Under the microscope International Children’s Day | Religion and life

Sheikh d. Youssef Juma Salameh*

The Almighty God says in His Holy Book: {Money and children are the adornment of life in this world, and lasting good deeds are better with your Lord for reward and better for hope}, and recently we passed the remembrance of International Children’s Day, which comes in every on the occasion of the twentieth of the month of November, the Islamic point of view, so that the Muslim is aware of the issues of his religion.

Children are God’s gift to parents. The eye rejoices in looking at them. Our children are the fruits of our hearts and the support of our backs. They are the children of our hearts, the support of our forearms and the decoration of life, as it is written in His words, Glory be to Him: {Money and children are the decoration of the life of the world}, and in order to preserve the blessing of the child and thank God the Most High for him, it is necessary to do good in raising children, bringing them up with good behavior and taking care of them with honorable care. Since today’s children are the youth of tomorrow, so it is up to them to build a renaissance and form the best societies, why not? They are her beating heart, her flowing blood, and the sea of ​​her luxurious knowledge, and the reason for her progress and well-being, because the responsibility in their upbringing falls on the responsibility of the parents, because he said – prayers be to God and peace be with him – : Shepherd in her husband’s house and is responsible for her flock…).

It is known that raising children is a big task, especially in these times. It is not your role, dear parents, to provide only material things, but it is your duty towards your children, but, dear parents, you have a greater duty than that, and that is assuming the greatest responsibility in the upbringing, education and monitoring of your children. values, etiquette and morals in their souls, and encouraging them to read and memorize the Holy Qur’an, so that they grow up around the table of the Holy Qur’an, so that their morals are refined and their souls are purified.

Islam… and its concern for children

Children are the nation’s hope, its glory and eternal glory, they are the youth of tomorrow and the people of the future. Therefore, Islam took great care of children from the cradle to the grave in general, as it specifically related to childhood, and for this reason Islam prohibited adultery; Because in it is the loss of offspring and the mixing of genealogies, as he considered it an obscene, abominable and bad way, and he created an alternative, which is marriage; Therefore, our Prophet, may the prayers and peace of Allah be upon him, called for an effort to be made in choosing a righteous wife, and also called for the child to be immunized when sperm is placed in the uterus, as stated in the Prophet’s Sunnah, which is known to is the preservation of posterity a necessary thing, because the heavenly religions agreed that the necessary pillars must be preserved. For human life and its respect, namely: faith, soul, reason, posterity and money. Imam Al-Ghazali mentioned in his book “Al-Mustafa”: “The sanctity of the five necessities was never permitted in the religion.” That is, the heavenly religions have enjoined the sanctity of these five necessities, just as our Islamic faith has instructed parents. raising children, taking care of them and accustoming them to virtues and virtuous morals, planting seeds of faith in their hearts and taking care of all their affairs. Because if a child is neglected, his morals deteriorate and his temperament becomes polluted.

From the command of parents to children

It is known that the commandments of fathers are the most useful, wisest and purest commandments for children, because they are issued from the parent to his branch, and among the wise commandments are those commandments that include all good, which St. The Qur’an in the language of Luqman gave wisdom while recommending his son, as it came in his saying, glory be to him: {and when he said: لُقْمَانُ لابْنِهِ وَهُوَ يهُ يهِ يراون ٌtnikّ ُشْهُشْ ي NO NO NO NO NIU NIU NIU NIU NIU NIU NIU NIU NIU NIU NIU NIU الإِنسَانَ بِوَالِدَيْهِ حَمَلَتْهُ أُمُّهُ وَهْنًا عَلَى وَهْنٍ وَفِصَالُهُ فِي عَامَيْنِ أَنِ اشْكُرْ لِي وَلِوَالِدَيْكَ إِلَيَّ الْمَصِيرُ * وَإِن جَاهَدَاكَ عَلى أَن تُشْرِكَ بِي مَا لَيْسَ لَكَ بِهِ عِلْمٌ فَلا تُطِعْهُمَا وَصَاحِبْهُمَا فِي الدُّنْيَا مَعْرُوفًا وَاتَّبِعْ سَبِيلَ مَنْ أَنَابَ إِلَيَّ ثُمَّ إِلَيَّ مَرْجِعُكُمْ فَأُنَبِّئُكُم بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ * يَا بُنَيَّ إِنَّهَا إِن تَكُ مِثْقَالَ حَبَّةٍ مِّنْ خَرْدَلٍ فَتَكُن فِي صَخْرَةٍ أَوْ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ أَوْ فِي الأَرْضِ يَأْتِ بِهَا اللَّهُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَطِيفٌ خَبِيرٌ * يَا بُنَيَّ أَقِمِ الصَّلاةَ وَأْمُرْ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَانْهَ عَنِ الْمُنكَرِ وَاصْبِرْ عَلَى مَا أَصَابَكَ إِنَّ ذَلِكَ مِنْ عَزْمِ الأُمُورِ * وَلا تُصَعِّرْ خَدَّكَ لِلنَّاسِ وَلا تَمْشِ فِي الأَرْضِ مَرَحًا إِنَّ اللَّ هَ لا يُحِبُّ كُلَّ مُخْتَالٍ فَخُورٍ * وَاقْصِدْ فِي مَشْيِكَ وَاغْضُضْ مِن صَوتِكَ إِنَّ أَنكَرَ الأَصْوَاتِ لَصْتُ الْحَمِيرِ}.

