Child Education in Islam

basis for forming the personahty of children in the shade of good

character munners of Islam is to establish the relations of love,

brotherhood, and understanding between tcachcr and student.

Hcre both would achieve the expected benefits. Thus, the tcachcr

would gain the fruit of his cfforts and the student would be among

the most righteous and pious ones.

6. The daily educational program

The most important task a teacher should take care of is to follow

a specific educational course with the student so that he beo:.:omes

familiar with it and find~ it easy to follow in the fu ture. Now here

are. my fellow teachers, the details of this method as inspired from

the teachings of Islam so that you might make use of them.

A. In the morning, a teacher sbould follow the following progam:

- The worthiest thiog one can do when he wakes up in the morning

is to remember and praise Allah. One should begin his day wi th

the fo llowing invocation: .. / praise Allah who gaye U.f life again

afler we had been dead lmd /0 him is 'he Resurrection," (Agreed upon)

- When the child wants to go to the bathroom, the teacher should

teach hIm the way to cnter the bathroom i. e. he should enter with

his left foot and when leaving he steps out with his right foot.

This is ))ec;luse it has been recommended that we use our right

hands and feet when doing good things and use our left hands

and feet when doing impure things.

- The student should be ta ught to say (when entering the

bathroom): "0 A/hih! I ask Your proteelion from devils. moles

ani/felllalel _" (Al-Bttkhfiri and Muslim)

- The student should be taught not to take with him into the

bathroom, anything th;,t includes a form of Remembrance of

Allah, books, articles, Holy books, or rings Ihat bear the name

of Allah on them," In th is regard, the narrators of the

traditions of the Prophet .i: from Anas ... s,1id that the

Prophet ~ used to take ofT his ring and leave it aside when

going to relieve himself. The words: "Muhammad is the

Messenger of Alhih were engraved on it." (AI-Hakim)

• The student should learn not to speak while relieving himself.

Here Imam Muslim narrated that, "A man passt'(i by the Prophet

it while he was urinating. The man greeted the Prophet e: but

he did not return his greeting."

- The student should learn how to cleanse his/her private pilrts

after relieving himse lf/herself ;Iud not to let any impurity stain his

body or clothes, since most of the punishment in the grave

neglecting to wash one's privale pariS after relieving oneself. [n

this regard, Al-Bukhari narrated Ihal the Prophet e: sa id, "Wruh

your OItler sexual organs and anuses afler you Ijrinllle Or defecole

since mas/ of Ihe punishmem i/l the gra)'e comes from Sllch

negligence . ..

- The student should learn to wash his private parts with his leO:

hand, since the l'rophet $ said, "Jf one of you urinaled, he should

nat tauch his sexrwl organ or ... ash it ... ilh his right hond, nor ,,'arlid

one breathe in a ''esse! while drinking," (Agreed upon)

- The student should lear to leave the bath room with his right foot

and invoke: "Praise be ta A/liih, The One Who remm'ed harm from

me and healed me," Narrated by Ibn Majah

- Then, he makes ablution,

- The merits of ablution are that it obliteral~ sins. In this regard

Imam Muslim narrated that the Prophet II; said, "When one

make,5 ablution ond starts by .... ashing his face, allihe sins he has

commilled wilh Iris eyes dmp from his foCI! with the running water,

And when he washes his feel allihe sins he COmmilled wilh his feel

drop ... ilh Ihe "'nning of the wmer or with the last drop of wa/er,

So, he gelS purifiedfram all his sins,"

- The student should learn to Solly the Prophetic invocation after

perfonning ablution: "[ profess that there is no god but A/Mh;

Ihere is no Msocial/: with flim, and MU!l(lFIJmad is 1Ii$ Prophet and

Messenger_" Muslim narration is: "0 AIlIih! Make me of the

penitent and the purified,"

_ The student should learn to pray two rak'ahs whenever he finishes

ablUlion, A~mad and Imam Muslim narrated that the Prophet

tl; said, "Any Muslim who performs ablulion the right way, then

he prays twa rak'ahs with pure hearty intenlion, his d!le re.mrd

must be Paradise."

_ To pray with him any number of rak'ahs at night. Muslim and

Abu DawGd narrated that the Prophet it; said, "If one of you

geu up 01 night, he sho!l{d start 10 pray a shori rak 'ak •. " Praying

at night, after praying the evening prayer, has no definite number

of rak'alts. You can pray as many 3S you can, two by two, since

the Prophet tl; said, "Niglrl pra)V!r is /11'0 by two, and if you

SI.speCI Ihal the dawn prayer has approached, pray one sitlgle wilr

rak 'alr. " Among the bl essings of praying and praising Alliih at

night is that it paves the way to Paradise. At-Tirmidhi narrated

that the Prophet 3: said: "0 people, greel one anolher "say may

peace be uFOn you ", feed OIlier (U!op/e from your food an" pray {JJ

nighl wlrile people are asleep, so yr'u enter Paradise peacefully."

