Al-Qalam 
By Imam A. Rashied Omar
Children have proven to be the most resilient in the face of the deadly and contagious Covid-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic. Children, however, have continued to succumb to other diseases throughout the pandemic. One of the deadliest sicknesses continues to be that of cancer.
Conventional wisdom teaches us that it is normal for children to bury parents. The death of a child however reverses this common human expectation and obliges parents to bury their children. The loss is enormous and against what we perceive as the natural order of things. It is a painful and difficult life lesson but it is Divine. It comes to remind believers that we are not destined to live forever and that by trying our best to live loving and compassionate lives that by the Grace of God we will be re-united with our children and loved ones in an eternal abode of bliss and serenity.
There are many texts in the Qur’an and Sunnah which point to the virtue and great reward of those who are patient and state that Allah will give them reward without measure. This includes everyone who bears with patience any calamity with which he or she is tested. Undoubtedly the loss of a child is one of the greatest calamities for the one whom it befalls. Whoever bears that with patience and accepts the will and decree of Allah will have a great reward by the grace and bounty of Allah.
There are many prophetic traditions (ahadith), which provide hope and consolation to parents who face the calamity of the loss of a child: For example: Imam al-Tirmidhi narrated that Abu Sinan said: “I buried my son Sinan and Abu Talhah al-Khulani was sitting at the graveside. When I wanted to go out, he took my hand and said, “Shall I not give you some glad tidings, O Abu Sinan?” I said, “Yes.” He said, “Al-Dahhak ibn ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn ‘Arzab narrated to me from Abu Musa al-Ash’ari that the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said:
“When a person’s child dies, Allah says to His angels, ‘You have taken the child of My slave.’ They say, ‘Yes.’ He says, ‘You have taken the apple of his eye.’ They say, ‘Yes.’ He says, ‘What did My slave say?’ They say, ‘He praised you and said “Inna Lillahi wa Inna iIayhi Raji’un (Verily to Allah we belong and unto Allah is our return).’ Allah says, ‘Build for My slave a house in Paradise and call it the house of praise.’
A new book launched in November 2020 and published by Warriors of Hope a support group for parents who suffer the loss of a child. The book is aptly titled: Your Child Your Jannah. This is a very special booklet in that it is aimed at providing solace, support, contentment and most of all hope for parents and family members who experience the death and passing away of a child. It will provide invaluable first-hand experience and practical guidance for the long and arduous journey of grief and healing of parents and family members who experience the loss of a child.
The book consists of practical guidance on how to negotiate the various stages of grief, prayers and du`as of solace and most of all the book is blessed to contain real stories of parents involved sharing their stories with us and thus helping other parents to cope with their own grief.
As an interfaith activist I am particularly elated that the publishers Warriors of Hope support group provide solace and hope to parents from all religious affiliations. This is significant since from an Islamic Theological perspective all children no matter the religious affiliation of their parents are born pure (in fitrah) and when they pass on before the age of puberty they achieve salvation in the hereafter and go to heaven.
I would like to highlight in particular the wonderful suggestion that this booklet recommends that parents may remember their departed child by, namely that of the support of an orphan or needy child as a sadaqah jariya in memory of your deceased child. The bereavement book is available from Timbuktu Books in Cape Town at a cost of R50. Readers may also email admin@woh.co.za for orders.
May all those who have children be recompensed for their loss and grief by achieving this station in the life hereafter. I conclude with a special supplication for parents who suffer the loss of a child:
O Allah, we know that You are close to those who are heartbroken and grieving and we offer our sincere prayers to You to grant them perseverance and consolation at the time of bereavement. We beseech you to open the doors of your heavens to mercifully receive the souls of all children and those who have succumbed to the Covid-19 pandemic and to grant them salvation in the hereafter.
