The Prophet and His Grandchildren



One day, there was a great gathering in the Prophet’s Mosque where the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) was telling the people about Allah and the wonderful ways of Allah.

It was very quiet inside the Mosque that people hardly moved as the Prophet spoke to them. Then suddenly without warning he stopped speaking and began to walk towards the door.

The people were surprised and puzzled, where could the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) be going so suddenly? it seemed strange, but it did not remain a mystery for long.


When people in the crowd turned round and followed the Prophet with their eyes, they say why he had acted as he did.

Two children smartly dressed in red shirts were walking towards the Mosque and as the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) had been speaking he had seen them through the door the Prophet loved all children of course but these were two very, very special children as far as he was concerned.

They were his grandsons, Al-Hasan and Al-Husain the sons of the beloved daughter of the Prophet, Fatimah and her husband Ali, the fourth Caliph (radiAllahu anhum).


Naturally, the Prophet loved the two boys very much and they in turn loved him. When Al-Hasan and Al-Husain saw their beloved grandfather, they smiled widely and started to run towards him with their arms outstretched to embrace him.

The Prophet was delighted to see them and brought them back into the Mosque where he told them to sit down beside him. Then the Prophet resumed talking and the crowd in the Mosque fell silent again as they listened to the words Allah’s great Messenger.


Naturally, the Prophet was a frequent visitor at the house of his daughter Fatimah.

He loved to be with Al-Hasan and Al-Husain but he became very distressed when he saw either of the boys was unhappy or crying. When this happen the Prophet would call to his daughter and tell her to leave whatever she was doing to attend to the children.

This was because the Prophet thought that nothing could be so important that it should come before a child who needed comfort.


This applied even to prayers in the Mosque often mother would bring their children to the Mosque when they came to pray there it was not always a good idea. Small children quickly became very impatient and because they were too young to understand what an important place a Mosque was they used to cry and make a fuss while prayers were going on.

Their mothers did not like this but neither did they like to interrupt their prayers to attend to their crying children. Perhaps they hoped the child would get tired of crying and stop by itself.

The Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) however hated to hear children crying and whenever this happened during prayers, he would make the prayers shorter so that the mothers could comfort their children without too much delay.


Al-Hasan and Al-Husain sat very quietly as their grandfather spoke. They were good boys and knew that the Mosque was very special place, a place of prayer.
Even so the boys also knew that they did not have to be solemn and serious all the time they were in the Mosque. Their grandfather had showed them this one day when they were with him as he led the prayers.

The prayers were proceeding inside the Mosque and the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) put his head to the ground as is done in daily prayers (sujud).

Straight away one of his grandsons climbed onto his back! Minutes passed and the little boy sat there enjoying himself riding on his grandfather back it seemed a long time before the little boy climbed down and the Prophet was able to raise head again and continue his prayers.

The people in the Mosque were very puzzled and curious by this event. When prayers were finished they decided to ask the Prophet for an explanation.

O Messenger of Allah they said you kept your head on the ground for such a long time was this because you received a revelation or a message from God.

Oh no! The Prophet replied it was for this grandson of mine who was riding on my back I did not want to spoil his game by rising too soon.

The people were charmed by this answer for it showed how greatly the Prophet loved his grandsons and how much he thought about their happiness and wellbeing.


Learning Points: Value and treatment of children in islam, the rights of Children, the position of the Prophet's family, seerah of the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam).



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