- To urge him to pray the d~wn prayer in Ihe mosque: to teach htm

to invoke All:ih after thc <:all for praycr. Imam Muslim and Abu

Dawud narrated that the Prophet t1; said, "When you hear I/,e

A dhan (calling for prafcr) , repeal what he is saying. Say: "" eace

be lipan Mu'!nmmad, sillce "'Iwever says Peace be "POll me allee,

len good deeds will be writ/en for h'm in his book of deeds, andafter

Iha/ osk AI/iih 10 gralll me AI-Wasflalr , ",lIich is a place nOI

altained by any servalll of Ihe seroants of Alliih.- I hope ' canallain

il. The (>Ire who a.~ks for me AI-Wll$ilah will dcserve my

interce$$ion on the Day of jlldgmelll ." [nvoklflg Allah. and

asking for His Mercy and Forgiveness, should Ix: done in the way

that has been reported from the Prophct ij:_ Al-Bukhiiri narrated

that the Prophet ~ said, "Whoevcr slIys w/ienel't'r he hears Ihe

Ad/Ilin Ihe (calling for prayer) "0 Alliih. Lord of rhis e"er-pf'rfec/

call. l/ie Lord of lhis cominuing prayer, gram Muhammad A/Wasi/

ah and virtue and give him the mast /ionorable .~Iarus You

have promised him will deserw my imt'fcession on Ihe Day of

jlldgmem."

- To teach him th~ merits of praying In congregation In the

mosque. At-Tirmidhi and Abu Diiwud narra ted that the Prophet

$ said, "Give glad lidings to those who walk in Ille darkn e.

mO)'ques Ihat they will have great shming light on the Day of

Judgment. "

_ To teach hIm to glori ry and invoke Allah after finishing his

prayers. Imam Muslim narrated that Abu Hurairah .. said:

386 =,",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",,",,PanTh~

"W/wever says. sf/Mana Allah (Glory be to Allah) thirty-Ihree

limes, ,,1-lIoIIUIlI Iillall "Praise be 10 A /liilr" Ihirty-lh,ee limes. and

AI/aha Akbar "Alliih is ,he G,eales/" lbirly-Ihree limes and then

comp/ele Ihe hundred by saying. /0 iloho ilia Allah "There is no god

but Allii/r; Ihere is flO Ilssociole wilh Iflm.Jor tlim is a/ll/w/ is in

Ihe earlh and Ihe skies Imd/or Him is praise WId He has power ove.

aUlhings." all his sins will be obliterated nell if Ihey were as much

as Ihe foam of Ihe sea."

_ To teach him that praying the SantUlh (voluntary) prayers arter

the dawn and afternoon prayers are undesi rable. AI-Bukhari and

Imam Muslim narrated that the Prophet $ said, "No proy!"

afler dawn lin/ii/he Sun rises, nOr a/lfr the afternoon prayer liIIlhe

sun fades oway."

- To instruct him that pr~ying when Ihe sun is in the middle of the

sky us well as when it is fading away is undesirable. Im:lm

Muslim narrated that 'Uqbah Ibn 'Amir said, "The Prophet $

used to discourage us from praying al three times; when the sun is

rising till it completely rises, when it is in the middle of the sky till

il declin es, and when it fades till it completely fa des away."

- Then teach him to say the invocation the Prophet $ used to say

III the morning. Mentioning the Name of AU[ih and remembering

Him is strongly recommended many times in the Noble Qur·iin.

" Tller~for~ remember M~ (by /Wuying, glo,ifying), I .. ·m remem"",

you ... " (At.Haqarah, 152) and

1'0 you K'lIo ,"Ii~ .e! Rem~mh~, A llah .. ·ith much rerrumbrunce."

(AI . A~z:ib, 41)

The Prophet ~ said, 'T .... o .... ords are easy and are beloved /0

AIM!., and yet are heavy in Ihe bola",:e (on Ihe Day oj Judgment )

i,/'. Glory be 10 AIMh (llid so is Ilis pflliu; Glory be 10 A/fiih 1101'

Grealesl.' Narrated by Im,im Mllslim, Also, At-Tirmidhi narrated

that Abu Il umimh said that the Prophet It used to S3y in the

morning, "0 Alltih. By YOl4r power we wake up. by Your power we

fil'e , by YOilf pOll'er we die 0111110 You is I"e Resurr~cljo"."

