Upbringing up a worthy child is based on three main principles. They are:
1. A righteous family
2. Observing the rights of the child
3. The child having knowledge of his/her responsibilities
This book ‘Children in the Qur’an and Sunnah’ is dedicated in presenting the guidance and recommendations of the holy Qur’an and the great leaders of Islam regarding these principles, and it is divided into three sections.
The first section contains four chapters which are on the responsibilities of the Islamic society in relation to the establishment of a laudable family, the role of heredity in the happiness of a child, the role of nutrition of the father and mother in the health and happiness of the child, and the role of the formation of the foetus in the mother’s womb for the future life of the child as explained by the leaders of Islam.
Section two introduces the rights of a child from an Islamic viewpoint, and this section is divided into six chapters.
The first chapter is about the rights of an infant. These rights include: 1) Honouring the birth of the child; 2) The ritual bath of birth; 3) Reciting the Adhan in the right ear of the child and the Iqamah in the left ear; 4) Giving the newborn a taste of the water of Furat and the soil of Karbala; 5) Choosing a good name for the child; 6) Shaving the child’s head and donating the weight of its hair in gold or silver, 7) The slaughtering of an animal; 8) Circumcision.
The second chapter is about the rights of a suckling infant. This chapter deals with the child’s nutrition from its mother’s milk or the milk of an appropriate wet-nurse, and the necessity of respecting a child’s feelings.
The third chapter explains the child’s upbringing, being his most important right, then the importance of the child’s education and the responsibilities of the Islamic government and the families in this regard is explained, along with the most important aspect of this discussion, which is the method of upbringing a child.
Chapter four deals with the ethics of the upbringing of children, such as: being kind to them, respecting and greeting them, being just between them, fulfilling promises made to them and making them happy.
The fifth chapter turns the upbringer’s attention to the role of the child’s outer appearance, his sense of beauty, his desire to play and how these things lead to the enhancement of his growth.
The sixth chapter emphasizes on supplicating for children and refraining from cursing them and the role it has in their upbringing along with the parent’s program of raising them. This is why it is referred to as one of the rights of a child. The supplication of Imam al-Sajjad (a.s.) for his children that is mentioned at the end of this chapter is a worthy guide for Muslim families.
The third section explains the duties of a child. It is incumbent upon a qualified trainer that along with fulfilling the duties mentioned in sections one and two, he/she must provide the grounds for children to adopt a sense of responsibility.
This section which is divided into four chapters speaks about the personal duties of a child, and his duties in relation to his parents, his teachers, those older than him and his friends.
The targeted readers of this book ‘Children in the Qur’an and the Sunnah’ are families, upbringers, trainers and researchers of children education, and so children themselves are not the direct addressees in this compilation.
Another important point is that diligent attempts were made to combine in this work the most important teachings of the Qur’an and Islamic traditions in the field of upbringing and education of children. Important commentaries and necessary explanations have been added in particular places.
Without doubt, commentating on each of these guidelines would need the compiling of independent books in different fields of children’s upbringing. Therefore, this collection can be a valuable cultural source for those interested in the field of children’s education.
In conclusion, I would like to sincerely thank all my respected colleagues at the ‘Íadith Sciences and Studies Institute’ for assisting me in the compiling and research of this valuable compilation, in particular, the esteemed scholar Mr. Abbas Pasandideh and his cooperation in compiling the book.
I would also like to gratefully thank the eminent scholar Hujjatul-Islam Sheikh Muhammad Sharif Mahdavi for supervising the project along with comparing and reviewing the text and Mr. Zaid Alsalami for editing this work and assisting him in this task.
I beseech Allah the Beneficent with His Mercy to bestow upon them all a reward.
“Our Lord! Accept it from us! Indeed You are the All-hearing, the All-knowing.”
