Whenever the Prophet of Allah ﷺ sat down, a group of his companions would gather around him. Among them was a man who had a young son, and the boy would come up from behind his father, who would sit him in front of him.The boy died, and the man stopped attending the gathering because of his grief over his son. The Prophet ﷺ noticed his absence and asked, "Why do I not see so-and-so?"They said, "Messenger of Allah, the little son you used to see has died."The Prophet ﷺ then met him and asked about his son, and the man told him that he had died. The Prophet offered him condolences and then said, "So-and-so, which would you prefer, to have enjoyed his company throughout your life, or to come tomorrow to any of the gates of Paradise and find that he has gone ahead of you to it and is opening it for you?"The man replied, "Prophet of Allah, that he should go ahead of me to the gate of Paradise and open it for me is far dearer to me."The Prophet said, "Then that shall be yours."
أخبرنا هارون بن زيد وهو ابن أبي الزرقاء قال حدثنا أبي قال حدثنا خالد بن ميسرة قال سمعت
كان نبي الله ﷺ إذا جلس يجلس إليه نفر من أصحابه وفيهم رجل له ابن صغير يأتيه من خلف ظهره فيقعده بين يديه فهلك فامتنع الرجل أن يحضر الحلقة لذكر ابنه فحزن عليه ففقده النبي ﷺ فقال مالي لا أرى فلانا قالوا يا رسول الله بنيه الذي رأيته هلك فلقيه النبي ﷺ فسأله عن بنيه فأخبره أنه هلك فعزاه عليه ثم قال يا فلان أيما كان أحب إليك أن تمتع به عمرك أو لا تأتي غدا إلى باب من أبواب الجنة إلا وجدته قد سبقك إليه يفتحه لك قال يا نبي الله بل يسبقني إلى باب الجنة فيفتحها لي لهو أحب إلي قال فذاك لك