And One More Thing #13: Age
Ramadān Reflection
In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.
Age is just a number or is it a measure? Our community is big on these numbers.
20 years old and not done with your undergraduate degree? JAMB oh!
30 years old and still unmarried?
25 years old is too young to be divorced?
A fool at 40.... Subhan Allah!
You are too old for this or too young for that.
Forbe's under 30s type of lists don't help with the pressure either.
You are not too old or too young for anything beneficial.
Remember the father and son duo...
Dawud (AS) and Sulayman (AS) were not only Prophets (i.e religious leaders), they were also political leaders and both of them were sent to Bani Israel. Prophet Dawud (AS) was Prophet Sulayman’s (AS) father.
The sheep of a Shepard grazed on the pasture of a farmer and so the case was brought to the court of the kings. Their verdicts were as follows;
Dawud (AS) – The owner of the grapes should keep the sheep
Sulayman (AS) – Give the grapes to the owner of the sheep let him tend to the grapes while the owner of grapes benefit from sheep until the grapes have grown as they were, then they swap back.
Both of the kings were given wisdom and knowledge but for this case, Sulayman was also given understanding. Allah praised Sulayman and did not condemn Dawud.
So you see, age doesn't matter, a parent can listen to the thoughts of their child.
Oh! And the next time you think you are too old to learn the Qur'an, remember that the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) started his Qur'an journey when he was 40 years old as that was when revelation came to him.
If Allah ﷻ gives you the awareness now, that is the Mercy. Take advantage.
SubhanAllah! To think that the Rasul’s Quran journey started at age 40 is really mind-blowing and humbling. Sometimes we forget Al-Hakeem is the one who created age (time). So nothing is ever too late/early or too young/old.
Jazakumullahu Khairan for this beautiful reminder. May Allah not make us among those who get discouraged by our age nor among those who discourage/mock others cause of their age.