Conclusion

Praise be to Allah, and blessings and peace be upon the Messenger of Allah. To proceed:

This is the counsel of Imam Abū al-Walīd al-Bājī to his two sons. We ask Allah to benefit us and our children through it.

This counsel invites several observations.

First, Abū al-Walīd al-Bājī addressed it to his two sons while they were still young and before they had reached puberty. He says: “When you both reached the age at which religious duties would soon become incumbent upon you and you would become accountable...” Upbringing should therefore begin in childhood, so that it becomes more firmly rooted in the soul and the child grows firmly accustomed to it, rather than after he has grown older, when it will be of no benefit.

We see many fathers complain of their children’s bad conduct, and this is due only to their neglecting their upbringing in childhood.

We likewise sense the sincerity of the counsel given here. No one advises a son more sincerely than his father, nor is anyone more concerned for what will reform and benefit him. He says to his two sons: “Know that no one will offer you more sincere counsel than I, nor show greater compassion toward you. There is no one on earth whom I would be pleased to see surpass me other than the two of you.”

We also see that this counsel is comprehensive and exhaustive: there is no good it fails to encourage and no evil it fails to warn against.

Upbringing Through Exemplary Models

Abū al-Walīd al-Bājī’s concern for his two sons was not confined to this counsel. The counsel may be regarded as theoretical guidance supported by Quranic verses and noble Prophetic hadiths, but we also see him seeking to raise them through exemplary models. He therefore composed for them a book which he entitled “The Ways of the Righteous