Parental Wisdom of Nabi Yacoob AS from Surah Yusuf
By Nouman Ali Khan | 2026-01-08T20:33:04.520122+00:00 | Topic: Quran
Parental Wisdom of Nabi Ya'qub (AS) from Surah Yusuf
As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu.
Introduction: The Unique Role of Ya'qub (AS) as a Father
Today's khutbah is dedicated to a couple of ayat that belong to Surah Yusuf and they are particularly involving wisdom that comes from the tongue of Ya'qub alayhi as-salam.
Ya'qub alayhi as-salam has a unique place in the Qur'an. Allah azza wa jal will describe him on a number of occasions and one of the things that is common in all of those occasions is Ya'qub alayhi as-salam's role as a father. When the Qur'an talks about fatherhood in many places, somehow or the other Ya'qub alayhi as-salam gets mentioned.
And so it's important to note some of that sunnah of his that Allah azza wa jal made timeless. And of course one of the most beautiful places that Allah describes or encapsulates some of that wisdom is in the story of Yusuf alayhi as-salam.
The Crisis of Modern Education
I feel that this is important because in our day and age education has become something that it wasn't ever before. People receive an education in the sciences, people become very educated in medicine, people can become educated in technology and other things. And they remain very minimally educated in what it means to be a father or what it means to be a son or what it means to be a neighbor or what it means to be a good friend. We don't have that basic education anymore and so you find this strange irony.
You have people that have a PhD or a doctorate, they're very well educated but they don't know what it means to be a good son or they don't know what it means to be a decent parent, etc. So there are two different kinds of education. The kind of education that will get you a good job or will further you in your career is not necessarily the kind of education that will make you a better human being.
Those are not the same thing. And this is part of the education of the Quran is what makes you a better human being, what makes me a better human being.
The Qur'an's Selective Approach to Storytelling
What I want to get straight into is how Allah Azawajal introduces this remarkable episode in the life of Yusuf Alayhis Salaam. Of course, Surah Yusuf is entirely dedicated to the life of Yusuf Alayhis Salaam. The first thing I'd like you to note is that the story of Yusuf Alayhis Salaam in the Quran is not even one third or one fourth of what is found in the Bible. The Bible is four times longer when it describes the story of Yusuf.
And the Quran is extremely brief when it describes the same exact story. Why is that the case? Allah Azawajal clearly is not going to tell us everything about the life of Yusuf Alayhis Salaam. Unlike Musa Alayhis Salaam, we learn about his story from the time when he was a little baby, when he couldn't even speak yet. All the way through. With Yusuf Alayhis Salaam, we begin when he's already a young boy. So there's still quite a bit of his life missing in the Quran's narrative.
Similarly, we don't get a lot of details. Allah doesn't tell us what are the names of his brothers. Quran will not mention. Quran will not even mention his mother directly. Quran will not mention the name of the minister who eventually took him in. Or the name of the wife of the minister who's such a central character in the story. None of these people are mentioned by name. Locations mentioned exactly. It's not the case. Other than Misr in the passing reference.
The reason for that is Allah Azawajal is not concerned with information. That's not what's important for you and me. What is important for you and me are lessons that will guide my life and your life. So he will tell us the information that is relevant. Enough for us to get the guidance. This is not a book of history. It's not a book of facts. It's a book of counsel. It's a book of maw'idah. It's a book of hudah. It's a book of counsel and guidance.
And so Allah Azawajal has changed and very selectively picked small episodes from the amazing life of Yusuf Alayhis Salaam. And every little detail that he's going to tell us in this surah is extremely important. Because he skipped a lot of other things and only mentioned these things. So whatever he did pick is of extreme value. Nothing can be overlooked.
The Beginning of the Story: Divine Revelation
And so when we begin this story, the first thing that catches our attention is Allah Azawajal says right before this ayah:
"And indeed, you were before that among the unaware."
He tells Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, We're going to tell you the best of all stories.
