The Queen of Jannah - Fatimah az-Zahra

“Fatimah Is a Piece of Me” — Seeing Our Children as a Reflection of Ourselves


When we read about the Prophet’s love and care for his daughter Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her), about whom he said “Fatimah is a piece of me, whosoever tortures her has tortured me, and whoever pleases her has pleased me,” it is easy to understand the special place that children are meant to have in the lives of parents. In blessing us with children, the All-Merciful has given us each a human mirror. These little mirrors, in their role as learners, reflect back to us what they see, hear, and understand from us. As such, to be in tune with our children and their many ways of communicating, we are more able to understand ourselves and what we are “projecting” onto the world around us. Any parent who takes a minute to observe their child knows this to be true. From the perspective of living Islam, however, we should also understand this to be an opportunity from Allah to examine ourselves. In so doing, our children, in another one of their roles as a mercy to parents, become allies for our own self-growth and purification. We help them as parents and they help us to better understand ourselves. The key to profiting on their gift is to be conscious of our every word and every action when we are around them. Of course this is a tall order for most us; however, when we understand the importance of every moment we share with our children, we can begin to appreciate them in a whole new way.