“Children” are a great blessing of Allah Almighty and a valuable asset for the parents in the future; this is the reason why their existence is interpreted as an adornment and splendor in worldly life; but these (children) become the cause of splendor, spring, and perfection only when they are adorned with the jewels of education, their proper development is taken care of from childhood, their religious training and upbringing are considered necessary, and arrangements are made to raise them in an Islamic and religious environment.
Among the rights that parents have in relation to their children according to the Holy Sharia, the most important and foremost right is their religious education and upbringing. Islam is not at all opposed to modern education; but the acquisition of basic religious education and knowledge of the principles and pillars of Islam is obligatory on every Muslim, and on this lies the foundation of hereafter prosperity and success.
The preservation of religion and faith is possible only when the feeling of its enjoyment is deeply rooted in the heart. If someone considers religion and faith to be a trivial matter, then it is difficult to expect a good ending from it. This can be gauged from an incident mentioned in Surah Al-Baqarah of the Holy Quran: When Hazrat Yaqub (AS) was taking his last breaths on his deathbed, he was repeatedly tormented by the thought that whom will my children worship after me? Finally, he called his children and asked them, who will be your god after me? The sons reassured him and said, “Just as we have remained steadfast on the true religion in your presence and worshipped the Lord of our forefathers, Sayyiduna Ibrahim (AS), Ismail (AS) and Isaac (AS),
similarly, after you too we will worship the same Lord of the worlds, whom our elders have taught and taught us.” The Quran describes it this way: Were you present when the time of Jacob’s death came, when he said to his sons, “Whom will you worship after me?” They all said, “We will worship the One God, your God and the God of your fathers, Abraham, Ishmael and Isaac, and to Him we submit (in submission).” (Al-Baqarah: 133)
Here it should also be noted that negligence in the education and training of children can be a cause of reprimand in the Hereafter, therefore Allah Almighty addresses the believers and says: “O you who believe! Save yourselves and your families from the Fire of Hell whose fuel is people and stones. Over it are angels stern and strong. They do not disobey Allah, but do what they are commanded.” (At-Tahrim: 6) .want to know about pillars of islam
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Just as one must worry about saving oneself from Hell, it is the important responsibility of parents to educate their children from childhood in such a way that their religious awareness is strong and that no matter what field of life they may be in, their relationship with faith and righteous deeds will not only be established but also strong.
Two Types of Training
Respected Maulana Muhammad Shafiqur-ur-Rehman Alvi writes that training is of two types:
1-External training,
2-Inner training.
In terms of appearance, training includes the appearance of the child, clothing, eating, drinking, sitting and standing, socializing, keeping an eye on his friends and relatives, relationships and hobbies, knowing his educational background and monitoring his means of livelihood after puberty, etc. All these matters are included in the external training of children. And inner training refers to the reformation and correctness of their beliefs and morals.
Both the external and inner training of children are the responsibility of parents. In the hearts of parents, there is a natural feeling and feeling of immense mercy and compassion for their children. These are the natural paternal and maternal feelings and emotions that motivate children to care for, educate, and meet their needs. If these feelings are firmly rooted in the hearts of parents and at the same time they are aware of their religious responsibilities, then they can fulfill their duties and responsibilities in the best possible manner with sincerity.
It is narrated from Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Teach your children three things: love for your Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), love for his family, and recitation of the Holy Quran; for those who memorize the Holy Quran will be in the shade of Allah’s Throne with the prophets on the Day when there will be no shade but His.” (Tabarani)
In this holy hadith, the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) gave the best guidance regarding the best upbringing of children, that children should be taught to love the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), his family, and his companions (may Allah be pleased with them all), and they should be encouraged to recite the Holy Quran.
The best gift from parents to their children is Quranic education. Today, we do not tire of accumulating money, property and various kinds of property for our children so that these things will be beneficial for our children after us, but we do not worry at all about quenching their thirst for religious knowledge, although property and wealth only meet worldly needs, while the Quran, Hadith and religious education are useful in both this world and the hereafter.
Method of training young children
The minds of young children are clear, transparent and empty, whatever is engraved in it is strong and permanent like an engraving on a stone. This fact has been stated in the Quran and Hadith in a clear and concise manner that every child is born with the nature of pure monotheism, and by nature, he has purity, cleanliness, distance from evil and the light of faith.
Then, if he gets good training at home and good companions in society, he becomes a role model in faith and morals and a perfect human being. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: Every newborn is born with a sound nature, then his parents make him a Jew, a Christian or a Magian. That is, the environment and training that a child receives will lead him in that direction.