I'm sure you've heard that before. We're going to tell you the best of all stories. But you used to be unaware before this. Not just unaware of the story. But the lessons that are going to be inside this story, the wisdom that's going to come from this story, is something that even the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam was not taught before this. It is going to be unique.
So don't just reduce that, Yes, Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam did not know the story of Yusuf Alaihis Salaam. And that's what's being said. Actually a lot more is being said. There are things inside of this story. That without the story we would have never known that Allah Azawajal deems important. For you and me in our lives.
Yusuf's Dream: The First Lesson in Communication
And so where do we begin? Allah Azawajal describes this young child, Yusuf Alaihis Salaam:
"[Mention] when Joseph said to his father..."
When Yusuf Alaihis Salaam said to his father, and he's a young boy, we don't know the exact age, but you imagine anything between 8 and 12 years old. He's a young child. And he comes up to his father, maybe even younger.
And what does he say to him?
"(Remember) when Yusuf said to his father, "O my father, indeed I have seen [in a dream] eleven stars..."
And first of all (يَا أَبَتِ - ya abati) dad and the Arabic word for father is (يا أبي - ya abi) my father. But (يَا أَبَتِ - ya abati) is actually my respected father and my beloved father. And we don't talk like that. Your kids don't come up to you and say, beloved father, can I have some chocolate? They don't talk to you like that. That's not how we speak anymore. But the equivalent of it would be, dad, I love you. Dad, give me a hug. I want to tell you something. It's a loving expression of addressing your father. It's not just dad or papa or baba. But it's actually dad along with an expression of love. That's the first thing we learn about this child. Is that he expresses love for his dad.
And the second thing we're gonna learn here is that he came up to him and said:
(إنِّي - inni) means, no doubt I. Now the word (إنّ - inna) is used, they say in Arabic (لإزالة الشك - li'izalat ash-shakk) to remove doubt. So when you're about to say something that the listener will not believe easily. It sounds so unbelievable they might not believe you. That they don't think you're serious. So the Arabs use the device (إنّ - inna) to remove that doubt.
No, no, I really mean what I'm gonna say. It is as though the child recognizes that what he's about to say is not easy to believe. It's this amazing thing, this crazy thing that he saw. And he's gonna tell his dad all about it but he's thinking dad might not believe me. And so he says, no really dad, I really did see this.
إِنِّي رَأَيْتُ أَحَدَ عَشَرَ كَوْكَبًا
I really did see in fact, eleven stars. The sun and the moon:
"...and the sun and the moon..."
And it's incredible that the sentence starts over again. And it captures really the reluctance of a child.
The Natural Communication Style of Children
I mean I have a lot of children. Alhamdulillah, I have seven children. And the thing with children is that when they wanna tell you something that's exciting or something that happened, they repeat themselves a lot. And they can't even get to the end of a sentence. So a kid will... Something happened on the playground. My son comes running up to me when he's little. He says, abba, abba, you know what happened? At the slide, at the slide, at the slide, what happened at the slide? I forgot. You know. A child will actually become nervous and repeat themselves.
Yusuf a.s. as a child comes up to his father and says, you know what really happened dad? I saw eleven stars. The sun. Even the moon. But what did you... There's more. But he's nervous. And he stops. And he starts over again. And the verb is repeated:
"...I saw them prostrating to me."
I saw them doing sajda to me. The verb I saw is repeated twice. It's not mentioned once. Literally like a child saying, I saw it, I really saw it. It's so beautiful and so natural the way in which he speaks to his dad.
The Foundation of Good Fatherhood: Being Available
The first thing that I'd like to highlight here is that this boy saw a dream. Who did he run and talk to? His father. Our boys have a feeling, have a dream. Forget about a dream. Even something happens to them in reality. Who did they go and run and talk to? And when they want to come and talk to you, dad, you're watching the news. You're doing something on your phone. And you say, but you know what happened today at school? And then on the playground? You're like, uh-huh, go tell your mother.
