Staying connected with God on a daily basis is an essential need for every Muslim. This chord gives us assurance, comforts our hearts and prevents us from sinning. There is nothing that brings us closer to Allah than the Noble Qur’an.
It happens very often that it feels as if Allah is talking to us or answering a question we’ve been pondering once we start reading through His verses and meanings.
This is not a coincidence! Reading Qur’an enables us to get closer to Allah and follow His path.
There has come to you from Allah a light and a clear Book. By which Allah guides those who pursue His pleasure to the ways of peace and brings them out from darknesses into the light, by His permission, and guides them to a straight path .” (Al-Ma’idah 5:15)
I cannot stress enough how important it is for us to foster this channel for our children. Of course, like many other things in life, this sounds easy to say but hard to do.
That’s why we should start with small steps towards our bigger goals in order to ensure commitment and discipline.
1 – Show by example:
Children learn by imitating the behaviors they see. If you read the Qur’an regularly in front of your kids, then chances are they will do the same thing by default.
2 – It all starts with listening:
Research shows that babies are affected by the sounds in their environment. So if a baby hears Qur’an verses regularly, they will grow accustomed to its sounds and will naturally love hearing more of it.
3 – Competition appeals to kids:
It is always a good idea to encourage our kids to participate in contests and activities that focus on reading and reciting the Qur’an with some basic understanding of its main themes and values.
Young learners thrive on positive feedback and words that lift them up. Parents can also sign pacts with their kids and promise them good rewards if they do their best.
4 – Let them have their own Mus’haf :
Another thing parents can do is give each child a mus’haf— their own beautiful copy of the Qur’an. This gives them a sense of privacy and ownership. This can boost children’s desire to keep in touch with the book while they grow up.
5 – For various situations that require parenting, use a verse as proof:
We often ask our kids to clean up their rooms, make their own beds or put their toys away. We reprimand them if they fight with each other. We are also keen on teaching them values, such as honesty, respect, humility, and love.
In doing so, let’s not forget that the Qur’an is full of verses that condone all values we’ve ever hoped to pass down to our kids. We parents can quote verses from the Qur’an that support the moral we are trying to teach our children.
For instance, when Allah asks Isa (peace be upon him) whether he told the Christians that he was God, Isa tells the truth after he acknowledges Allah’s omniscience. Allah praises Isa and says:
This is the Day when the truthful will benefit from their truthfulness. For them are gardens [in Paradise] beneath which rivers flow, wherein they will abide forever, Allah being pleased with them, and they with Him. That is the great attainment.” (Al-Ma’idah 5:119)
When our children choose to tell the truth, we can remind them of this story and quote the verse.
6 – Storytelling:
The Qur’an is full of stories that appeal to kids’ senses and imagination. Several animals are involved in the stories of the Qur’an and since children especially love animals, we can use these stories to help them feel attached to the Qur’an and learn from it.
There is the story of Abraha’s elephant, the dogs and the youth in the cave, the camel, Yunis’s whale, Kabeel’s crow, Soleiman’s ants and hoopoe, and more. Read your children illustrated children’s books of these stories and you will see their connection grow.
The main legacy we wish to leave our kids when we are gone is to keep the faith and to walk on the straight and narrow path of Allah for as long as they live. We cannot achieve that goal as long as we abandon the Qur’an. Start establishing a special bond between yourself, your children and the Qur’an now, regardless of how young they are.
First published: June 2019