Dhul Hijjah With Kids In The Home And Palestine On Our Minds

Where I am in Malaysia, the first day of Dhul Hijjah was on Saturday. We are already in the final month of the Islamic calendar.

It has been a whirlwind since Ramadan, and now we’re already settling into the sacred month of Hajj season. Even though we may not have been given the invitation to Hajj/Umrah this year, there are many other ways we can celebrate this blessed month, especially with little ones in tow.

Dhul Hijjah with Littles

I talk to my children about Dhul Hijjah by telling them stories about Prophet Ibrahim , Hajar , and baby Ismail . They marvel at the degree of trust Hajar had in Allah , and how brave she was to search for food and water for her baby when there was no hope in sight. None of them have seen a barren desert before, so I hope that when we do get to go to Umrah and Hajj together one day inshaAllah, these stories will take on a new level of reality for them. 

My children are still under 9, but older than they used to be, alhamdulilah. I am safely away from those intense early years of diapers and nursing, but now in a different zone of parenting children in pre-school and primary school; which brings with it a different set of joys and challenges.

Now, we’re in the era of reading daily dua’s, memorizing Juz Amma, and daily rituals like praying Maghrib together as a family. Sprinkled throughout our days are reminders to have good character with one another, apologizing when we make mistakes, and asking ourselves what our intentions are before we do/say something – for myself as well as my children!

Significance of Dhul Hijjah

The Prophet Muhammad said about the first 10 days of Dhul Hijjah:

“There are no days on which righteous deeds are more beloved to Allah than these ten days.”¹https://sunnah.com/tirmidhi:757

I was amazed to learn that every night in the first ten days of Dhul Hijjah is equivalent to the Night of Decree, as narrated by the authority of Abu Hurayrah who said that the Prophet ﷺ said:

“No days are more beloved to worship Allah than the first ten days of Dhu’l-Hijjah. Fasting therein is equivalent to fasting for a year, and observing night prayer (Tahajjud) every night therein is equivalent to the Night of Decree.”²https://sunnah.com/ibnmajah:1728

These blessed 10 days are a critical time to be worshipping Allah , through prayer, fasting, and making dua’, especially for our Palestinian brothers and sisters.

Preoccupied with Palestine

While I go through my daily routine, my heart and mind are preoccupied with Palestine. When I put my children to sleep to the sound of falling rain, I think of mothers like me who are putting their children to the sound of falling bombs. When my husband goes to work, I think of the fathers who leave their homes to search for food, only to return to their martyred children.

I can only hope to be resurrected with these martyrs, whose imaan and good deeds far surpass mine.

Narrated Abu Musa :

It was said to the Prophet ﷺ; , “A man may love some people but he cannot catch up with their good deeds?” The Prophet ﷺ said, “Everyone will be with those whom he loves.”³https://sunnah.com/bukhari:6170

Dua’s

To remind myself so I don’t fall into despair, I teach my children that every single one of our dua’s are answered by Allah – even if it doesn’t happen right away, or in the specific way we want it to happen. None of our prayers are wasted. We don’t see the angels taking up the souls of the martyrs when we scroll down on social media, but Allah’s promise is true.

It was narrated from Abu Sa’eed that the Prophet ﷺ said:

“There is no Muslim who does not offer any du’a in which there is no sin or severing of family ties but Allah will give him one of three things in return: either He will answer his du’a sooner, or he will store it up for him in the Hereafter, or He will divert an equivalent evil away from him because of it.” They said: “We will say a lot of du’a.” He said: “Allah is more generous.”⁴https://sunnah.com/mishkat:2259

“And do not say about those who are killed in the way of Allah, ‘They are dead.’ Rather, they are alive, but you perceive [it] not.” [Surah al-Baqarah 2:154]

“And never think of those who have been killed in the cause of Allah as dead. Rather, they are alive with their Lord, receiving provision.” [Surah A’li ‘Imraan 3:169]

Reaping the Rewards of Hajj

Reading books about Hajj to my children is one of my favorite Hajj-building exercises to do with them. I hope to cultivate their longing to see the Ka’bah with their own eyes, and to pray in the Masjid Al Nabawi as well. Telling them stories about when I went on Hajj with their uncle is another way of increasing their curiosity about Hajj adventures with family. 

Even though we’re not going to Hajj this year, the following hadiths bring me so much comfort:

Abu Dharr  narrated that a group of the Companions came to the Prophet ﷺ and said:

“O Messenger of Allah, the wealthy people will have higher grades and will have permanent enjoyment and they pray like us and fast as we do. They have more money, which they give in charity.” The Prophet ﷺ  replied: “Has Allah not rendered for you the ‘Isha’ prayer in congregation equal to Hajj, and the Fajr prayer in congregation equal to ‘Umrah?” [Muslim]

The Prophet ﷺ  also said:

“Whoever walks to [perform] an obligatory prayer in congregation, it is like Hajj [in terms of rewards], and whoever walks to [perform] a voluntary prayer, it is like a voluntary ‘Umrah [in terms of rewards].” [Hasan hadith narrated by Tabarani, Abu Dawud, Ahmad]

These aḥādīth tie in beautifully with the daily prayer traditions my husband and I are trying to model for our young children. Herding three active young children into prayer feels like a challenge sometimes. But all we can do is keep showing up, one day at a time, and make dua’ so that they too will taste the sweetness of prayer. I hope and pray that their memories of cuddles and kisses after prayer will tide them through whatever life will bring them.

I make dua’ that one day soon, Allah will invite us to make Umrah with our children.

A Time for Renewal

Dhul Hijjah is a wonderful opportunity to renew my intentions to make dua’ for all the families in Palestine and elsewhere. This is also a time for renewal of my intentions to pay back my obligatory fasts, commit to sunnah fasts, increase in giving to charity, and read more Qur’an. Most of all, this is my reminder to increase in gratitude for the tremendous blessing of living in safety and comfort.

So many parts of our ummah are suffering right now: Sudan, Congo, India, China, and Myanmar, to name a few. May Allah liberate Palestine and all the parts of the ummah that are oppressed. May Allah establish peace upon this earth, when there is currently so much bloodshed. From Him we come, and to Him we will all return.

Related:

When Allah Chooses Something: The Blessings Of Dhul Hijjah