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In a Hadith of the prophet it is said to be merciful to one's children. " To be merciful to one's children, kiss them and embrace the. [Anas said: The Prophet ( Narrated `Aisha: A Bedouin came to the Prophet ( As can be seen by this Hadith, we should be kind to our children even though the task facing us to raise them with Islamic standards can be daunting.
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Reward of Provision and Raising Children Raising
children is a great mission in this life and should hold a place of high
priority. Spending on one's family to cover their essential needs is more
rewarding than spending in any other cause. The Prophet ( Educating children, in the way of Islam, is a difficult task in the western world. Resources are limited, so what are we to do? As in my case, you do the best you can. You look for resources outside of your community, you seek help from others in your situation and most of all you rely on the Qur'an and Sunnah to keep you going. I think that being a Muslim woman in western society, who is a mother, is the greatest challenge and a form of Jihad. Even more difficult a task is ensuring that the children are instilled with the Islamic values in the west or anywhere in the modern world. This is because of all the outside influences, the media, school, friends etal. It is a constant battle to counter-act these. With the media, you have the exposure to TV, movies, printed material and even the internet. In the schools, you have the system teaching things that go against your beliefs, teachers trying to push their ideas and in some areas religion being a controlling factor. Then you are confronted with their friends. So how do you cope? On this page I will cover what I have found and have learned on how to deal with these issues. I have studied this problem, because of being a mother of two teenage boys, and have found many helpful books and sites to assist. These are listed on my links page. I am willing to answer any questions you may have if you wish to email me at the link below MediaWe have all watched television, seen a movie, or read a book. Today, children are bombarded by countless images of violence, sex, language, and the list could go on. "It is the first duty of parents towards their children to guard their Aqeedah. The Prophet (pbuh) said: `Every infant is naturally born as a Muslim, but it is his parents who turn him into a Jew, A Christian, or a Magian.'1" Therefore we as mothers and parents should guard what our children watch, see and hear. Make a habit of having time together to do positive things together. In our family, we try to have positive reading material. Each of our children have their own copy of the Qur'an. A mother leads by example. If you don't want your children doing non-Islamic things a mother must watch what she does. Children are the great imitators in life and they learn by example. SchoolPublic education is the right of every child born and living in the United States. Today's idea of a free education is not necessarily true. Still children are required to go to a public school unless they have an alternative available. There are advantages and disadvantages to public education. As a Muslim parent, especially in the early years, it is important for us to know just what our children are learning in school. There are rights that every parent has and it is important to know what those rights are. Often times the school system will ignore the rights of the minority in lieu of the majority. We as Muslim parents can insist that our children be accorded areas to pray, they can not be penalized for observance of the month of Ramadan and the observance of the Eids. Where possible it would be appropriate to home school a child. This is a good idea in the case of a young girl. The link here has some good information on home schooling children. FriendsThe best that can be said about a Muslim parents responsibility as far as their children's friends is be aware. Be aware of who they associate with. Know where they are and what they are doing. There is a book out that is called Guidelines for Raising Children by Mahmoud Ridha Murad that has some good ideas. MusicThis is an area with many different concepts. The moderate point of view is that it is allowable only as long as it is within Islamic standards. It was related that at the time of Eid a companion of the Prophet I have done some more research on this matter and have found the following evidence against music (i.e. singing, musical instruments). The first link was sent to me by a wonderful sister and the second is a link to a page on my site that deals exclusively with this issue. The information there was also sent to me by the same wonderful sister. Please click on the links below for the information.
Great site for new Muslimah mothers: http--www.geocities.com-islam_ap- Site on child development: http://www.nncc.org/Child.Dev/child.dev.page.html In conclusion, we as Muslimahs and mothers must keep in mind that we are responsible for shaping the next generation of Muslim's and it is up to us to try to the best of our abilities to instill the knowledge and values that will sustain our children in the society of man.
Summarized Sahih Al- Bukahri: by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan Send me an e-mail:
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) said: {When the
human being dies, his/her deeds will come to an end except three kinds: Sadaqah
Jariah (continuous charity), beneficial knowledge, and a good child that will
pray for him/her.} (Muslim). The Prophet (
