Teaching Your Child About Islam

8/14/2019 Teaching Your Child About Islam

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Teaching your Child about Islam

Freda Shamma PhD

Children are born in a state of fitra (purity) and then their parents teach them to be believers or

unbelievers. According to the Musnad Ibn Hanbal, "The children of the unbelievers are better than

you grown-ups. Every living creature is born with a righteous nature." It is our obligation and dutyas

parents to teach our children so that they grow up to be believing, practicing Muslims. Sending the

child to an Islamic weekend school or to a full-time Islamic school is an important but minor part of

their Islamic education. The major 'institution of learning' for each child is his family, and the major

'professors' of this institution are the parents.

ROLE MODELING

The most effective way to teach anything to anybody is to be a role model. This is why Allah sent

human beings as prophets to all peoples. Whether we willingly accept this job or not, it is a fact that

your child learns how to function in life by watching what you do. Even the absent parent is rolemodeling to the degree that a boy, whose father abandoned his family, will probably treat his own

children the same way.

Every time we deal with our children, we are teaching them, whether we intend to or not. There is a

famous poem by an anonymous author that depicts this vividly. It begins:

If a child lives with criticism, he learns to condemn.

If a child lives with hostility, he learns to fight.

If a child lives with ridicule, he learns to be shy.

Therefore we must examine carefully how we deal with our child in order to have a desirable end

result. This same poem continues:

If a child lives with tolerance, he learns to be patient.

If a child lives with fairness, he learns justice.

If a child lives with security, he learns to have faith.

POSITIVE VS. NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT

As the above poem indicates, negative comments and treatment result in negative attributes in our

children, and positive comments and treatment result in positive results. The term 'positive andnegative reinforcement' is popular in modern psychology, but it was advocated by the Qu'ran and

the

actions and sayings of Prophet Muhammad (May Allah's peace and blessings be upon him), 1400

years ago. How do we use positive reinforcement to teach our children?

Young children are basically good. Furthermore they want to please their parents. When you praise

them for their good behavior by telling them that Papa and/or Mama is happy with their action, you

are using positive reinforcement. Unfortunately many parents ignore their child's good actions and

only comment on the bad actions. Let us take an example.

EXAMPLE

Iman is three years old and has a baby brother, Samir, who is one. She gets out her blocks to play


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with and of course Samir crawls over to get involved. She gives him a red block and then proceeds

to build a tower. Samir grows tired of his one block and tries to get more. In the process he knocks

down the tower. Iman reacts angrily and grabs all the blocks and tells her brother that he can't play

with any of the blocks. Her mother hears her and shouts at her angrily, "Iman you are a bad girl not

to share with your brother. Give him some blocks!

Iman did two actions concerning her brother: 1. She gave him a block and 2. She took the blocksaway. She received attention from her mother for the bad actions. This teaches her that if she wants

attention from her mother, she should NOT share.

How else could the mother have handled it? If she had praised Iman when she first shared ("Iman,

what a nice sister you are, to share with your brother. I'm so happy to see you do that."), then Iman

would remember that her doing good resulted in her mother's attention. When her brother knocks

over her blocks, her first inclination will probably be to grab all the blocks but if her mother is there

to console her and encourage her to try again ("Oh Iman, it's too bad that Samir knocked over your

blocks. He was trying to play with you, but he is too little to be good at making towers. Why don't

you build a little tower for him to play with, and then you can build a big one for yourself."), then

she will happily give him more blocks. She will want to share next time as well because that actiongot her mother's attention.

INTEGRATING ISLAM INTO LIFE

One of the most important aspects of raising your children to be Muslims is to introduce the idea

that Allah is also happy with their good actions. If you say that what they did or are doing is making

you and Allah happy, then the child begins to associate good behavior with acting for the pleasure

of

Allah, which in a nutshell, is exactly what being a good Muslim involves. Can you say anything

better of a believer other than that he/she does everything fi sabillah (for the sake of Allah)?

BAD CHILDREN

The child who errs is forgiven by Allah, and if he dies in childhood, he automatically goes to

heaven. This mercy of Allah should guide us as we guide our children. It is not necessary to make

the child fearful of Allah or fearful of going to hell. In fact, this approach is counter productive - it

often achieves the very result we are trying to avoid. Stressing the negative and the punishment

makes the child want to avoid anything to do with the religion. He or she grows up thinking that it

is religion that keeps him from enjoying life.