If he receives a faith-based environment and Islamic training, he will certainly emerge as a true Muslim in society; but if his training is not on the right path and he does not receive a good environment inside and outside the home, he will emerge as a criminal and a mischief-maker in society.
According to psychologists, training children in childhood is very easy compared to adulthood. Just as soft and delicate plants growing from the ground can be easily turned anywhere, similarly, children’s thoughts, ideas and lifestyle can be easily brought in any direction they want. When they grow up and their intellect matures, changing them is not impossible; but it is definitely difficult. Therefore, supervising children at an early age and training them properly is an important responsibility of parents and guardians.
What guidance did the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) give regarding the upbringing of children and to what extent did he himself care about it? Numerous examples of this can be seen in the books of Hadith and Sahih. Hazrat Amr bin Abi Salamah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: When I was young, while eating with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), my hand would move here and there in the vessel… The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said to me: O boy! Mention the name of Allah, eat with your right hand and eat from the side closest to you (Narrated by Muslim).
Similarly, Hazrat Abdullah bin Amir (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: One day the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) came to our house and my mother called me and said: Come, I will give you something. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) asked her: What did you want to give him? The mother said that she wanted to give him dates. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said to her: Listen, if you had not given him anything, this would have been written against you (in the Book of Deeds) as a lie. (Narrated by Abu Dawud).
Action plan for training young people
If there is some deficiency in the training of children due to pampering, love and neglect and negligence in childhood, it is possible to remedy this deficiency even after they grow up; but for positive results, there should be no haste and a gradual approach should be adopted in training; therefore, after the children grow up, the order of warning for mistakes should be as follows:
1-Understanding.
2- Reprimand.
3- Any other punishment other than marks, such as severance of ties, etc. That is, training should be arranged with strategy and practice when a mistake is made. If it is the first time a mistake is made, first of all it should be explained through gestures and metaphors, it is not necessary to mention the wrongdoing explicitly. If a child repeatedly makes the same mistake, different methods of advice and instruction should be adopted, and at the same time, it should be instilled in his heart that if it happens again, he will be dealt with severely. Even then, there is no need for scolding.
He should be made to realize his mistake with advice and love. And above all, every possible effort should be made to make the home environment religious; so that he gradually becomes accustomed to getting closer to Islamic studies. The implementation of the above-mentioned matters should be taken as a challenge; because the Islamic thinker Maulana Abul Hasan Ali Nadvi says that the renewal task of the time is to “restore the confidence in the fundamentals of Islam, its system and facts, and the Muhammadan system among the youth and educated class of the Ummah, whose relationship has been lost by this class.”
The greatest act of worship today is to cure the mental anxiety and psychological confusion in which today’s educated youth is badly caught and to make his intellect and mind completely satisfied with Islam… Neglecting this important and fundamental task is a serious crime, the consequences of which will certainly have to be borne. The lack of familiarity with life among the youth, the weakness of purification and training, and the lack of development of intellectual, constructive and creative thinking within them is a great tragedy.
Parents can be divided into three groups with regard to the education of their children
1-Those parents who entrust their children only to contemporary sciences either do not pay any attention to their religious education and upbringing or consider a little attention as sufficient and useful. It is their responsibility to instill in their hearts and minds the same amount or more of basic religious education, i.e., beliefs and practices, social and morals, and essential matters related to manners and etiquette, as much as they consider necessary for contemporary sciences; so that in this era of trials, no trace of atheism and apostasy may deprive them of the enjoyment of faith.
2- Those parents who devote their children only to religious education and knowingly or unknowingly deprive them of basic contemporary education. It is their responsibility to make arrangements to acquaint them with contemporary sciences as much as necessary in view of the changing circumstances; so that in the future, their children will not be dependent on others at any time.
3- Those parents who provide their children with a rich share of contemporary and religious knowledge and equip them well through Islamic education. They are worthy of congratulations. They should think about promoting this system of theirs and spreading it to other guardians of the family and tribe.
4- Those parents who, due to financial constraints or other reasonable and unreasonable reasons, trade the bright future of their children and associate them with any of their own professions. They should seriously consider that this action of theirs is no less than a deadly poison and a deadly poison for the future of their children. Therefore, they should basically try to make their children capable by turning to religious and contemporary schools; so that the whole house is illuminated by the light of knowledge and they can prove useful and efficient in both religion and worldly affairs.
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