إجازة الشيخ أحمد بن محمد بن أحمد لبن بقراءة الإمام عاصم

Connecting the Children with Allah and the Sound Aqeedah (Creed)
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Praise be to Allah, the Lord of Creations, and Peace and blessings be upon our prophet Muhammad, the faithful and the honest.

Oh, Allah, we know nothing but what You teach us. You are the All- Knower, the Wise. Oh Allah, teach us what is good for us, and benefit us from what You taught us, and increase our knowledge. Show us the righteous things as righteous and help us to do them, and show us the bad things as bad and help us to keep away from them.

O Allah our Lord, lead us out from the depths of darkness and illusion, unto the lights of erudition and knowledge, and from the muddy shallows of lusts unto the heavens of Your Vicinity.

Dear brothers, we are still tackling the series of "Children Upbringing In Islam" and the topic today is about the basic rules of this upbringing.

Connection is a continuous relation:
The basic rules are based on two major rules, the first one of them is establishing a connection and the second is one is warning.

Dear brothers, to understand the meaning of the first rule, pay attention to the interests of people; some of them are interested in and connected with the TV screen, others are connected with sports and a third group are connected with politics. This connection makes people obsessed with the things they are interested in, so they start to follow all the related news.

In fact, the rule of establishing a connecting in the Islamic education is based on connecting man with his religion, Quran, Salah, ritual acts of worship and transactional acts of worship. This connection needs huge effort. Some people offer the ritual acts of worship, but they are not actually connected with religion, because they are attached to the pleasures of the worldly life, collecting money and business.

The Almighty Allah says:
﴾Men whom neither trade nor sale diverts them from the Remembrance of Allah (with heart and tongue)﴿ [An-Nur, 37]
These men are into trade, and they earn money and donate part of it, but their career will never divert them from Dhikr (remembering Allah).

Your success in raising your child is achieved when you connect him with the right Aqeedah, with the right Ibadah (worship) in its widest sense, with the Quran, with performing good deeds, with Dhikr and with offering Nawafel (the plural of Nafilah, from the root word (Nafl) which means superfluous or extra. In religion, it means the voluntary act of worship.) Establishing such continuous connection requires lots of efforts, unlike having a temporary connection.

Unfortunately, the majority of Muslims come to the Masjid on Friday, but their interests are in different direction, so they might attend the Friday Khutbah and listen to it or might not, and then they offer two Raka't and leave. This is a temporary connection. In order to raise a generation, who will take upon their shoulders bringing back the glory of this Ummah, and in order to have pious children, you should establish a continuous genuine connection between them and the Masjid.

Connecting with the true Aqeedah needs following up, persistence and repetition:
I will not go into details concerning the first connection (the connection with Aqeedah) since it is known to all of you, but let me give you a brief idea about it. We should connect our children with the fact that the Almighty Allah is the Educator and the Manager of affairs, He exists, He is the Only Deity, He is the Most Perfect, His Names are Beautiful and His Attributes are Sublime and He created man in order to grant him happiness. Moreover, we should connect our children with the fact that the worldly life is mortal, and it is just a phase we live in to pass to the Hereafter.

Thus, it is not the abode of eternity unlike the Hereafter. Furthermore, we should teach our children to believe in Allah, in the Last Day, in the angels, in the Divine Books (of Allah), in the Messengers, peace be upon them and in Qada' and Qadar, (Divine preordainment), both the (seemingly) good and the (seemingly) bad. These beliefs should be implanted in our children in childhood and should be taught in their adulthood, and then we should connect their daily activities with this Aqeedah.

The word "connection" is very delicate in this aspect, for people in general connect whatever happens with earthy reasons, but the believer connects it with Allah's Will as he believes in Tawheed (monotheism). Also, he never interprets any event away from the Ability of the Almighty Allah. When major events take place, the believer never connects them with earthy causes, but rather he believes that they happen due to Allah's Will since all affairs are in the Hand of Allah. Hence, understanding events in the perspective of Aqeedah is believing that whatever happens is due to Allah's Decree, Wisdom, Knowledge and Justice.

