Surah Az-Zukhruf: Verse 28 - وجعلها كلمة باقية في عقبه... - English

And he left it as a Word to endure among those who came after him, that they may turn back (to Allah). (28)

وَجَعَلَهَا كَلِمَةً بَاقِيَةً فِي عَقِبِهِ (And he made it a word lasting among his posterity.) It means that Ibrahim t did not keep the belief in 'tauhid' restricted to himself, rather he emphasized upon his posterity also to remain firm on this faith, as a result of which a large number of his posterity adhered to tauhid. In Makkah and its surroundings, there were many blessed souls, even till the advent of the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، who had remained steadfast in the original 'din' of Sayyidna Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) .

We learn from this verse that it is one of the obligatory duties of a Muslim to try his best to put his or her children on the path of the correct religion and to make them practice it throughout their lives. The Holy Qur'an tells us that Sayyidna Yaqub (علیہ السلام) also had directed his sons, shortly before his death, to remain firm on the correct faith. As such, it is necessary, as a consistent practice of the prophets, to employ one's best possible efforts to reform the morals and deeds of his or her children. So to say, there are many ways to reform one's offspring which should be used according to the situation, but Shaikh Abdul Wahhab Sha` rani (رح) has said in his book Lata'if-ul-Minan wal-Akhlaq that the most effective way for the betterment of one's offspring in matters pertaining to 'din' is that the parents should pray to Allah regularly to make them true practicing Muslims . Alas! The negligence of parents from this easy way is becoming very common these days, and the parents themselves are witnessing the ill effects of this negligence.

(28)