Hadith 11

Translation                                                                                     

'I and the man who brings up an orphan will be in paradise like this' and he pointed with his two fingers, the index finger and the middle finger.                      

Teachings                                                                                                                               

 (a)      This Hadith teaches us humanity. We will be with the Prophet (saw) in the paradise and we will be in his company if we take care of an orphan. An orphan is a helpless child who is deprived of not only the love of his parents but most of the time, they are also poor. They cannot earn their income due to their young age. In this situation, Muslims should take their responsibility. We can manage their food, clothing, housing, education and even marriages. The reward for this is the company of the Prophet (saw) in the paradise. Pointing his two fingers mean that he will be very close to us the way these fingers are close to each other.

(b)     Sura Al Maun says that it is the denial of religion to repulse an orphan. In most of the societies of the world orphans are treated badly and it was also common in Arabia but Allah is very angry when an orphan is treated badly. The Prophet (saw) compelled Abu Jahl to return the wealth of an orphan. It is a common mistreatment not to provide orphans proper food and clothing and eat up their properties or wealth. In Sura Duha Allah says:

“Therefore do not treat the orphan with harshness”.

The holy Prophet (saw) himself was an orphan. Due to very strict instructions of Quran and the prophet (saw), Muslims have shown excellent examples in treating orphans.