ATTRIBUTES OF ALLAH

When you are talking to children under the age of twelve, stress the characteristics of Allah that will

give him security and assurances as he grows and encounters fearful situations and unknowns. He

needs to be aware of the many blessings Allah has given to him to help him enjoy and cope with his

life. And he needs to understand which actions Allah will be pleased with, rather than worry over

punishment for mistakes he knows he will make.

ISLAM AND DAILY LIFE

Too often when parents think about talking to their children about Islam, they concentrate on the

ritual of the five pillars. They teach them how to make salat (required prayer), and they teach themsome short Qur'anic surat (chapters). These are important, but don't forget that Islam is a total way

of life, and every aspect has an Islamic element that you need to talk about and demonstrate for


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your child. When the father goes off to work, the mother can say 'Good bye' or she can say

'Assalamu alaikum' and add its meaning in English, 'may Allah's peace be with you". As she and the

young child start to do something together, she can mention that the father is doing what Allah says

a good father should do - working to take care of the family. She can also mention, and the father

should also mention it frequently, that she is trying to please Allah by doing many things to help

her child and the

family. When the child helps her mother clean off the table, the mother should mention that Allah ispleased with children who help their parents. Mentioning the Islamic aspect does not imply nor

suggest that you need to deliver lectures about Islam to your child. No child wants to sit still long

enough to hear a lecture about anything. The effective teaching comes as short comments or stories

that point out the Islamic nature of the action. When the parents pay zakat (yearly compulsory tax),

they should mention the fact to their children. When they visit the sick, they should quote a Qur'anic

ayah (verse) or hadith (story about Prophet Muhammad) which indicates that this action pleases

Allah. When there are two ways that a child can respond to a situation, the parent can mentions

nicely which way will be pleasing to Allah.

The constant reference to Allah, the constant encouragement to do what is right, and the constant

praise and positive reinforcement for doing the right actions, will focus your child on the right path.

ADOLESCENCE

As our children reach adolescence, they begin to question what they have been taught, especially if

most of the youth they associate with are non-Muslims, or non-practicing Muslims.

If you have already established a positive relationship with your youth, then your teenage child will

come to you with his/her questions and concerns. Do not mistake these questions and worries as a

rebellion against you or against their religion. They see the kids at school dating, and it looks like

fun. 'Why shouldn't we date?' they wonder. Be happy that your youth feels comfortable coming to

you with these issues.

If you have not established a positive relationship with your child by this time, you will probably

have a big problem on your hands, because your youth will have the same questions, but he won't

come to you for a discussion about them. He will be seeking his answers from his friends, and if his

friends are not actively practicing Muslims, he may be getting answers that go against Islam.

Why do some parents and youth have a positive relationship and others do not? There are at least

two important factors here: time and what kind of time? Did the parents spend time with their

children as they were growing up? Did they make a practice of asking their children about their

school, their friends, their opinions on various things, and then LISTEN to their answers?

Remember positive reinforcement? What kind of time do the parents spend with their children? Is it

based on positive reinforcement, or does the child expects to hear angry and negative comments

every time he/she tries to talk to a parent?

EXAMPLE

Thirteen year Omar is fasting for his second year, during Ramadan. One Saturday he and another

Muslim, Adnan, go to a non-Muslim friend's house to play. At one o'clock, Omar phones home to

tell his mother, " Johnny keeps asking us to eat lunch. We told him we're fasting and he should go

ahead,but he says if we don't eat, he won't either. Adnan says if I break my fast, he will too. What should I

do?"


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"I can't believe you're asking me that," complains his mother. "Allah is going to punish you if you

don't fast! You know better than that? Why can't you act like a good Muslim. Your father and I have

taught you better than that!"

How often will Omar asks his mother any questions after a response like that? By assuming that his

behavior is negative and giving negative reinforcement, you can be sure that Omar is not likely toask his mother for help again. Instead, imagine if his mother answered this way:

"You did the right thing by phoning when you weren't sure. But I think you already know what you

should do. What do you think is the right thing to do?"

Omar answers, "I think I should say no, I'm going to keep fasting."

"You are exactly right," answers his mother. "I'm so proud of you for the way you are thinking."

EVALUATING THE NEGATIVE

When you have discussions with your youth, you may be alarmed at his rudeness, or his apparent

rejection of everything you say. He may even tell you that you are stupid or you don't understand, or

you don't care about him. This does not mean what it sounds like. It means that he does not feel

comfortable with the answers he is getting. Maybe what you say is opposite to what he is feeling at

that moment, or maybe he has given that answer to his non-Muslim friends and they have rejected

that opinion.

