علي بن موسى الرضا

"A boy is instructed to perform prayer when he is seven years old, and a woman is not required to cover her hair in front of him until he reaches puberty."

God’s Prophet (S) said, “The good-doers are called ‘al-Abrar’ since they do good to their fathers, children and brethren.”

I asked him, “For what reason did Allah, the Mighty and High, drown the whole of the earth in the time of Nuh (AS), while there were children among them who were free of sin?” So he (AS) replied, There were no children among them, because Allah, the Mighty and High, made the male reproductive system infertile and the female wombs barren for forty years. Thus, their lineage was cut. So He drowned them while there were no children among them. Allah, the Mighty and High, does not destroy with His Punishment anyone who is without sin. As for the rest of Nuh’s (AS) people then they were drowned for belying Nuh, the Prophet of Allah, (AS). They were all drowned for agreeing with the belying ones. Whoever is absent from a matter, and agrees to it, is like one that witnesses it and commits it.

“Al-Rida’ (a.s.), has stated this Hadith. ‘You should feed male frankincense to your pregnant women; if the child in her womb is a male he will grow up of intelligent heart, learned and brave; and if the child is female she will grow up of good moral behavior (beautiful) and of large posterior which will be favorable to her husband.’”

Musa ibn Ja’far (a.s.) once spoke well to his father (a.s.). His father (a.s.) said, “O my son! Praise be to God who designated you to be the successor of your forefathers, and as a source of pleasure among my children, and in return for my lost friends.”

“A certain person of banu Hashim once invited abu al-Hassan, al-Rida’ (a.s.), along with a group of his people and a girl was brought in the gathering. People called her one by one and when she was brought near him (the Imam) he asked, ‘How old is she ? 5 It was said that she was five years old. He (the Imam) then asked her to stand back.”

“You are so upset about a small tragedy, but you are neglecting the great tragedy. If you had prepared yourself to go to where your child has gone, you would have never become so upset. However forgetting to prepare for death is a greater tragedy than the death of your son.”

“Abu al-Hassan, al-Rida’ (a.s.), has said that the Messenger of Allah, O Allah, grant compensation to Muhammad and his family worthy of their services to Your cause, once said to a man, ‘Marry al-Su’a’ and child bearing woman but do not marry a good looking barren woman. I will express pride because of you among nations on the Day of Judgment. Have you taken notice that children under the Throne ask forgiveness for their parents? Ibrahim and Sara are the custodians of these children in a mountain of musk, ambergris and saffron.’”