Child Education in Islam

of Islam at the expense of others:

. Some concentrate their orientation and care on reforming and

cleansing the soul, but neglect the dUly of commanding goodness

and preventing evil, and fighting injustice and the unjust.

- Some care about an Islamic appearance regarding the spirit and

worship but neglect action and Islamic unity for the sake of

establishing the Rule of All,ih on earth.

- Some aim all their concern on the conveyance of the Call to

Alliih iti , but do not care at all about any movement, activity,

or deed that may lead to establishing the State of 1,lam.

However, we should bear in mind that Islam is an integral

whole, and that its legislative rulings do not lend themselves to

division and separat ion. Allah Q says,

;j'r '. /,~,S j ~;; _~ 're- ~ , .. , ~ ,!}-<, ,~""'1(.·~ ~ ! :!"\ l.

i - . V' • -'" ~ '-'IV"-'-' '":;"""'>' ~ " .............. T

1 ' "t '7! Ii;JT ,'.....~.~ .

" Thtn dtJ J'ou bdievt in II pllrt of the Saipturt lind reject 'he ru t!

TMn NIhil' is tht ruompi!nse of thou who do so IImong you, Uctpt

disgract in the lif~ of this ""or/d, tllfd on ,ht Day of Resurrection thq

s101l11 bt conJigned to the most grit_OIlS torment." (At·Baqarah, 85)

A guide abiding by Divine Commands and a sophisticated

enlightened scholar is the one who delineates an integrated pic ture

of Islam. According to the Religion of Allah he is not permitted to

withhold his knowledge, remain si lent about what is right, overlook

any evil, be lenient about a duty, distort the Words of Allah, fear

any human being, show favoritism to anyone with power or

authority, or is silent about an improper saying about Allah. If he

did anything of this, he would be concealing the Signs and Guidance

of All;ih, and will even be among those wllom Allah does not look a\

or cleanse on the Day of Judgment. Rat her, he wi ll be among those

whom Allah and the people will curse. Alliih ra says,

~ft.;1 .: '9 4 ...:6J ~ ,"':~ t: y::; ~ ,,:a1.1 ': ~rjl ~ GJj1 '(:; &;:e: 0;-)1 ~l ,

(,\- \ .,~ ..::.. ~~ ....;),.j.t; I'.''' i ' r -j- j'li" ~ Jl -11 .... ::::..; .. ~( ; 'ti;- ~\ ;;"i; ~ rr-- _", . "~.J"""' '' ~.;t, • '"" . .J .

~ ; .Ui ";'~i

" Yerily, thou "'ho eORu of 'he clear proofs, c¥iu","us and Ihe

Ku;duna, ~·h;ch We luwf' sent do"'", a/ur We have mude;1 dear for

Ihe pl!ople in the Book, they ,,'c tile Olll!! cursed by Alllih and cursed

by lhe curRl's. Except tho~'e who repent and do r;/:frleous du ds, and

openly dec/au ( the t~uth whirh they concealed). Theu, I will accept

theu ~epentunce. And I am the One Who accept.1 repentance, the

Most M" Ciful." (AI· llaqarah. 159-160)

The Messenger ij; has warned of Hellfire, anyone who

wi thholds knowledge thai is religiously useful or who remains

silent about the violation of a righl Ihat is well-established by the

Religion. Ibn Mi"ijah quoled Abu Sa'[d AI-Khudri as saying that

Allah's Messenger :t said. "Whoever withholds knowledge with

which Allah benefits people in the malter of Religion, AI/lih will

bridle him on the DIIY of Resurrection with a bridle of fire."

Sincere guid~ and scholars who have. in the past, shouldered

the respons ibilty of leading reformation, education, guidance, and

cleansing themselves enjoyed, in fact, a great deal ofpcrfcct Islamic

Ullderstanding, and were characterized hy a great deal of fear of

Allah and piety, and abided by the Islamic way, which is the Book

of AIHih and the S,mno/J (traditi o n~) of His Prophet 3;. They also

prese nted a true picture of Islam in their social conduct, their

Islamic understanding, their mission of guidance, and their

educational orientation. They never remain silent about any evil

which they thought was their duty to change, never overlooked a

right which they thought was useful to speak aboul, and never fe ll

behind any holy struggle when the need arose. TheIr abiding by

j urisprudence and the Noble Qur'fln and the Swmoh, lei us listen to

what the major guiding Imflms and scholars have to say:

