There is a beautiful hadith, Narrated Ibn Umar: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon Him) said: ”All of you are shepherds and each of you is responsible for his flock. A man is the shepherd of the people of his house and he is responsible. A woman is the shepherd of the house for her husband and children, thus she is responsible.
Alhamdulillah, Allah entrusted us with our beautiful children and we are to strive and be the best examples we can be. The best example is our beloved Prophet (peace and blessings be upon Him) we look at his life for the best ways on how to live and interact with others.
10 Steps to Lead our Children in Productivity:
1. Renew intentions
Subhan’Allah this is important, when we do things for the pleasure of Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala) than our intentions are in a good place. With our children we should intend for them to be good Muslims, productive, good, kind and God fearing. When our intentions are wrong, then we must ask Allah to make true and sincere our intentions. Some parents have done good to their children only to boast and show off their children, subhan’Allah, we must ask Allah to protect us and our children from this and keep focused on the real and true intention.
2. Talk the talk
Always use pleasant, kind, sincere and honest speech! Children are like sponges and they take everything in. If you use a bad word once they’ll see it as license to use forever! Children remember often how you speak to them, which in turn is how they will likely speak to others. Remember that what you say has a big impact on how you make your children feel. They look to you for your approval and what you say can effect their self-esteem.
3. Live it!
Do not just talk about it, be about it! Children see our actions and how we live. They imitate our speech and how we act. We want to display the best actions and be true to our speech.
4. Honesty is the best quality
Be honest to your children and do not lie. Sometimes parents will not tell the truth to their children, thinking it has helped them but in the long run it has either harmed them or hindered them. If you make promises to your children, keep your word and do not break promises.
5. Be consistent
Constantly do good, read Quran, be consistent in bringing them to your salah, constantly give, and remember Allah in your day to day interaction with them. All the good you do in spending time with your children consistently and teaching them about Islam will be the cause for eternal reward in the Hereafter.
6. Enjoy Islam
Show children that Islam is a beautiful religion and that our Eids and Ramadans are the best holidays ever! Our homes should be full of Quran playing, praying together and learning together. Islam is exciting and our Islamic history is exciting, we should share that love with our children and they will grow up being proud to be Muslim and honored that they have such a beautiful and rich history.
7. Honor The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon Him)
The Quran says the Prophet (peace and blessings upon Him) is an excellent example. We should share with our children His beautiful character, how kind, caring, and compassionate He was.
8. Be active in the community
Set up activities where your children can meet and play with other children. Our children are a big part of our community and we are a big part of their lives. Taking special time out to focus on children related activities can make them feel appreciated, loved and cared for. For community ideas look at our blog to find educational and fun ideas to do with children
9. Teach and tell..
Talk to the children about life lessons and teach them how to handle it. Teach the children about Islam and have them respond, giving their thoughts and even repeating what they heard. Make time after prayer to teach children about the deen and let them respond and share what they learned from it.
10. Listen!
Children have times where they need to be heard, actually most of the time they’re yearning for your attention! Never under estimate the words “How are you?” or “How did you do at school today?” and tell your children it is more than just a kind thing to say but you really want to know. Taking a keen interest in your child’s life and day to day activities will make them feel loved and open communication channels as they grow older. When they have a problem allow them to speak and genuinely listen with an attentive ear.
Let us remember the dua in the Quran which means: ”Our Lord! Grant us that our spouses our offspring be a comfort to our eyes, and make us leaders for the righteous.” [Quran: 25:74] May Allah make us all better examples for our children and make us leaders for them, Ameen!
About the Author
Ameera Rahim is a mom of 4 that resides in New York. She can be often found blogging with her beloved husband Ameer Idris, about homeschooling their children at HabeebeeHomeSchooling and her love of homemaking at Traditional Muslimah. she is the parenting columnist for Modest Beautiful Muslima Magazine and contributing writer for Muslimas Oasis. When she is not homeschooling, and blogging she loves to make homemade bread.