And you know you do that enough times, and you'll notice your son doesn't come up and tell you. Who does he go straight to? He goes straight to mom. The natural inclination, by the way, children gravitate towards their mother. They do. But we're learning something about Ya'qub a.s that hasn't even been said. He is the kind of father that has created such a nurturing environment for this child, that this child experienced something not even when he was awake. He experienced something when it was a dream. And he can run over to dad and give him a hug, and tell him all about it, because he knows dad is going to listen. Dad is going to pay attention. He's not going to ignore what I'm saying.
Understanding Children's Priorities
And if anything, you know, for children, things that are important to children are not the same as things that are important to adults. When my kid is playing with a bunch of Legos, and one of the pieces is missing, his world has come to an end. I'm like, I can't find the hat. And that's a really big deal to him. Now it's not a big deal to me, but you know what? It has to become a big deal to me, because it's important to him.
A dream may not be important to you or me, but it's important to this child. It's valuable to him. So he runs over and tells his dad, and his dad doesn't say, what did you eat for dinner last night, boy? You know, it's just a dream. It's okay, it's okay, don't worry about it. I get those all the time. He doesn't do that. He actually carefully, attentively listens to his son.
The Sunnah of Active Listening
We're learning something incredible about fatherhood, that we did not know before. Quran didn't highlight this anywhere else. It highlights something about how loving a father needs to be to young children, to very young children, to nurture them, to engage them, to be a good listener to them, to sit and just listen to your child. Even if they're babbling and talking about absolutely nothing that makes any sense to you, you still listen attentively as though you're a learner. And your child is, you know, my girls, they talk a lot, because they're girls.
But, you know, they talk, and they talk, and they talk, and they're telling me about this kid, and this other girl at school, who became friends with them, and she's not friends with them anymore, and this one, and that one, and there's so many names, it's like an entire, like, (عِلْمُ النِّسَاءِ - 'ilmu-n-nisa') almost (عِلْمٌمُ الرِّجَالِ الْحَدِيثِ - 'ilmu-r-rijal al-hadith). There's all these names you have to know, and characters, and I have to keep up.
I can't just be driving the car and saying, uh-huh, uh-huh, yeah, yeah, that's great. Because that's what we do, we don't really listen. The father is actually attentively listening.
Signs of Successful Parenting
And how will you know, how will I know, that you and I are trying to live up to the sunnah of Yaqub a.s. as immortalized in the Quran, when we notice that our children, on their own, come up and talk to us.
Because today, we try to talk to our kids, and say, how was school? It was okay. What did you do? Things? Who are your friends? Some people? They don't talk to us.
But that's not because they're bad kids. It's because we didn't open that door enough, wide open enough. We didn't become their friends first. Children need to be approached, and made to feel welcome. You know, in many societies, especially in Muslim societies, the father is supposed to be an authority. When Baba walks into the house, everybody's like, judgment day has begun, you know.
Everybody stops, you know. Even people were happy right before, and they noticed the car pull up, Baba is here. And they're just, you know, military attention style, happiness is left to home. You better watch out, because he gets angry so easily. You don't want to make Baba angry, he had a long day at work. You don't want to say anything, because he'll get really upset.
This is the legacy of Yaqub a.s. If that was the kind of father he was, would Yusuf a.s. ever come up to him, and even tell him anything? This story would never have even begun. None of this would have happened. If he wasn't a kind of loving, nurturing father, that's the prerequisite of the first ayah.
The Genius of Yusuf: Understanding the Dream
And then this child comes, and tells him this fascinating dream, and what is inside this dream is just remarkable. The language of the Qur'an, it's so remarkable. On the one hand, the child is reluctant, and he knows that he's not going to be believed.
