Child Education in Islam

five hundred dinars. The husband denied the claim. So the judge

said to him, "Bring forth your witnesses." The man said, " I have

already done so." The judge called one of them and asked him to

look at the wife and point at her in his testimony. So, the witness

went and asked the wife to rise. The hu~band said, "What do you

want of her?" He was told that the witness should look at her face

to recognize her. The man disliked a stranger to look at his wife's

face in public. So, he shouted out, "I declare to the judge that l owe

my wife the dowry she is claiming, but do not uncover her face. So,

when the wife realized how much her husband cared for her, she

shouted out to the judge, " I declare to you that I have granted my

husband this dowry, and he is clear of it in this life and the

Hereafter." So, the judge said to those amund him, "Write this

down in the page of noble manners."

Finally, it is a must for fathers, mothers, and educators to be

exemplary to their children regarding such manners of looking,

and teach them, if they want them to acquire noble manners, and a

sublime Islamic education. Alliih iii will never deprive them of

their deeds, on a day when neither money nor sons shall profit

anyone.

Thirdly: Keeping Children Away from Sexual Arousal

Among the major responsibi lti~'S that Alliih made incumbent on

educators is to fortify young people against sexual stim ulants al the

age of puberty and before. Scholars have unanimously agreed that

the teenage years are the most momentous period orman's life. So,

if the educator knew how to guide him in this phase, in a manner

which is well -o riented and righteous, he would, no doubt, grow up

as an embodiment or modesty and chastity. Allilh 16 says,

,t:;:;I: :,1 G-iCl: :) ~-R 1; ~',:,i...,! 6.';:" t &...,r J f..;'~ ,;~ ~;.J; ,

jl ~, ,; ) W i .; ) ~":;1 j ~~ ,"(::;:;1 jl ~~ j, ~;..:

3 / . .:Si J,iJ:.li J JC"'I ~ ~-ii J,l ;:i ~i ) ;:' ;' ,'.~ 31: l:)!*.t:4. '"-"". . ' ~ • . '1:' ., . ,..." .> .... .'

~ ... r~ 1 .;.:;;" ~ lh; ~

"And 10 drllw their veil,- "If "I'e. Juyubihinnu (i.e. their hodies,

faces, necks und bosoms) and not to re~eui lireir ado,nmen, exapt to

(h!!ir husbands, Or flrdr [a/hen, or their husband'. fathers, or their

sons, or their husbund' .• sons, or Ilreir hrothers or their bruther's sons,

or their _.;ster', sons, Or Ilreir (Muslim) "'omen (i,e. their 5i,'leTS in

Islum), or lire (female) S/Il"U whom their right "QJlUS po,',fess, or old

male Jl'r,'unU ... ho lack I'igor, or small children II'ho /rave no sense of

feminine sex ... •• (An-Nur, 31)

Imam Ibn Kathir says in interpreting this verse, hit means if

young children are unaware of matters pertaining to women's

pri~acies, their melodious voices, their way of walking, their

moves, and their standing stIll, there is no harm in letting them

enter wQmen'~ places, but if they arc teenagers or approcahing th is

age, or aware of all of that, and can distinguish between an

allTactive and unattractive woman, they should be prevented from

entering women's places,"

Al-Buk--hii ri narrated tllat Al-Fad-l lbn AI-Abbas was behind the

Prophct 3: on a camel on the Day of Slaughtering and Al-Fadl

was about the agc of puberty, Al-Fa~l kCpllooking at a beautiful

woman from Khllthllm, who was ~lsking the Prophet about some

religious matters. so, the Prophet ~ took Al-Fa~l by the chin and

turned his face away from the woman. lbus, the Prophet $ kepi

him from sexually stimulating himself th rough gazing at the

woman's face. The responsibility of the educator for keeping his

child away from sexual stimulants is realized in two ways: The first:

the responsibility of inside monitoring and the second: the

responsibility of outside monitoring.

Inside Monitoring

The educator should make clear to his child the Islamic rules of

chastity both in theory and pr

- Practicing the aforementioned manners of asking permission.

- Forbidding teenagers from entering women"s places.