- Reading with him some verses of the Noble Qur'iin: there ,Ire

many sayings of the Prophet 3: regarding the virtue and merits

of reading the Qur'iin. Muslim narrat~-d the !ladiill: "Read 1"1.'

Qllr"all siMI' il wifl ill/ereeill.' (before Alflih) for 1110"1.' \\,"0 used 10

fcail il. ,. Al-Bukh,iri narrated. " The beSI of yOlI are those who

leam (hI.' Qllr 'all alii/ teach it 10 olhers. ,.

- Playing some sport with him: AlIiih f.f.t says in the Qur'an:

"And make ready "Ruinn rlrem all j'oa can of pall'er, indading

stu ds of lI'ar (tunks, planes, mi.!siles, arriflery) " (Al-Anfal, (0)

Training includes all kinds of sports i.e. running, gymnaStICs,

jumpmg, wrest ling. weight-hfling, and so on.

- Then teaching him some cultural subjccts: AW;h 001 S;IYS in the

Qur'an,

"Say: "My Lord! Increase me in know/edge. ,. f!§-IH, 114)

If the child is a student, teach him his school lessons. The student

should prepare the lessons he wil l study. He may study his sehool

lessons whi le reading other cultural books, On the other hand, if

the chi ld is a worker, teach him related cultural subjects. The

child would learn, in the early hours of the day. some f,lcts of

science so that he might reach ;\ moderate level of mental growth

and c ultural awareness.

- Praying the l!u~ii (forenoon) prayer with him: AI-Bukh5ri and

Muslim narra ted that Abu HuralTah 40 said, "My beloved

•

Muhammad e advised me to do three things: to fast three day~

every month, to pray the twO Rak'ahs of the forenoon prayer and

to pray at least a single Rak'uh before going to sleep," The

minimum oflhe ~rll!1i prayer (forenoon) is 1wo and the maximun

is eight rak'ulu. The time of this prayer begins about thirty

minutes after sunrise and forty-five minutes before noon.

- Eating breakfast with him: the teacher should stick 10 the

etiquette of ea ting and drinking as has been mcmioncd above.

- Teachmg him how to leave his house

- Teach him 10 put on his shoes beginning with the right foot, and

when taking them off he should begin with his left foot. Imam

Muslim narrated that the Prophet 3: said, "When 0111' ofyOl/ is

pUlling on his pa;r of shoes. he should begin wilh hi.I' right foot oml

II'heli taking them off he shoilid begin K'ilh his left fool."

- Teach him to invoke AlIiih when leaving hi~ housc. At-Tirmidhi

narrated Ihal the Prophet 3: when leaving his house would say,

"'In the Nome of A/liih. / pul my trim in Alliih, Ihere is 110 po .... er

save I<'llh A/hill."

- Tcaching him the etiquettes of walking on Ihe streel: teach him 10

walk in a leisurely manner since Al1iJ.h 9iI says III the Qur':in:

~ ~ ~~ ~i ;,n·' ~ 0';> ..6"i' .; ~ /!Ji ';;')1 ~~.:; ,

"And Ihe ""ndmen of the All-Merciful ure the ones ",ho wulk on the

cur,h gently . and M'lIen the ignorant uddUJY them, they say,

" Peaa. ,. (At.Fu rq ;;n. 63)

- Teach him 10 lower his gaze and nOI look al the opposite sn who

arc not his kin. AII:ih says in the Qur'an:

t:... r < iol it "1 ?II :.,~ ~,,, >, b~;:';;; ....... ·l , ! ~> • ..... p .• ~ lr.

,~ "l r a.; """ --» rA'-'" ~ :.>-'! ~ _ " T

~ &j':';

"5IIy to the "male" helje"ers thai 'hey cust do",,, their gu,"", and

pre.lu.'e tlreir pri"ure purts; tlrat i1 more cfl!U"5ing Jar tlrem. Surdy

A lI

- Teach him how to greet people by saying, " Peaee be upon you";

and ,f one greeted him he should reply, " Peace, mercy and

blessing of AII,ih be upon YOll."

