Yes it's not easy

I remember a beloved girl telling me how in surah Kahfi, Khidir a.s hid the orphans’ treasure, because abuhuma shaliha, ‘their father was a shalih man’. He also killed the young boy, and prayed for a son of greater purity as replacement, because abawaahu mu’minain, ‘their parents are both mu’min’.

I remember another beloved girl telling me how Yusuf a.s was beautifully raised up in the house of Ya’qub. With a father who had perfectly prepared him in both iman and akhlak, young Yusuf faced his subsequent tests after tests, gracefully righteously. 

I remember Hajar with her excellent level of tawakkal. Even after being left to raise isma’il in the desert alone, she managed to bring him up as a strong faithful child who, when his father came to claim his life, calmly said ‘’do what you are commanded, you shall find me very patient insyaAllah.".

I remember Zakaria a.s, never losing hope in Allah, iz nada rabbuhu nidaa an khafiyya, ‘ketika berdoa kepada rabbnya dengan nada yang rendah (khafiyya)’, was blessed with the miracle of Yahya, who was given hikmah, purity, taqwa, wa barram bi walidaih, ‘and is dutiful to the parents’.

I remember Khadijah, with her selfless sacrifices for Islam, blessed with daughters as dwellers of jannah. 

I remember Ummu ‘Aiman with her deep love for Allah and Rasul, blessed with sons ‘Aiman and Usamah, as well as zauj Zaid. All three, martyrs. syahid fi sabilillah. 

I remember Yassir wa Sumayyah, killed right before the eyes of their teenage son. But Allah took care of ‘Ammar.

Rabbana hablana min azwajina wa dzurriyyatina qurrata a’yun, waj’alna lil muttaqina imama. (25:74) "Our Rabb, grant us in our mates and offspring the joy of our eyes and make us imam for those who guard against evil."

While scrubbing the surface of the living room table, (mom made me scrub off the soooooo BANYAK permanent marker stains I left while writing down ifa's kertas mah-jong presentation the other night), I was reminded of what another beloved girl of mine used to tell me, it’s not easy being a parent, so don’t blame parents for the fault of the offsprings. Each child has own personality, and you'd never know what's to become of them when you're away or gone.

 

Some say parents will be the ones who are left to scrub off the mistakes of the children. They say parents are like erasers while children are like the pencils who scribble around aimlessly. And the erasers struggle to erase up their mistakes, bound to get all used up sooner or later. 

Yes it’s not easy. But we have Allah. ^^