Madanī Pearls: Comprehensive Guide to Child Rearing, Spiritual Remedies, and the Observance of Saḥarī

The provided text outlines "Sixteen Madanī pearls for babies," which are precautions to help protect children from diseases. These include:

·         Reciting "يَا بَرُّ" seven times, accompanied by Ṣalāt-’Alan-Nabī before and after, and blowing on a newborn baby immediately after birth is intended to protect the child from afflictions until puberty.

·         Bathing a newborn first with tepid water mixed with salt, followed by ordinary, non-hot water, is meant to protect them from spots and boils.

·         Bathing children for several days in salt-mixed water is described as highly beneficial for their health.

·         Massaging babies with mustard oil after their bath is considered very effective for their health.

·         Feeding babies a small amount of honey two or three times daily before giving them milk is regarded as beneficial.

·         The baby's head should be kept raised at all times, whether being rocked in one's arms or laid down to sleep; lowering the head while raising the feet is considered harmful.

·         Exposure to extremely bright light can weaken a newborn's eyesight.

·         Once a baby's gums are strong and teeth begin to cut, one should rub the gums with chicken fat.

·         Rubbing honey on a baby's gums once or twice a day, as well as rubbing oil on their head and neck, is seen as beneficial.

·         As the suckling period ends and the child begins to eat, ensure they are not given hard foods, but rather soft, easily digestible foods.

·         The child should also be fed cow's or goat's milk.

• If possible, feed the child healthy foods because the energy he gains at this age will help him throughout his life.
• Children should not be fed again and again; do not give next food before the digestion of the food given earlier.It is absolutely vital to stop children from eating sweets and Mithāī (Asian sweets) as these are very harmful to their health.

• Dried and fresh fruits are very beneficial to children.

• The earlier you get your baby boys circumcised the better it is because they will feel less pain and the wound will heal much quicker as well.

Spiritual remedy for protection of mother and baby

If a pregnant woman writes لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا اللهُ or gets it written 55 times on a piece of paper and ties it around her neck or arm in the form of an amulet (Ta'wīż) after wrapping it in plastic and then sewing into a piece of cloth or leather, her pregnancy will remain safe and the baby will also be protected from afflictions (after the birth).

Moreover, if لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا اللهُ is recited 55 times (with Ṣalāt-'Alan-Nabī once before and after it) and blown onto some water and if that water is used to wet the mouth of the baby as soon as it is born the baby will be intelligent and safe from illnesses. Reciting and blowing the same words onto olive oil and then softly massaging the baby's body with it is very beneficial; this will protect the baby from insects, spiders and harmful animals. Massaging the body of adults with this oil (after reciting the same words) is also beneficial to relieving pain.

Eating Saḥarī is Sunnāh

Millions of thanks to Allah who has granted us a magnificent blessing in the form of fast one of whose important parts is Saḥarī whereby we can attain not only energy but also a lot of reward by divine mercy. Even though unlike us, our Noble Prophet did not need to eat and drink, but he also used to eat Saḥarī for our ease so that his devotees would also eat considering it a Sunnāh of their Beloved Prophet صَلَّى اللّٰہُ تَعَالٰی عَلَیْہِ وَاٰلِہٖ وَسَلَّمَ and, in this way, they would get energy during the day as well as the reward for practising a blessed Sunnah.

Some Islamic brothers boast if they ever happen to fast without consuming Saḥarī meal. O devotees of Rasūl! There is nothing extraordinary in fasting without Saḥarī meal. In fact, one should regret and feel remorse to have missed a great Sunnah of Beloved and Blessed Rasūl صَلَّى اللّٰہُ تَعَالٰی عَلَیْہِ وَاٰلِہٖ وَسَلَّمَ.

Better than a thousand years’ worship Sayyidunā Shaykh Sharafuddīn (known as Bābā Bulbul Shāh) رَحْمَةُ اللّٰهِ تَعَالٰی عَلَيْه has said, ‘Allah عَزَّوَجَلَّ has blessed me with so much strength that I can spend my whole life without eating, drinking and without fulfilling other needs of mine but I avoid doing so because it isn’t the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet صَلَّى اللّٰہُ تَعَالٰی عَلَیْہِ وَاٰلِہٖ وَسَلَّمَ. To me, abiding by Sunnah is better than a thousand years worship.’ Anyhow, the beauty of all deeds lies in following the Sunnah of the Beloved and Blessed Prophet صَلَّى اللّٰہُ تَعَالٰی عَلَیْہِ وَاٰلِہٖ وَسَلَّمَ.

Saḥarī after sleeping was not allowed In the beginning, it was not allowed to eat and drink after waking from sleep at night. After the sunset, a fasting person could eat and drink only before going to sleep. Once he went to sleep he wasn’t allowed to eat after waking up. However, Allah عَزَّوَجَلَّ had mercy upon His servants and gave them permission to eat at Saḥarī. Therefore, mentioning the reason of permission to eat and drink after waking from sleep, ‘Allāmah Maulānā Sayyid Muhammad Na’imuddin Murādābādī عَلَیْہِ رَحْمَۃُ اللّٰہِ الْہَادِی has quoted the following account in his Quranic exegesis Khazāin-ul-’Irfān:

Permission of Saḥarī Sayyidunā Ṣarmah Bin Qais رَضِیَ اللّٰہُ تَعَالٰی عَنْہُ was a very hard working man. One evening he رَضِیَ اللّٰہُ تَعَالٰی عَنْہُ returned home having worked all day long on the fields in the state of fast. He رَضِیَ اللّٰہُ تَعَالٰی عَنْہُ asked his wife for food, she began to prepare it. As he رَضِیَ اللّٰہُ تَعَالٰی عَنْہُ was very tired, he fell asleep. When the food was cooked, his wife woke him up but he رَضِیَ اللّٰہُ تَعَالٰی عَنْہُ refused to eat because in those days eating food after waking up from sleep at night was not allowed. Therefore, he رَضِیَ اللّٰہُ تَعَالٰی عَنْہُ fasted the next day without eating anything and resultantly.

he رَضِیَ اللّٰہُ تَعَالٰی عَنْہُ became so weak that he رَضِیَ اللّٰہُ تَعَالٰی عَنْہُ passed out. (Tafsīr Khāzin, pp. 126, vol. 1) So the following verse was revealed regarding him:

وَلُکُلُوا وَاشْرَبُوْا حَتّٰى يَتَبَيَّنَ لَكُمُ الْخَيْطُ الْأَبْيَضُ مِنَ الْخَيْطِ الْأَسْوَدِ مِنَ الْفَجْرِ ۖ ثُمَّ أَتِمُّوا الصِّيَامَ إِلَى اللَّيْلِ

And eat and drink until the white thread becomes distinct to you from the black thread at dawn; then complete the fasts till the coming of night. [Kanz-ul-Īmān (Translation of Quran)] (Part 2, Sūrah Baqarah, verse 187)

This blessed verse refers to night as a ‘black thread’ and dawn as a white thread. This shows that eating during the nights in Ramadan is permissible.

Dear Islamic brothers! We have also learnt that fast has nothing to do with the Fajr Ażān. It is not permitted to continue eating during the Fajr Ażān. You must stop eating and drinking altogether as soon as the dawn (Ṣubḥ-e-Ṣādiq) breaks whether the Ażān has been uttered or not, and whether you can hear the Ażān or not.

صَلُّوْا عَلَی الْحَبِیْب صَلَّی اللّٰہُ تَعَالٰی عَلٰی مُحَمَّد