- Separating male children and female children in beds. AI-Hakim

and Abii Diiwiid related that the Prophet G: said, "Command

your children 10 pray at Ihe age of seven, and beal Ihem for il

(lleglecling) praying III Iht age of /en, Illid separme moles Md

females in bed." This is to avoid that they should sec, from onc

another, what may arouse their sexual desires, and corruptlhem.

Teachlllg children the manners of looking (i.c. at non·related

women), and continually stimulating theIr fear of Alliih.

Not having a T.V. set at home fo r the grave harm it has on

virtue and morality.

Checking what the children may possess of newspapers,

magazines and novels, and guiding them as to what they are

permitted to buy and what they are no\.

_ Forbidding mixing of boys with girls from their very early years,

and letting them have friends only of the same sex and of

righteous people.

Oubide monitoring

The boy should also be monitored outside, since the society

suffers some evils slich as:

I. Cinema and theaters, which show adult films and sexual

stimulants.

2. Indecent dresses of women, since they stimulate the sexual

desire, irritate one's mind by following women, waste one's

money, demean honor, and force tile poor to commit unlawful

acts. Moreover, they refloct just blind imitation and insane

attraction to the West. Besides, they lead to serious problems in

every house between husband and wife, and mother and

daughter.

3. Public and secret brothels, which are places of adultery and

prostitution. In these places, honor is abolished, time and

money arc wasted, diseases arc spread, and sins nest all day and

night. In sueh sordid places, families collapse, houses devastate,

women arc perverted, and honor is violated. Here are, my fellow

educators, some of the indecent scenes which these brothels

introduce to our society:

a. While a teacher was giving a physical education class to

students in a girls' secondary school, a tenth-grade student fell

down suddenly onto the floor. They rushed her to a hospital for

eumination. It turned out that she was pregnant. After

investigation, it turned out that the girl was working in a

brothel wi th live other students of the same age. The school and

family were aware of nothing. It also turned out that one of

these students was enticed by her immoral mother, and could, in

turn, seduce her fellow students and get them to participate in

prostitution. Unfortunately, education of officials kept the

whole matter secret and hid it to aviod scandal. Immoral

company, undoubtedly, has its own influence in seduction and

eorrupllon.

b. A licentious father was led by desire to a brothel. The pimp

showed him the prostitutes' photos. His eyes caught his

daughter's photo, and was extremely taken by the unexpected

surprise. but he could restrain himself until he made sure. So, he

told the pimp that he wanted that girl. The pimp told him to go

to a certain room where she was ready for him. When he entered

the room, he found his daughter quite ready to receive the

clients. When the girl saw her father in front of her, she was

taken by horror and dashed l(l the door to save herself from

him. The father could not help trying to strangle her. But the

people there did not let him do so. Those who had det ai ls of the

incident said that a girl of her neighbours enticed her to that

way, and the family never knew that their daugllter had replaced

the school with a brothel, where shc buried her honor and

chastity.

c. A trustworthy teacher told me that he went to l()()k for a friend

in a coffee shop, but he noticed that so many male and female

students were entering the coffee shop, and going upstairs. He

wa~ very curious 10 lind out what was going on there. He

followed them, and was extremely shocked by what he saw in

the hall of the upstairs 1100r; he found that most of those who

went up to that place were male and female students, who were

hugging, kissing, and mrting with impudcnt laughs and indecent

stimulation. Then, he wondered how these students met each

other and how these relations hips sta rted, and who brought

them into this particular place? These arc lessons of decay which

those students received through T.V, photos, morally depraved

magazines and malicious stories. Most likely the families know

noth ing of these meetings. There is no doubt \hatthe corrupted

environment has led to such corruption and temptation.

4. Moral dcprivation: the streets of cities are swcpt by sparkling,

deceptive pictures, obscene words, and indecent propaganda for

a lilm or dispicable drama.

5. Corrupt companionship: we have mentioned before, in the

chaptcr on the reasons that lead to children's devialion, Ihal

"Among the main facto rs leading /0 child deviation are bad

companions especially when the child is afmodest intelligence. " In

this regard, the Prophet it: said, "A man adheres ro his friend's

customs. So. you have /0 be selective regording whoever is going to

be your friend." This is narrated by Ibn Majah. May Alliih have

Mercy upon the poet who said,

Never wonder about man but about his associate.

