he leads prayers:

kolen said:

"the prayers of the prophet, peace be upon him, were rather long especially supererogatory prayers, that are probably beyond the ability of the companions. however, when leading prayers, that he prefers to make long, if he heard a baby crying, he would tolerate to finish the prayer quickly. women were participating in the collective prayers behind the prophet pbuh. considering that the mother of the crying baby might be among the people praying behind the prophet pbuh, he tolerated to accelerate the prayer, in order to comfort the heart of that mother [12]".

the prophet, peace be upon him, said:

"i stand for praying, and i intend to make it long. i hear a baby crying. so, i tolerate to shorten it, as i dislike making it unbearable for the mother. [13]"

anas-bin-malek said:

"never have i prayed behind an imam with as light and perfect a prayer as the prayer of the prophet, peace be upon him, though (during the prayer), when he hears a baby crying, he shortens it for fear that its mother may be tempted away [14]"

sixth, his encouragement ~ peace be upon him ~ of a truthful boy

when some qur'an was revealed verifying the testimony of omayr-bin-saeed (at boyhood), may allah be pleased with him, concerning a man who said bad words about the prophet. the prophet, peace by upon him, whispered in the ear of omayr, praising his truthfulness, and saying "your ears have been accurate, omayr, and your god has confirmed the truthfulness of your words. [15]"

seventh, his kind treatment ~ peace be upon him ~ for kids

it was reported that anas-bin-malek, may allah be pleased with him said:

"the prophet, peace be upon him, had the best morals of all people. i had a brother called abo-omayr. the prophet, upon seeing my brother, used to say to him jokingly: "abo-omayr, what did the nogair do? [16]"

the nogair was a small bird with which abo-omayr (at boyhood) used to play.

when the prophet, peace be upon him, was praying, al hassan and al hussein (his small grandsons) hurried to mount on his back. when the companions tried to prevent the kids, he made a signal to them (while praying) meaning "leave them"…

abu huraira, may allah be pleased with him, said:

"we used to pray behind the prophet, peace be upon him. when the prophet prostrated, al hassan, and al hussein (his small grandsons) jumped on his back. when he rose (from prostration) he brought them down from his back gently. then, when he prostrated again, the kids would jump again. then, when he sat in his prayer, he placed one kid on the right and the other on the left lap. i went to him, and said "what about taking the kids to their mother?" "no!" was his reply. [17]".

eighth, his mercy ~peace be upon him~ to a jewish youth

anas, may allah be pleased with him, said:

a jewish youth who served the prophet, peace be upon him, became ill, and the prophet paid him a visit. the prophet, peace be upon him, sat near the youth's head, and he spoke to him saying: "become a muslim". the youth averted his eyes toward his father, who was also beside him. "obey abal-kassem (one of the common names of the prophet pbuh)", the father asked his son. the youth embraced islam (before dying), and the prophet, peace be upon him, went out saying: "thanks to allah (the almighty) that rescued him from hellfire [18]"

as such, we can realize the highest level of mercy in the character of the prophet, peace be upon him, who is asking a youth, suffering from the last illness before death to recite the two statements for entering islam (during the last minutes of his life), so that this can be an evidence for the prophet, peace be upon him, to intercede for that youth in front of allah (the almighty), on the day of judgment.

that feeling from the messenger of allah, peace be upon him, indicates his abundant love toward all mankind with different beliefs and religions.

it is his strong desire to guide mankind to the straight path, in spite of their ignorance of the message of muhammad (pbuh) peace be upon him. he is calling people to paradise, and they are willing to slip away from him. just as in his saying, where he represents his mercy (to mankind) in a marvellous and impressive picture. he said:

"my example, and your example, is like a man igniting a fire. grasshoppers, and butterflies crowd to fall in it, and he is pushing them away. i am continuing to hold you back from hellfire, and you are slipping away from my hands. [19]"

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 [1] authentic, narrated by muslim, chapter about his mercy ~peace be upon him~ under number 4280

[2] authentic, narrated by al-tirmizi, aboo-dawood, and al-nassa-ee, and confirmed to be authentic by al-albani in "mishkat al-masabih", with the number 6159.

[3] authentic, narrated by al nassa-ee in the chapter "is it allowed that one prostration is longer than another? under number 1129, and confirmed to be authentic by al-albani in "what is authentic and less authentic in sunnan al nassa-ee"

[4] iben-hajar, "fatholbari", ch. 10, p. 427.

[6] authentic, narrated by al bukhari under section "being merciful to kids, and kissing them", under number 5538.

[7] authentic, narrated by muslim (1691/3), under number 2147.

[8] authentic, narrated by al bukhari under number 3120.

[9] authentic, narrated by al bukhari, section "virtues of al hassan, and al hussein" number 3464.

[10] authentic, narrated by al bukhari, section "virtues of al hassan, and al hussein" number 3466.

[11] authentic, narrated by al-tabarani in "the big dictionary" unde number 1911, and confirmed to be authentic by al-albani in "mishkat al-massabih" unde number 5789.

[12] muhammad fath-allah kolen, "the eternal light, muhammad pbuh, source of mankind pride" 33/2.

[13] authentic, narrated by al bukhari, from iben-rabey, section "shortening the prayer at baby crying" number 666.

[14] authentic, narrated by al bukhari, section "shortening prayer at baby crying" number 667.

[15] classified book of abdul-razak (1830447/10), and the well-known story in the sirah books.

[16] authentic, narrated by al bukhari, number 5850, and narrated by muslim under number 2150.

[17] authentic, the authentic series, under number 3325.

[18] authentic, narrated by al bukhari, number 1268.

[19] authentic, narrated by muslim, number 4236.