This connection of true Aqeedah can be conceived by the child through parent-child talks or teacher-student discussions. Consequently, the child will be able to relate all the events to Tawheed and the right Aqeedah, but being unable to understand things according to such perspective will make the child connect the events with the evil powers on earth and forget all about the Almighty Allah. Hence, connecting the child with the right Aqeedah needs following him up, being persistent and revising things with him, so that the child will fully believe that whatever happens in this universe is because of the Divine Wisdom, Justice, Knowledge and Mercy which he might or might not comprehend.

Let me give you an example which manifests Allah's Divine Wisdom. If there is drought somewhere on earth followed by rain, the Mushrik (the hidden kind of Shirk) will connect the rains with the weather broadcast and a seasonal depression which brings rain.

Apparently, this is true, but the believer connects the rainy weather with the Mercy and Favor of Allah upon us, and he sees it as a Divine Supply. There is a huge difference between those who connect events with earthy causes and those who connect them with Tawheed. Actually, connecting the effects with their causes is what man uses to do.

The successful educator or father connects the minor matters with the major ones (in the mind of the child or the student), and this will establish a deeply rooted comprehension of what happens in the universe. Unlike the successful educator, the unsuccessful one connects events with the people who cause them, so the child or the student will be confused, because he can see many forces fighting over controlling a country for example, and he will not be able to figure out what is going on. Man will not be confused if he is taught to understand things in the perspective of Aqeedah; he will connect the events with Allah's Actions, Knowledge, Omnipotence, Mercy, Justice, Qada' and Qadar after he learns that this worldly life is a place of crookedness and is not a place of straightforwardness..

Whoever views things in the earthy perspective, he may say, for instance, "In this worldly life, some people die because of dyspepsia, while others die because of starvation". This kind of statements indicates objection against Allah's Decree, and denial of Him as the Creator and the Manager of all affairs. On the other hand, when someone believes in the Hereafter, and that whatever blessing he is given is just a test that he may pass or not, he will view events in a different perspective.

The purpose of man's existence on earth is to worship Allah:
The bottom line is that you should comprehend all the events in the light of the right Aqeedah, and this cannot be accomplished accidently by one parent-child talk. Therefore, there should be continuous discussions with your children.

Whatever happens, it is due to Allah's Decree, which reflects His Divine Absolute Wisdom that is connected with the absolute goodness:
﴾It is He (Allah) Who is the only Ilah (God to be worshipped) in the heaven and the only Ilah (God to be worshipped) on the earth.﴿ [Az-Zukhruf, 84]

Some people see that an oppressing state controls the whole world and steals all its natural treasures, which is understanding the events due to the feeling of being oppressed, but other people see that the Almighty Allah makes this tyrannical power Divine disciplinary means to punish those who have refrained from obeying Him. When we fully understand things like that, we will have great hope that things will be better. Also, when you turn back to the Almighty Allah, Allah will remove your distress.

Let me repeat this point: making your children see things in this way (according to Aqeedah) cannot be done by one quick talk. Thus, you are supposed to analyze all the events according to Islamic teachings, Tawheed and the Quran, and this is the connection I am talking about.

The Prophet, peace be upon him, said:
((No man is scratched by a thorn, or stumbles, or has a twitching in a vein, except for a sin, and what Allah forgives is greater.)) [Ibn Asakir by Al-Bara'a]

There is another kind of connection: it is to connect your child with worshiping Allah. And I (Allah) created not the jinns and humans except they should worship Me (Alone).﴿ [Adh-Dhariyat, 56]

The first mission assigned to man on earth is to worship Allah; better yet, the purpose of man's existence on earth is to worship Allah. Accordingly, our main task is to worship Allah. Some people offer their acts of worship in their spare time, paying no attention to fulfilling all their conditions, or to, offering them the way which pleases Allah or not, and whether they offer them in a way which pleases Allah or not), whereas they are expected to create a connection with Allah through the acts of worship. We should offer Salah as we are ordered by Allah, we should lower our gaze, we should be honest, so the ritual acts of worship should spiritually charge the Muslim.