- Teach him that if he meets onc of his brothers in [slam and

fricnds that he should shake hands with hm1. At-Tirmidhi

n,nrated that the Prophet ~ said. "'If two M'lSlim.< mel each other

amI they shook hands, (Ir,mked Allah, amI '"'ked lIis forgi "cl1/'Ss,

He would forgi ..: thclIl . "

_ Teach him to avoid the hazards and risks he might mect;n the street,

road. etc. This may be done through watching out for cars and

lorries driving along roads and streets. He is bener 10 walk on Ihe

pavement. [n this regard, All.ih !H says:

"And do 1/1>1 Ilrrow you.selru inlo deIlruction" (AI-Ilaq.rah, 195)

B. [n Ihe e.'ening: a teacher should fo llow Ihe program below:

- Be sure that the sunsc\ and evening prayers arc performed in the

mosque. Then, do your best that children wear their best clothes

whenever they pray, since Alhlh t.\1I says in the Qu,'an:

~ )-; ': J ."4 ~~ iJ;. I"; ~ ,

"0 children of Adam! Tah your ad,)rllmenl (by wearing )'ollr cleun

clotlres) , ,,·lrife praying and going roulld ( tire TIl"'llf of) fire

KIl'blllr" (AI -A'rar, 31)

- Be careful that they should not cal garlic or onions before going

to pray in Ihe mosque for fear of bad ordor from theIr mouths. [n

this regard, A[-Bukh,.ri and Muslim nar rated that the Prophet 4:

said, " Wlrae<'eT ale garlic Or oninn.r should keep away from Our

mosqlle." Ik careful that they should enter the mosque quietly

and politely. The Prophet $ said. " When you come 10 Ihe

mosque, you mllsl keep qlliet; pray Ihe rak'ahs ),all CWI allain with

the COllgregalioll, oud those rak 'ahs you missed you MW! 10

perform by YOliself, ,. Be careful to pray two Srmnah (voluntary)

r(Ik'uhs before sitting as a greeting to the mosque, AI-Bukhari

and Muslim narrated that the Prophet ~ said. "Wlren ane 0/ you

comn 10 lire mosqlle, It is belle, Ihal he prays IWO rak'ahs before

he sir.< dow"," When one leaves the mosque, he should go out

wilh his lert foot first and invoke Alliih with the following words:

"0 my l ord, forgive my sins and open to me the gates of Your

Bounty," Be careful that your children do their homework and

tell them to do their jobs in the best way. to Implement the saying

of the Prophet 1$: " Verily . AlIiih wanlS thai if one 0/ YOll hOJ done

a job, he 1.(1.\- 10 do il per/eelly." Narrated by Al-Hukhftri

C. AI nighl: be careful to teach your children virtue. good social

behavior, historical episodes, or scientific facls so that your

children might benefit from your guidance and advice. For

instance, when Muslims celebrate a great occasion such as the

10urney of Ascension. you should gather your children and leach

them the following facts:

I. The night journey of the Prophet 3. is a great miracle by which

AlIiih honored His beloved Prophet, when he was in one of the

distressing periods of his life. It was a period in which he and his

followers were badly treated, challenged. and punished sevcrely.

This great event occurred onc year before the Hijra (migration 10

Makl:ah). II was a blessed and an honored Journey to the vast

domalll of the heavens and the carth conferred only on

Muhammad $.

2. What is the meaning and significance of the night journey to AIAq!>

5 Mosque and the ascension to the seven heavens? AI-Imi'

(night journey) refers to the journey which the Prophet MU1]ammad

~ made to Al-Aq~ii Mosque beginning from Makkah. This

Mosque is situated in Jerusalem in the state of I'alestine. AI-Miriij

N==-ry S"gg<>tion, Concerning 1'.

(ascension) refers to the ascension of Prophet Muhammad it to

the seven heavens. Both journeys werc by body imd soul. So this

great miracle would be considered as one of the many true proofs

of the true Prophethood of M U~lam1ll3d 3.

3. What arc the most important sights that the Prophet ~ saw

during his blessed journey? AI-Ruk h5ri and AI-Bazzar narrated

thai: '"The Prophet 3 passed by some people who were sowing

seeds and soon they were gathering (harvesting) the crops: :tnd

whenever they harvested th eir crops they grew again as if they had

not harvested them. Here the Prophet G: asked Jibr,l: " What is

this?·· Jibril answered: "Those arc the ones who fought in the way

of Alliih. each one good (ked they had done was mulhphed into

seven hundred ones and the money they spent in the way of Allah,

surely Allah would TCward them for it since He is the Ever, Rest,

and Unique Sustainer." The Prophet :t passed by people whose

heads were broken by stones. When they were broken down, they

returned to their in itial state, and then broken again and so on. The

Prophet wondered, "0 Jibrfl, wllo are Ihese?'· He said: "Those are

the ones who come 10 prayer with laziness." Then the Prophet g:

passed by some people having patches on their outer sexual organs

and their anuses. and they weTC wandering hke animals and were

eating Du"'-· (a bitter and thorny plant in hell), Zaqql'm (a bitter

t r~-e in hell), and stones which will be heated in the fire. So the

I' rophet i$ asked Jibri1: ··Who lire those?'" Jibril answered: Those

are the ones who did not pay Zakilh, and Alhih did not do them

injustice since He never docs injstice to those who are His

servants:· Then the Prophet ~ passed by some people with thick

lips like those of camels. They were devouring embers of the hot

fire of Hell getting out of their bodies. The Prophet. asked Jibril

about thes.c people and Jibril answered. "Those are the ones who

devoured the money of orphans unjustly.·'

