As
Islamic scholars or teachers Muslim parents who see no need
to send their children to a full-time or weekend school often
confront us. Sometimes you will even meet people who haven't
even taught their children anything about Islam at all! They
often give the lame argument: "I don't want to impose anything
on my child" or "I am very busy", or "my child already knows
enough about Islam" or "I will let them make their own decision."
In other words they're really saying, "I don't want to teach
them about Islam for whatever reason and I will let the Kuffar
influence impose on them without giving them a good grounding
in the best way of life first."
How
many teenagers have we seen who know little to nothing about
Islam while their parents act as if they are good Muslims! ...
Another
issue of concern is that, following the usual practice, these
same negligent parents may try to marry their son or daughter
to a person of the same ethnic background not realizing that
their own child is like a non-Muslim so it is unfair to the
prospective spouse who may have been raised in a home where
Islam was practiced. It's like marrying a non-Muslim in all
practical aspects and sows the seeds for conflict.
Many Muslims, blinded by wealth and its achievement, come to
the West hopeful of riches and becoming like what they so admire.
So when their children are "Australians" or "Europeans" they
secretly feel great joy that their children are living out their
own secret fantasy.
Well,
as we know, age usually teaches wisdom and many are the parents
you will meet who become "religious" in their 40's or 50's and
lament the fact that their children lead such bad lifestyles.
It doesn't help to scold the parents then because it would do
no good. When a person is remorseful, Allah has promised to
forgive them. But what of the younger parents whose children
is still small and who are headed down the same dangerous path?
Is there a way to warn them before their children and descendants
lose Islam forever?
Below is an actual story we received from a concerned brother
who lived the Australian dream and lost his children to kufr
in the process. Perhaps a Muslim parent who is feeling like
letting the Kuffar establish his or her children's values will
read these words and change his or her course of action before
they are old one day and full of sorrow for neglecting the one
greatest gift they should have given their children: the chance
to go to Paradise when this short life is over.
Assalamu
alaykum,
I
am grateful to Australia for giving me all the opportunity to
achieve the best of this life. Twenty-four years ago I left
Bangladesh mainly for higher education. After completing the
education relatives forbade me not to go back and they convinced
me by mailing paper cuttings of the terrible news of horrible
campus life where I was supposed to return to fulfil my obligation
of educating our youths the latest technological development.
The dazzle of western life-style mesmerized me and motivated
me to look for an opportunity and that's how I became entrenched
in search of an Australian dream.
By
the generosity of Australian system I have achieved all that
a man of my standing long for. I am indeed grateful to Australian
for giving me the freedom and the opportunity to achieve all
that. But now that I have every material thing that I need for
this life I have a great pain piercing my mind day and night.
To be frank I find that a part of my body have gone terribly
wrong. I am completely to blame for this.
When
my children were growing up I didn't realize the melting pot
concept. I used to be a 'progressive', 'liberal' and 'open minded'
person. I let my children grow with the wind. But while
they were at their teens I realized that something went wrong
somewhere. My children were talking back to us very disrespectfully.
They adopted strange clothes, weird music and a horrible attitude.
At first it appeared temporary, what we labelled as a phase
and so it appeared cute to us. But it persisted and got worse.
They were ashamed of our accent and sometimes they are ashamed
of our culture. They turned out to be selfish and very 'individualistic'.
They were challenging us in everything - even if it is irrational.
Although 'progressive', yet I had an eastern mind that instilled
in me the element of respect for elderly and affection for the
youngsters. Naturally, I should not expect all that from my
offspring raised in this soil. It seems to me I had the best
time of my family life when they were young.
The
children have left the home for college and rarely they come
back to visit us. They seem to us as strangers. Now look back
and try to find out what did we do to deserve this. I found
that my wife and me are completely responsible for such an outcome.
We
are a working family and so we didn't give enough time for our
children while they were growing up and naturally the day care
and the school essentially raised them. We didn't give them
any moral, ethical teaching. We know a friend of ours whose
children turned out to be of excellent manners and highly respectful
of elders. Simply speaking they are adorable children. I am
amazed these children also turned out to be super-performer
in their education as well. It seems that the mother of this
model family stayed home while the children were growing up
and the parents would always take their children to the local
Islamic centres. We used to mock (joke) them as fundamentalists
but it looks like they did the right thing.
Now I believe Australia has given us the freedom to do what
is best for us. We have a choice to guide our family's life
in the right direction. Now I realize how God has given us a
choice of either to accept Him and lead a meaningful life or
to deny Him and lead a transient superficial life of enjoyment
and misguidance to be followed by a life of misery and pain.
When I read about the violent crimes committed by youths in
the Australian's schools or society I know right away who should
shoulder the primary responsibility for such crimes.
OUR
RESPONSIBILITIES
Children
are born innocent and it is our responsibility, as parents,
to give them love, affection and the best moral environment
so that they can turn out to be kind compassionate and responsible
youth. What can we expect if our children are raised by the
immoral TV programs, Internet, violent video games and by an
uncaring day care centre whose main objective is to make money
like everybody else? We can't have a whole village here to raise
our children and so you have to play the role of the whole village;
the aunts, the uncles, the grannies and the neighbours.
Teaching children morality and love of our beloved prophet (peace
and blessings of Allah be upon him) through God consciousness
is the solution to this great problem of teen violence. Fortunately,
there are few of Islamic schools, or weekend Islamic schools
offering better than standard public school curriculum with
an element of moral teaching have sprang out all over Australia
in the last few years. Thus at this time there are plenty of
opportunities to expose the children to the proper environment.
Our children are a loan from God and we would be accountable
on how we raise them. It is a twenty-four hour duty of the parents
to care for their children's education. Hence upbringing does
not stop after sending your child to an Islamic school or to
weekend Islamic school. It is a twenty-four hours process of
providing them a good, lovingly Islamic environment at home
is well by implementing Islam in your life. And this process
of upbringing your child starts from the mother lap. Good parenting
is the key to have a great family and great Human society.
--
by
Sahibzada Hafiz Muhammad A Wahid
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