Small children are the joy of our lives; whether they are our own or nephews or nieces. We adore them. Once we have them, we can’t think of life without them.

photo by Sadati

No one needs to be told that small children love to emulate their elders. Whether you know it or not, they’re watching you very closely; observing the way you walk, talk, eat, or laugh. Sure enough, this is the stage when their ‘programming’ begins and lasts till the beginning of their teenage years.

Interestingly, very few people realize that they can begin setting the foundation for an Islamic upbringing from this stage. When a small kid can pick up the latest song, they can definitely learn a surah. Please note that these tips are useful for kids under seven years of age.
Here are the six tips on training them:

• Teach them the word ‘Allah ’: Believe it or not, but this can be done from the very first year. For me, it’s enough to see my son, who’s a year old, repeating the word ‘Allah ’ after me. He didn’t learn it the very first time, but after repeating it a sufficient number of times, he’s picked it up. Now, I’m sure he doesn’t even know what he’s saying but just hearing him say it is such an amazing feeling! This takes me to the next point

• Telling them about Allah: There will come a time when they’ll begin to communicate with us in broken sentences and then around 3 or 4 years in full sentences. Here’s when talking to them about Allah in very simple terms will acquaint them with their lord. We should try to instill both love and fear of Allah .

• Telling them about Prophet Muhammad and the Sahaba: Again, this should be done in a simple manner. If not anything else, instilling deep love for the Prophet and his companions should be the goal. Some points of discussion/action can be the Prophet ’s noble manners, his miracles, his simple sunnahs. Mentioning the stories of the other Prophets should also be included.

• Pray in front of them: This is much better than asking them to pray. More often than not, they’ll stand beside you and copy your actions. This is a subtle sort of conditioning that helps inculcate the habit of praying regularly and on time.

• Memorizing small duas: Small children have amazing memories. You’d be surprised at how quickly they pick up things. My younger brother (when he was probably 3 or 4 years old) memorized surah fatihah (the opening chapter) just by listening to it over the loudspeaker. So we can take the effort to make them memorize certain simple duas like the one after eating, the ones upon entering and exiting the toilet etc.

• Set a good example: This is the most important point of all. Unless you set a good example with your behavior and speech, there is a very slim chance that you will be able to steer your (or other) children in a good direction. Therefore, keep checking yourself and take extra care to see that you aren’t setting a bad example.

Understand that these tips can be implemented successfully if the general ambiance of the home is Islamic. Another added point is to take care that children don’t mingle with bad company that can influence them.

No related posts.