Introduction: The Tragedy of Muslim Children and the Case of Child Ryan
Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings, dear friends. In this live broadcast, I would like to address several recent questions, such as: What is the sin of Ryan and the Muslim children that they should suffer what they have suffered? We will focus on the issue of the response to supplication in general.
We will also answer the question: Has the discussion about the case of Ryan - may Allah have mercy on him - started to shift towards occupying public opinion? And what about other Muslim children like Fowaz Al-Qatifani and others? How do we achieve a balance between showing concern and falling victim to those who exploit the tragedies of Muslims? What is the criterion that makes me speak or not speak about the tragedies of Muslims around the world? Are we preparing our children psychologically for affliction, or does that frighten them? Let's talk about these elements one by one.
First of all, dear friends, regarding the case of the Moroccan child Ryan - may Allah have mercy on him and reward his parents with patience - you remember that I had issued a statement titled "Has the case of the Moroccan child Ryan been exaggerated?" In it, I said: No, it has not been exaggerated; because a Muslim, whether small or large, has his sanctity and importance, and therefore this is an important issue. However, sometimes the media takes another direction and starts talking about details that are of no benefit.
We are in favor of remembering that Ryan united the hearts of Muslims and showed the breath of one nation and the supplication of everyone for him, all of which is beautiful. But when people start talking and asking: Is it true what was reported that in that area there are demons and sacrifices? Here we began to enter into details that are of no benefit, and they are merely an occupation of public opinion without any benefit, and they cannot be verified in the first place; for the media sometimes wants only to harvest views by raising such topics.
Criteria for Speaking About the Tragedies of Muslims and Avoiding Exploitation
Of course, there are many other stories and tragedies in the Islamic world, and many people demand that we talk about the children of Syria and Yemen. We talk about them and do not differentiate between the blood of these and those, for the blood of Muslims is equal as our Prophet ﷺ said. The Moroccan Ryan is not more important than the Syrian Fowaz Al-Qatifani, nor is he more important than the Burmese, Yemeni, or Indian Muslim child; all of them are important and dear to our hearts.
However, with the existence of the internet, we can now, with the press of a button, learn about the news of the whole world. Is it really required of the Muslim to occupy himself with all the problems of the Muslims in the world? Will this lead to the formation of motivation and a positive spirit, or will it have the opposite effect?
Therefore, when I talk about the problems of Muslims, I set certain criteria: What benefit do I want to achieve? We must purify our intentions for Allah first, then ask: Does talking about this news serve to raise the awareness of Muslims about the plots of their enemies? Does it protect their identity from melting? Does it clarify a doctrinal principle? Does it raise morale and instill a positive spirit as we did in the case of Ryan?
As for mentioning painful news just to harvest "likes," this makes a person a tool in the hands of those who exploit the tragedies of Muslims. For example, the case of the child Fowaz Al-Qatifani - may Allah relieve him and all the abducted - is not an individual effort, but it is an organized, systematic work to terrorize the Sunni people and drive them out of Syria. And there are "merchants of tragedies" who launch fake donation campaigns; therefore, I asked the administrators of my page to delete any comment containing the word "donation" to prevent exploitation, and Fowaz's father came out and confirmed that the tribe will take care of the amount and warned against collecting in his son's name.
Why Did Allah Not Respond to the Supplication of Millions for Ryan?
Now we come to the most important topic: Why did Allah not respond to our supplication for Ryan? Did the Ummah not supplicate? Hundreds of thousands, even millions, supplicated for his safe return, yet he died. Before I answer, remember that my eldest daughter "Sarah" - may Allah have mercy on her - suffered for two years with severe hardship, and hundreds of thousands supplicated for her, yet she was not cured; so let no one say that I have not tasted the bitterness of affliction, for we have tasted it and submitted to Allah, the Lord of the worlds.
The question is: Where is Allah's response to the supplication? Is it reasonable that among all these millions, there is no one whose supplication is responded to?
