Wg. Cdr.
(Retd.) M. Syed
Introduction:
Islam has set a
great value on education. Various Hadith emphasise this aspect of Islamic
activity. It is recorded in Tirmidhi and Sahih that the Holy Prophet (ﷺ) has said:
(i) "A
Father can confer upon his child no more valuable gift than a good
education."
(ii) "it
is better that a man should secure an education for his child than that he
bestows a Sa’ in charity".
The Quran says
in sura (58-11) "Allah will exalt those who believe among you, and those
who have the knowledge, to high ranks. The Qur'an has thus made
knowledge one of the two most fundamental pillars of the pursuit of greatness
by human communities.
The Holy
Prophet (ﷺ) has
made the pursuit of education for the acquisition of knowledge obligatory for
every Muslim, man and woman. Hence, the Islamic society is an educated
society.
ALLAH, in His
infinite benevolence, has made the job of the parents, of this educated
society, easy to transmit faith and education to their progeny. Let us see how:
The Genesis:
And God created
all the souls (ARWAH) of the period from Adam (A.S.) to the Day of
Resurrection. And inscribed on the heart, the soul of man the covenant of
Monotheism. Thus has, the covenant of Monotheism been inscribed, not like the
covenant of Israel upon tablets of stone, but impressed on the heart and soul
of all mankind.
The Holy Qur'an
says in sura (7:172): "And recall the time (in the world of spirits) thy
Lord brought forth from the children of Adam their posterity from their backs
and (after endowing them with sufficient intelligence and understanding) made
them testify as to themselves saying:—
"Am I not
your Lord?"
"They
said: yea, verily (thou) art! We testify. That was lest ye should say on the
Day of Resurrection verily of this we have been unaware."
Thus, every child born arrives with his heart and soul duly stamped with the Covenant of
Monotheism. Then WHY do some Muslim children (or, most of them) fly off the
tangent and fail to qualify as practicing Momins when they grow up?
An attempt has been made in this article to determine the role of parents and the remedy, in a wide spectrum. May be it is due to the lack of information among the spouses and potential parents about their rights and responsibilities ordained in the Holy Qur'an and mentioned in the Hadiths. A quick resume, therefore, follows to help them to fresh up.
The Prologue:
Parent's Preparation for their Role:
A Muslim youth
marries a Muslim girl by the ceremony of Aqd-e-Nikah: Aqd, literally, is a
contract, a compact, a covenant, or an engagement. Thus the word "Aqood"
mentioned in AI-Maida (V-l) may mean "contracts" etc., or
obligatory statutes, or ordinance of God, and those imposed mutually by men
agreeably with the requirement of the religion. These "compacts"
comprehend all duties towards God and man. The contracting parties have to
fear God, keep clear of sins and transgressions as they have already kept clear
of idolatry and paganism. They have to die ONLY as Muslims, full of faith,
perfect in conduct and strict in the observance of the Law. (Al-e-Imran: 102).
They have to
beware of their duties towards God in whose name they importune each other,
demand of one another their rights and their dues. The "Wombs" (mentioned
in An-Nisa: 1) has a direct reference to the high status of motherhood and
wifehood in Islam. They have to remember ALLAH is ever watching over them and
over their dealings with one another. They are accountable for every
engagement, big or small, that they may have entered into consistent with the
Law. Says the Holy Qur'an: (Bani lsrael: 34): "And fulfil the covenant.
Verily the covenant shall be asked about."
The spirit of
the covenant of Aqd-e-Nikah can be comprehended from (i) verse 21 of 30 (Rome)
which says: "And of HIS signs is this: HE created for you from yourselves
espouses that ye may find repose in them, and HE set between you affection and
mercy. Verily herein are signs for a people who ponder."
Commenting on
the above-mentioned verse Maulana Abdul Majid Daryabadi writes that the word
"Letaskonoo" connotes companionship and mutual love, which is
distinct from mere sexual pleasure. This determines the proper status of the wife
in Islam. She is not a handmaid, but a life-long companion of her husband, his
concert. Her function is to be, by her words, acts, or by her mere presence, a
source of comfort and solace to him. She must constitute the chief consoling,
soothing element of his life. And a relation of affection, harmony, and mutual
happiness and goodwill ought to subsist between man and wife which ought to be
even truer and deeper motives of marriage than mere sexual harmony.