Offering Salah regularly connects man with the Absolute Power in the universe:
A while ago I met someone who were absent in many religious sessions, so I said to him, "Do you have a cellular phone?" He answered, "Yes I do", then I said, "What will happen to it, if you forget to charge it?" He said, "The phone will be turned off" I said to him, "You will be like the phone, if you are not charged spiritually." Hence, Salah is a daily spiritual charge, Jumu'ah Salah is a weekly spiritual charge, Ramadan is an annual spiritual charge and Hajj is the once in a lifetime spiritual charge.

When man is spiritually charged, he will be strong enough to face dangers and hardships.

Also, he will have a clear vision of viewing things. Whoever has a blurred vision will keep have questions about the future and what will happen to the oppressed countries which may be attacked or divided into parts by the oppressing ones. Thus, those people are lost in mazes, and for them everything stands still and the future is hazy. The believer, on the other hand, owns a clear vision which enables him to keep solid amidst fear and to keep hopeful and optimistic amid all the prevailing despair.

This is the true Musalli (the one who offers Salah), and the proof is in the following Ayah:
﴾ Verily, man (disbeliever) was created very impatient* Irritable (discontented) when evil touches him* And niggardly when good touches him* Except those devoted to Salat (prayers)﴿ [Al-Ma'arij, 19-22]

The true Musalli never suffers from any psychological disease, such like stinginess, over-protectiveness of what one owns, impatience, restlessness and hesitation.

The Almighty Allah says:
﴾Except those devoted to Salat (prayers)﴿ [Al-Ma'arij, 22]

The true Musalli is connected with the Absolute Power in the universe (Allah). To make this point clear to you, consider the following example: The driver of the king is so close to the most powerful man in the kingdom (the king himself) because the king loves him and is kind to him. This direct connection with the king who manages all the affairs of the kingdom makes the driver more powerful than any other official figure in this kingdom. You may think that he is just a driver, but actually he is a very powerful man.

Connect your child with the ritual acts of worship then with the transactional ones:
The true believer is connected with the Creator of the universe and the Divine Absolute Power, this is why Du'a (supplication) is considered a an effective weapon in the hand of the believer.

The Prophet, peace be upon him, said:
((Command your children to perform Salat (prayer) when they are seven years old, and beat them for (not offering) it when they are ten, and do not let (boys and girls) sleep together.)) [Sunan Abi Dawood by Amr Ibn Shu'aib by his father by his grandfather]

Connecting the Children with Allah and the Sound Aqeedah (Creed) 2013_110

Offering Salah is the most crucial thing in every household:
﴾And enjoin As-Salat (the prayer) on your family, and be patient in offering them [i.e. the Salat (prayers)]. We ask not of you a provision (i.e. to give Us something: money, etc.)﴿ [Ta-Ha, 132]

The scholars deduced from this Ayah that the household where Salah is offered is granted provision abundantly:
﴾And enjoin As-Salat (the prayer) on your family, and be patient in offering them [i.e. the Salat (prayers)]. We ask not of you a provision (i.e. to give Us something: money, etc.) We provide for you. And the good end (i.e. Paradise) is for the Muttaqun (pious).﴿ [Ta-Ha, 132]

In addition to enjoining Salah on your family, you should enjoin Sawm (fasting) and Sadaqah, and you should take them with you to Hajj and Umrah. These are the pillars of Islam with which your children should be connected. If your child is connected with the west values, he will not care about offering Hajj or Umrah, and all he will see in his home country is the hot weather and backwardness. Thus, he will prefer to travel to Europe. On the other hand, if you connect your children with the acts of worship, they will highly value Umrah and look forward to offering Hajj.