Since every mate takes his associate to emulate.

6. Corruption from intenningling: this mode of social behavior has

a negative impact on morals and ethics, even in the case of

children. This innovation has unfortunately, been introduced in

some Muslim communities. It w~s encouraged by the claim that

this type of intermingling may abate instincts and check desire.

In the chapter on "The Responsibility for Intellcctual Education"'

we mentioned the convincing and cogent reply and the

evidence against alilhose who justify the above claim. These are

the most dangerous means that wOlJld cause our children 10 be

completely lost. In my opimon, there are three positive ways,

which if adopted by educators, children would be morally

sound. These ways are:

I. Enlightenment 2. Warning 3. Monitoring

Enlightenment

Early instruction allows a child to mentally absorb the lessons

throughout his life until he becomes a grandfather. If we teach the

child that he is encircled by those who plot against him, his religion

and nation, he would be mature enough to eheck his desires,

beeause the ehild knows, in advance, that ways of temptation in his

society have been arrayed by the enemy to destroy him and his

fellow citizens.

It is recommended to inform the child about the plottings

against his re ligion. My fellow educator, you will see these

elaborate plottings supported by incidents in a paper on

"Awareness of Responsibility." Here, we present some of these

plans:

I. J ews and Freemasonry: these have adopted Sigmund Freud's

opinions. Freud e ... pl aills human behavior in terms of the sc ... ual

instinct. They have also adopted the opinions of Ihe Jew Karl

Man, who attacked religions and all fa ith in Divinity. When asked

about the substitute for this faith Mau replied, "The substitute is

the theater. Let them always occupy themselves with the theater

instead of Divinity. They have adopted the opinions of Friedrich

Nietzsche who abrogated morahty and made permissible everything

that satisfies man's enjoyment. They actually adopted

anything that would destroy religion and morality. Among the

wen-known Masonic sayings is the following, "We have \0 gain

women as supporters. So at any time, women stretched their hands

to us, we defintely gained the prohibited, and the army of the

religious zealo ts vanished."

II. Colonization and the Crusades: one of the famous colonists says,

in th is regard, ··A drinking glass and a bottle of wine destroy the

Muhammadan Nation more than a thousand cannons can do.

Thus, try your best to let this Nation be overwhelmed by

materialism and lu ... ury." Unfortunately, this is what they have

already achieved.

At the Missionaries· Conference in Jerusalem, the priest Zoimer

said, "You have raised up a generation in Muslim countries that

does not have any submission to Allah. Consequently, this Muslim

generation has been vin dicating the aims of colonizat ion . So, it is a

generation with no ambition to achieve great things. Rather, it has

become fond of laziness. Further. il e ... erts its energies exclusively in

luxury. So, if they learn or gain money or achieve eminenl

positions, worldly ta rgets are their only concern."

III. Communism and Materia listic Ideologies: the proponents of

Communism said, "We have succeeded In destroying religion by

means of stories, dramas, lectures, mass media and books on

propaganda for apostasy and attacks on re ligion and Its scholars.

All this media caUs for materialistic science and for making it the

sovereign authority,"

Warning

EfTective warnings call make the child aware of real dangers.

A. Dangers for health: this includes the following among the

physical and psychological diseases: AIDS, gonorrh ea, syphilis,

sexual ulcerahon, chancroid and carly psychological maturity.

B. Danger of immorality: this includes, among others, homosexuality

i. e. sodomy and lesbianism.

C. Psychological effects: we refer here to the following: dissolute

generations may bring in to existence gangs to kill, kidnap, and

rape. Other gangs for drug smuggling and sex may be formed.

Well-educated gangs may also be formed (physicians, lawyers,

etc). to colier the crimes in return fo r bribes of sex and money.

D. The social problem: this is represented by the following:

- Threatening society as a result of demolish ing the fam ily

system.

- Fornication yields injustice to the born children, smce it

deprives them of their obvious right 1. e. being legal children.

- Both men and wOmen become miserable in spite of their

transient enjoyment.

- Severing the bonds of kinship is an inevitable result of illreputation

and notorious behavior.

