Having Patience With Our Children

Narrated Anas: I served the Prophet for ten years, and he never said to me, "Uf" (a minor harsh word denoting impatience) and never blamed me by saying, "Why did you do so or why didn't you do so?"  (Book#73, Hadith #64)

This is a reminder to myself as well, for how many times in the day do we, as parents, become impatient with our children? How many times when they don't do something that we have asked them to do? And how many times do we begin our sentences with "why did you (not) do this?" It is so easy to start our sentence with this and then fall into a rant and rave and then become truly upset. 

Nip it in the bud and make a conscious effort to not begin our sentences with "Why did you (not) do....." Accept that children are young and are still learning how to behave. They are still children after all and will be sidetracked. The long version of the above hadeeth is that the Prophet (s) asked Anas (r) to do something but on the way he got sidetracked and played with some other children. When he saw the Prophet (s) again he realised that he had forgotten to do the thing that was asked. The Prophet (s) did not show impatience nor asked "why did you not do this?"

What a shining example our Prophet Muhammad (s) is for us. How patient is he towards everyone, not just with his Companions but also with enemies and even the old and young? He (s) is after all, 'a mercy to mankind'.