Khutbah on teaching children about prayer by Dr Bilal Philips
16th September 2016
Bilal Philips – Teaching Children About Prayer
AI: Summary ©
The importance of educating children on Islam and learning the proper language and practice praying is crucial to achieving their goals in school. It is important to teach children the importance of praying properly, identifying different things and practicing the Moore's rule. It is crucial to teach children properly the prayer, including the importance of making their faces and body visible, protecting their identities and fortune, and learning the Prophet Muhammad's teachings for future students.
AI: Summary ©
Alhamdulillah Allah has brought us through those days of EAD,
in which
he ordained for us, a time of happiness,
a time
of reflection,
and a time of Thanksgiving.
And for those on Hajj
it was the completion
of the rites of Hajj. And we pray that Allah accept those who are sincere, accept their Hajj and purify them from sin, as the Prophet sallahu wa sallam promised.
But for us here,
and for those returning,
we are about
to start a new year of school.
schools that have been out for the summer, we'll be starting back in the coming week or two.
The question is,
what have we done?
for our children?
We're about to put them back in school.
And education
is a necessity.
However,
have we focused on the most important elements of their education? Or have we focused on the least important
because when people speak about educating children, we're talking about the schools that were going to put them in
what status is the school,
private school, government school,
low class, high class, expensive, cheap.
And what we want them to do when they graduate, what university we want them to go in, what field we want them to specialize in, what we want them to become.
Usually it's some mirror of ourselves, if we're doctors, we want our kids to be doctors, if we're engineers, we want our kids to be engineers, etc, etc.
But
prophet muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam,
he told us that the first thing that we should teach our children is Allah
in a very famous Hadith
authentically collected
in the sunan of a tirmidhi an Abbey Road.
Ahmedabad Devin shrine narrates that the Prophet sallallahu Sallam had said
Alamo become a sala de sauver.
Teach your children Salah.
By the time they reach seven
what the Remove Humala haberdasher and spank them for it.
By the time they reach 10
well for the hobeika home filma Dodger and separate them from the age of 10 onwards in their beds.
Don't let them sleep together.
So Prophet Muhammad SAW some lamb he gave us the basic
way by which we start the education of our children
teaching them Salah by the time they're seven
and teaching them for law by the time they're seven doesn't mean that at age seven, we now start to teach them Salah. It mean that by age seven,
they should have learned this a lot.
Too many of us mistake this adage. We've heard it.
But then we think okay, we'll start to teach them slide seven, but no, no.
We should have
For them Salah by the time they're seven,
they will begin to imitate us from the time they're two.
From the time they're two years old, when we stand in the home to pray,
we will find them trying to do what we do imitating us.
And as they get older, they will be more consistent, then they will come with us to the masters. So, if we give them the opportunity, if we don't give them the opportunity, of course, they'll stay home, maybe they will
pray whenever the wives pray at home,
or their elder brothers and sisters pray they will get up and pray with them.
So that nature is already there, to imitate.
So we don't need to leave things to the age of seven.
And one of the companions of the Prophet SAW Salaam, he had mentioned that he and a group from his tribe had gone
to learn from the prophet SAW Salaam to accept Islam on behalf of their tribe.
Okay, clan, and to learn, so they could go back and teach their clan. So there were young people.
So they came they stayed
for about 20 days with the prophet SAW salam, learn from him. Then they went back.
And he said that the time when the time for prayer came
when the time for prayer came.
They looked around amongst themselves
based on what the prophet SAW Solomon said regarding who should lead Salah.
And he had told them that the one who should lead Salah is the one who knows the most Quran.
And he said,
when we looked around, it turned out that I knew the most current.
So I lead my people in prayer. And of course, the people then they only just learned what prayer was. They had accepted Islam on behalf of the whole tribe, they came back told them. So now they just had to follow the instructions of these young people.
And he said, I left, I lead my people in Salah from that day onwards.
He remained a mom from that day onwards, and he said I was about six or seven years old at the time.
I was about six or seven years old at the time.
Most of us come from communities where
if a six year old boy wanted to lead the prayer, you definitely would not accept that.
Nobody would accept it, they would remove it.
And some communities is not even allowed to stand in the front line along with everybody else.
But this is a Sahabi a companion of the prophet SAW Selim relating to us.
What he did, what the prophet SAW Selim instructed him and his pioneers to do.
And so he led the Salah
until lead the Salah, it means you have to know what is involved in the Salah. It's not just you know the movements.
You need to know what is to be said, when it is to be said.
If you make a mistake, what you should do.
If you break your will do what you should do. There are different elements that are involved in the salon.
He had learned it
and he led his people.
So it is our responsibility
to ensure that our children learn the prayer.
Don't delay it.
Many people fall prey pray to Satan. Satan will whisper in your ear. He's just a little kid.
Let him enjoy. It's not a
obligatory for him until he is 13 or 14 puberty, that's when it's obligatory. Let him enjoy. No need to tell him about prayer. And that let him do if he feels like it doesn't feel like forever.
And so many of us do that
will leave them until puberty.
