Responsibilities in Educating our Children

Brothers in Islam, Let us remain steadfast in our taqwa to Allah in the true sense. Please be reminded that taqwa cannot be achieved untill we really understand the meaning if it. Therefore let us seek knowledge in achieving the truest sense of taqwa to Allah Almighty. As for today, Insya Allah we will look into the importance of child development. And how we develop our children into a responsible Muslim that is principly sound and confident while able to contribute to the society in the future. Brothers Before we dwell further into the topic of child development. First we must understand our responsibilities towards them. We must realised that children are gifts and blessings from Allah. Children are entrusted by Allah into our care and must be treated with the utmost care and concern. They are our priceless investment which will bring us bountiful gains in the future if we invest in them well. Parents are responsible in nurturing, instilling and educating their children with good moral values so that they become knowledgeable, responsible and pious Muslims. Allah swt Himself exhorts the head of the family to ensure that each and every member of his family does not become fodder for Jahannam. If this difficult trust can be truly realised, then each and everyone of us can be assured of a blessed life both in this world and the Hereafter. Allah says:

O you who believe I Ward off yourselves and your families against Hell fire whose fuel is men and stones, over which are angels stern and severe, who disobey not, the commands they receive from Allah, but do that which they are commanded. (Surah At-Tahrim, verse 6) In this verse, Allah SWT emphasised the role and responsibility of head of the household, that is: to protect oneself and ones charges from the threat of Hellfire. In interpreting this verse, Rasulullah s.a.w says:

Order your children to obey Allahs commandments and refrain from what He has forbidden, because that will become their shield from Hell fire (Ibn Jarir) Brothers, To protect our family members from the threat of hell, we must not remain passive and be contented at just stopping them from transgressing Allahs limits. We must also actively inculcate Islamic values in our children so as to help them develop an immune system which would be able to repel unhealthy and evil influences of their social environment. Parents are not bosses but they should assume the role of managers, counsellors and educators to their children depending on the circumstances the children are in. Parenting is not about merely issuing orders and directives but it includes the aspect of monitoring, guiding and being inspiration and model for the children to emulate. Only when this true sense of leadership is enlivened in our daily lives would our children be positively impacted with the desired character and values. Brothers, As parents we should not hold the notion that we have fulfilled our obligation by schooling our kids and hence securing their livelihood.

Please be reminded, that our duties is not finished by just sending them to school and ensuring a stable future for them. We are responsible in ensuring that our children become a principle centred person with strong faith and iman. Therefore we cannot disregard the importance of a balanced education plan which encompasses the childs spiritual as well as material needs. Often the religious education aspect is given less priority or worse, totally neglected. With this attitude our children will lack of religious resilience. These kids are easily influenced by unhealthy elements in our society and worst some of our children can openly disregard their principles as Muslims. For example, currently we hear among our children, decided to go through civil marriages without giving much consideration to their Islamic principles. Some even have the courage to renounce Islam and convert to other religion. In these situations, often we detect a sense of regret on the part of the parents. But they know it is already too late to salvage the situation. Their children would no longer want to listen to their parents advice feeling that they have now become adult and they are capable to decide what is good for themselves. Therefore brothers, We must start early in our children upbringing. To forge our children with religious resilient and to form them to what we desire is definitely easier whilst they are young. It would be like painting on a piece of white canvass still with you as the artist, free to create our own masterpiece. We need to ingrain Islamic values in the mind of our children and get these values entrenched in their belief system. Ibnu Sina ever reminded : Once the child start learning from the mother, teach him the ethics in Islam before he is plagued by undesirable values. Rasulullah saw says:

Teach your children and beautify their conduct. (Ibnu Majah) Parents need to be sensitive to the mental and physical development of our children. Let us not be blinded by the pursuit of material wealth and comfort at the expense of raising our kids on sound Islamic foundations. Let us not forget that our ultimate objective as parents is to ensure the success of our children in this world and

more importantly, they are principly sound with the islamic foundation while being progrssive in contributing to the society and bring blessings to all. Let us take the example of Lukmanul-Hakim in teaching his son as contained in the following advice :

O my son! Perform As-Salat, enjoin Al-Maruf and forbid from Al-Munkar and bear with patience whatever befalls you. Verily, these are some of the important commandments. And turn not your face away from men with pride, nor walk in insolence through the earth. Verily Allah likes not any arrogant boaster. (Luqman, verse 17 &18)