Guiding Muslim Children

Guiding Muslim Children

Many
Muslim parents wake up one day and find they have a rebellious teenager
who they can't reason with and who is intent on ignoring everyone.
Many leave home angry and ignore there parents completely and do
whatever they feel like. This is now a sad fact. What can YOU do
to avoid this?

It
is important to take responsibility of the child's education from
day one. This does not mean teach them to read the Qur'an parrot
fashion and our work is over. Many hope that somehow, later on down
the line, the process will be taken care of and the child will be
somehow become a good Muslim. What many parents fail to realise
what there children face.

• Children
  are educated throughout there most impressionable and formative
  years. In school they will often receive a very biased historical
  story of Islam. They will almost certainly pick up strong negative
  Islamic stereotypes from there peer group and poorly informed
  teachers.

• How
  much time do you spend shopping, preparing dinner, watching TV
  or helping with home work? Feeding and clothing take care of physical
  needs, what about belief or Iman, how much time have you spent
  explaining belief in a manner your child understands?

Many think
there older brother or they themselves coped, and so will the other
child. But this is in fact gambling. I came from a large family. We
all had our problems. My parents were lulled in a false sense of security
by my youngest brother. My brother eventually disappeared (aged 19
years) and decided to make what he termed a "Clean Break".
This has been the source of great pain for my parents and family.
What will happen to future generations of Muslims in this country
who are to endure this influence?

Parents
in most western countries do not get help from any institution.
Many Islamic Centres are run by committee's, who don't "lead"
Muslims in their country they are seem preoccupied by:

• Running
  the Mosque

• Basking
  in there position in the community

• Short
  term issues

• Avoid
  being seen as "threats" by local government (councillors)

Surely
they should be leading the community with a vision of the future many
years and generations ahead. They should warn and give guidance. They
should ensure our young in our society receive some protection.

We
are in dire need for Islamic mosques and organisations to set up
infrastructures to support Muslims and their families, so that we
may give Muslims the skills and tools to be able to raise their
children successfully. Insha'Allah.

There
are no easy, one-word solutions. Do ------ (fill in the blank) and
everything will be all right. We need to change our own lives first,
and work on a vision for the future.

 

Our children are our best investment for the future of Islam - we
need as Muslims to start taking this Amanah (trust) seriously and
take responsibility through action. Insha'Allah.

All
of you are shepherds, and each one is responsible for his flock.
A leader of people is a shepherd and responsible for them. A man
is like a shepherd over his family, and he is responsible for his
flock. A woman is like a shepherd over her husband’s house and children,
and she is responsible for them. And a slave is a guardian of his
master’s property and is responsible for it. So all of you are guardians
and are responsible for your charges.”

(Al-Bukhari and Muslim)