And I told you, he used the word (وَالشَّمْسَ وَالْقَمَر - wash-shamsa wal-qamar) And eventually, by the end of the surah, we understand that the 11 stars were actually his siblings. And the sun and the moon represent his parents. And we also know that by the end of this dream, or by the end of getting to this sentence, what he tells his father, is that they're going to be doing sajdah, because of him.
They're going to be falling into sajdah, because of him. Which is an extremely humble position for someone to be in. And if you imagine somebody falling into sajdah, because of somebody else, you would imagine that the person, the masjudun lahu, the person to whom sajdah is being done, or because of whom the sajdah is being done, is a very important person.
So now this child sees a dream in which he is a very important person. But actually, what's even more incredible, is it seems from the language of the ayah, that this young boy is a genius, and Allah Azza wa Jalla has inspired him, in a very special way, that he already has the understanding of what the dream means. He didn't come to ask his father, what does this mean? It seems he already knows what it means.
The Linguistic Genius of the Dream Description
This is why he gets to 11 stars, the sun and the moon, mom and dad. And when he gets to that point, he can't even finish, because how can I imagine my mom and my dad humbled in front of me? How can I even imagine that? And then on top of that, those of you that are familiar with the Arabic language, these are (غَيْرُ عَاقِل - ghayru 'aaqil). You have the sun, the moon, the stars. These are not living things. And the Arabic pronouns for non-living things are either the feminine pronoun, haa, or if you want to do tafkheem and make a big deal out of them, hunna. So the Arabic, what if the expected Arabic was gonna be, (رَأَيْتُهُنَّ سَاجِدَاتٍ - ra'aytuhunna saajidaatin). Or (رَأَيْتُهَا سَاجِدَةً - ra'aytuhaa saajidatan). That's the expected Arabic. But the Qur'an says (رَأَيْتُهُمْ سَاجِدِينَ - ra'aytuhum saajideen).
Which is used only for people. He actually used the pronoun, when he says, I saw them doing sajda because of me. The word them is actually only used for living people, for human beings. And so he used a word that already suggests that I know that it's people, it's not the stars and the sun and the moon. That's the genius of this boy. But it's such a small thing and the father hears and picks up on it. This kid is special. He's not just special because he saw a dream. He's really special because he figured it out too. He even figured it out. And he recognized all of that from one sentence.
Discovering Your Children's Gifts
Our children have been given lots of gifts. And their gifts, you will discover them by engaging them in conversation. Every child is given a unique set of gifts. Some of your kids are very artistic. Some of your kids are very mathematical. Some of your kids are very analytical. Some of your kids have an incredible memory. They're not all the same. When you engage them in conversation, you're actually discovering what they are hiding inside of them. And you won't know anything about those hidden talents and those hidden gifts Allah has given them until you and I become good listeners.
The father becomes a good listener and picks up on the fact that this child is not a normal child. He's special. It's not just so special to see a dream, but to be able to figure that out too. And he knows now immediately that it's people and 11 stars and it's people, it's 11 brothers. Sun and moon, that's the parent. And now he's actually told his father the interpretation. In one sentence, the dream and the interpretation. And the father, first thing he does. First thing he does. It's so amazing. And this was the first wisdom I wanted to tell you. Open communication between father and son.
The Second Wisdom: Protective Guidance
The second thing that I want to share with you:
"O my son, relate not your vision to your brothers or they will contrive against you a plan. Indeed, Satan is ever to man a clear enemy."
My beloved little boy. My dear little son. That's how he addresses him. (يَا بُنَيَّ - yaa bunayya) is my son. (يَا بُنَيَّ اسْمٌ تَصْغِيرٍ - yaa bunayya ismun tasgheer). My little boy. It's also an expression of love. So the child spoke to him lovingly, and the father also responded lovingly. We have to reciprocate love. We have to reciprocate loving expressions to our kids. We have to let them know how much we love them. You cannot say, my dad never hugged me, so we don't do that in our family.