Let me ask you: All the children of the Prophet ﷺ died in his lifetime except Fatimah. Did the Prophet's community not supplicate for their healing? Among them were Abu Bakr, Umar, and Khadijah, whose faith is equal to the faith of the entire Ummah! Al-Qasim, Abdullah, Zainab, Umm Kulthum, Ruqayyah, and Ibrahim died. Ibrahim died at the age of one year and six months, the most beautiful age for children, and the Prophet ﷺ wept for him. Did the Companions doubt and say, "Why did Allah not respond to our supplication?" Of course not; because they understood the Sunnah of Allah, that supplication is worship, and Allah, the Most High, chooses what is best: {And your Lord creates what He wills and chooses.} [Quran 28:68]
The Companions understood the saying of the Prophet ﷺ: "There is no Muslim who supplicates with a supplication that does not involve sin or cutting off family ties except that Allah will give him one of three things: either He will hasten his supplication for him, or He will store it for him in the Hereafter, or He will divert from him an evil like it."
Therefore, the response is not always as you want, but as Allah wills. You are a slave of Allah, you have entrusted your affair to Him, and whoever entrusts his affair to Allah does not follow up on His management. If you object because Allah did not save Ryan, it is as if you are worshipping Allah "on a condition" and with a prior condition, and this is not true worship: {And among the people is he who worships Allah on an edge. If he is touched by good, he is reassured by it; but if trial strikes him, he turns away on his face, losing [both] the world and the Hereafter.} [Quran 22:11]
I ask you a question and let us think with logic and rationality: When the Muslims went out for expeditions with the Prophet ﷺ, did not their children, wives, fathers, and mothers supplicate for their safe return with spoils? Yes, and yet some of them were killed. Did these righteous people come to the Prophet doubting and saying, "Where is the response to our supplication?" No, even though they used to ask the Prophet ﷺ about many things, but this matter was clear and settled for them.
When the Companions went out to perform Umrah and the polytheists prevented them, and undoubtedly they had supplicated to Allah to reach the Kaaba, they did not object to the Prophet saying, "Where did our supplication go?" Rather, some of them were embarrassed by the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah, then it became clear to them that Allah had made in their not reaching the Kaaba and in the treaty a great opening.
The weak servant when he worked on the series and book "Having Good Opinions of Allah," one of the episodes was titled "Praise be to Allah that He Did Not Respond to Me," so I say: Praise be to Allah who chose for me what is better than what I chose for myself. These are the Sunnah of Allah, people; just as Allah promised to respond to supplication, He also promised trial. If the matter were so superficial, every Muslim would supplicate not to be afflicted, and we would all come as Muslims supplicating to Allah saying: "O Allah, do not afflict a Muslim with disease or trial or death or misery, and bring an end to all the enemies," and we would say for sure that Allah will respond to us, and thus we would live immortal in this world! Would a sensible person say that? No.
There are Sunnah; just as Allah promised to respond to supplication in the way He wills, He also promised trial. Therefore, do not say: "We supplicated for Ryan in vain," no, not "in vain"; you gain good deeds and evil is averted from you to the extent that you supplicate, and Allah chose death for him, and He knows best that this is what is best, and it is enough for him to enter Paradise if Allah wills.
Muslim Children in Paradise
This is a point you should instill in your children so that they love Allah, the Exalted: Scholars agree - and this is a well-known fact in religion - that Muslim children are in Paradise. Therefore, Riyan is hoped to be in Paradise, and we pray that Allah grants his parents patience and admits them to Paradise. We also pray for Riyan to have elevated ranks in Paradise.
This calamity becomes light when Paradise is present in goodness; Paradise where a single dip in it makes a person forget all the pains of this world. In the great, beautiful, and authentic hadith narrated by An-Nasa'i, a companion said: The Prophet of Allah (peace be upon him) used to sit, and a group of his companions would sit with him, including a man who had a small son who would come from behind him and sit between his hands. (An emotional image of a companion sitting around the Prophet (peace be upon him) with his son playing with him).
