How mothers should teach daughters in Islamic way
Category: Trust Islamic Forum Written by Maureen Onochie
Mother and daughter relationship has always been a delicate one to the extent that a mother takes credit or blame for the good and bad habits respectively from a daughter.
In Islam, it is taught that ‘paradise lies under the feet of mothers’. With this in mind, the Director, Great Height Academy, Hajiya Rabi Namtari, says a mother is left with the huge responsibility of bringing up her children in the fear of Allah and to make them responsible to gain access to paradise.
She made the comment during a conference organized by the school for mothers to brainstorm on how to bring up their children in every aspect of life according to Islamic teachings.
A paper entitled, “Encouraging our daughters to pursue excellence in all aspects of life but within the scope of Islam”, presented by one of the resource persons, Hajiya Rafatu Abdulhamid, stated that a mother needs assistance in raising her children.
She said one of the ways a daughter would be responsible is by ensuring that she is being taught every aspect of her religion from a tender age. She said, “The Prophet (SAW) has instructed us to teach our children how to pray right from childhood; from the age of seven, they should be asked to pray and when they reach the age of 10 if they refuse to pray, they should be beaten.”
Hajiya Rafatu explains that when a girl grows up with the fear of Allah, she will not easily get deceived by peers and subsequently trapped into committing sins.
A mother should learn to tell the daughters stories about Islam heroes in order to encourage them to emulate their lifestyles, and the growing daughter should be taught the need to always use words like “Alhamdulillahi, Allahu Akbar, Bismillahi, Insha Allah amongst others.”
When a mother is spiritually minded, she said, it translates into good morality. Social excellence is another virtue a mother should ensure she instills in her daughter and modesty in a daughters’ dressing expresses how much good moral training a mother has given her.
Islam, according to Abdulhamid, recommended the use of the Hijab as a mode of dressing for a lady since they have more attractive features and they would save the society by ‘curbing’ immorality.
“O prophet! Tell thy wives and daughters and the believing women that they should cast their outer garments over their persons (when abroad) that is most convenient, that they should be known (as such) and not molested. And God is often forgiving, Most Merciful.” Qur’an 33:59
Chairperson of the conference, Mrs. Alawiyya Umar said being strict with a daughter might not be the way out of her misbehavior but being firm in teaching what is wrong and right, “but if you have counseled, pampered and done everything possible and the child still remains irresponsible, then the child should be beaten.” But mothers have been warned not to beat their daughters out of anger but for a reason.
Islam, according to her has taught that the mother is a fundamental teacher for any child.