_ The knowledgeable scholar Imam Shaikh Abdul-Q.ldir AJ-Kiliini

says in his book Af-FathAr-Rabbiinf, p. 29: "Every fact that is not

compatible with Jurisprudcllce is a heresy. Flee to All.lh !iii with

the two wings of tile Book and the SlIImah, Go to Him with your

hand in the hand of the Messenger $_"

_ lm,lm Sahl At-Tastari -;\!ll says, "The principles of our way are

seven: abiding by the Book, follOWing the Smmoh, eating what is

lawful, preventing harm, avoiding wrongdoing, adhering 10

repenlance, and giving everyone his due,"

- Ahul-Yazid At-Ba~!{jmi says, " If you look at a man who was

given blessings until he achieved ascendancy, do not become

dazzled, and try to get to know him in the face of thc commands

of Allah and His prohibitions, observing the Bounds of Allah,

and commitment 10 Sharf'ah regulation, As for the stand in

raising the banner of truth, against untruth, and the Holy

struggle in the way of Alliih, lei us listen to Ihe noble words of

those great scholars from among the leading masters o f

guidance regarding their noble struggle in Jihiid and calling

for the words of Allah and educational reformation.

Here the eminent scholar Abu Zahrah

Sunusi, "When Imam As-Suniisi slarted reformation among

Muslims he began by havmg muridi" (adherents) oriented towards

Jihiid (striving) by practicing j~velin throwing, In this way thcy

kept assailing Ihe Italians for ovcr twenty yea rs at a I,me whcn the

Onoman Empire failed \0 do so,

Again, the eminent scholar Abu Ilasan An-Nadawi in his book

"Rijdl Ad-Deen wa Ad-Va'wah fi AI-Islam" (Thinkers and CallcN;

in Islam) speaks about thc great scholar Shaikh Abdul-Qadir AI-

1115.ni saying, "His followers were over 70,000; and over 5000 lews

and Christians embraced Islam through his endeavor; and over

100,000 avowed repentance to Allah through his preaching, His

succeSSON; and disciples also followed his footsteps in education

and missionary work, with the resu lt of reViving the spirit of "Mil

(striving), and salvation from decadence, and liberation from

foreign rule."

Another instance nf memorable advocates of religious guidancc

is the great Turkish scholar and leader Shaikh 5a'id An-Nawrasi,

whose surname is Badi'-uz-Zaman ~ . This leader began to see

that some of his students and disciples became servile towards him,

as a personification of all religious values, so much that he

admonished them, saying, "Never try to imagine that the truth I

call you to is my personal capability. That truth really em3nates

from the sacred Book of Alliih; and [ am simply a mere guide to

the favors of the All Merciful Allah, Exalted be His Name. Let all

of you know that I am not infallible."

So educators have to look out for such eminent scholars who

3re of similar standards of excellence and try to seek their trust and

guidance for your youth to make sure that they obtain a complete

understanding of religious duties that help them \0 adopt the noble

principles of Islam and the true example of our forefathers and

without any personal traits of the caller himself.

Thus we have 10 beware of leaving Our children to be misled by

those pretentious callers, and ignorant sufists, and gangs of

hypocrites, and how many such pretenders there are loday! So a

leadcr who claims in fallibility fo r himself, or who asks his dise iples

for confession, is an igrlOmnt impostor. Similarly, a caller who

ignores the guidance from the Noble Qur'an and S,mnah, or who

does not clearly inform his followers of the dividing lines between

obedience and sins is also an ignorant impostor. Also a caller who

keeps any religious information, or limits his teachings of ishim to

some religious forms of worship, ignoring important areas like

systems of government and Jihi;,} is also an ignorant impostor.

Finally, a caller who acts hypocritically towards rulers, and is

always in wait of personal favors from them, is also an ignorant

impostor.

•

II. Linking the child ..-ith righteous company

One of the important factors in religious, ethical, social. and

psychological education is the companionship of good people that

provide chi ld ren with thc right attitude, useful knowledge, and

high cthical standards. $Q educators have to make sure to balance

between rel igious orientation and good companionship, since the

lack of such in tegration leads to serious danger

The first of these dangers is duali ty in orientation.

The second is behavioral deviation.

By duality I mean that If the child is brought up from an early

age in a religious atmosphere and then is accompanied by others

who are not adequately oriented towards similar religious goals,

would consequently waver between right and wrong, ending in

bewilderment leading to psychological connict.

