one day, while he was delivering a sermon to the people, al-Hasan and al-Husayn were wearing two garments—perhaps new ones—that were a little too long. They walked about and began to trip over them, so the Messenger of Allah ﷺ stepped down from the pulpit, gathered them up before him, and said, “Allah has spoken the truth: ‘Your wealth and your children are only a trial.’” He explained that he had seen them stumbling and could not be at ease until he had come down and carried them.

The lesson is that we must accustom ourselves to showing mercy to children and to everyone in need of compassion—orphans, the poor, the incapacitated, and others. We should cultivate mercy in our hearts so that it becomes a cause for Allah to show mercy to us, for we too are in dire need of it. Our mercy toward Allah’s servants is a means for His mercy toward us. We ask Allah to envelop us and you in His all-embracing mercy.