Some tips that successful parents shared on raising good Muslim children:
1. Dua, Dua, Dua
‘None of this is from us,’ insists one mother of three UC Berkeley graduates who have never voluntarily missed a single prayer. ‘Everything begins and ends with dua. It is only by Allah’s generosity that we have been blessed with believing children; we had nothing to do with it.’
2. Social Company
The type of friends you keep as a parent has an impact on your child. One parents shares, ‘Once our kids were born, we avoided friends who partied and played poker. Our social gatherings are now the type where both the respected elders and the innocent children feel welcome and comfortable.’
A scholar advises, ‘If you sleep with the dogs, don’t be surprised if you get fleas.’
3. The Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam
Successful parents make the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam a living, breathing reality in their homes. ‘We didn’t minimize any sunnah in our home,’ one father says. ‘Once you start to think, ‘Oh, that sunnah isn’t a big deal; we can ignore it’, you’ve entered dangerous territory. What comes next?’
A sister in California had an English translation of Shamail Tirmidhi on her six year old’s beside table. She explained that it was part of their son’s bedtime ritual for her husband to share one hadith from lifestyle of the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam. ‘Learning intimate details, like the fact the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam enjoyed eating dates with cucumbers, makes our son feel like he actually personally knows the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam.’
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