What J mean by behavioral deviation is that when the child sees

that his educators ofTer him radically different orientation from

what he fin ds with other groups that are less religiously commitled,

he begins self·qucstioning which leads to bewilderment. So

integration between religious orientation and righteous companionship

is essential for the chi ld's healthy ethical and psychological

personality. Here the educator has to make sure to provide

the child wi th these fou r types of righteous companionship:

1_ Family

2. Local

3. Mosque

4. School or job

1. Companionship Wilhin lhe Family

This refers to the companionship of brothers. sisters. and

relatives for these are the first group with which the child comes in

conwc!. So. it is natural lhat the child begins to acquire habits

from them. So, the educators have to watch the behavior of these

companions to makc sure of their orientation. Here the older

sibling. as is well known, is usually the exemplar ooth In right and

wrong, and thus the innuence is great on the younger members of

the family. So it is vcry important that such companionship is

under close supervision so as to protect children from any possible

deviation. Together w,[h thi~, educators hal'e to be selective in

children's companionship by kccpmg ,t in the sphere of righteous

members of the family, to make sure tlmt companionship helps

towards highly ethical behavior on the part of the younger

children. In the absence of such righteous members, educators have

to advise the older (deVIant) generation to keep away from the

younger children; and then righteous compamonship outside of the

family has to be sought.

2. Local Companionship

It is a well-known f;lct thM many among the younger generation

are far from being well -behaved, as seen and heard from their

modes of trealment to others of the same generation as well as to

older people. They use abusive language and other forms of bad

behavior. So educators bave to choose the right companionship for

children from among neighbors, who would keep them oompany

while going \0 mosques. physical activities, and innocent play.

3. Coml'anionshil' at the Mosque

I-!ere I think it is pertinent 10 mentiol1lhat the mosque and local

companionship is strongly desirable, for little will he gained by local

companionship itself. wIthout the mosque as the center of such

friendship, for as we know. the mosque i~ the main place to worship

Allah. Here also there should he constant encouragemen t for the

children to get into the habit of frequenting the mosques of Allah

for regular prayers. reciting the Qur·an and for religious education.

4. Companionship :It Sc:hool or al Work

Again. here educators are of course aware that sehools in m:my

countries have become a fertile field for devious ideas, false

philosophies, and unconventional ethical values.

These imported ideas seem to have the sole aim of spreading

agnosticism and fighting against Islam by groups of students who

have adopted these ideas in Ihe fonn of the seclS and parties with

which they are affiliated. Some feminine groups have no aim CJ[cept

to attack Ihe modest dress of the Muslim woman, sometimes under

the prelexl of emancipation of women or falscly claiming equality

between men and women. Schools are no! frcc from such

deviations, and few sehool educators adopt correct ethical values

and sound educational concepts.

So educators, in the face of all such deviations, have to try hard

to save their children, during these periods of their growth, by the

careful choice of righteous school communities starting from the

primary, secondary, and continuing up to the university stage. It

would be preferable lhal such sehool communities he the same as

those that the young were attached to in their local and mosque

communities.

Another aspect of child education is that of raising female

children. Since gir l ~ are cmotiool sensi tive and more naturally

inclined towards novelty, these may be the cause of deviation

from the right path, and vee ring away from sound j udgment.

which leads to grave consequences. So gir ls should have a greater

share of their parents" and educators' attention than boys, to

make sure of their righteous upbrin ging. Some of the best ways 10

ra ise girls is [0 encourage them to join Islamic fema le

organisations and male friends of righteous girls of the same

age group. Since such organi sations are not easily fo und, more

care should be taken of girl s.

The same pre<:autions have \0 be taken in job communtics, for

some of these inst itutes have so many worthless companions who

may have embraced a theist or oommunist ideas. Here Islam in sists

on ca reful choice of the jobs and inst itutions for our young, where

they have righteous companionship. In sueh good companionship.

advice is given whcn a member of this community is about to

falte r, and help towards the right path is otTered. Here we have

these noble words of AlIiih '1ft:

Ul,' .71 ~lv: '" i.::: .1 "Ii " ~. , or: -. "'" ., y. ....... '"' rJi <-i'i•. ~_ J_l__._._- : .".. •;.::..: igf 1'"I'' I -I~'i .~.-." ,~~..". . T1.

,I.,{" ' ."j, 'J , ~,' ~,~ 'z: -~ . ,- <::...-" - _f~1 · '· ...... .,{ ,, -'"

'" '-'~ ;;':>V ~I 0~-, -.I~ :>1 ...... ".-,;.1' if ~ J....OI .... -'"-'f W)(;

"And (rememhu) the Day when the Zulim (wrong-d{}er,

(}l'prtssor, polythei.

