|
Parenting Lessons of Luqman |
|
|
|
|
Written by Aboobacker Sidheek
|
|
Friday, 18 January 2008 |
|
And (remember) when Luqman said to his son when he was advising him: "O my son! Join not in worship others with Allah. Verily! Joining others in worship with Allah is a great Zoolm (wrong) indeed. (Holy Qur’an 31:13)
"O my son! If it be (anything) equal to the weight of a grain of mustard seed, and though it be in a rock, or in the heavens or in the earth, Allah will bring it forth. Verily, Allah is Subtle (in bringing out that grain), WellAware (of its place).” (Holy Qur’an 31:16)
"O my son! AqimisSalat (perform AsSalat), enjoin (people) for AlMaroof (Islamic Monotheism and all that is good), and forbid (people) from AlMunkar (i.e. disbelief in the Oneness of Allah, polytheism of all kinds and all that is evil and bad), and bear with patience whatever befall you. Verily! These are some of the important commandments ordered by Allah with no exemption.” (Holy Qur’an 31:17)
"And turn not your face away from men with pride, nor walk in insolence through the earth. Verily, Allah likes not each arrogant boaster.” (Holy Qur’an 31:18)
"And be moderate (or show no insolence) in your walking, and lower your voice. Verily, the harshest of all voices is the voice (braying) of the ass." (Holy Qur’an 31:19)
Simple set of words with lots of wisdom. That’s exactly what Allah subhanahu wa thaala is telling us while relating to the story of Luqman in the holy Qur’an. There are different opinions among scholars whether Luqman is a prophet or not. However, he was an intellectual and is known for intelligence and wisdom during his time.
Many a times, we end up forcing our children in to the conducts of Islam. However, we have a good example of Luqman where he very affectionately and kindly advices his son using the words “ya bunayya” which means “oh my dear son”. There is lot of love in it without any tone of command. Islam is based on the belief of One God and it does not force you into anything. Allah subhanahu wa thaala gave mankind the power to decide which path to choose.
The first set of advice from Luqman was not to commit shirk (joining others in the worship of Allah in any form) as it is the highest form of sin. Without our firm belief in Thouheed (Islamic monotheism), none of our deeds are accepted by Allah.
Dear parents, build that faith in Allah among our children right from the start of their life. You will never regret that in your life. Instill in them the concept of a Supreme who is always loving and taking care of them, even though they can not see Him until the hereafter. Help them understand that everything that they see in this life is the blessings of Allah and that we need to be grateful to Him. Build that belief that Allah is always watching them and that they can not hide anything from Him. They need to know that they are responsible for act or deed they do and that they will be rewarded accordingly both in this world as well as the hereafter.
The responsibility of parents does not end here. Parents need to teach their children how to conduct their life in Islam. The next piece of advice gets into that – offer Salah (prayers); enjoin Islamic monotheism and everything good in that; forbid people from disbelief in the Oneness of Allah, polytheism of all kinds and all that is evil and bad; and have patience in times of distress and disaster. These are some of the important qualities that Allah demands every man living in this world.
Children need to be familiar with salah right from their childhood. Parents would be doing a great job if they participate their children while they offering salah in jamaa. I would not be surprised if your child tells you “daddy, you forgot something today” before going to bed. They are so good in watching you that they know you forgot your isha prayer before sleep if they didn’t see you offering it. Take them to the Masjid whenever possible to know the house of Allah.
It’s an innate nature of man to identify good versus evil. Allah subhanahu wa thaala blessed us with this feature that differentiate us from any other living thing. Our children are smart enough to learn what is good and what is evil. Let them know there is always an enemy following them who is committed to lead them astray. Shaitan will never forsake his effort in leading us to evil and we need to be very careful.
Most of the evil that’s happening on earth is based on arrogance. Allah wants us to be humble and forbid us from being arrogant. Luqman warns his son to be careful of that excessive pride which prevents him from being any good to others. Shaitan will try his best to promote arrogance on earth, and we need to be extremely careful. A happy face with a receiving heart would always do wonders.
Many a times, we find ourselves yelling at others to make our point. Some times it happens when we are disappointed. Luqman’s next advice is to control our voice when we speak and compares yelling to the voice of a donkey - a good piece of advice for anger management that we all can benefit from. Most of the times, forcing someone to do something at the top of our voice would not all benefit, rather it would retaliate with a feeling of contempt.
"Our Lord! Bestow on us from our wives and our offspring who will be the comfort of our eyes, and make us leaders for the Muttaqoon" (Holy Qur’an 25:74)
 Quote this article on your site | Views: 178
|
- Please keep the topic of messages relevant to the subject of the article.
- Personal verbal attacks will be deleted.
- Please don't use comments to plug your web site. Such material will be removed.
- Just ensure to *Refresh* your browser for a new security code to be displayed prior to clicking on the 'Send' button.
- Keep in mind that the above process only applies if you simply entered the wrong security code.
|
1.0 |
|
Last Updated ( Friday, 18 January 2008 )
|
Be first to comment this article