And of course, if the child all the way up until age 13
has been just doing his own thing. If he felt like it would break, if we didn't feel like it, he wouldn't pray. Now you're going to come and tell him pray.
You got a fight on your hands.
This is a kid now who is not used to pray.
Except when he feels like it. And now you want him to pray five times a day, on time.
And that's the obligation is now obligatory on him. He's reached puberty.
And of course he rebels. And you struggle with him and you say what is this kid shavonne is taking it over his head.
Must be his school must be his playmates must be this must be that must be all these different reasons why he's not praying.
But the real reason is,
you didn't follow the instruction of Rasulullah sallallahu wasallam.
That's the real reason.
in ignorance, maybe nobody ever told you that. So you went with what was the common understanding of people, people around you did the same thing.
And of course, the problems or sentiment said spank them for it by the time they're 10.
So now is 13.
So now you pull out the whip, and you're starting to beat him to make Salah.
And he may pray,
if you have hit him enough times.
He will pray when you're around. But if you're not around, he won't.
So you have not taught him anything. You've only forced him to pray when you are around.
That's all.
And
how many of us have gone through that?
Only years later,
after being negligent in our prayers and
going astray.
By our laws, mercy, we found our way back.
And we started to pray and learn the prayer and attend the masjid, etc, etc. But there's that gap,
that huge gap
of our youth
a time when problems are solved. And I'd said
that there are seven groups of people who would be shaded by the throne of a law
on the Day of Judgment, resurrection and judgment when there would be no shade except for the shade of his throne.
And one of them is what Shaban Nasha FA by that
a young person
puberty, who grows up through his teens into his 20s worshipping a law
we have denied that child or we were denied that opportunity to be among those shaded by a loss thrown.
we deny them the chance for agenda.
It's not to say that is the only chance
but that was
a huge step
that was genda on a plate.
If we had only our parents had only done the job
followed the instructions of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam.
So we need to put our priorities in place.
The priority is
to teach our children solve
And that process of teaching them Salah
is not merely the movements of salah
and the words of Salah
we can program a robot
to make Salah.
That's not what we're talking about teaching our children Salah, not programming a robot.
We're talking about teaching.
And teaching involves
understanding proper teaching involves understanding.
So this is what we need to give them.
When they first start the prayer,
and they are able to communicate with us.
They already know or we have already told them, they're heard of sage enough times, Allah.
Allah created us. Everything we have was given to us by Allah.
So when we are getting up to pray, what are we doing? We're thanking Allah.
That much they can understand.
That's how we talk to Allah. And we thank Allah.
That's the understanding that we want to give them, for them to grasp that. This is how we communicate with a law, and we thank him.
We need to give them that understanding. Because if they have that understanding,
and a law deserves to be thanked, just as they like to be thankful we can give them those examples. You know, when you do a good thing, and somebody says, Thank you, how do you feel?
Good, better.
It makes you want to do more?
Well,
thank Allah,
he'll give you more
velocity.
But it's enough for you to tell them he will give you more you do that. Just like you will give more if somebody does that, he'll give you more.
So you give him or her the child, the understanding which is suitable for their age level that their brains can grasp.
But that's most important. The movements not so critical.
When we're going to teach the children, the prayer itself,
there is one point we need to keep in mind, we have to make sure that we know how to pray properly.
Because there's a lot of us here doing all kinds of things.
And the prophets are seldom said, Pray as you saw me pray. So Luke, MRI to moonee Valley. But there's a lot of us here who are not praying the way that Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu Sallam prayed. We're praying our own way.
Our own version?
We really have no idea how
many of us say if I was to ask them, okay, exactly. What are you doing? How do you actually make that prayer?
Well, I do it this way. I do this. I do that.
Did the prophet SAW Selim do these things?
I think so.
This is not knowledge.
This is inherited culture and tradition.
We now have Google
in the past, okay. You had excuses that
there was nobody around to teach me. No, people have knowledge available. Now we have chef Google.
We just have to get on the internet. Prayer of the Prophet
the prayer as he prayed,
according to Heidi,
and you will find
the one which tells you the prophet SAW Selim did this recorded in Sahih Bukhari Muslim because you might say, Man, is it go, they're proud of the Prophet and they're all saying this
Some of them are saying different this is that
so which ones do you know? Go for?
You go for the one that says the bouncer seldom stood up and raised his hands to the level of his shoulder or to the level of his ears.
Recorded in Sahih Bukhari Sahih. Muslim
The one who says when you stand up, you put your hands and fingers behind your ear.
No hubby
touch your ear. No, how do you
avoid that one?
Go to the one that says Sahih Bukhari Sahih Muslim they are giving you where you can go back and check it. You can then Google just to be sure for yourself. You can then Google
raising the hands in Salah Bukhari Muslim.
A little bit of research
they will give you the Hadith and the whole text of the Hadith read it.
Be sure
because you're gonna go and teach your children Salah.
So Shouldn't you teach them the correct way?
Somebody does it really matter? Yes.
If the promises are seldom said salomo Kamara item on your Sunday prayers you saw me pray, then it means it's important.
One day in the masjid.