4. What is the relationship betwccn the Sacred Mosque in Makl::ah

and Al-Aq~ Mosque in Palestine? Dr. Mu~tara As-Sibil:;,

"The relationship between the Aq~ii Mosque and the Sacred

Mosque is that of equal esteem since the inhabitants of Makkah arc

the most honorable people on earth because they arc the guardians

and servants of AI-Ka'hah since the time of Ibr'-ihim. AI-Aq~i

Mosque has been thc home-place of all Prophets of Alliih for

extensive periods of history. Thus liberation movements must

spring from these two Holy places and the battalions of faith should

set out from these two holy places to guide the whole world to the

right path and the Mes,age of Islam."

5. What is the duty of Muslims towards Palestine and the captured

Aq~ Mosque? In fact, our duty towards I'alcstine and Al-Aq?

Mosque is a very difficult responsibilty facing the present, past, and

future generations who should carry it out before AIl:ih and history.

The Prophet tj: cntrusted us with a great task. that is. to liberate the

Mosque and its surroundings from the Jews and Zionists and to keep

Palestine as an indispensable part of our larger Muslim Community.

So we should liberate every spot, even as small as a span of land or a

grain of sand, of the land of the journey of a'iCcnsion, from the hands

of tho'iC unjust and disloyal Jewish invaders, who now occupy the

Holy land. Thus. whoever is in charge should enlighten his children

every time he sees fit morally, socially, his toricall y, and cul turally.

Give your family happiness and fun. This may be done through:

information. The aim of this competition is 10 encourage and

help them to learn new aspects of culture and sciences and

provide 11 sense of cheerfulness and joy in the house.

b. Telling amusing jokes, witty remarks, and narrating some

wonderful tales. The aim is to rcfresh those who are in the house

and to overcome any sense of annoyance from which somc

might suITer_

c. Play ing some sports and g3mes, undertake some literary

dIscussions, and act some social and historical cpisodes_ The

aim here is to refresh blood cIrculation and to keep up mQraL

Be careful that you all sleep early because keeping awake at

night is harmful for the health, wastes the blessing of waking up

early to enjoy fresh air, makes one unable to pray the dawn

prayer, and also makes him Hlactive and letha rgic_ On the other

hand, waking up early in the morning is one of the traits of

education in Islam. The Prophet ~ disliked sleeping before the

evening prayer and staying awake after it for no beneficial

purpose. In this regard, AI-Bukhari narrated that the Prophet

4: "disliked sit!l'ping before the e''fning prayer or fatking with

olire,s afrer il." However, if talking to others is for some useful

or urgent mailer and virtuous teachings, then it is welcome_ AIBukhiiri

and Ah-mad narrated that 'Umar Ibn Al-Khat-t-iib ....

said, "The Prophet $; and I used to spend some time at night

with Abu Hurairah in his house discussing with him some issues

concerning Muslims."

Spending some time of the night with one's family is acceptable.

Imam Muslim narrated that Ibn Abbas said: "] slept in the

house of Maymunah for one night, when the Prophet i$: was

with ber, to see bow the Prophet tf;: talked with his wi fe,

Maymunah, for some time and then slept." As for spending the

night talking untruthfully about other people who are absent or

in watching TV for a long time are not acceptable. Waking up

early is one of the recommendations of the Prophet $. gave his

nation. AI-Bukh5ri narrated that the Prophet 3- said, "The

early hours of the morning are bleJ5ed for my lIalion."

Being careful that children should kiss their parents before

going to bed, and invoke Allah with the Prophetic supplications

intending to wake up at night to pray the night Sunrwh prayer

(tahajjud) and the dawn prayer so that they could begin their day a

fresh. [t is Sunnoh, when one is going to bed to dust off his bed lest

any harmful insects might bite him; then he should lay down on his

right side, II is beUer to make ablution before going to sleep and

say: "Praise be to Allah, who aITords us with food and drink and

the One Who protects and shelters us." Then one reads the ~erse