Encourage your children to learn the Koran
In one of the hadith the God’s Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Each of you is a shepherd and each of you is responsible for his flock. The leader is a shepherd and is responsible for his flock, a man is the shepherd of his family and is responsible for his flock; a woman is the shepherd in the house of her husband and is responsible for her flock, the servant is the shepherd of his master’s wealth and is responsible for it. Each of you is a shepherd and is responsible for his flock.” (Narrated by AlBukhari and Muslim).
Therefore every parent must bring up his children in the proper way and try to educate them in religion from childhood. According to the Islamic scholar As-Suyuti, teaching children the Koran is a fundamental of the fundamentals of Islam. By it the child will grow upon Fitrah (natural Islamic monotheism) and the lights of wisdom will rush to their hearts before the desires are able to settle in them and darken them with the cloudiness of disobedience and misguidance.
This is because the child from an early age will be protected from the temptations of the world and whispers of Satan and will live and grow up among the gathering of Dhikr (remembrance of God) where tranquility and the mercy of God of descends and as a result God will preserve his Fitrah.
The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “No people gather in a house of the houses of Allah (i.e. masjids) reciting the Book of Allah and studying it among themselves, but that tranquility descends upon them, and Allah mentions them to those who are with Him (the lofty gathering of Angels).” (Narrated by Muslim).
Every time your child goes to the mosque to learn the Koran he will have the reward of a perfect Hajj. Abu Umamah Al Bahili narrated, “The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, ‘Whoever goes to the mosque in the morning having no intention except to learn something good or teach it he will have the reward like a person who performs Hajj.’
God the Exalted has also promised abundant rewards for those parents who guide their children to memorise the Koran. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Whoever recites the Koran, learns it and acts according to it will be given a crown of light to wear on the Day of Judgment whose light will be like the sun. His parents will be clothed in two garments that did not exist in this worldly life. So they will ask, ‘What has caused us to be clothed (in these garments)?’ It will be said, ‘Your child taking hold of (i.e. memorising) the Koran has caused this.’” (Narrated by Al-Hakim).
Those parents who give the excuse that their child is weak or does not have good memory or ‘he is not gifted’, should know that God has said in the Koran, “And indeed we have made the Koran easy to remember.” (Sura AlQamar, ayah 17) and the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “For whoever treads on a path in search of Islamic knowledge, Allah will ease the way to Paradise for him.
The Angels will lower their wings, pleased with this seeker of knowledge, and everyone in the heavens and on earth will ask forgiveness for the knowledgeable person and even the fish in the deepest of waters will ask for his forgiveness.” (Narrated by Abu Dawood). If your child is not able to memorize the complete Koran then know that only attending a daily circle for memorisation will suffice for your child to do it. It will accustom him to frequent the places of worship rather than visiting evil gatherings.
Your child will find good companions who will protect him from deviating and adopting evil habits and practices. When the parents leave a righteous child behind them, the child will be a source of reward and blessing for them after their death, for God’s Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “When a man dies, all his good deeds come to an end, except for three cases; the charity of continuous blessings, beneficial knowledge which he leaves behind and a righteous child who prays for him.” (Narrated by Muslim).
MUHAMMAD YUSUF