You can also go deeper in teaching your children the concept of worship by encouraging them to be upright, to offer good deeds, to donate money, to help the poor and the weak, to visit the sick and to be honest in their words and actions. Hence, we can make the concept of worship restricted to the ritual acts of worship, or we can make it wide enough to embrace the transactional acts of worship.

Connect your child with the Noble Quran:
The parents should connect their children with the Noble Quran. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said:
((Train your children to acquire three characteristics: love of your Prophet, love of his family and reading the Qur'aan, for the bearers of the Qur'aan will be in the shade of Allaah on the Day when there will be no shade except His, with His Prophets, peace be upon them, and His chosen ones.)) [Ad-Dailami and Ibn An-Najjar by Ali]

According to the best educators in the Muslim world, the best thing you can do to your child is to teach him the Quran and encourage him to memorize it, for he will acquire eloquence and his faith will become stronger. It is said "Learn young learn fair", but learning at an old age is difficult. The child has an amazing ability to devour everything he is taught, so we should make use of that by teaching him the Quran.

The Prophet, peace be upon him, said:
((Train your children to acquire three characteristics: love of your Prophet, love of his family and reading the Qur'aan, for the bearers of the Qur'aan will be in the shade of Allaah on the Day when there will be no shade except His, with His Prophets, peace be upon them, and His chosen ones)) [Ad-Dailami and Ibn An-Najjar by Ali]

The famous sociologist Ibn Khaldoon, who wrote the first book ever in sociology, believed that teaching children the Quran should be the ground of all educational curriculums.. In Morocco the first thing the child learns is the Quran, because it is the foundation of knowledge. Avicenna believed that the child should learn the Quran in his early age. We thank Allah that we have lots of institutes where children are taught the Quran in our blessed country. Furthermore, parents have become convinced that their children should go to these institutes in order to learn the Quran, learn its Tilawah (the method of recitation) and comprehend its meanings and rulings. Imam Al-Ghazali urged educators to teach children the Quran, the reported Ahadeeth, the biographies of Abrar (the righteous) and some Shari'ah rulings.

As-Salaf As-Saleh (Our righteous Muslim ancestors) were keen on teaching their children the Noble Quran and urged them to memorize it in order to have eloquent tongue, exalted soul, submissive heart and, weeping eyes (out of submissiveness and fear of Allah).

Besides, faith and the Islamic teachings will be deeply rooted in their soul, and so the Quran and Shari'ah will be their only method, law and constitution.

Dear brothers, Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on his soul, said, "Nothing will rectify the latter part of this Ummah except which rectified its first part."

Connect your child with Allah's Houses (Masajid):
We are still talking about establishing connections. You have to connect your child with the basics of faith, then with the ritual acts of warship, then with the transactional acts of worship, then with the Quran and last but not least with Masajid. The believer is the son of the Masjid and the latter to him is like the water to the fish. The Masjid should be an essential part of the believer's life, unlike the unbeliever who is described as son of night clubs, son of the street, son of sideway coffee shops and son of TV screen.

The believer is the son of the Masjid and the places of worship:
((If you see a man frequently coming to the mosque, then bear witness that he is a believer.)) [Sunan At-Tirmizi by Abi Sa'eed]

The man whose faith is weak gets bored upon attending a lesson in the Masjid, and he will grumble and try to find a flaw or improper behavior to tell people about it exaggeratedly.

Someone might bring members of his family to attend a religious session in the Masjid, or might bring his friends and children, but if their faith is weak they will not comprehend any point discussed in the session. Instead of doing their best to understand the main topics of the session, they look around and observe the people in the Masjid in order to criticize whatever they spot. Therefore, their main concern is to criticize the Masjid of its attendants, because they are annoyed by being there, and so they spend their time there tracing down flaws and faults, then exaggerate them while telling people about them.