The narrator said: The child died, so the man refrained from attending the gathering due to the memory of his son. He became sad and started to avoid places that reminded him of these beautiful moments, including the Prophet's (peace be upon him) gathering. The Prophet (peace be upon him) missed him - as he used to check on his companions - and said, "Why don't I see so-and-so?" They said, "O Messenger of Allah, his son whom you saw has died." The Prophet met him and asked him about his son, and he informed him that he had died. The Prophet consoled him and then said, "O so-and-so, which would you prefer: to enjoy your life with him, or not to come tomorrow to any of the gates of Paradise except that you find him having preceded you to open it for you?" He said, "O Prophet of Allah, it is more beloved to me that he precedes me to the gate of Paradise and opens it for me."
Imagine this kind father, who undoubtedly wished for his son's life and prayed for his recovery, was given a choice between his son's life and Paradise, and he chose Paradise. So the Prophet (peace be upon him) said to him, "Then that is for you."
What is the Sin of Children in Suffering?
You will find someone saying, "But what is the sin of Riyan and what is the sin of Muslim children that they should suffer?" Focus with me; the phrase "what is the sin" is said when the calamity is a punishment, but who said it is a punishment in the first place? This calamity befalls the small and the big for many reasons that Allah knows and informs us of some of them. Therefore, this calamity for a small child is not a punishment for us to say, "what is his sin?"
You have the right to be surprised, O questioner, if Islam tells you, "If you become a Muslim, the world will be a place of complete life without sorrow," but Allah promised us the opposite, He said: {You will surely be tested in your wealth and yourselves} (Surah Al-Imran 3:186), and He said: {And We will surely test you with something of fear and hunger and a loss of wealth and lives and fruits, but give good tidings to the patient} (Surah Al-Baqarah 2:155), and our Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "And if Allah loves a people, He tests them."
The world, O people, is a place of trial indeed, and no matter how much you try to escape from it, it will not change. The true Muslim asks what he should do, and does not judge Allah's decrees nor suggests to Allah, the Exalted.
Raising Children to Accept Destiny
Since we suffer a lot because perhaps we were not raised enough on this concept, we must raise our children on it; we instill in their minds and teach them that you will be tested. Someone might say, "Is it reasonable to tell a seven-year-old child that you will be tested?" Yes, you tell him that he must be patient, but at the same time, you give him good news and say to him, "O my son, this world is a place of trial, but Allah, the Merciful and Kind, will not test you beyond your capacity, and He will reward you and be with you if you seek His help."
If we have imbibed this and been convinced of it, the conviction will transfer from our eyes and the tone of our tongues to the hearts of our children, by the permission of Allah. Let me tell you something that happened to me; my daughter - may Allah have mercy on her - when she underwent surgery and used to go for physical therapy, we used to meet a child named "Abdul Rahman," suffering from a strange cancer that affects the retina and bones. His eye was completely removed and an artificial eye was placed for him, and his second eye was severely weakened, then his knee was affected.
I was talking to his father while waiting, and he said to me, "O Dr. Iyad, Abdul Rahman says to me: 'O father, if I will receive a reward for what befalls me, I will be patient, and if I will not receive a reward, I will not be patient. Do you have an answer for him?'" The boy is nine years old! I said to him, "Come, O Abdul Rahman, let me tell you what reward you have," and I started to tell him about the pleasure of Allah, His companionship, and Paradise, and the boy was happy.
These great meanings affect our children; therefore, instill in your children that everyone can be tested, but Allah is with you and will lighten your burden and turn the trial into a blessing.
Conclusion
In conclusion, O honorable ones, think well of your Lord, and do not suggest to your Lord, the Exalted. He is the All-Knowing, the Most Wise, the Most Merciful, and the Most Forbearing, glorified and exalted be He. And to deepen these meanings, I will put in the description a link to a lecture I gave after the death of my daughter - may Allah have mercy on her - titled, "How to Instill in the Hearts of Our Children Acceptance of Trials."
I will also repost an episode titled, "But Did We Not Pray for Sarah's Healing?"; for hundreds of thousands prayed for her and she died, and I was keen to answer this question so as not to leave an opening for Satan into the hearts of Muslims, and to show how much wisdom and mercy we have seen in the decree of Allah. And I will tell you honestly, I remember her blessed death and I wish for myself a death like hers for what I saw of blessings in it.
Think well of your Lord, for He is the Most Wise, the Most Merciful, and the Most Knowing. Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.