What Will Your Legacy Be?
One day while swatting the flies, I told my wife about my great achievement of killing a single fly. She laughed at me and remarked that it’s just one insignificant, tiny, little fly out of billions of them. I went on to explain to her that this one fly would be involved in reproduction to produce a whole lot of offspring and these flies will in-turn produce more and the cycle will perpetuate. Billions of flies will be traced back to this single fly.
I learnt about this by reflecting on this Quraanic verse:
“…… that he who kills a human ………..(Its as if he) killed a entire human race. ” 5:32.
So each one of us has the potential to be an Adam or Eve. The head of our own race/tribe… Wow! Sounds strange and magnificent! When you hear of the number of people who can trace their lineage back to my grandfather, you will realise that this is a reality. He was born in the early 1900’s and today about 400 people can be traced back to him and the rate of increase of his lineage is increasing with every new member.
Listen to this Great Prophet praying for his future progeny:
“And when Abraham raised the foundations of the House and Ismail (with him, and they were praying), `Our Lord! accept (this service) from us, You, indeed, You are the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing.
“`Our Lord! make us both submissive servants to You (alone), and (raise) from our progeny a community (preaching virtue and) submissive to You, and show us our ways of worship and turn to us with mercy, for only You are the Oft-Returning (with compassion), the Ever Merciful.” Al Quraan 2:127/8
Two races, the Arabs and the Jews and the three major religions can trace their roots back to Hazrath Ebrahim AS.
On the other hand, in today’s times, people are striving towards building a financial empire. Our Holy Prophet Muhammad Salallahu Alayhe wa Salam wa Aalihi has said that if a person has two valleys of gold he will still want a third. Look around! Wealthy people are still working, at times, even on a Sunday. This striving for wealth does not help our progeny but may instead lead to our line coming to an end.
Affluent countries and societies tend to lean towards negative population growth. Wealthy people tend to divorce more easily or have difficulty in finding spouses. It’s not uncommon to find wealthy individuals living all alone in a big house. And, in a growing number of cases, there is no heir to leave their wealth to. The end of what could have been a great legacy!
Other factors that have a profound negative bearing on our children is divorce, drugs, alcohol and gambling. We should strive to avoid all of this and teach our children to avoid this.
When the son of our Holy Prophet Muhammad Salallahu-Alayhe-wa-salam-Wa-aalihi passed on, His enemies mocked Him, saying that His name would come to an end. At this point, Allah SWT promised the Holy Prophet Muhammad Salal lahu Alayhe wa salam wa aalihi the Station Of Praise and Glory (maquam-e-Mahmood), and today, His family and His name are revered throughout the Muslim world.
So our lives and the things we strive for can prosper long after we’ve gone, provided we strive for what is right and shun all that is wrong as our Holy Prophet (ﷺ) did. Not only in terms of a large progeny but also in putting forth good, righteous offspring who will uphold all that is good! And maybe, we will be together in the hereafter with our family for eternity.
Insha Allah!
“And those who believe and those whose progeny follow them in Faith, to them shall We join their families …..” Al Quraan 52:21.
We pray for our offspring the way Hazrath Ebrahim AS and our Holy Prophet (SAW) prayed for theirs.
O Allah! make us and our children submissive servants to You, and raise from our progeny people that believe in You and do righteous deeds. You are the Ever Merciful. Ameen!
~End
Author: Mohammed Hassan Gaffoor.
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