A brother of ours brought his wife once to the Masjid in order to attend a religious session with women. The next day, he shocked me by irrational criticism to the women's session. I was pretty sure that there was no ground evidence to back his wife's claims, because the female attendants were comfortable where they sat to listen to the lesson, the voice was clear, the place was very clean, the furniture was good and everything was classy as I was told by women I know. It means that wife wanted to make the Masjid look bad because she was annoyed by being there. Let me repeat, the Masjid to the believer is like the water to the fish, but to the unbeliever it is like the cage to the bird although I do not prefer this parable., Because the unbeliever is irritated by being in the Masjid, he starts to criticize everything there severely and illogically, and he might do that unconsciously and subjectively.

((If you see a man frequently coming to the mosque, then bear witness that he is a believer.)) [Sunan At-Tirmizi by Abi Sa'eed]

It seems that the believer prefers to stay at home (to take care of his affairs), unlike the disbeliever who likes to wander in streets. The earthy Paradise to the believer is his house, because he cares about his family and about making his house the best place he stays in.

In contrast to him, the disbeliever prefers to spend his time in coffee shops, movie theaters, clubs and restaurants, and his house to him is like a hotel where he spends the night and leaves in the morning.

The Almighty Allah says:
﴾The Mosques of Allah shall be maintained only by those who believe in Allah and the Last Day﴿ [At-Taubah, 18]

Where can one seek knowledge? Where can man be guided to the Right Path? Where can man learn Shari'ah rulings? Where can man listen to the biography of As-Salaf As-Saleh? Where can man comprehend the rulings of the Quran? The answer to all these questions is in the Masjid.

There is no Islamic community and no Da'wah (call) to Allah without a place and this place is the Masjid.

((Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, "The dearest parts on the face of the earth near Allah are its mosques, and the most hated parts near Allah are its markets."))

Inspiration, tranquility, content and hope fill Allah's Houses:
When a man brings his wife with him to the Masjid where she listens to the rights of her husband upon her, and the husband listens to his upon her, both of them will try to fulfill these rights. As a result, they will become closer to one another. On the other hand, if she goes to the market, and wants to buy something her husband cannot afford, a problem might occur between the two.

((The dearest parts on the face of the earth near Allah are its mosques, and the most hated parts near Allah are its markets.))

(("Pasture if you pass by the lawns of Paradise." They asked, "What are the lawns of Paradise?" He, peace be upon him, said, "The circles of remembrance (of Allah)")) [Sunan At-Tirmizi by Anas Ibn Malik]

In these circles, you remember Allah, and you listen to the Quran, to the Prophetic Sunnah, to Shari'ah rulings, to the biography of Sahabah (Companions of the Prophet, peace be upon him, or Tabe'een (the second generation of Muslims who had not seen the Prophet, peace be upon him, but had seen the Sahaba and followed them) and to the guidelines of believing in Allah the Almighty. You choose between attending one the circles of remembrance of Allah or going to places where forbidden lusts are fulfilled.

(("Pasture if you pass by the lawns of Paradise." They asked, "What are the lawns of Paradise?" He, peace be upon him, said, "The circles of remembrance (of Allah)")) [Sunan At-Tirmizi by Anas Ibn Malik]

The following is a famousHadith:
((Any group of people that assemble in one of the Houses of Allah to study the Qur'an, tranquility will descend upon them, mercy will engulf them, angels will surround them and Allah will make mention of them to those (the angels) in His proximity.)) [Musnad AlImam Ahmad by Abi Hurairah]

I should clarify a point here; the Masjid is different from any other place, for it is the House of Allah. In this house incredible things happen to you, so when you enter the Masjid, your heart will be full of tranquility, happiness and satisfaction. Whoever enters into the Masjid, which is a special place (to pray regularly or attend a religious session) is a special person, and the Masjid itself is Allah's House where the believer is granted serenity, satisfaction and hope.

Out of Allah's Honor whoever enters the Masjid will be granted tranquility and optimism:
One might say, "What a wonderful feeling I have upon entering into the Masjid. I feel at peace and secured. Furthermore, I feel solid and optimistic." You are granted these feelings as part of Allah's Honor upon you. Whoever enters the Masjid, shall be divinely honored, and this honor has nothing to do with being granted food or drink, but rather it is manifested in being granted tranquility, wisdom and a balanced soul.

