Parenting

Sound education and good manner are among the important responsibility on the parents, it is the Right of the child that Islam has made compulsory on the parents. Child of this stage before his maturity and age of reasoning, he is in need of condensed education and additional struggle.

Imam Ali bn Al-Hussein (peace be upon him) said: "As to the Right of your child .... you are responsible for his guidance, in good manner, guiding to his Lord and support him in obeying Allah, it is incumbent on him and his child and he will be rewarded or punished for that, then act in his issue an embellish action for good effect on him in the instant world, to be excused before His Lord for what is between you and him with a nice name teaching good manner and learning Qur'an" 216.

The criticality of this stage is more need than other stages because the child is passing through, the parent need divine protection to take vital responsibility of training. Imam Ali bn Al-Hussein (peace be upon him) said: "O' Allah favor me by surviving my child .... Control for me the younger ones among them ....... rectify for me their body, their religion and their ethics..... And make them men of obedience, Allah's fearing and percipients.... assist me in educating them, training them and doing good to them.... protect me and my progeny from the cursed devil" 217.

The narrations has emphasize that one should undertake the education and good manner.

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his descendants) said: "Honor your children and give them good training" 218.

The Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) said: "Verily the child has Right on his father and also the father has Right on the child, obeying the father in every thing except in disobeying Allah is the father's Right on the child, the child's Right on the father is to give him good name, good training and to teach him Qur'an" 219.

Training of this stage is more important than any other stages because the child's instinct is still fair and pure and accepts what will deliver to him in directives, guidance and advices before it will be polluted and intensification of the pollution. It is incumbent on the parents to utilize the opportunity to take the responsibility of educating him.

Imam the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) in his Will to Imam Al-hassan (peace be upon him) said: ".... Verily new mind is like that of empty earth, it accept anything throws to it, hurry to train the heart before it becomes hard, engage your mind to receive with seriousness your view which has suffice you by people of experience in his experience and purpose ....." 220.

He (peace be upon him) said: "Educate yourself and your families with goods and trained them" 221.

In reality the training system that we want to establish is that of Islamic system that rotates round the servitude and obedience to Allah the most High in all aspects of life.

Imam Jaafar bn Mohammad Assadiq (peace be upon him) said: "Do good acts and remind your families of it and educate them for obedience of Allah" 222. He (peace be upon him) said: "Ordered them for what Allah has commanded for and restrain them from what Allah has restrained them from" 223.

These traditions comprise all of general rules that governed and support fair training in every part of individual or social life emotionally and spiritually. When the parents demonstrate excessive attention to act with the light of educating method, the child will become a good member of the society.

Verily the Ahlulbait (peace be upon them) would do demonstrate special attentions to educates their children of this stage till they completely prepare them and they become top and higher exemplary in everything.

The Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) in his childhood stage was trained in the house of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his descendants) before he was commissioned as Prophet, he believed in the early call of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his descendants), he become sincere in his faith and obedience to Allah and His Prophet.

He was top in braveness and boldness, sacrifice and self sacrifice generosity, humble, truthfulness and all other moral virtues, He(peace be upon him)in his own role educates his children in this conformation by rising to the top and high form of all humbleness and virtues, this also applies to the rest Imams (peace be upon them).

We will get more responsibility of the parents in training and educating when they becomes more societal distance form Islam or Islamic community outwardly and did not adopt the practice of Islamic method in reality. For the effect on the custom, limitation, thought and unfair method of training especially media appliances like radio, television, cinema and others.

spiritual, psychology and emotional training is supplemented with its second half, that is physical training that is very necessary for child to save their physical health and to prepare them for physical activities where as the Prophet (peace be upon him and his descendants) urged for physical training and said: "Educate your children how to swim and how to shoot arrows" 224.

Imam Musa bn Jaafar Alkazim (peace be upon him) makes taking and teaching children strenuous issues as recommendation and said: "It is recommended to train the children in his youth to become tolerant in his old age" 225.

Physical soundness has a clear effect on psychological soundness as it was obvious with the psychologist and educationist 226.

Notes:

216 - Tuhfal Uquul: 189.

217 - Mustadrakil Wasaa'il vol- 2:625.

218 - Sahifa Assajjadiyyah Al-jaamiyah: 128 - 129 - printed by Imam Almahdi press 1st edition, 1411 A.H. Qom.

219 - Nahjul Balaghah: 546 researched by Subhi Salih.

220 - Nahjul Balaghah: 393.

221 - Kanzul Umaal: 539/ 4675.

222 - Mustadrakil Wasaa'il vol- 2: 362.

223 - Bihaaril Anwaar vol- 100: 74.

224 - Al-kafi vol- 6: 47/ 4 ch-Educating child.

225 - Al-kafi vol- 6: 51/ 2 from book of Aqeeq.

226 - Ilmi Nnafs: 383 by Jameel Saleeba.

Adapted from the book: "The Child's Education in Islam" by: "Ismail Abdullah"