Muhammad Muhammadi Rayshahri
Author(s): Ayatullah Muhammadi Rayshahri
Publisher: Dar al-Hadith Publication and Distribution Center
Year: 2010
Language: English
Pages: 298
Tags: Children from before birth to a healthy life, Basic education and ethical training of children, healthy home environment, Islamic education and training of children, guidance for parents for children’s education and upbringing
Table of Contents
Introduction 17
Section One: The Foundations of Upbringing a Child 21
Introduction 23
1. Organising a Meritorious Family 23
2. The Role of Heredity 24
3. The Role of the Parents’ Food 24
4. The Role of the Method of Copulation 24
Chapter One: Family 27
1 / 1. The Forming of a Family 27
1 / 2. Seeking to have a Child 27
1 / 3. The Virtue of a Righteous Child 31
1 / 4. The Believers’ Offspring will be with them in Heaven 33
1 / 5. The Virtue of Tolerating the Troubles of a Child 35
1 / 6. Abundant Children 35
1 / 7. The Virtue of Girls 37
1 / 8. The Reward of Upbringing Girls 39
1 / 9. Taking Care of Daughters 39
1 / 10. The Censure of Disliking Girls 41
1 / 11. The Bane of having a Bad Child 43
1 / 12. Beseeching Allah for a Righteous Family 43
Chapter Two: Heredity 45
2 / 1. Blood is Contagious 45
2 / 2. The Role of Heredity in the Creation of a Child 47
2 / 3. The Role of Heredity in the Behaviour of a Child 49
2 / 4. The Role of Marrying Relatives 51
Chapter Three :The Food of the Parents 53
3 / 1. The Role of Unlawful Food in a Newborn 53
3 / 2. The Role of the Father’s Food in his Child 55
3 / 3. The Role of a Pregnant Woman’s Food on the Foetus 55
3 / 4. The Role of a Mother’s Food on the Newborn 61
Chapter Four: The Forming of the Life-Germ 63
4 / 1. The Effects of Being Born Pure 63
4 / 2. The Effects of Impure Birth 65
4 / 3. The Harm of Copulating with a Woman During her Menses 67
4 / 4. The Blessings of Supplicating During Intercourse 69
4 / 5. The Role of the Conditions on the Formation of the Life-Germ 73
Section Two: The Rights of Children 75
Introduction 77
1. Honouring the Birth 77
2. Bathing the Newborn 78
3. Reciting Adhan and Iqamah in the Newborn’s Ears 78
4. Feeding the Newborn for the First Time 79
5. Choosing a Good Name 79
6. Shaving the Newborn’s Head 80
7. To offer a Sacrifice for the Newborn 81
8. Circumcision of the Baby 82
Chapter One: The Rights of a Newborn 85
1 / 1. Honouring the Birth 85
1 / 2. Washing the Newborn 87
1 / 3. Reciting Adhan and Iqamah in the Newborn’s Ears 87
1 / 4. The First Feeding 89
1 / 5. Naming 93
A. Choosing a Good Name 93
B. Choosing a Name Before the Birth 93
C. The Ahlul Bayt’s Tradition in Naming 93
D. The Best of Names and the Rights of Some of them 95
E. Inappropriate Names 103
F. The Reason for the Reproaching of Certain Names 105
1 / 6. Shaving the Head 105
1 / 7. Giving an Offering for a Child 107
1 / 8. Circumcision 111
Chapter Two: The Rights of a Suckling Infant 115
1. Suitable Nutrition 115
2. Respecting the Feelings 115
2 / 1. Being Breastfed from the Mother’s Milk, if Possible 119
A. The Virtue of Breastfeeding the Infant 119
B. The Blessing of the Mother’s Milk 119
C. The Duration of Nursing 121
2 / 2. Choosing a Righteous Wet-Nurse to Breastfeed 121
2 / 3. Those who Should not be Asked for Suckling 123
2 / 4. Feeding the Child Beneficial Foods 123
2 / 5. Respecting the Infant’s Feelings 125
Chapter Three: Education 127
3 / 1. The Value of Seeking Knowledge at a Young Age 127
3 / 2. The Value of Upbringing 129
3 / 3. The Responsibility of Education and Upbringing 131
3 / 4. The Most Important Obligatory Thing to Teach 133
A. Islamic Beliefs, Monotheism in Particular 133
B. Love of the Prophet and His Household 135
C. Obligatory Acts, Especially Prayer and Fasting 135
D. The Qur’an 143
E. Religious Sciences 147
F. Writing 147
G. Hygiene 147
H. Useful Poems 153
I. Swimming and Archery 159
3 / 5. The Age of Upbringing and Disciplining a Child 161
3 / 6. The Method of Islamic Upbringing 163
A. Honouring, Gentleness, Sympathy and Love 163
B. Strictness and Uncompromising 167
C. Practical Disciplining 171
An Analysis on the Methods of Upbringing Children 173