E. Economic Problems:

- Weakening of the productive powers, because shameless deeds

'06 ~=========================================P.t!Two

destroy health and hold back production.

- Wasting sources of wealth for the sake of luxury and lustful

deeds.

- Making illegal gains through bribery, drugs, adult films, and

pornography. This would lead 10 hindering a great part of the

labor force . Further, it would also destroy the nation's

progress, and devastate its economy and production.

F. The religious problem: abandoning faith. the two Shaikhs

narrated that the Prophet '* said, "When the adulterer commits

adultery, he is no longer a believer." A~-Tabanini also narrated

in Al-Awsa! that the Prophet 3; said, "I ... arn you again:;1

commilling adultery, since;1 ends in/mlf rhings: it makes the/ace

gloomy; if CU{J off Ihe earnings. ;1 lead. /0 the wralh of the All

Merciful, andfinally i/ makes Jhe abode in Fire elerna/."

Finally, persisting In committing adutery would make torment

doubled on lhe Day of the Resurrection. AlIiih Ui says in Surah

Al-Furqiin:

'i~ , ~.~ ~I :ii V Ji ';'~:I\ .;y ~ t ~I~ L.;,1~ ;'1 E ~ .:; ;.;J[; t

'"{ ''~~'~ ""-"{ '"~ F~" '.'J' lr"."ij>'.~/.

".4 nd "IOU: ... 110 invtJke nol "ny olMr ilM (god) along II'j,h Alliih,

/lor kill such perso/l as A /liih has forbidden, exc~p' for jus, cause, nor

commil il/egui sexual in'ercourse - und II'hoeur don tbi! shall ucti~e

'he punishment. The torm .. "t "'ill be doub/~d ((> him on ,he Duy of

Ra urru tion. ond he II>il1 tJbide therein in disgr"ce" (AI_Furqan. 68-.69)

Moreover, continuing to warn against lustful acts, and the

repealed men1ion of theIr worldly and religious punishments would

instill a noble spirit in the hearts of children. Further, their

personalities would have solid barriers against deviation and

falsehood.

Monitoring

This IS one of the most important and positive means of

improving children's behavior. Thus, we sho.,ld bind them directly

or indirectly to delinite aims. Then, the educator must bind hIs

child with what he wishes for hIm. For instance, the bond should

lirst be with mosques and the fonns of worship within thcm and

Ihc necessary companionship with scholars and anending Iheir

scholarly courses in general and other specilic forms of worshipping

Allah. We must also mention the Importance of occupying the

chIld with his sports activities in a way th!lt h'Cps Ihe child's

religious fcelings intact.

rourthly: Tuellin!; the Child the Legal Rulings Go~c rning I'ub-crty

and Maturity

Educators should give children frank mform~tion about sex in a

way that yields psychological comfort. Therefore. knowing the

rules of purification would kcep the pcrform:lnce of worship v

Consequently, Ihe psychological bewilderment of adolescence ~s;,

result oftccn-age changes would vanish. Frankncss in thi ~ domain

keeps the boy and girl from asking friends and fcllow mates ~bout

sexual matters. This may lead to dangerous moral corruption. The

following are some of the legal rulings in this respect.

1. The child (boy or girl) may have iI'li/lim (wet dreams) but he

does not get wet. Then purification wash is nOI obligatory. On

the contr~ry, if he find~ wetting without a dream he must w;lsh

himself. The five authorities except An-Nasai narrated that

"Aishah .;.. >;,id, "The Prophet $ WaS once

marJ linding himself wet wi th sperm without a wet dream. and he

said: 'Ill' mUSI wash.' But if a man sees a wet dre.lIn and finds no

wetting, the Prophet answered, "Washing is nOl obligalory" Then

Umm Salim asked him if .1 woman finding herself wet must

wash. The Prophet answered. "Yes , defil1ilely, women are fi jll

208 ,"""" """""""""""""""""= Por, Two

sisters o/men (in every thing) ,

2. If II man experiences lustful ejaculation he must wash himself.

But if the ejaculation is not lustfu l. that is, a sympton ofa disease

washing himself is not II must. AI-lmflm A~mad, At-Tinnidhi

and Ibn Majah narrated that Ali 40 said, " [ used 10 have light

sperm then I asked the Prophet ~ about that and he answered,

"In your case. yllli need 10 perform ablution only, bul in ca.'1! ,Jj

nalural sperm, w(l$hing yourself is a mU$I. "

3. If a husband and his wife have sexual intercourse then washing is

a must. Here, Muslim narrated that 'Aishah ~ sa id, "The

Messenger of Allah 3: said, " ' fa husband has sexual intercourse

with his wife, then they must wash afterwards."

