in the company of other men, he snaps at him. Such behaviour runs contrary to the Sunnah and to mercy itself.

The Prophet—may peace and blessings be upon him—was once leading the people in one of the two afternoon prayers, either ʿAsr or Dhuhr, when his granddaughter Umāmah, the daughter of Zaynab, came to him. He carried her while conducting the prayer: whenever he stood, he lifted her up; and whenever he prostrated, he set her down.

Where is this refined character compared to our manners today? If a man nowadays finds his child inside the mosque, he is quick to send him out—let alone carry him during the prayer.

On another day the Prophet was in prostration when al-Ḥasan—or it may have been al-Ḥusayn—climbed onto his back, making him a mount. The Prophet therefore lengthened the prostration; when he finished the prayer he said, “My son turned me into his riding animal, and I disliked rising until he had satisfied his desire.”

Yet another time the Prophet was delivering a sermon from the pulpit when al-Ḥasan and al-Ḥusayn approached, each wearing a new garment that caused them to stumble. He came down, gathered them into his arms and said, “Allah has spoken the truth: ‘Your wealth and your children are but a trial’ (Qur’an 64:15). I looked at these two boys tripping and I could not restrain myself,” meaning that his heart would not settle until he had descended and picked them up.

All these incidents and others like them prove that one ought to be merciful and gentle with the young, and that such mercy is a cause for Allah’s mercy to reach a person. We ask Allah to envelop us