((Any group of people that assemble in one of the Houses of Allah to study the Qur'an, tranquility will descend upon them, mercy will engulf them, angels will surround them and Allah will make mention of them to those (the angels) in His proximity.)) [Musnad Al-Imam Ahmad by Abi Hurairah]

One will be at peace, and will say, "Praise be to Allah, what an amazing feeling I have! Actually, this person receives tranquility in his heart, and thus he gains great happiness thereupon.

((… the angels will surround them, the mercy will shroud them, the peace will descend unto them and Allah will remember them among those with Him))

((Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said, "Shall I not tell you something by which Allah effaces the sins and elevates ranks (in Jannah)?" The Companions said; "Certainly, O Messenger of Allah." He, peace be upon him, said, "Performing the Wudu' thoroughly in spite of difficult circumstances, walking with more paces to the mosque, and waiting for the next As- Salat (the prayer) after observing Salat; and that is Ar-Ribat (bond), and that is Ar-Ribat.")) [Sahih Muslim by Abi Hurairah]

The following is another Hadith which I mention frequently:
((Masajid are My houses on the earth. Those who frequent them are My visitors. Good tidings to a slave who purifies himself in his house and then visits Me in My house for it is the duty of the Host to honor His guest.)) [Abu Na'eem from Hadith narrated by Abi Sa'eed in a weak Sanad]

It is unbelievable for someone to enter Allah's House willingly and get out of it without being divinely honored. Allah's Honor upon lasts as long as you live.

((Give glad tiding to those who walk to the Masajid in the dark, of perfect light on the Day of Resurrection.)) [Sunan At-Tirmizi by Buraidah Al-Aslami]

You should connect your child or student with the Tawheed Aqeedah, with the right beliefs of Aqeedah, with the ritual acts of worship, with the transactional acts of worship, with the Noble Quran (whether by teaching him Tilawah, Tajweed, how to comprehend it and how to apply it), with the Masjid and with Dhikr.

The Almighty Allah says:
﴾Therefore remember Me (by praying, glorifying, etc.). I will remember you﴿ [Al-Baqarah, 152]

Connecting the learner or the child with Dhikr:
Dear brothers, the knowledge seeker (whether he is a student or a child of yours) should be connected with Dhikr, because Allah says:
Therefore remember Me (by praying, glorifying, etc.). I will remember you﴿ [Al-Baqarah, 152]

Allah also says:
﴾And glorify His Praises morning and afternoon [the early morning (Fajr) and 'Asr prayers].﴿ [Al-Ahzab, 42]

In another Ayah, Allah says:
﴾When you have finished As-Salat (the prayer - congregational), remember Allah standing, sitting down, and lying down on your sides﴿ [An-Nisa', 103]

The Almighty Allah says:
﴾Therefore remember Me (by praying, glorifying, etc.). I will remember you﴿ [Al-Baqarah, 152]

Proofs from Quran Sunnah of the importance of Dhikr:
The difference between whoever remembers His Lord and the one who never does that is like the difference between the living person and the dead one: (They are) dead, lifeless﴿ [An-Nahl, 21]

Allah says:
﴾They are only like cattle; nay, they are even farther astray from the Path. (i.e. even worst than cattle).﴿ [Al-Furqan, 44]

In another Ayah, Allah says:
﴾They are as blocks of wood propped up﴿ [Al-Munafiqun, 4]

Allah says:
﴾As if they were frightened (wild) donkeys* Fleeing from a hunter, or a lion, or a beast of prey.﴿ [Al-Muddathir, 50-51]