You don't do that to children. That is not the sunnah of our prophets (عَلَيْهِمْ الصَّلاةُ وَالسَّلام - alayhimus salaatu was-salaam). You know. It's unfortunate that some people think that the only kind of father they need to be is an authority. And they don't reciprocate. I need my children to respect me. They know I love them. No, they don't. They don't know that you love them. Ask those kids, I think Baba hates me. They'll tell you. But don't tell him I said that.
You need to express the fact that you love them. You need to demonstrate the fact that you love them. And then he says, don't tell this to your brothers. What you've seen, don't tell it. The first thing dad says is, don't tell this to your brothers. His brothers are older than him or younger than him? The vast majority of them are older than him. And he looks up to his brothers. And just like he's excited about what just happened, just like he told dad, he might even tell his brothers.
Dealing with Family Complications
Now we know later on his brothers are no good. And they're going to scheme against him and all of it. But the first thing you tell your child is sometimes the family situation is complicated. You know, your family is not the only one that has problems. Prophets had families with problems. He's got sons that are out of control. And he's a great father, we already know that. We already learned that he's done his job as a good dad. And if he did this with Yusuf, then I can guarantee you, he was the same way with all of his other sons. Isn't that the case?
It's not like he raised those kids as a tyrant or as an oppressive father. And then all of a sudden, he became a good father to Yusuf. It's not the case. Our anbiya, they are models of justice and fairness. So he did his job as a father, but those kids did not turn out like Yusuf. They came out very different.
The Reality of Parental Limitations
A lot of us invest into our children. Some of you have white hair on your beards, because your children are no longer children, they're adults themselves. And you did everything you could to give them love and nurturing and education of the deen and to give them upright character and they went in a different direction later on in life. They're no longer the kids you expected them to be. They're far away from Allah's deen. They're rebellious. They're not respectful.
And you're thinking, what did I do wrong? I did everything that I could, and they turned out this way? How can I bring them back? So many desperate mothers and fathers, mostly mothers, come up to me and tell me, I did everything for my child. I provided them a good education. I gave them good environment. I protected them from so much fitna. But today, my son doesn't pray. And he doesn't listen to me. And if I try to tell him something, he gets angry. And he storms out of the house. What should I do?
That's not just your problem. That's a problem for Yaqub a.s. A prophet of Allah. A role model father. And even he had trouble with children. Why is that important to note? Because we are human beings. We don't own Allah's guidance. We don't even own our own children. They are an amanah. They are a trust that Allah has given us. We will do everything we can for them. But when they become adults, they will make their own choices. And that is not under our control. We cannot control how they will turn out to be.
We can only fulfill our amanah to a point, and then they are who they are. This is why the messenger of Allah s.a.w. even turns to his own daughter:
(Sahih Bukhari 2753)
Fatima, daughter of Muhammad, have your own taqwa of Allah. I will have no authority in front of Allah for you. I can't help you on Judgment Day. You're on your own.
Understanding the Stages of Parental Control
This is a fundamental reality that parents must understand. My girls are now becoming teenagers. And then eventually the boys, I'm more scared of the boys actually, eventually they'll get there. What happens is when these kids are little, everything about them is under our control. What are they gonna eat? What are they gonna wear? What school are they gonna go to? When are they gonna go to sleep? When are they gonna wake up? Everything is under our control.
But as they get older, you start noticing you're losing more and more control. And they get to a certain point, they become their own person and now they wanna marry who they wanna marry. They wanna move to a different city for a job. And now the parents are losing control and they're saying, no, no, no, you can't do that. You can't marry who you want. You can't go to this city. You can't get that job. You can't go to that. You will do what I tell you. Because I changed your diapers. I fed you when you were little.
No, actually, there's a certain age where parents have to actually let go. They can no longer control. And that's a harsh reality. It's a harsh reality that a lot of parents don't accept. Because it's difficult to accept. But that is a reality. And sometimes our children will not be what we expect just like Yusuf's brothers.
