yet these people—Allah’s refuge is sought—went ahead and did exactly that: a man would dig the pit meant for his own daughter while she brushed the dust from his beard, and then he would bury her—Allah protect us. Some of them would dig the hole; when the girl sensed what was happening she would rise, pleading, “Father!” but he would seize her, throw her in, and cover her until she was gone. We seek Allah’s protection.

All of this was committed even though sponsoring daughters brings enormous reward. Whoever supports three daughters and treats them well, they will serve as a shield for him against the Fire. The Companions asked, “And two, O Messenger of Allah?” He replied, “And two.” They asked, “And one?” He said, “And one.”

Whenever Imam Aḥmad—may Allah have mercy on him—was congratulated on the birth of a daughter, he would say, “Daughters were born to the Prophets; daughters were born to the Prophets!” Indeed, the Prophets, peace be upon them, were given daughters. The noblest of all Prophets, Muhammad ﷺ, had four daughters and three sons. Of his children, only the daughters lived to adulthood; all of the sons died in early childhood. The eldest, Ibrāhīm, passed away at sixteen months—one year and four months—still nursing, and for Ibrāhīm, the son of the Prophet ﷺ, there is a wet-nurse in Paradise.

Of the four daughters, three—Zaynab, Ruqayyah, and Umm Kulthūm—died during his lifetime, and the fourth, Fāṭimah, died only a few months after him.

In short, if Allah blesses a person with daughters, and he supports them and treats them kindly, they will be a barrier protecting him from the Fire.

The Prophet ﷺ also forbade the attitude of “withhold and demand.” This is an idiom for stinginess and greed: “withhold” means he refuses to give—offering neither his wealth nor himself—while “demand” means he is ever asking and taking. Such a person—Allah protect us—is a tight-fisted miser who neither intercedes for others nor benefits them. Allah alone grants success.