(ii) Part of
verse 187 sura AI-Baqara says......"they are a garment unto you, and ye
are a garment unto them... "So close and intimate, in Islam, are the
mutual relations of man and wife that they are called "Lebas"
(garment, raiment). They are for mutual support, mutual comfort, and mutual
protection, fitting each other as a garment. A garment is also for show and
concealment. Each should, therefore, reflect the dignity and decency of the
other. Thus should each of them prepare themselves for their role as parents.
It is thus that
the couple are united in holy wedlock — and are made aware of their rights, duties,
obligations, towards God and towards themselves, and their children.
Conjugal bliss
has, however, to begin with, the niyyah of seeking the pleasure of ALLAH
SUBHANAHOO as ordained in the Holy Qur'an (sura: AL-Baqara: 187):
"Wherefore now copulate with them (the pronoun "them" refers to
"Your women"), and seek that which ALLAH hath prescribed for
you)."
One of the main
objects of the union of man and wife is thus seen to be procreation. And with a
solemn prayer from the Hadith of the Holy Prophet (ﷺ)
that ALLAH may bless them with a child. HE may also keep them and their child
aloof from the influence of Satan.
Commenting on
Verse 74 of sura AL-Furqan (XXV) of the Holy Qur'an which says: "Our Lord:
grant unto us the comfort of our eyes from our wives and our offspring, and
give us (the grace) to lead the righteous, "Or. Fazlur Rahman Ansari
(R.A.) writes: "Now, for the offspring to be 'comforts of one's eyes, It
is necessary that they should be good in every way; and that they would not be
normally so unless the parents exert to their full to the building up their
children in all aspects of their lives and to the highest stature."
So, all
enlightened, God-fearing parents, jointly and severally, should engage themselves
in the virtuous act of indoctrinating, educating, and training their children
which ALLAH grants them as the comfort of their eyes, and keep a strict"
watch on their own conduct, behaviour and attitudes as the units of heredity
(genes) in chromosomes, controlling a particular inherited characteristic of
the parents, get transferred to their child also.
Indoctrination
of the new-born child:
The child
arrives at the due time with his heart and soul already embossed by ALLAH with
the covenant of Monotheism. Soon after his birth an Islamic name like Muhammad,
Aisha, Fatima, etc., should be given to the child and his indoctrination should
begin with the words of the Azan called towards his right ear, and the words of
Takbir-e-salat said towards his left ear: Thus embedding in his sub-conscious
mind the idea of a call to salat and regular performance of salat for ever and
forever in his life.
It is Mustahab
(desirable) that on the seventh day of the child's birth the AQIQA
(hair-cutting together with the sacrifice of an animal) should be performed,
and the child should receive his full name and made secure against all harm.
The basic,
fundamental, element of Islamic indoctrination communicated to him, it is now
for the parents to pray to ALLAH to give them the grace to lead the righteous
by continuing to do acts and deeds that will bring them bliss in this world and
salvation in the Hereafter, and the mighty achievement of obeying ALLAH and HIS
apostle as tutors and guides of their children.
The Holy Qur'an
says that "the child is a gift from God' — "a trust". The parents may,
therefore, now proceed to groom this trust" into a practising Momin on the
lines suggested herein below:
THE ELEMENTARY CURRICULUM
(a) When the
child starts practising he should be gradually taught the Kalema-i -Tayyiba, in
small bits, like La-Ilaha-Illallah, Muhammad-ur-Rasool-ALLAH.
(b) When the
child starts speaking he should be taught, orally, the under-mentioned verses
from the Holy Qur'an:
(i) The Ayat-ul-Kursi
(AI-Baqara-: 255):
"ALLAH:
There is no God save Him, the Alive, the Eternal. Neither slumber nor sleep
overtaketh Him. Unto HIM belongeth whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever
is in the earth. Who is he who intercedeth with HIM save by HIS leave? He
knoweth that which is in front of them and that which is behind them, while
they encompass nothing of His knowledge save what HE will. His throne includes
the heavens and the earth, and HE is never weary of preserving them. HE is the
sublime, the Tremendous."