Although it is very hard, remain kind and positive with your youth. It really hurts the parent to hear

these comments, but they are not really aimed at the parent, but at the thinking process he/she is

now undertaking.

During your discussions with your youth, you will now want to include both positive and negative

reinforcement. 'Yes', you may agree with your youth, 'it is very difficult not to drink when everyone

else is, but remember that Allah will reward you for your good behavior, and remember His

punishment if you follow someone other than Allah.'

When there are so many unIslamic forces putting pressure on your youth, he now needs to

understand that Allah will hold him accountable for his actions. Allah will help if the youth ask Him

for help, and he will be rewarded for following the right path, but accountability also means he will

receive punishment for his bad deeds.

Life is too difficult to do by oneself. The young child has his parents who protect him, and

encourage him and who 'know everything'. Then he/she grows up and discovers that mother and

father don't really know everything. Furthermore at school he/she is hearing and seeing other

philosophies of

life, and the selfish, materialistic one most readily seen at school seems like fun, and besides,

'everyone else is doing it'. How is the youth supposed to figure out who is right? It is a difficult time

for him/her, and it is up to the parents to be supportive, to encourage discussions, to make

allowances for mistakes, but at the same time, to remain firm in their teaching of Islamic values.

SEVERAL ISSUES INVOLVED

While teaching and talking to our children about Islam, we need to be aware of certain hidden

issues. These are secular vs. religious actions, facts vs. behavior and acquiescence vs. critical


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thinking. These issues affect our thinking and acting although few of us are aware of them.

SECULAR VS. RELIGIOUS

Hina was an attractive fifteen-year- old with a slender, attractive figure. She attended the Islamic

weekend classes on a regular basis, wearing very short skirts and skintight sweaters. The teacher

mentioned to her mother that she might want to encourage her daughter to dress more Islamicallybecause her way of dress would attract undesired attraction of the boys at school.

"Hina, you have to change the way you are dressing. It's unIslamic. No more short skirts and you

have to wear overlarge sweaters to hide your shape!" scolded her mother.

"Who are you to say anything?" responded Hina angrily. "Look at yourself, your dress is up to your

knees and I can see everything about your shape!"

Hina's mother has a split personality when it comes to religion. On one hand she prays her prayers

and fasts during Ramadan. On the other hand she likes to be 'fashionably' dressed when she

interacts with non-Muslims. She reads the Qur'an most evenings, but spends her afternoongossiping with her

friends. What is her daughter learning?

Hassan is no better off with his father, who takes him to the weekend Islamic classes but tells him

he can skip Juma because his academic studies are more important. Hassan's father is a leader in the

Muslim community, but Hassan overhears him bragging to his friends about how he cheated on his

income tax and got away with it.

If we as parents pick and choose which aspect of Islam to apply and which to omit from our own

lives, we can hardly expect our children to live purely Islamic lives. If Hina's mother chooses her

clothing based on what her non Muslim associates are wearing, then of course Hina will demand the

same right, even though her mother feels like her clothes are too short or too tight. The question is,

who is the authority and who has the right to decide? If it is Allah who has the right to decide, then

parents have no right to pick and choose which practices they will follow. If it is the individual who

decides, then children have as much right as their parents, once they reach puberty. Parents who

think differently will have their youth point this out to them (if they are on speaking terms). For

sure the youth will be thinking this. If you know you are not following what Allah orders, you can

attempt to change your own behavior, admit to your youth that you are also still growing in your

faith, and tell them frankly that you are trying to help them on the right path now because it will

make their life

easier and better. Then you will need to point out the times when your deviation from Islamic valueshas caused problems for you.

If you choose to ignore this aspect, most likely your children will choose to ignore your advice.

FACTS VS. BEHAVIOR

This aspect has already been alluded to in this paper, but it needs a bit of explanation. We expect the

masjid (mosques) classes to teach our children how to read the Qur'an in Arabic, but not to

understand what it means. We expect the masjid to teach our children how to pray, how to fast, etc.

but NOT HOW TO LIVE, how to behave.

These are facts, not behavior. Many children know how to pray; very few feel the need to pray

because they understand its importance. Quite a large number of children know how to read the


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Qur'an. Only a few read the Qur'an in order to understand what it is saying, or in order to answer

their

questions.

