We are commanded to teach

 

Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem

 A few years ago I finished studying a secondary book of hadeeth called the 40 Hadeeth Pertaining to Children by Imam Nawawi, and by the blessing of Allah it enabled me to impliment some of the sunnah of our beloved Rasulullah salallah alayhi wa Salam. The Prophet salallahu alayhi wa salam said ~"narrate from me even if only a verse", with that in mind, and feeling that one gains knowledge in order to act upon it, and then to teach others, I will go back over what I learnt here inshaAllah, bit by bit. I pray that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala accepts this from me and that you are able to gain benefit from it inshaAllah.

Just to note, that this will be written in short bitesize chunks to better enable us to remember and impliment what we learn.

"Oh you who believe, ward yourself and your families from the fire..." Surah Tahreem [66:46]

The verse is often quotes as a waring for us to protect ourselves and our families from the fire. The greatest thing to teach your child is tawheed and the greatest thing to warn them from is shirk.  Imam tabari said of this ayat that "Allah is telling us to teach yourselves and each other that which will ward them from the fire. In other words one must teach one's children that which is prohibited and what to stay away from.

"And enjoin prayer upon your family, and be steadfast therein..." [Surah Ta-Ha 20:132]

"And warn your closest kindred" [Surah shu'ara 26:214]

Abdullah ibn 'Umar narrates "I heard the messenger of Allah say 'Each one of you is a shepard, and each one of you is responsible for his flock. A man is a shepard of his family, a woman is responsible for her husband's house and his flock. Even a servant has a responsiblity over his master's house'" [narrated in Bukhari and Muslim]

As muslim mothers, a part of that responsibility is the education of our children. The educator must be balanced in their approach. They must be merciful, use good language, have god stature (keep themselves kempt), we must understand our position and have softness. On the other hand one needs to be able to be stern and give admonishment as many parents will know, a child WILL try to overstep boundries as a part of their development.  The love we have for our offspring must not blind and prevent us form teaching right from wrong.

Ibn Abass narrated that Rasulullah salallahu alayhi wa salam said "Hang your whip where the members of the household will see them, for that will be a discipline for them" [hasan in at-Tabarani]

So we should be merciful and encourage our children with softness but also discipline and warn. May Allah aid us in this and cause us  to raise the next generation of mu'minoon. Ameen.