Progeny? At what age can a person start thinking of their legacy? So this is me 22 years old and thirty two days before my first baby is due. It’s a girl (in case you were wondering).
I can’t help the feeling of responsibility and the great task that lies ahead in not only training my first child, but rather all my children and future generations.
People like me have many desires and aspirations for what we want our children to become and what they should achieve in life. Some parents work hard at training their children in a chosen direction to be a doctor, entrepreneur or a gold-winning Olympic athlete.
But unfortunately there are far too many who do not choose to focus their attention on the training of their children and the results are obvious; looters, rioters, anti-social behaviour, spoilt brats, etc.The recent national rioting of summer 2011 in Britain made the general public realize that it is the parents who bear the greater responsibility rather than the schools and teachers in avoiding the youth being disaffected.
This responsibility, placed on the shoulders of a mother, was portrayed many years ago by the late Leader of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community, his Holiness Hadhrat Mirza Bashir-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad, Second Successor to the Promised Messiah (peace be on him).
He offered a great tribute to mothers by way of acknowledging their task in the moral training of children. His Holiness said that the mother’s task of permanently instilling great faith in children was a task even greater than the conquests of famous generals and kings, and they alone were capable of doing so. He elaborated further by stating:
"if a woman decides that she is going to make the future generation righteous rather than barbaric, then how can Satan capture them....it is only women who can challenge Satan permanently. If women decide that they are going to make the future generations servants of religion then who will Satan corrupt? The future generation is not influenced by Satan but by their mothers, but mothers can make the mistake of letting them go so that they become bait hunted by Satan.....you must understand your responsibility.”
His Holiness went so far as to say that the eminent Muslim leaders of the past did not have this intrinsic skill which is within women, to instil faith in their offspring. This is because a woman teaches a child to speak and is its first contact with human nature and all human experiences, the child initially learns everything from her.
These few words of wisdom provide inspiration to a generation of mothers, or mothers-to-be, that they have the capability, honour and blessing in raising children for the benefit of mankind. I feel inspired and so should you.
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