Islam is a complete way of life. The facts (the 5 pillars, the biography of Prophet Muhammad) are

useful when they help the person learn how and why they should do something. The fact that

Prophet Muhammad lived 1400 years ago is a fact. By itself, that fact is worthless. The fact, that helived as

a Muslim in a city where Muslims were few and persecuted, is worthless until it helps us realize

that if he and the early Muslims could flourish in that setting, then so can we. When we teaching

our children about Islam, we need to teach them how to behave, not just to memorize facts. Instead

of giving them lists of facts to learn, set them an example and mention the Islamic connection while

you are doing it. You visit someone who is sick; mention that this is an Islamic requirement, discuss

with your child why it is good to do this act. Make sure you visit with sick people who are not part

of

your cultural group and non-Muslims as well. One important lesson for your child to learn is that

Islamic behavior is good for everyone, even non-Muslims.

Watch TV with your children, especially the pre-teens. Don't preach, but discuss the behavior of the

characters in the sitcom (comedy). Make comments like, 'Aren't you glad you're a Muslim so you

don't have that problem' (concerning problems with dating, drinking, etc.)

Initiate discussions with your children. Bring up situations like, 'What should you do if a friend in

school is out sick for a week?" It is extremely important to really listen to what your children are

saying. They know in a second if your mind is preoccupied with something else. When you ask for

their opinion, really listen to their answer, and make your next comment reflect theirs.

ACQUIESCENCE VS. CRITICAL THINKING

Many parents grew up in areas where colonizing rulers maintained schools for acquiescence. That

is, pupils were taught to repeat exactly what the teacher told them. If the test question asked for 3

reasons why it is good to brush your teeth, the answer had to be the exact three reasons that the

teacher had told them in class. The pupil is not supposed to think; he is supposed to accept

everything without questioning. This is too often the way we teach our children about Islam. Do this

action because Islam says you have to. Do this exactly the way I say because every other way is

haram. Our children need to learn that there are two kinds of knowledge, that which is revealed and

that which is humanly acquired. Knowledge revealed in the Qur'an and hadiths is unchanging and

unarguable. Knowledge that is derived from our five senses and our own thinking is subject to error

and can and should bequestioned.

North American schools, including good Islamic schools, stress critical thinking. For children who

grow up here, it is not sufficient to say you have to do this because I say so. You can expect your

children to honor and obey you because Islam requires obedience to parents, but you must also

explain and discuss why you are asking for their obedience. Your youth should be required to pray,

because Allah says for them to pray, but you must also be open and willing to discuss why Allah

would ask us to do that. What are the possible benefits of praying, what should you do if you feel

like the prayer is empty of meaning to you, and so on. These questions don't mean your youth are

turning away from Islam; they mean that your youth are thinking seriously about their religion. One

of the most wonderful things about Islam is that because it is the truth, it can stand up to the mostcritical of questions.


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Parents must also learn to acknowledge that they make mistakes, and they are ignorant of certain

answers. Your child does not have the right to expect you to be able to explain every Islamic

injunction. He/she does have the right to expect you to give an honest and open response to their

questions. When you tell your youth, "That's an important question. I don't know the answer. Let's

see if we can find out what the Qur'an says about it." then you have created an open, honest

exchange of thoughts with your youth.

Discuss Islam with your children from the time they are young, stressing the positive, and

encouraging them to speak frankly and freely to you. Be an Islamic role model for them. By the

time they have emerged from their troubling, questioning adolescence, you will have children who

have actively embraced Islam, and who want to be Muslim because they know that it will make

their life better in this world, and in the hereafter, in shaa Allah (Allah willing).

This paper was first presented at the Annual Convention of the Islamic Society of North America,

Chicago, Sept. 2, 2000.

Dr. Freda Shamma has her doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction, which she received from the

University of Cincinnati. She has worked on curriculum development in several Muslim countriesas well as for Islamic schools in North America. Currently she is the Director of Curriculum

Development for FADEL (Foundation for Advancement and Development of Education and

Learning) in Cincinnati, Ohio. Her latest publication can be found in Muslims and Islamization in

North America: Problems and Prospects, ed. Amber Haque. Amana Publications.

Dr. Shamma has five children, the oldest of whom is married with two children, and the youngest is

in high school. All of her children are active in Islamic work, and particularly active in MYNA,

Muslim Youth of North America.

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Teaching Your Child About Islam