When the companions were waiting for the prayer, after the prayer, the foreign prayer brother saw Salaam
he got up and walked up the member like up here
with his body back to them.
And he said a lot of work but
they're watching
the member.
And the member is not as big as this one here. Even though this one's kind of tight, knit arranged to have it made a little bigger.
There was no place to make food. So of course in their minds, they're waiting to see what's happening now is the prophet SAW Selim going to show us a new salon.
He said a long walk where he went into record.
setting and hamidah came out of record.
Then he backed down the steps of the member
till he reached the ground. And he walked out backwards away from the base of the member. And he made sujood
set up.
So Jude
stood up and walked back up the member again
and did the second rocker.
You can imagine everybody in the masjid was watching Prophet Muhammad.
Wow.
This was
great, very strange.
After he finished and he turned to them, and they're all of course waiting.
What is this? Yeah, Rasulullah
sallallahu.
He said, I only did that so that you can learn the way that I pray.
So is it important to know the way the prophet SAW Selim prayed?
I think so.
I think so.
It's important.
So if we are going to teach our children the Salah, then at least we need to know how to make Salah properly.
That's basic.
In Arabic They say fuck to shake it.
If you don't have anything you can give it
you can only give what you have.
So
let us fulfill this duty to our children.
This responsibility which Allah has placed on our shoulders.
The future of our children depends on our prioritizing the
Education.
I asked the Lord to forgive our negligence,
where we have neglected this responsibility
and to forgive our parents, who also neglected and put us in this situation that we're in now.
And I asked the Lord to give us the strength and the courage to go and correct
the mistakes of the past.
And to find out how to pray as the prophet SAW his brain
and to pass that on to our families, and our relatives, our friends and our neighbors Alhamdulillah
wa Salatu was Salam ala rasulillah.
As I mentioned,
teaching our children for Allah
is priority.
The process of teaching is not an easy one.
Letting them imitates no problem. Anybody can do that. Okay, you want to stand beside me pray whatever, no problem but actually teaching them because teaching them means you have to also teach them facha
you have to teach them how to do because teaching solid doesn't just mean you know the movements and then you don't know how to make will do they're gonna make solid without will do. But maybe at the age of seven, there's no problem.
So law without Voodoo is not a problem. So when actually we're starting to teach them we don't want to make a big deal about Voodoo and take them now you have to learn every movement of Voodoo in order and
is only three years old. She's only three years old. If she just wet some things and get some things wet, another's not quite wet. It's okay.
You know, we have to teach them gradually.
Focus on the salada will do can be focused on after.
So it gives them a little bit by little bit.
And we don't stay over their heads. You know, you have to memorize Fatiha. hamdu Lillahi Rabbil alameen.
Mommy, okay, hamdulillah
That's good. That's as much as they can do Don't force them. Take it easy, because otherwise you try to force them you turn them off. Ah,
you repeat al hamdu Ananda.
Please take it easy, just a little kid.
somewhere we do it as best as they can, improving it as time goes along.
And then
what we can do
is we give them some reward when they do it.
Right? reward
because we tend to teach by just you have to slapping all these other things because that's how we grew up. That's how our parents dealt with us. But the powers are seldom said what do they move from LA haberdasher? 10
that's when you can start spanking
they're only three
No need to be spiking at that time.
When them through reward and punishment.
Reward mainly punishment means just depriving them of something at that stage, not spanking.
So you give them they see that they do it right, they get a reward, believe me, they will try their best to do it right.
That's the nature.
So we use proper
educational techniques, and inshallah they will learn this a lot early and they will amaze you.
They will amaze you.
So let's try to do it in the best way.
Learn from those who have studied this, taught this
the best way that our children will grow up
Rain correctly and loving Salah
that insha Allah
they can fulfill
what we failed to fulfill with regards to Salah when the prophet SAW Selim told Bilal
rnrb Salah, make the man
give us a break with Salah
rest, comfort, with Salah, not Salah duty,
you have to pray at this time you have to pray, but Salah,
which is pleasurable,
make Salah pleasurable.
And of course,
beyond that
we have to consider the other levels of education. And that allow women I will talk about in another hotpot to come.
But for now, let us focus on our primary responsibility with regard to our own children. And if we don't have children, at least your brother or your sister has children.
So you advise them or your parents, they just they have some other kids. So you have little ones that are coming up also you advise them. So you don't have to say well, I don't have any children, so I don't even need to worry about it. No,
this knowledge is available to you.
And you will be asked on the Day of Judgment. What did you do with it?
So I asked the last one to Allah to forgive our parents and our relatives who have passed to make their graves gardens from Paradise. And I asked the last one to Allah to forgive our own sins, disobedience, neglectful nest, and to keep us on the straight path sirata Mr. Hale, and as the last one to Allah to give us Hajj in the year to come, since we were unable to do so, this year. And I asked last month Allah to bless the Muslims all over the world, to protect them from the evil that is upon them, the destruction of their lands, there are people We ask Allah to protect the oma and to bring it back on Serato Mr. Team following Rasulullah sallallahu wasallam working together as one
body and guiding the world as we should be.