When we study the previous verses, we find that it is about seven great commandments that include the contents of religious education, which the Holy Qur’an mentioned in the language of Lukman the Wise, to whom God gave wisdom, namely:

– Some of them are related to the rights of the Most High God, as in His words, Glory be to Him: {O my son, do not associate anything with God}.

– Including what relates to the rights of parents, as in His words, Glory be to Him: {And We commanded man his parents}.

– Including what relates to the observation of God – glory and majesty – in secret and in public and the responsibility of the soul, as in his words, Glory be to Him: {O my son, it is that the weight is the love of the deceased, so you will be in the rock.

– Including what is related to acts of worship that purify the soul, by maintaining the performance of prayers; Because it forbids immorality and immorality, as in His words, Glory be to Him: {O my son, perform the prayer}.

– Among them is what refers to the right of the society in which we live, as in His words, Glory be to Him: {And command what is good, and forbid what is bad}.

– Among them is what is related to life events, worries and troubles, which is patience with adversity, as in His words, Glory be to Him: {And be patient with what befalls you.

– Including that which is related to human behavior that makes its owner humble and not arrogant, moderate and non-deviant, avoiding arrogance, conceit and insulting people, as in His words, Glory be to Him: {And do not turn away Your face from people , and do not walk on the earth with joy}.

It is very necessary for parents and educators to instill these commandments in the hearts of their children from a young age. If children grow up with these virtues, we will find a decent generation of children that builds and does not tear down, reforms and does not spoil.

child rights in Islam

Islamic Shariah has fully preserved the rights of the child, because it covers all stages of his childhood, and also set guarantees that protect these rights in all circumstances, and all this concern for the child is only because he is an asset that must be respected and protected, and it is not allowed to ignore or take it away in any way. It is a part of the present, and of the future, and Islam has shown that the child has many rights, among which are:

-Ber phase: He directed our true Islamic faith to the necessity of choosing a good wife, and said – may God’s prayers and peace be upon him -: (A woman is married to four: for her money, and for her, and for her, and for her, and for her, and for her, and for her, and for her, – Also: (The world is a pleasure, and the best pleasure in the world is a righteous woman).

The postpartum phase: it takes place in many steps, the most important of which are the following:

A- Azan: that the azan should be on his right ear, and the ikamah on the left ear immediately after birth, as it is stated in the hadith of Abu Rafi’a who says: (I saw the Messenger of God. – God bless and save him – he called the prayer on ear of Al-Hassan bin Ali when he gave birth to Fatima); So the first words that reach his ears are about monotheism.

B- Akika: Which is slaughtered for the celebration of a newborn, whether male or female, because he – may God’s prayers and peace be upon him – said: (Every boy is pledged for his akika. She is slaughtered for him on the seventh day, and for him akika was slaughtered). his head is shaved and he gets a name).

C- Naming a newborn: Our Prophet, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, called us to choose good names.

There are other rights such as the right to breastfeeding, alimony and custody, justice among children, raising them on virtuous morals, avoiding bad companions and other rights that our Islamic faith has granted to children.

This is our true Islamic faith that cares for children and commands them to be well, and today we see what the occupiers are doing to the children of Palestine in terms of killing, displacing, humiliating, leaving orphans, destroying their homes and razing them to the ground. farms, and we ask: When will the children of Palestine feel safe, secure and free like the children of the rest of the world? ?!!

* First Vice President of the Higher Islamic Commission in Jerusalem