I apologize to my children more often than is, perhaps, manly. It’s not that I want to make mistakes, but that I want to encourage them to change their own minds when they see error or dereliction of duty later as independent adults. Being a disciplinarian I follow my father’s style in explaining why a child is being punished, administer the penalty, and when it is over tell them explicitly the discipline is over and I hug them. Domestic peace requires patience, physical and mental effort, and love. Lots of forgiveness, but also lots of discipline provided in the spirit of growth. It is not easy. Nor is it simple. Except when considered from the point of view of love.
The son-in-law of the Holy Prophet, upon whom be blessings and peace, the venerable ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan provided such domestic peace to one daughter before she passed from this world that the Mercy-to-All-The-Worlds, peace and prayers be upon him, gave Sayyidina ‘Uthman another daughter.
The house in which the venerable Caliph Rady Allahu ‘anh cared for his wives in an atmosphere of domestic peace was also the house decades later besieged during a particularly trying Hajj season.
What a sublime opportunity it was, in that house in which was shared so much domestic peace between husband and wife, that in that very house the invitation to a Caliph for martial law and civil war were, politely, declined.
Sometimes the answer to our prayers from The Divine are provided not in literal responses, but in the realization of blessings and opportunities.
Al-Hasan said: ‘Uthman was only called the Possessor of Two Lights because no-one is known of who closed his door upon two daughters of a prophet other than him.
‘Ali ibn Abi Talib was asked about ‘Uthman and he said: That was a man who is called in the Highest Assembly (of the angels) the Possessor of Two Lights. He was the son-in-law of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, with two of his daughters.
[may Allah be pleased with all of them]