أحمد بن محمد بن خالد البرقي

“I once heard abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), saying, ‘Feed your women with al-Barniy (dates) during their childbirth; your children will grow up forbearing.’”

“’Amir al-Mu’minin (a.s.) has said, ‘Feed your newborn children dates, because the Holy Prophet (sw) did so with al-Hassan and al-Husayn, peace be upon them both.”’

“Abu Ja’far (a.s.), has said, ‘When Tahir son of the Messenger of Allah passed away, the Messenger of Allah forbade Khadijah from weeping. She said, ‘Yes, O Messenger of Allah, I agree, but I noticed that my milk flowed out; thus I wept.’ He then said, ‘Would you not agree if you find him standing near the door of paradise and on seeing you, hold your hand and lead you into paradise to the most clean and fine ones therein?’ She then said, ‘Is that how it is?’ He said, ‘Allah is Most Majestic and Honorable. He does not take away the fruits of the heart of (His own) servant who exercises patience, praises Him and agrees with His decision. Allah due to His Glory and Honor does not cause him any suffering.’”

“A man is prosperous if his business is in his own town; his friends are good; and he has children who assist him.”

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), has said that if two sons of any Muslim die and he considers it a decision of Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Glorious, as such and obediently agrees, they (his sons) will protect him against fire by the permission of Allah, most High.”

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (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, has said, ‘You (my followers) should bring up more children because I will claim to have the majority with you among the nations tomorrow (on the Day of Judgment).”’

“Abu Ja‘far (a.s.), once asked me, ‘When one of you marries, does he know what to do?’ I replied, ‘I do not know.’ He (the Imam) said, ‘When he decides for it (marriage) he must perform two Rak’at Salat (prayer) then say, “O Lord, I want to marry so choose for me of women who is most chaste in matters of her private organs, most protective for me of herself and my assets, of most affluence in sustenance and of greatest blessing. Choose for me a fine child to be a virtuous successor in my lifetime and after my death.’” He (the Imam) said, ‘When you meet her place your hand over her forehead and say, “O Lord, according to Your book I have married her, in Your trust I have taken her (in marriage) and with Your words I have made her (private organs) lawful. If You have destined for me from her womb anything (child), then make the child a Muslim, upright and You must not make for Satan any share or portion in it (child).’ I (the narrator) then asked, ‘How can it be a share of Satan?’ He (the Imam) said, ‘Mention of the name of Allah keeps Satan away. If one goes to bed without mentioning the name of Allah, he sticks his penis, the act is from both of them but the seed is one.’”

“‘Amir al-Mu’minin (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, has said, ‘The best of your women are the women of Quraysh who are very kind to their husbands, most compassionate to their children, al-Majun with her husband and very reserved before the others . 5 We asked, ‘What is al- Majun ?’ He (the Messenger of Allah) said, ‘It is the one who does not deny her husband . 555

“Ali ibn al-Husayn (a.s.), has said, ‘It is of prosperity and good fortune of a man to have sons who help and support him.’”

“The Messenger of Allah (s.w) has said, ‘The first thing that women should eat is fresh dates; Allah, most High, said to Maryam, ‘...shake the twig of the palm tree; fresh dates will fall on you to be picked up.’ (Quran 19:24) It then was asked, ‘O Messenger of Allah, what happens if it is not the season of fresh dates?’ He (the Messenger of Allah) said, ‘If this is not available then it is seven pieces of dates of the dates of al-Medina, and if that is not available then seven pieces of dates of the dates of other cities. Allah, most Majestic, most Glorious, says, “I swear by My majesty, Glory, greatness and the height of My place that if a woman during her childbirth eats fresh dates, her child, a boy or girl, will grow up forbearing and tolerant.'"

abu ‘Abd al-Rahman from abu Basir who has said the following: “I heard abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), say, ‘When Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Glorious, loves a servant, He takes away the soul of his most beloved son to Himself.’”

“Kissing on the mouth is only for the spouses and a small child.”

“He (the Imam) (a.s.), has said that once a man came to the Messenger of Allah, O Allah, grant compensation to Muhammad and his family worthy of their services to Your cause, and said, ‘I have never kissed a child.’ When he left, the Messenger of Allah said, ‘This man to me is one of the people of hellfire.’”

“I once asked al-Rida’ (a.s.), about the case of a man who loves certain ones of his children more than others and gives preference to certain ones among them over the others. He (the Imam) said, ‘Yes, abu ‘ Abd Allah (a.s.), gave a present to Muhammad; so also did abu al- Hassan (a.s.), by gifting something to Ahmad and I went to collect them for him because he was a child.’ I then said, ‘I pray to Allah to keep my soul in service for your cause, can one love his daughters more than his sons?’ He (the Imam) said, ‘Sons and daughters are the same in this matter, in fact, it depends up on how they are in the sight of Allah, most Majestic, most Glorious.”’

“I married in al-Madinah and abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), asked me, ‘How is your married life?’ I replied, ‘Every good thing that a man can see in a woman I found with her but she betrayed me.’ He (the Imam) asked, ‘How did she do so?’ I replied, ‘She gave birth to a girl.’ He (the Imam) said, ‘You may have disliked her but Allah, most Majestic, most Glorious, says, ‘Regardless of how you feel about your parents or children, you do not know which of them is more beneficial to you. Allah is All-knowing and All-wise. (4:11)’”

“Ali ibn al-Husayn (a.s.), has said, ‘When one receives the news of the birth of his child one must not ask, “Is it a boy or a girl?’ One must ask, ‘Is it of complete physical condition?’ If the child is of complete physical condition one must say, ‘All praise belongs to Allah who has not created from me a defective child.’”

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), has stated this Hadith. ‘You should give your child time until he is six years old, then keep him with yourself (to practice and behave as you do) for another seven years; teach him your disciplines and moral manners, to see if he accepts and is established in good manners; otherwise, leave him alone (there is not much in him to hope for).”’

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), has said, ‘You should hasten (take the initiative) to teach Hadith to your children before al-Murji’ah (name of a sect) takes control over their mind and belief.’”

“Abu ‘ Abd Allah (a.s.), has stated this Hadith. ‘The Messenger of Allah, O Allah, grant compensation to Muhammad and his family worthy of their services to Your cause, has said, ‘One who kisses his son, Allah, most Majestic, most Glorious, writes down for him one good deed and one who makes him happy Allah will make him happy on the Day of Judgment. One who teach him al-Quran his parents will be called on the Day of Judgment and will be then dressed with two dresses which will make the faces of the people of paradise bright because of the light shining from those dresses.’”

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (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, has said the following: ‘Jesus, son of Marry, once passed by a grave wherein its dweller suffered a great suffering. He passed by the same grave afterward but found the dweller was not suffering. He asked, “O Lord, I passed by this grave a year ago when he was suffering a great suffering and this year I passed by his grave but he did not suffer.” Allah then revealed to him that his virtuous son became mature who repaired a road and gave shelter to an orphan, so I forgave him because of what his son has done.’ The Messenger of Allah then said, ‘It is of the inheritance of Allah, most Majestic, most Glorious, for His believing servant in the form of a virtuous son who worships Him after the death of his father’ and he (the Imam) then read the verse of the Quran about Zakariya, ‘. . . O Lord, grant me from You an heir who will inherit me and the people of Ya‘qub. O Lord, make him to please You.’”