ARABIC: الطفولة مقدمة الحياة الجادة فى الإسلام

Childhood is preamble to the personality development in Islam

Abstract

Islam pays special attention to the children and their needs. Childhood is considered to be the preamble and preparatory phase for the life, Allah SWT wants Muslims to lead. Islam is the only religion whose scripture addreses the fetus in the mother’s womb and instructs the parents to cater the child’s needs even before birth. Even before conception of the child, Islamic teachings guide its followers to make appropriate choices while looking for spouse. Choosing a parent for your future generations is a matter of great care as the child raised by pious parents would be much beneficial for Ummah then the one nurtured by careless parents. Hence, raising a child is a huge responsibility and parents are liable to answer to Allah SWT in case of their negligence in this regard. After the birth of the child, Islam asks to greet him/her by celebrating the feast of aqeeqa. The second most significant right is to name the child with the best meanings. Islam discarded the tradition of bad and meaningless names. Then, the early years of development are considered to be significant in the life of a child and Sunnah of the Holy Prophet PBUH is replete with various instances where He PBUH guided the children around him regarding everyday life matters. They were encouraged to be present in prayer congregations and other meet-ups. An instance of children’s training from the early age can be seen at the house of Arqam where Muslims were used to gather in the early days of Islam secretly; the little child of Arqam was conscious enough to keep the secret from infidels of Makkah. This is the behavior of children who are raised with the consciousness of right and wrong. Unfortunately, West has attacked the Muslim society by demolishing the foundations of proper nurturing of the children; instead of being trained in the light of basic Islamic values, the Muslim children grow up watching bizarre cartoon stuff. So, this paper is an attempt to highlight the significance of the period of childhood in the development of personality. It intends to prove that only with the proper nurturing of its childre, Ummah can rise to new heights.