How to live your life so your children can be successful.

Surah Kahf has so many hidden gems inside of it, and the one that really stuck with me today was about the righteous father who left behind two orphan boys.

This father who passed away, he did two important things:

1. He was a righteous man.

2. He saved for his family.

We all know that we have to earn for our families, and everyone takes this for granted.

Allah did not emphasize this in the ayah.

What did Allah emphasize?

“And their father had been a righteous man.”

وَأَمَّا ٱلْجِدَارُ فَكَانَ لِغُلَـٰمَيْنِ يَتِيمَيْنِ فِى ٱلْمَدِينَةِ وَكَانَ تَحْتَهُۥ كَنزٌۭ لَّهُمَا وَكَانَ أَبُوهُمَا صَـٰلِحًۭا فَأَرَادَ رَبُّكَ أَن يَبْلُغَآ أَشُدَّهُمَا وَيَسْتَخْرِجَا كَنزَهُمَا رَحْمَةًۭ مِّن رَّبِّكَ ۚ وَمَا فَعَلْتُهُۥ عَنْ أَمْرِى ۚ ذَٰلِكَ تَأْوِيلُ مَا لَمْ تَسْطِع عَّلَيْهِ صَبْرًۭا ٨٢

“And as for the wall, it belonged to two orphan boys in the city, and under the wall was a treasure that belonged to them, and their father had been a righteous man. So your Lord willed that these children should come of age and retrieve their treasure, as a mercy from your Lord. I did not do it ˹all˺ on my own. This is the explanation of what you could not bear patiently.”

Surah Kahf (18:82)

Allah SWT is telling us that if we put our trust in Him and follow the path towards Allah, Allah will take care of our affairs.

But at the same time, we have to do the work and try our best to make it happen!

The treasure that was buried was an active step done by the father, and he obviously had to earn it first and plan ahead.

Remember, tawakkul (trust in Allah) requires us to do our part first, and then leave the rest to Allah.

Don’t just invest in your children’s worldly future, but also remember that if you are righteous, then Allah will provide for them even better than what you have planned.

Make Allah your priority, earn for your family, plan for your family, and leave the rest to Allah.