((On the Day of Judgment, Allah Almighty will resurrect some people with shining light on their faces. They will be sitting on pulpits made of pearls and the other people will envy them. They will neither be Prophets nor martyrs." (Hearing this) a Bedouin bent down to his knees saying, "O Prophet of Allah Almighty! Please describe these people so that we may recognize them." The Prophet, peace be upon him, said, "They are the people who, regardless of their connection to different tribes and countries, love each other for the Sake of Allah Almighty and gather together to remember Him.")) [At-Tabarani by Abi Ad-Darda']

The meaning of Dhikr:
Allah says in a Qudsi Hadith:
((Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, Allah says: "I am just as My servant thinks of Me when he remembers Me (i.e. I am Able to do for him what he thinks I can do for him), and I am with him if he remembers Me. If he remembers Me when he is alone I remember him, and if he remembers Me among a group of people, I will remember him among better group than his, and if he comes one p nearer to Me, I go one cubit nearer to him; and if he comes one cubit nearer to Me, I go a distance of two outstretched arms nearer to him; and if he comes to Me walking, I go to him running.")) [Agreed upon by Abi Hurairah]

Remembering Allah is pondering over the Greatness of the Almighty Allah in all the believer's conditions, such as thinking about it in his mind, feeling it with his heart and soul, mentioning it with his tongue and glorifying it with his actions while he is standing, sitting, lying down or endeavoring in life. Allah's Greatness can be noticed through comprehending Allah's Ayat in the Quran, listening to a sermon, returning to Shari'ah rulings on certain issues or offering a good deed for the Sake of Allah. This is the meaning of Dhikr.

﴾Men whom neither trade nor sale diverts them from the Remembrance of Allah (with heart and tongue)﴿ [An-Nur, 37]

Allah says:
﴾Those who believe (in the Oneness of Allah - Islamic Monotheism), and whose hearts find rest in the remembrance of Allah, Verily, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest.﴿ [Ar-Ra'd, 28]

((Abdullah Ibn Busr, may Allah be pleased with him, said that a man came and requested the Prophet, peace be upon him, "O Messenger of Allah! The Islamic edicts appear to be too much, so tell me something, which I should hold fast." He, peace be upon him, answered, "Keep your tongue moist with remembrance of Allah.")) [Sunan At-Tirmizi by Abdullah Ibn Yusr]

((Abu Hurairah narrated that the Prophet (Allah's prayer and salvation be upon him) said: "Allah said, "I am with my servant as he mentions Me and moves his lips for Me.")) [As-Suyuti by Abi Hurairah]

Connecting your child with Nawafil:
Adh-Dhikr can be performed by seeking Allah's Forgiveness, by glorifying Him, by praising Him, by Tahlil (saying "la ilah ha illalah" [there is no Deity worthy of worship but Allah]), by Tawhid and by Takbir (saying Allah is the Greatest). Thus, man should always perform Dhikr in all his conditions.

﴾ O you who believe (Muslims)! When the call is proclaimed for the Salat (prayer) on the day of Friday (Jumu'ah prayer), come to the remembrance of Allah [Jumu'ah religious talk (Khutbah) and Salat (prayer)]﴿ [Al-Jumu'ah, 9]

Attending the Khutbah of Jumu'ah and performing Salah is Dhikr.
﴾and perform As-Salat (Iqamat-as-Salat) for My Remembrance.﴿ [Ta-Ha, 14]

Allah also says:
﴾and perform As-Salat (Iqamat-as-Salat). Verily, As-Salat (the prayer) prevents from Al-Fahsha' (i.e. great sins of every kind, unlawful sexual intercourse, etc.) and Al-Munkar (i.e. disbelief, polytheism, and every kind of evil wicked deed, etc.) and the remembering (praising, etc.) of (you by) Allah (in front of the angels) is greater indeed [than your remembering (praising, etc.) Allah in prayers, etc.].﴿ [Al-Ankabut, 45]

You should connect your child with the right Aqeedah, with the ritual acts of worship, with the transactional acts of worship, with the Quran, with the Masjid, with Dhikr and with Nawafel, such like Duha prayer (voluntary, Islamic prayer between the obligatory Islamic prayers, Fajr and Dhuhr), Awwabeen prayer (six Rak'at after the Maghrib Salah), night prayers, Tahajjud (voluntary, Islamic prayer after Isha), Tahiyet Al-Masjid (two Rak'at for "greeting Al-Masjid"), two Rak'at after offering Wudu (ablution), Taraweeh (extra prayers performed by Muslims at night in the Islamic month of Ramadan), Istikharah (prayer for guidance when the Muslim is in need of guidance on an issue in his life) and Hajah Salah (prayer for need).

