Where the Children Wait Beneath the Throne

DAILYREFLECTION

When a person loses a child, the pain cuts deeper than words can hold. A mother once came to the Prophet ﷺ after her young son, Ḥārithah, was martyred at Badr. With trembling voice, she said,

“O Messenger of Allah, if he is in Paradise, I will be patient. But if not…”

The Prophet ﷺ comforted her with a truth that quieted her grief:

“Woe to you, O mother of Ḥārithah! Paradise has many levels, and your son is in the highest of them, Jannatul-Firdaus.”

From that moment, her tears turned into gratitude. The Prophet ﷺ described how the souls of children are cared for in the next world. Their innocence is not lost. Ibn Masʿūd said that the martyrs fly through Paradise as green birds, and the children of the believers as small, beautiful birds fluttering freely beneath the Throne of Allah, returning to it for rest and safety.

Even the infants who left this world nursing are not forgotten. The Prophet ﷺ said his own son, Ibrāhīm, who died as a baby, “has two wet nurses completing his nursing in Paradise.” Their childhoods are preserved in heavenly form, still growing, still loved.

And who raises these children until their parents arrive? The Prophet ﷺ saw in his night vision the answer: a man standing in a lush garden, so tall that his head touched the sky. Around him played countless children. When the angels explained, they said,

“That man is Ibrāhīm (AS), and those are the children who died in the state of fitrah.” When asked, “Even the children of non-believers?” the Prophet ﷺ replied, “Even the children of the disbelievers.”

It is a beautiful completion of Ibrāhīm’s story. The one who was once childless for decades now becomes Abul-Atfāl, the father of all children in the Barzakh. His name, Ibrāhīm, means “the merciful father,” and in the next life that meaning reaches its fullest truth.

If you have ever lost a child, or know someone who has, remember this:
Your child is not gone; they are safe. They are being nurtured by the most compassionate father, under the shade of the Most Merciful.

And yes, they are still children in the Barzakh, at the age that they died.
We will see them again as such, until they enter Paradise with their parents, insha’Allah, and then everyone becomes the same age.

REFLECT ON THIS:

If the souls we love are cared for beyond this life, how can we let despair take root when mercy is still holding them close?

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WATERMELONWATCH

• The UN said that access for humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip remains severely restricted despite the cease-fire, leaving thousands dependent on dwindling supplies of food, water and medicine.

• The UAE ruled out joining a proposed international stabilization force in Gaza, highlighting divisions among regional and global actors even as reconstruction plans begin to take shape.

• Gaza seems heading toward a de facto partition, with half the territory under Israeli control and the rest under Hamas, raising fears that the crisis will stretch into a long-term occupation rather than a short-term emergency.

• Turkey and Egypt are set to meet in Ankara to coordinate post-war planning for Gaza and the cease-fire, offering some momentum toward multilateral humanitarian and rebuilding efforts.

• Despite the restrictions local aid groups and displaced families continue organising community-based relief lines, collecting and sharing what little food and water they can access to support each other in the absence of full aid flows. (According to early reports)

QURANCORNER

Each day, you’ll be introduced to one of the 300 most common Qur’anic words. The Qur’an has about 77,430 words in total, all built on just 2,000 root words. By learning these frequently recurring ones, you’ll recognize 70–80% of the Qur’an’s vocabulary and begin connecting more deeply as you read.

Faʿala (فَعَلَ) — He Did / He Acted

Faʿala is the root of doing, the spark of action. In the Qur’an, it’s used for Pharaoh and prophets alike for the ones who disobeyed, and the ones who stood firm. Every faʿala reminds us: deeds matter. Whether hidden or known, written or forgotten, what we do shapes who we become. And in the end, what we did will speak louder than what we claimed.