Dear Islamic brothers! You just heard of the method a wise father adopted in order to save his child from a bad company; he made him aware of the harms of bad company via an easy to understand example in accordance to his young mind. Thus, the child easily understood his father’s point and accepted that just as the bad plum rotted the good plums by being close to them, then it is possible that by remaining in a bad company, I will also become like them!

Ponder for a moment; on the one hand, we have the great conduct of such fortunate parents and on the other hand, we have such foolish individuals in our society who, never mind encouraging their children to adopt good company, they prevent them from joining a good company, and when their children sometimes associate with a bad company, then these very parents become regretful, but, ‘It is of no use to cry over spilt milk.’ Then even after trying a thousand times, these children do not come onto the right path.

The harms of preventing from Qafilah

Ameer-e-Ahl-e-Sunnat ‘Allamah Maulana Muhammad Ilyas Attar Qaadiri دَامَـتْ بَـرَكَـاتُـهُـمُ الْـعَـالِـيَـهْ writes the following on page 61 of ‘Faizan-e-Sunnat’:

A devotee of the Prophet from Ahmadabad (India) made individual efforts on a youth and prepared him to travel in a Qafilah. But, fearing it to be an obstacle to his worldly education, his father barred him from travelling for religious knowledge. The poor individual was deprived of the company of the devotees of the Prophet.

Consequently, he befriended some evil people and became an alcoholic. His father realised his mistake and requested the same devotee of the Prophet to take him in the Qafilah so that perhaps he might leave his drinking habit. Individuals efforts were once again made upon the young man but because it was too late now, he was not prepared to travel in the Qafilah at all.

Similarly, the elder sister of Ameer-e-Ahl-Sunnat دَامَـتْ بَـرَكَـاتُـهُـمُ الْـعَـالِـيَـهْ informed him that an Islamic sister sobbingly requested Du’as for the rectification of her son, stating that she destroyed him herself. He was enrolled in the Madrassa-tul-Madinah of Dawat-e-Islami for Hifz but whenever the poor boy would