Tradition

إِعْدِلُوا بَيْنَ أَوْلادِكُمْ كَما تُحِبُّونَ أَنْ يَعْدِلُوا بَيْنَكُمْ

The Prophet (S) is narrated to have said: “Be fair when it comes to your children just as you would like them to be fair when it comes to you.”1

Brief Commentary

A major problem amongst people is that they make differences between their children. In some families, the eldest child is treated differently and considered as being superior to the rest. In other cases, the youngest child is treated as being better than the rest. In these situations, the parents give all of their love, affection, and care to one of their children and create differences in how the rest are treated. This gives rise to anger and animosity among the siblings and they become enemies of one another. In addition, they can hold grudges against the parents and these grudges end up manifesting later on in life when the parents have become old and are in need of their children’s help.

• 1. Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 23, Makarim Al-Akhlaq, p. 220.