The servants of the Most Merciful pray for their families to be qurrat a'yun, the coolness of their eyes 25:74. Children are a joy to pray for, and a trust to carry.
From the Quran
رَبَّنَا هَبْ لَنَا مِنْ أَزْوَاجِنَا وَذُرِّيَّاتِنَا قُرَّةَ أَعْيُنٍ
From the Prophet ﷺ
«فَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ، وَاعْدِلُوا بَيْنَ أَوْلاَدِكُمْ»
Seen in the prophets
When Ibrahim saw in a dream that he was to sacrifice his son, he told his son and asked him: "So look, what do you think?" 37:102. Even with the hardest command of his life, he spoke to his son as a person.
As the waves rose like mountains, Nuh called to his son, who had kept apart: "O my son, ride with us" 11:42. Right to the end, he called him "my son".
Anas said the Prophet ﷺ was so close to them that he would ask Anas's little brother about his pet bird: "O Abu 'Umayr, what happened to the little nughayr?" Bukhari 6129. He cared about a small boy's bird.
What it is not
Loving them is not favouring one over another. A man gave one son a gift and wanted the Prophet ﷺ as a witness. He asked: have you given the same to all your children? When the man said no, he told him to fear Allah and be fair, and the man took the gift back Bukhari 2587.
Today, in practice
Ask about their small world: the game, the friend, the pet.
Give each of them the same, and let them see that you do.
Ask your child's opinion on something real, the way Ibrahim did 37:102.
Small, practical steps. This is friendly advice, not a ruling.
Your manner for the week
حَقُّ الأَوْلَاد Children
Choose one manner and carry it for seven days. It is saved on this device only, nobody else sees it.
Their moments
Sources on this page
Quran 11:42Quran 25:74Quran 37:102Sahih al-Bukhari 2587Sahih al-Bukhari 6129
Quran meanings are given in plain English, close to the Arabic. Hadith numbers follow sunnah.com.