W{}uld Ihal I had ,aken a path "'ilh the Mcnenger (Muhammad ~)

"Ah! Woe 10 me! Would /hut I hud ne.er tuken so-and-so as a Khalii

(un intimale friend)! " Ill' indeed led me us/ruy from fhe Reminder

(this Qur'un) afteT il hua comc to me. And Shailan (Satan) is 10

mun ereT deser/er in the hour of need." (AI·Furqan, 27-29)

Once more we read these words:

,I. ......,; ,1:1:> .\ ~ ,;.- . ~ . ? .~j.I t C' ' !< ''; l.

'" , _.- " .... "" ~-, . " M/ oJ" T

"His companion (Sulan - dnil) will say: '·Our Lord! I did not pash

him to transgresl, (in disbelief, oppI"eSJion, and e~iI deerb) but he was

himMIf ill error far astray." (QM. 21)

Again, we read these words:

~ C,FH

" Fri.-nds on Ihut Duy I<'ill he foes one to ullolnu excepl A{M,

lIfllqill (pious) - (su V.2:2) . (Az·Zukhruf. 67)

We also read the l!m!illr, narratt"

person adopts tire religion of his close friend; so lei elw)'one of )'01/

look eor.-fully for wlroever he is /lIking as a close friend."

III. Linking the Child '"";th the Call and those ... ho Call to Allah

One of the basic factors of the healthy development of the

personality of the young is to relate them to the Mission of Islam

and its callers, for that helps him to embrace Ihe call 10 Alliih,

,~teadfaslness, and persever.mcc in lhe call for truth. This results in

persistent endeavor that knows no hindrance or obstacles. But how

do we educate children to be callers and what are the stages of

achieving this goal?

I. Ps)'chological Preparation

Thc materials prc:scntcd to the young have \0 transmit the true

picture about PTevalent backwardness of the Muslim world, its loss

of morality, and the common allitude of recklessness and despair

on the part of the majority of its population. The young should

also be acqaintcd with the aggressive attitudes of Zionism and

imperialisim and their incessant conspirucies.

2. Lessons (rom Islamic ~Iislary

Such lessons inculcate the glory of the past and the need for

revivul. This insti lls in their minds the n~"ed far missionary work

and the readiness for sacri fice, regardless af the obslacles.

Our hislory lells us that even after the death of the Messenger

~, and at the beginning of the Caliphate of Abu Bakr ., pagan

tribalism began to re-appear. and many Arabs apostacized. some

31._==================== p,,, Three

of whom refused to pay the Zakiih (poor-dues), wbllc Olhers

stopped performing prayers. So, Abu Bakr took upon hImself 10

fight those who bad apostacized; he even severely reprimanded

Umar, who was not as resolute as AbG Hah , who said, "As a

potentate in pagan times, now become cowilrdly in [slilm! By AII5h

I am going to fight those apostates as long as 1 am able to hold a

sword in my hand ! By Allah, r shall definitely fight tbose who stop

performing prayers or stop giving Zak:ih." Thus, Abu Bah was

able, through this courageous anilllde, 10 saw the world to Islam

and restore unity and stability_

We also learn from OUT hlstory that when the Crusaders

occupied a great deal of Muslim lands and capt ured Jerusalem for

about a century, we find Salah A d - D~-en (Saladin) rising up to

consolidate the Mus lim State and heat the Crusader'S at the Ilallie

of Hittin.

Of course the most noble c~emple is that of I' Tophet himself

who came with the Noble Message fo r all humamty. His

Companions fought in the way of Allah and sacrificed nobly for

the cause or Islam. Then we also hilve such illustnou, leaders like

Al·tj:asan Al- Ba~ri, AI-' lzz Ibn Alxlus-Salam, Mundhir Ibn Sa'id,

A~mad Ibn l:Ianbal. Abu Ghayyath Az-Zfihid, Imam Hasan AIBann,

1. Sayyid Qu!b. among so many others.

3. The Noble Call to Allah

Educators should clarify fo r the young the great rcw

those who call to AlI;"dl and His Ete rnal Me'sage. The nobility of

the callers is emphasized in these noble words:

" "\ , "{ :" ~.~".:.',. .. (: "' j( if- ",'-/'.> .n+-,'J. ..........'..:..-.\..1 l ~~ J.",.. t 0 ,-:j .'.1 '-: '!.l- l. ....: . _ --r ,.. # ....... T