Teaching Children About Family Dynamics
But he tells him, our family is complicated. Just do me a favor. He doesn't bad mouth his brothers. He just says, listen, don't tell him. Don't tell them the story. And he doesn't say because they're jealous. He just says:
"They will plot to harm you."
I do need you to understand even as a young boy, be careful of what you say around your brothers. Because they might make a plan, a scheme against you. They might make a secret plot against you.
Why would you tell a child that? Sometimes children have to be told adult things. Our family situations are not always simple. We have to sometimes protect. Listen to this carefully. Sometimes we have to protect our children from other members of the family. Sometimes there are members of your family that are no good. And we cannot hide that from our kids. You have to know the elements within your own. Nobody knows your family like you do.
There are sometimes uncles or cousins or brothers or some other people in your family that are just a bad influence. They are no good. You don't develop hatred for them. But you do protect children from them. You do. And when you go to a Eid gathering, there's everybody's together. And the kids are running around. And you know some of the bad apples in the family are there at the gathering. You better keep your children where you can see them. They better not be away somewhere and you don't know where they are. Because a lot of those gatherings, some of the most horrible things happen to our children. And they're exposed to some of the worst things because of their family.
I know this not in theory because thousands of people email me about what happens to them with their families. We don't protect our children. We assume they're safe around family. You cannot be so simplistic. That is the teaching of the Qur'an itself. Sometimes there are complicated situations inside a family. And the first people we have to protect are our children.
But then he says, it's not because these people are evil. But because:
"Indeed, Satan is ever to man a clear enemy."
Shaytan is always been an enemy to people or human beings. In other words, they unfortunately are victims of the waswasa of Shaytan. We ask Allah that He protects us from becoming that, you know. And so, in a sense, He says, be careful of the bad apples in the family. But also doesn't say they're the devil. The devil is the devil. Shaytan is the bad one.
Leaving Room for Redemption
Because he leaves the door open. He doesn't say, your brothers, they are so evil. You stay away from them and you never ever talk to them the rest of your life. That's what we do. Because if somebody has been bad or has had bad behavior, we write them off forever. By the end of this story, you know that the brothers of Yusuf made tawbah, yes? They changed, didn't they?
So even if there are bad elements in your family, that doesn't mean that they're Shaytan who is condemned to hellfire until the end. They're not like Shaytan. They can change. Shaytan is the one that was always going to be an enemy. So there's a clarification by the father to the son. Don't confuse them with Shaytan. That's two different things.
The Third Wisdom: Validation and Confidence Building
And so now, I get to the last part of what I wanted to share with you. As a father, what is he going to give his son? This is my favorite part actually. Validation. Acceptance. This boy saw a dream and in one sentence even let his father know that he's figured out the dream. The father first told him to be careful about the complications in the family. And then he tells him:
"And thus will your Lord choose you"
That is how your master is, meaning Allah has selected you for the special qualities that you have. Ijtiba is used when a choice is made based on special qualities. So the father is basically saying, son, you've got some special qualities. And those special qualities are so special, Allah Himself has chosen you. And this is just a beginning child.
Allah is going to be teaching you the interpretation of all kinds of speech. Not just dreams. You're going to be a very young, smart young man. You're going to be able to figure out all kinds of things out. You have a bright future ahead of you. And then that's not enough.
"(Quran 12:6)"
And Allah will complete his... I'm confident Allah will fulfill his favor upon you. I even see, I make dua, Allah will turn you into a prophet. Just like He fulfilled His favor:
Just like He completed the favor on your forefathers, Ibrahim and Ishaq. I pray that you are the next one.
The Power of Affirmation
Off of one dream, The father gave an entire speech of how awesome you are to this kid. Allah has chosen you. You are so special. You're gonna do great things in the future. You're gonna figure out all kinds of stuff. Allah is going to make you part of the same legacy as Ishaq and Ibrahim alayhim as-salam. Allah will fulfill his favor upon you.
