Whoever takes care of daughters and treats them kindly, they will be a screen for him from Hellfire

Arabic text

عَن عَائِشَةَ أُمِّ المؤْمِنين رضي الله عنها زَوْجَ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ حَدَّثَتْهُ قَالَتْ: جَاءَتْنِي امْرَأَةٌ مَعَهَا ابْنَتَانِ تَسْأَلُنِي، فَلَمْ تَجِدْ عِنْدِي غَيْرَ تَمْرَةٍ وَاحِدَةٍ، فَأَعْطَيْتُهَا فَقَسَمَتْهَا بَيْنَ ابْنَتَيْهَا، ثُمَّ قَامَتْ فَخَرَجَتْ، فَدَخَلَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَحَدَّثْتُهُ، فَقَالَ: «مَنْ يَلِي مِنْ هَذِهِ البَنَاتِ شَيْئًا، فَأَحْسَنَ إِلَيْهِنَّ، كُنَّ لَهُ سِتْرًا مِنَ النَّارِ».

Translation

‘Ā’ishah, the Mother of the Believers (may Allah be pleased with her) and wife of the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) reported: A woman, along with her two daughters, came to me asking (for charity). She found that I had nothing except one date, so I gave it to her. She divided it between her two daughters, then she got up and left. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) then came in, and I informed him about this, and he remarked: "Whoever takes care of daughters and treats them kindly, they will be a screen for him from Hellfire."

Explanation

The Mother of the Believers, ‘Ā’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her), informed that a woman came to her with her two daughters, asking for food. ‘Ā’ishah found nothing but a single date, which she gave to the woman. The woman split the date between her two daughters without eating any herself, then left. When the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) entered, ‘Ā’ishah told him what happened. He said: Whoever is responsible for these daughters and takes care of them and treats them well—educating them, feeding them, giving them drink, clothing them, and enduring all that with patience—they will be a shield and a barrier for him from Hellfire.

Benefits

• Caring for daughters and striving to provide for them are among the finest righteous deeds that shield one from Hellfire.
• It is recommended to give charity with whatever one can afford, even if it is small.
• The profound compassion of parents toward their children.
• Clarifying the condition of the households of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and that his provision was just sufficient.
• Illustrating the virtue of altruism, or selflessness, as a hallmark of the believers, for ‘Ā’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) preferred the woman and her two daughters over herself, which indicates her generosity and nobility despite her own dire need.
• The blessing of daughters is called 'trial' because of the hardship and fatigue involved in their upbringing, or due to some people's dislike for them, or because they often lack the means of earning and a livelihood.
• Islam came to eradicate the detestable practices of the pre-Islamic era, and thus it calls for honoring and caring for daughters.
• This reward is attained even in the case of caring for one daughter, as mentioned in some narrations.

Topics

• Jurisprudence and Juristic Principles
• Virtues and Manners
• Jurisprudence of Acts of Worship
• Zakah
• Jurisprudence of Ethics
• Praiseworthy Morals
• Voluntary Charity