As parents, our worries about our children don’t seem to end. Sometimes, our worries are aggravated because we tend to think that we are their sole carers. We forget the importance of entrusting them to the care of Allah ﷻ, who is their real caretaker (al-Waliyy) and guardian (al-Ḥafīẓ).
This does not mean that we do nothing and just leave it to Him. As always, we must tie the camel AND place our trust in Allah.
Here are some of the precautions that we can take to ensure that our children will always be protected by the One who is far more powerful than us:
1. Make du’a’ for them whenever you get a chance.
We see examples of this in the Qur’ān whereby various Prophets prayed for their children. Zakariyyā (‘alayhis-salām) prayed for ‘pure offspring’. Ibrāhīm (‘alayhis-salām) asked Allah for a ‘righteous child.’ The wife of ‘Imrān (‘alayhimas-salām) asked Allah to protect her daughter Maryam (‘alayhas-salām) and her progeny from the ‘accursed Shayṭān’.
2. Nurture and raise them to love Allah and His beloved Messenger Muhammad ﷺ.
A life of obedience and closeness to Allah (subḥānahū wa ta‘ālā) is the greatest form of protection one can enjoy.
3. Fortify them with the power of ‘dhikr’.
Children are more vulnerable to shayṭān and the evil eye. As parents, we should always include our children in our adhkār. When they are very young, recite Āyah al-Kursī and the last 3 Sūrahs of the Qur’ān and blow on them. As they get older, teach them these Sūrahs and get into a habit of praying with them especially before sleeping. Eventually inshāAllah, they will do it by themselves.
4. Make the following special du‘a’.
It is very beneficial to learn the following du‘ā’, through which the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to seek Allah’s protection for his beloved grandsons Ḥasan and Ḥusayn (radiy Allāhū ‘anhumā). He would say:
أُعِيْذُكُمْ (أُعِيْذُكُمَا) بِكَلِمَاتِ اللهِ التَّامَّةِ ، مِنْ كُلِّ شَيْطَانٍ وَهَامَّةٍ ، وَمِنْ كُلِّ عَيْنٍ لَامَّةٍ
I seek protection for you in the perfect words of Allah from every devil and every beast, and from every evil eye. (Bukhārī)
Uʿīdhukum (Uʿīdhukumā) bi-kalimāti-llāhi-t-tāmmah, min kulli shayṭāniw-wa hāmmah, wa min kulli ʿaynil-lāmmah.
5. Bring them indoors as the evening comes.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “When the evening comes, keep your children in, for the devils come out at that time. Then when part of the night has passed, let them go. And close the doors and mention the name of Allah, for Shayṭān does not open a closed door. Tie up your waterskins and mention the name of Allah. Cover your vessels, even if you only put something over them and extinguish your lamps.” (Bukhārī)
Commenting on the above hadīth, Ibn Ḥajar (raḥimahullāh) quotes Ibn al-Jawzī (raḥimahullāh): ‘‘’There is a fear for children at that hour, because the impurity (najāsah) that the devils (shayātīn) surround themselves with is usually found in children. Similarly, children do not usually engage in the dhikr which would protect them. And when the devils spread out, they hang on to whatever they can hang on to. Hence there is a fear for children at that time.” The reason why they spread out at that time is that they are more able to move about at night than during the day, because darkness is more conducive to the devil forces coming together than any other time.’ (Fatḥ al-Bārī)