(ii) Hazrat
Anas (R.D.A.) has reported that when a child of the Bani Abdul Muttalib tribe
was able to speak, the Holy Prophet (ﷺ)
used to teach him to verse III of XVII (Bani Israel) viz:—
"And say:
Praise be to ALLAH who begets no son and has no partner in (His) dominion: Nor
(needs) He any to protect Him from humiliation: yea, magnify HIM for HIS
greatness and glory."
(iii) Verse 116.
AI-Mamoon 23: "Exalted is ALLAH, the king in truth; There is no God but
Him, the Lord of the stately Throne of Heaven"...
(iv) Verse 23.
AI-Hashr 59: "HE is ALLAH, than whom there is no other God, the Sovereign
Lord, the Holy One, the keeper of the faith, the Guardian, the Majestic, the
Compeller, the Superb, Glorified be ALLAH from all that they ascribe as
partners (unto HIM)".
(v) Verse 24.
AI-Hashr 59: "HE is ALLAH, the Creator, the Shaper out of nought, the
Fashioner. HIS are the most beautiful names. All that is in the heavens and the
earth glorifieth Him, and HE is the Mighty, the Wise."
Depending on
the child's intelligence and quickness on the uptake, the parents may vary the
serial order of the Verses given above to suit the child.
(c) At age 4 plus the child's Bismillah
ceremony should be performed. He should be inducted into reading the Holy Qur'an,
gradually, bit by bit.
It may be
mentioned here that the Momins were asked by the Holy Prophet (ﷺ) not
only to read the Holy Qur'an but also to memorise it. Their children will have
made a fine start in this regard if the parents start them off on the lines
suggested above. It has been said that those who teach their children so, will
not be brought to judgement by God.
(d) When the
child is 5 plus: In consonance with the Hadith and in keeping with the
philosophy of "Dynamic Orthodoxy" so ably and eminently propounded by
Dr Fazlur Rahman Ansari (R.A.) the child should now be admitted into class I
of a "Maktab-School". That is an institution that combines in its portals
the essential rudiments of theological influences with the modern subjects — where Islamic subjects and practices are
happily blended with the appropriate teachings of the exact sciences also.
(e) When the
child is 7:
(i) With the
parental influences continuing, the teacher now takes over and he must begin to
instruct the boy systematically in the Qur'an itself.
(ii) The
teaching of the Qur'an should be combined with instruction in the more
important religious precepts and usages.
(iii) The proper
response to Adhan. (iv) The different kinds of washings, (v) The prayers in the
mosque to which children should be taken (by parents also) whenever possible,
(vi) The children must, without fail, be familiarised with the practice of
salat-al-Jumaa, even in the school, where one of the older boys should act, for
the time, as Imam in prayers.
(vii)
Instruction in reading, writing, also must, of course, be proceeded with.
(viii)
Concurrently with exercises in reading and writing from the Holy Qur'an, the
pupils should be taught the rudiments of Arithmetic and a beginning should be
made for the teaching of the physical and social sciences.
(ix) The
reading syllabus should include Ahadith-al-Nabaviya (Legends of the Prophet (ﷺ) and
anecdotes from the fives of Godly men (Hikayat-al-Saliheen).
Caliph Omar
AI-Farooq (R.D.A.) is reported to have counselled parents, regarding the
subjects which should have a place in the education of children, in these
words: Teach your children to swim and to throw darts; charge them that they
must be able to mount a horse securely, and make them recite appropriate
verses."
And finally: His father" gives him in marriage. He grasps him by the hand and says: "My son I have trained you and had you taught, and I have given you in marriage: Now I beseech God for help against your temptation in this world, and against your being punished in the Last Judgment."
Conclusion: What is worth doing is, indeed, worth doing well, so that we parents really deserve, this sincere prayer from our children:
"My Lord! Bestow on them Thy Mercy even as they (tenderly) cherished me (when I was) young." (XVII-24).
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