1. The Upbringing Method Based on Strictness 173
2. The Upbringing Method Based on Kindness and Lack of Strictness 173
3. The Upbringing Method Based on Lack of Kindness and Lack of Strictness 173
4. The Upbringing Method Based on Affection and Decisiveness 173
5. The Upbringing Method Based on Love, Strictness and Dignity 174
3 / 7. The Banes of Upbringing 177
A. Excessiveness in Love 177
B. Excessiveness in Reprimanding 177
C. Disciplining at a Time of Anger 177
D. Harshness 179
3 / 8. Sex Education 181
A. Separating Beds 181
B. Avoidance of Looking at the Private Parts of the Child and the Child Looking at those of others 181
C. The Permissible Limit of Kissing a Boy and a Girl 183
D. Asking Permission for Entering the Parents’ Room 185
E. The Danger of a Child Seeing his Parents Copulate 187
Some Words about Sex Education 191
Necessary Planning for Sexual Chastity 191
A. Covering the Private Parts 191
B. The Reproach of a Child Being Kissed by a Non-Mahram 192
C. Reproaching the Playing with a Child’s Private Parts 192
D. Separation of Beds 192
E. Hiding any Sexual Contact of the Parents from the Children 192
Chapter Four: The Ethics of Upbringing 195
4 / 1. Encouragement of the Loving of Children and having Sympathy to them 195
4 / 2. The Prophet’s Conduct in Kindness to Children and Dignifying them 199
4 / 3. Greeting Children 201
4 / 4. Reproaching the Disliking of Children 203
4 / 5. The Boundaries of Love to Children 205
4 / 6. Justice Between Children 209
4 / 7. Fulfilling a Promise 215
Fulfilling Promises and its Function in the Upbringing of Children 217
4 / 8. Bringing Happiness 219
Chapter Five: Ornamentation and Playing 227
5 / 1. Ornamenting Children 227
5 / 2. Praising the Playfulness of Children 227
5 / 3. Allowing a Child to Play 229
5 / 4. Acting in a Childish Manner for Children and Playing with them 235
5 / 5. The Children’s Entertainment Place 239
The Role of Playing in the Growth of a Child 241
The Importance of Playing from a Psychological Viewpoint 241
1. The Physical Importance 241
2. The Psychological Importance 241
3. The Upbringing Importance 241
4. The Social Importance 242
5. The Educational Importance 242
6. The Moral Importance 242
A Psychological Analysis of Playing 242
A. The Theory of Extra Power 242
B. The Theory of Removing Tension 242
C. The Theory of Evolving Renewal 243
D. The Attitude of Pre-Exercise 243
The Age of Playing 243
The Parents Playing with the Child 244
Chapter Six: Supplication 247
6 / 1. Encouraging Supplication for Children 247
6 / 2. Reproaching of Supplicating against the Children 249
6 / 3. The Supplication of Imam Al-Sajjad (a.s.) for his Children 249
A Father’s Prayer for his Child 253
Section Three: The Child’s Duties 255
Chapter One: The Individual Duties of a Child 257
1 / 1. Observing Discipline in the Affairs 257
1 / 2. Cleanliness 257
1 / 3. Washing Hands Before and after Food 259
1 / 4. Brushing the Teeth 259
1 / 5. Washing Hands before Sleeping 261
1 / 6. Cutting Nails 261
Chapter Two: The Children’s Duties Towards their Parents 263
2 / 1. The Importance of the Rights of Parents 263
2 / 2. The Rights of Parents 267
A. Doing Good 267
B. Standing up to Show Reverence 269
C. Submissiveness at the Time of Anger 269
D. Avoiding Disobedience 269
2 / 3. General Rights of Parents 271
2 / 4. The Benefits of Doing Good to Parents 273
Chapter Three: The Child’s Duties Towards his Teacher 275
3 / 1. Obedience 275
3 / 2. Honouring 275
3 / 3. Lowering the Voice 277
3 / 4. Avoidance of Belittling 277
Chapter Four: The Child’s Duties towards Elders and Friends 279
4 / 1. Initiating with Greeting 279
4 / 2. Observing Rights 279
An Explanation about a Child Greeting Elders 281
4 / 3. Taking the Elders as Examples 283
4 / 4. Fulfilling Needs 283
4 / 5. Honouring 285
4 / 6 .Assisting 285
4 / 7 .Sharing 287
4 / 8. Maintaining Friendship 287
4 / 9. Good Interaction 289
4 / 10. Good Remembrance 289
4 / 11. Advice and Goodwill 291
4 / 12. Presenting the Defect as a Gift 291
4 / 13. Ignoring Faults 293
4 / 14. Avoidance of Scorning 293
4 / 15 .Avoiding Hurting others 293
