It starts at home...

It's a big responsibility for the parents teaching their children the right path of Islam, more so the mother as she spends the most time with the kidos. This enormous responisbility has always scared me, wondering would i be able to do it? Will i be teaching the correct way? And HOW would i do it?

The mother's responsibility in bringing up the children and forming their characters is greater than that of the father, because children tend to spend more time with her.  Hence the woman who understands the teachings of Islam and her own educational role in life, knows her complete responsibility for the upbringing of her children, as is referred to in the Quran:

 

[O you who believe! Save yourselves and your families from a Fire whose fuel is Men and Stones] Quran 66:6

The Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) also referred to this responsibility in his hadeeth:

"Each of you is a shepherd and each of you is responsible for his flock. The leader is a shepherd and is responsible for his flock; a man is the shepherd of his family and is responsible for his flock; a woman is the shepherd in the house of her husband and is responsible for her flock; a servant is the shepherd of his master's wealth and is responsible for it. Each of you is a shepherd and is responsible for his flock." (Bukhari and Muslim)

Islam places responsibility on the shoulders of every individual; not one person is left out. mothers - are made responsible for providing their children with a solid upbringing and sound Islamic education, based on the noble characteristics that the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) declared that he had been sent to complete and spread among people:

"I have only been sent to make righteous behavior complete." (Bukhari)

We have from the begining introduced islamic words to our children such as:


- Aslamu alaykum
- Walaikum aslam
- Alhamdullilah
- Jazzaka mulla khairah
- Inshallah


Now with my eldest being 3 years old, he is very interested in his alphabet, numbers etc. So i thought this the perfect opportunity to teach him the arabic alphabet. He has his own alphabet book and i have downloaded numerous apps for children and he loves them. He learnt his english alphabet from one of the apps so i thought it'll be easy enough inshallah for him to pick up the the arapic too. Mashallah he remembers and recognises some of the letters now. I've also got the kids dua app too which is brilliant. I would definately recommend searching for some childrens islamic apps. It's ideal for those of us who don't always get time. My son just picks up my phone and goes through his favourite apps through out the day as and when he wishes. Which is great as i don't need to force him to sit down to learn and he does it of his own accord, alhamdullilah.


We as parents are role models for our children. They imitate what we do so therefore it is very important to set a good example. Whether its our manners or practicing our deen children will look and learn. Praying my salah, reading the Quran and doing ebaadah is something i try and do infront of my children so they know it's a very important part of our daily lives. As it is from home they learn first. If the deen isn't implemented at home then learning from outside wont have that much of an impact i feel.


What are your views?


Is it important to teach your children Islam at home? or should we rely on masjids?


I would love to learn how you bring Islam into your childrens lives?