Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books A Divine Perspective on Rights Right n. 44: The Right of the Younger One حق الصغير وَأمّا حَقُّ الصَّغِيرِ فَرَحْمتُهُ وتَثقِيفُهُ وتَعْلِيمُهُ وَالعَفْوُ عَنْهُ وَالسِّترُ عَلَيهِ وَالرِّفْقُ بهِ وَالمَعُونَةُ لهُ وَالسِّترُ عَلَى جَرَائِرِ حَدَاثتِهِ فَإنّهُ سَبَبٌ لِلتَّوبَةِ وَالْمُدَارَاةُ لَهُ وتَرْكُ مُمَاحَكَتِهِ، فَإنَّ ذَلِكَ أَدنى لِرُشْدِهِ.
And the right of him who is younger than you is that you have compassion on him, train and educate him, pardon him, and cover up his faults, be gentle with him and help him, cover up the guilts of his juvenility because this will make him repent; treat him with patience, and stop quarrelling with him. This will lead him to more sensible conduct. Imam Sajjad recommends us to treat younger people with kindness, educate them, pardon them and cover up their faults.
We should be patient with them and help them with their affairs. Undoubtedly being egocentric is one of the foundations of the development of children’s personality. If used properly and directed well, it can lead to their prosperity. A proper way to respond to this egocentrism is to respect the children and attend to their personality. Any child whose egocentrism is not properly recognized in the family will feel humiliated. He will have a feeling of having failed in life. He will be depressed.
Such children are prone to various deviations and faults. That is why Imam Sajjad instructs us to overlook their mistakes. The Noble Prophet has said the following regarding child-rearing: أكْرِموا أوْلادَكُم وَأحْسِنوا آدابَكُم. “Respect your children and improve your behavior.” [^1] Imam Sajjad has stressed training and educating children as one of the major duties of parents, and rights that children have incumbent upon their parents.
The practices and lives of the Immaculate Imams are good examples of this. Encouraging Children Imam Hasan gathered his children and his brother’s children once and told them: إنّكُم صِغارٌ اليَومَ ويوشَكُ أنْ تَكونوا كِبارَ قَومٍ آخَرينَ، فَتَعَلَّموا العِلمَ فَمَنْ لَمْ يَستَطِعْ مِنكُم أنْ يحْفَظَهُ فَلْيَكْتُبْهُ وَليَضَعْهُ في بَيتِهِ. “You are all children today, but will soon be great men in the future, so acquire knowledge.
Whoever of you does not have a good memory, should write down what his teachers say and keep the notes at home for later review.” [^2] We see that Imam Hasan uses the children’s egotism to encourage them to study to become great men in the future.