4. Following a monthly period or chi ld-birth a woman must have a

wash of purification. Allah !iii says in the Qur'an,

~ ~ .• 'i ;;. ~;;i '1; t

"Alld do 110/ draw lIear Ihtm lilllhey are pure ( i.t. liIIlhey "'ash

IhemJiuJ Jor purijkalioll}." (At·Baqarah. 222)

The evidence in case of child-birth is confinncd by consensus of

authorities on legal question and by legal analogy.

Obligatory and recommended practices for washing are as

follows: washing the mouth and nose and then Ihe whole body.

The recommendcd practices done by the Prophet $. arc as

foHows: to wash the hands. then the se~ ual organ and remove any

impurity. Then, there comes ablution except the feet. Then water is

poured all over the body three times, the feet are washed with

running water. Other recommended practices done by the Prophct e are: intention, uttenng the Invocation, BiJmiff"h AI-Rahman AfRahim

( In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most

Merciful), brushing the teeth, letting water go between the beard

and between the fingers, and rubbing the body with water.

llirtllly: Marriage and Sexual Intercourse

Islam has legislated marriage only to comply with the innate

inclination towards the other sex, Thus, man would futrill his

natural desire in complete harmony without being dominated by

unlawful temptations.

A. Marriage in Islam is based upon the above understanding of

man's innate inclination toward the other sex. Hence, the

institution of marriage would fulfill his longings and tendencies,

so that no one would exceed the limits of his legitimate

inclinations. AlIiih 1H says:

;~ i '( ~;; ~ 4;1, ~ ~\ ~_ "\;1 .;; j:J ~ ;:.1 .~I; W ,

~ L;;

"And amonK His Signs ;s this, that lie cr~a'edfor )·ou ... ·iru from

among ),oursl'fres, that )·ou ma)' find repOI.t! in them, lind fit! has put

INtween ),ou IIffu tion and mu"y." (Ar-Rum, 21)

AI-Bu~~ari and Muslim narrated that Anas" said, "A group

of three men came to the Prophet·s house to ask his wives about

tbe Prophet's prayers. Having recievcd the answer, they considered

them lillie. Then, they explained their view by saying, 'How can we

compare our pr.lye rs wlth those of the Prophet 4: since Alliih has

forgiven him his sins whatever of them has passed and whatever is

to come. So. one of them said, ·As for me, I will perform the night

prayers forever.' The second said, 'I will fast all my life and will

never break my fast.· The third said, ' I would seclude myself from

women and never get married.' Later on, the Messenger of Alliih

3:. came and was informed of what they have said. He said, 'Have

yau said so and so? Indeed, I swear by Allah Ihal I am the mOyl

fearful of Allah and mOSI pious. Howner, I fast and break my fasl,

pray and sleep, ond I gel married. So, wlroevl'r refrains from my

practice is nor among my followers."

Allother objecti~e of marriage in Islam is satisfying the sexual

ncc.-d through legal means to be rewarded by Allah. Muslim

narrated thai Abu Dllarr ";' said, "A group of the Companions of

the I'rophct said to the Prophet ~. '0 Messenger of Alhih, the

deceased 'by-gone' got all the rewards. They used to pray as we do,

fast as we do; then they gave the poor their rightl; OUI of their

wealth. The l'rophCI 3: wondered, 'D()(!$ nOl AI/fih provide you ",ilh

wilat YOII may g iw~ Ihe poor /'0",1 Truly, )'011 may offer charily

th,augh saying Subhrow Allah (Glory be 10 Alltih) Alllili" akbar

(A/liih is Ihe Grea/est) . [{j i/rihu illd Alliih (There is no god hUI

Allah) and AI-Ifamdl< Lilloh (praise be to Alliih): C{)mmonding