All of these compliment after compliment after compliment. Why? This is a sunnah of prophets that we take the little things that our kids do and we make a big deal out of them. And fill them with confidence when they're children. We validate them. Not the other way around.
Your child goes has an exam gets a 95 on an exam and you say next time get hundred. I used to get hundred without even taking the exam. Your kids are never good enough for you. They're never good enough for you. You never validate them. This is a horrible thing to do. It's a denial of the prophetic legacy. Acknowledge the good in your children. He hasn't even interpreted all kinds of speech yet. That's gonna happen later. He hasn't even accomplished. He's just just a kid. But the father is filling him with confidence that this kid is going to accomplish much.
The Long-Term Impact of Childhood Confidence
When we instill that kind of confidence into our children, then they will instill that into their children and in fact, they will accomplish great things. This one thing by the way. This one kind of confidence that was put into this child at an early age is the same confidence that when Yusuf alayhis salaam was in prison and he came out of prison. He came in front of the king and said I need to be the treasurer. That takes confidence. He's standing among government officials, you know people that have been in politics for a long time. Economists and he comes out of a prison cell and says nobody here is qualified to be the treasurer of this nation.
(Quran 12:55)
I'm the guy for the job. That confidence in the Quran came from where? From when he was a child. He acknowledged Allah's favor on him. He knew what he's capable of. We want that kind of confidence for our kids. That will not come automatically. You know the opposite is the case today.
The Damage of Constant Criticism
All we do with our children is criticize them, poke holes at them. Tell them how skinny they are or how fat they are or how stupid they are, how ugly they are or how not like their older brother they are, comparing them to each other. Constantly, constantly, constantly. And then these young kids grow up and even when they grow up, what did they do in the ummah when they see someone? All they can do is criticize them.
All we find in this ummah are people that are obsessed with criticism. They cannot see the good in anyone. They can't see the good in the country. They live in the society. They live in they'll say yeah. Our imam is great alhamdulillah, but and then that and you know where that comes from? Daddy issues. That's where that comes from. Dad used to pick at you all the time and find holes in you and now you cannot see good in anyone until you find something wrong. Then you get married and your wife cooks food, and you like the food and you say yeah, it's good but the other time was better.
You can't help but criticize all the time because it was embedded in you as a child. We don't want that to go on. We want an ummah that acknowledges good and ummah that sees good in people and therefore becomes a grateful nation.
The Connection Between Gratitude and Success
And this by the way these two things are inherently connected to each other. If you're always finding flaws, then you're never going to be grateful. And if you're never going to be grateful this ummah will never get out of its mess because:
If you're grateful, then Allah will increase you. Allah will not increase us if we're not grateful, and we can't be grateful if we're always poking holes at each other.
So this thing that I'm sharing with you about fatherhood has major implications.
The Ripple Effect of Good Parenting
Can you imagine this little conversation? This is what I want to conclude with. This tiny little conversation with this boy. Why is it important? Because a few years from now, millions of people are going to starve to death if not for the confidence of this young man. Because of this young man, thousands of children will be saved from starvation because a father did his job.
Can you imagine the burden on our shoulders? Do not underestimate the role of the father. Do not underestimate the capabilities of your children. Do not reduce them to... Allah Azzawajal has chosen this ummah for great things. That the fact that we get honored to be part of this ummah is a great great noble gift.
Final Dua
May Allah Azzawajal allow us to be successful parents and to instill in our children beautiful confidence and to make our children really the likes of Yusuf alayhis salam who fulfilled the favor that was given in the legacy of Ibrahim alayhis salam. May Allah Azzawajal overlook our shortcomings in everything that we do especially in our role as parents. And may Allah Azzawajal give us righteous children that become a source of sadaqa jariyya for all of us.
BarakAllahu li walakum fil quran al hakeem wa nafaa'ni wa iyyakum bil ayati wal dhikri al hakeem