The Prophet, peace be upon him, used to offer Hajah Salah whenever he was distressed or saddened:
((Narrated A man: Salim Ibn Abul Ja'dah said: A man said: (Mis'ar said: I think he was from the tribe of Khuza'ah), "Would that I had prayed, and got comfort." The people objected to him for it. Thereupon he said, "I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, as saying, 'O Bilal, call iqamah for prayer, and give us comfort by it'.")) [Sunan Abu Dawood by Salim Ibn Abul -Ja'dah]

Getting your child used to Allah's Watchfulness over him:
You should connect your child with observing voluntary fast on the day of Arafah (the day when the pilgrims gather on Mount Arafah), the day of Ashoora' (the tenth day of Muharram in the Islamic calendar), Al-Ayyam-ul-Beed (The three days of 13, 14 and 15 of lunar month are called "Al-Ayyam-ul-Beed"), and on Monday and Thursday. Moreover, you should connect him with the concept of Allah's Muraqabah over him (Allah's Watchfulness over him), and you should teach him that Allah sees him when he stands up (alone at night for Tahajjud prayers) and his movements among those who fall prostrate (along with him to Allah in the five compulsory congregational prayers).

Allah is with you (by His Knowledge) wheresoever you may be:
﴾Truly, nothing is hidden from Allah, in the earth or in the heavens.﴿ [Aal-'Imran, 5]

((Fear Allah wherever you are, do good deeds after doing bad ones, the former will wipe out the latter, and behave decently towards people.)) [Sunan At-Tirmizi by Abi Dhar]

((O Messenger of Allah tell me about Ihsan."He (peace be upon him) said, "It is to worship Allah as if you are seeing Him; and although you do not see Him, He sees you".)) [Sahih Al-Bukhari by Abi Hurairah]

Dear brothers, these are some of the matters with which we should connect our children. It is easy to listen to them and to understand them, but it is hard to apply them, because task needs efforts. If you want your child to be a comfort of the eye for you, you should connect him with the basics of Islam and its branches besides the Islamic values and heroic stories.

Unfortunately, we live in an era where the male youth are connected with non-religious things, like football players, and the female youth are connected with actresses. It is painful to see our youth connected with TV, movies, media, novels, plays and soaps. What do we except of someone whose daily actions do not please Allah? The actions of such a person are the outcome of his upbringing, which is based on sins and falsehood.

If this is the upbringing of your child, you should not be surprised by any unbearable action he does. The majority of families do not raise their children according to the Islamic teachings, but rather their upbringing is based on heedlessness from Allah, detachment from religious issues and attachment to earthy matters. As for the behavior of the youth, it has no moral limits, and it is not controlled by the orders (whatever is permissible) and prohibitions (whatever is forbidden),so they can do whatever they wish.

Unfortunately, the majority of people's daily activities and actions do not reflect the right Aqeedah or Islamic discipline. A proverb goes as follows, "A vessel filters what it contains". Hence, if you want your son to have a strong faith, and if you want him to acquire Islamic knowledge and be upright, you should connect him with the foundations of Islam, with the good conduct of the Master of Messengers (the Prophet, peace be upon him), with the heroic actions of the Sahabah and Tabe'een, with the Quran, with Dhikr, with Nawafel and with the Masjid. This connection will make your child a comfort of the eye for you.

Translation: Noora Al Sharabi

Edited by : Kawthar Hajj Saleh

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