"You ("Ut belie.us in Islamic Monotheism, "nd ualjollowt rs oj

Propht t Muhammod $ ond his Sunnoh) ort tM best ojMopltJ t l'er

ra;ud up jIJr mankind; )"IJU enjlJl'n AI·Mu'ruj (i.t. Islamic

MotlOlheum atld all that Islum has orduitltd) "nd jorbid AI·

Munkar (polytheism, dishelief and all that ldum has forbidden), and

} 'OU beliee" in Aillih:' (A I '[mnin, [ W)

Thus the callers are prosperous and lnumphant in the present

life and in the Hereafter,

~ 1#11; Pi .; 5*) .,..Lii~ 5.V~; ;.1i Jl 5;~ t;1 ~ J:

..: G;'!?il

"Lei there arise out of you a group of people in"iting to all that is

guod ( Islam), enjoining A l-Ma'ruf (i,e, Mamie Monotheism and all

,hat hlam orders One 10 do) andforbidding AI-Mankor (polj'lheism

and disbelief and alllhal Islam has f orbidden) , And il is 'hey who are

Ihe -TUfuSSfUI," (AI 'Imran, 1(4)

Again the Cllllers arc the rairest good doers,

.I. 'I: ~,_ , -'i f ~:~l.l jli"- ~_ ~-L .~J- 9< lJI• 1';;; .,.<..". ..-,.r.. .:,-:.1 .~J"-J -}T.

"And ",ho;s bella in spuch than he ",ho (says: "My Lord is Alliih

(btlie" ~s ;11 llis Olleness):' and then slands firm (acts upon His

Order), and) ill ~;lts (men) TO A lliih 's (ldamic MOIlolheism), alld doe,.

righteous du ds, and says: "I am olle of the Maslims." (Fu~~ilat. 33)

So, the young are made 10 understand that callers to AlIiih arc

rcwardt.-d ror their good deeds, as well as the good deeds of their

rollowers, without any PMt of their own rewards being diminished,

for the Prophet $: said, "Anyone who mils 10 guidam;e will have.

besides his own reward, Ihe reward of all those who follow him,

wi/haul any diminishing of Ihe reward of Ihe fol/owers."

4, The Prcccpl~ of the Mission

Educa tors have to elucidate the precepts of the Mission. Such

principles present the correct wny to proclaim the Mission without

deviation o r loss of insight. These precepts m1ly be summed up 1lS

follows:

i. The caller should be well qunli fied so as to make sure that his

message is in conrormity wi th the Shartah of Islam. Here we

have the Revelation from Alliih,

~ ~;j:-: ~ za;~ 5~ ~Ji .sF j; ji "

Sa)': "Are IhO!;~ ",ho kno'" ~quul /0 thou ",ho kilo", nott" (M __

Zumar, 9)

n, Again there should be conformity between what the caller says

and what he actually does, for then the response on the part of

the followers will be more forthcoming, although many arc

those who can achieve such happy confonnity, and how foolish

are those who ask others to be righteous and forget about

themselves, How true are the words of Allah,

-1 , ))); J ~\ .J.:., ~ ;:E- ~ 5)' :; '1 , .:::::.)); ?_ ~(. ':':~1 t;.1I; "

~..:e:.~

"0 you "'ho heliu~! Wh), do J'(JU SQ)' thQI which you do 1I0t do?

Mosl "iluful il ;s 1i';lh A/liih thaI you say IhQt ,.'hie" you do not

do," (AJ-SaIT, 2-3)

iii. There should be consensus about what is prohibited, or else the

general public may become confused psycologically and

socially, especially in matters which should be decided only by

eminent Imams and jurists_ So, it has been said of old, "Anyone

who imitates a scholar, will be safe when he meets Allih."

iv_ The fight against prohibitions should be gradual, resorting

firstly to giving advice, then reprimanding, then changing with

the hand, and this represents the height of wisdom. Thus Allah

18 says,

~ rd (? ~i .iii n ,:,it.s~.;:;"

"Hl grants Hikmuh 10 lI'hom 1101 pleaus, and he, to ,.'hom lIikmah

is granf~d, iJ indeed grQnleJ Qbu"dQ"t good." (At.Raqarah, 269)

v. Good manners are also an essential prerequisite for calling

people to Islam, fo r a good word is capable of producing a

positive response. So true are the words of Allah,