Resources for Lessons for your Children

While I was preparing my lessons to start teaching the beginning of this year I came across a website called The International Board of Educational Research and Resources. They had a wide range of lessons from adaab to fiqh. They also had Skills for Life lessons from ages 3 to 16 and syllabi from Primary School to High School.

If you are really eager to start teaching your children Islamic Studies from home and you don't know where to start then it would be ideal to print out their syllabi and start working from there.

Oh Women...Put Allah First

We are living at a time where it seems that we just cant find contentment. However Allah has said it very very clear in the Qur'an:

"Only in the Rememberance of Allah can the heart find peace"

[Surah Ar-Ra'd: 28]

I truly believe that the only way we will ever find contentment is when we make space for Allah in our hearts. Our hearts are so filled with the material things of this world and the duties to everyone else that we have no space left for Allah. We often make the mistake of putting our husbands and children first in our lives....dont get me wrong there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. What I mean, for example, is that we are so busy trying to get the supper on the table in time or so busy with helping the children do their homework that we dont make our salaah on time anymore. Our salaah has no quality anymore because we are always rushing to get done so that we may see to the family. We think we are doing good by putting our families above Allah hoping that by constantly being there for them our family will be perfect. But in fact we got it all wrong if you put Allah first then Allah will make sure to look after your family.

Now with all of these "other" things that is filling up our heart we have no space left for Allah. The only way that we will have space for Allah is if we place him first in our heart then everything else. Only then will everything fall into place.

Skills for Life - Creating Good Habits

It is very important to start instilling into your child good habits such as good manners (whether its at the table or socialy), keeping the body clean and using the toilet correctly, etc. When starting at a young age it gives them loads of time to practice so that it may eventually become a habit. Therefore when they reach age 8 (the age when they should start making salaah) the good practices are already embedded in their everyday lifestyle.

However, when teaching your children the good practices of using the toilet correctly or when cleansing themselves parents must make it their duty to continualy check that they have done it properly. Do not assume that if you told them once or twice that now they will start doing it on their own because sometimes they are having such a good time playing that when they need the toilet they will sometimes forget to clean themselves because they want to go back to playing immediately :)...believe me I have 22 nieces and nephews and I have seen it :). I know it sounds like a tiring job but it will be the best for the child.

While teaching your child these good practices also emphasise how important cleanliness is in Islam and how it is linked with everything else like making salaah, reading the Qur'an, etc. Tell them how much Allah likes us to keep ourselves nice and clean.

The key to Jannah is the salaah and the key to salaah is cleanliness.

With regards to the table manners or social manners like respect to other people or saying your P's or Q's parents should not take it lightly. Good manners is part and parcel of being a good Muslim. Every Muslim is an ambassador for Islam and through our good mannerisms and conduct we invite people to Islam....everybody looks up to people with good manners.

When a child is showing ill table or social manners he/she must be reprimanded. "Empty threats" should not be made but carried through. Our children are much more smart than what we think. A parent makes a threat and the child doesnt take it seriously because he knows that his parent won't do anything and he does it over and over again.

Because of how much we love our children we don't really want to scold or reprimand them but to discipline them is very important. We think that by always giving in to our children and not reprimanding them when they do something wrong that that is a sign of love. We are so scared that if we scold our children they are going to love us less. There should be a balance in the love for our children and by throwing in a little discipline we can achieve that.

They cannot yet see the bigger picture. Disciplining them prepares them to be better adults, better husbands and wives and better mothers and fathers and in turn better ambassadors for Islam. Do not raise your children for yourselves but instead raise them for Islam.

Take Advantage of your Child's Young Brain

Studies show that children have a much better memory. At this stage of their life you should take advantage of their good memory by teaching them the basic recitations that is needed when you make salaah (prayer) for example Surah Al-Fatihah, some short surahs, the Tashahud and the recitations in the ruku, sujood and i'tidaal.

Other sayings that should be taught are sayings like the du'a when you enter and leave the bathroom, the du'a before you should eat and the kalima shahaadah before going to bed.

I know this sounds much but as they say Rome was not built in a day. So thats why you should start young and the easiest way is just to let them say it as much as they can. Whether you take out an hour in the day, or just do it randomly during the day like when they are helping you in the kitchen or when they are driving around in the car with you. Repetition and the help of Allah is the key. And Insha-Allah you will hear them reciting it all by themselves sooner than you think. :)

I teach at a local Islamic school and I was very surprised to see that the children in the grade 1-3 classes have memorised much more than the teenagers im teaching at the moment and that is because every single day since they started their Islamic schooling at the beginning of the year their teacher let them recite what was required of them.

Teach your Children to Love Allah from a Young Age

The best time to teach your children to love Allah is from a young age. When teaching them about Allah it is best to only speak about positive things for example Jannah (paradise) and all the things that Allah will give them if they are good, how much Allah loves us, how much Allah wants to be our friends, how merciful and forgiving Allah is.

It is not in the childs best interest to scare them into doing those things that they should do. For example we should not continue saying that Allah will punish you if you dont do this or Allah will put you in Jahannam (hell) if you dont do that because the child will just end up thinking that Allah is just one big monster who wants to throw everyone into Jahannam; when in fact Allah is totally the opposite.

This makes me think of how the Qur'an was revealed and why it was revealed over a period of 23yrs. The Qur'an is divided into Makkan surahs, surahs revealed in Makkah, and Madinan surahs, surahs revealed in Madinah.

When Islam was still new to the people, during the time in Makkah, all those surahs speak about how beautiful Jannah is, how merciful and forgiving Allah is and how Allah loves and provides for us. This was done to first establish the faith in the hearts of the people. Once their faith was established Allah sent down the Madinan surahs, which was revealed after the migration from Makkah to Madinah, and most of these verses contain the laws of Allah. This method of revelation has made it easier for the people to accept the laws once it was revealed because their faith has already been established.

In the same breath we can say that Islam is new to children and therefore this will be a good method to use.