19 April, 2024

10 Shawwal, 1445 H

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"Silence saves you from regret"

- Imam Ali (as) -

Learning
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Core Curriculum
Section 1 - God, Religion and Islam: An Introduction

  • Topic 1.1 - God, Allah and Religion

  • Topic 1.2 - What is “Religion” and What’s the Point of it Anyways?

  • Topic 1.3 - Introduction to Islam

  • Topic 1.4 - A Brief Introduction to the Prophet Muhammad (s), the Prophet of Islam

Section 2 - Foundations of Islam - Theology

  • Topic 2.1 - Satan, Jinns and Angels: Their Influence in the World

  • Topic 2.2 - The Islamic Concept of the Nafs: Battling the Human Ego

  • Topic 2.3 - The Sharīʿa: Purpose and Practice

  • Topic 2.4 - Nubuwwa: The Purpose of Prophethood in Islam

  • Topic 2.5 - Tawhīd: The Unity and Oneness of God in Islam

  • Topic 2.6 - The Usūl al-Dīn: The Fundamental Beliefs of Islam

  • Topic 2.7 - Adala: Divine Justice in Islam

  • Topic 2.8 - Entering Islam: The Shahada

  • Topic 2.9 - Maʿād: The Day of Judgment in Islam

  • Topic 2.10 - Imāmah or divinely guided leadership in Islam after the Prophet Muhammad.

Section 3 - Foundations of Islam - Obligatory Acts

  • Topic 3.1 - Accepting Islam: Putting Faith into Action

  • Topic 3.2 - The Furūʿ al-Dīn: The Fundamental Practices of Islam

  • Topic 3.3 - Salāt: Obligatory Ritual Prayers in Islam

  • Topic 3.4 - Fasting in Islam, its Purpose, Dos and Don’ts

  • Topic 3.5 - The Hajj Pilgrimage

  • Topic 3.6 - The Purpose of Zakat and Khums in Islamic Law

  • Topic 3.7 - Jihād in Islamic Law and Spirituality

  • Topic 3.8 - Commanding the Good and Forbidding Evil in Islam

  • Topic 3.9 - Tawalla and Tabarra, its Basics and Purpose

  • Topic 3.10 - The Five Categories of Islamic Law

  • Topic 3.11 - Niyya: Religious Intention as the Foundation of Islamic Practice

  • Topic 3.12 - Ritual Purity in Islamic Law: Understanding Tahāra and Najāsa

  • Topic 3.13 - Other Obligatory and Forbidden Acts in Islam

Section 4 - Prophethood in Islam

  • Topic 4.1 - A Brief Biography of the Prophet Muhammad (s): The Prophet’s Childhood (PART I of III)

  • Topic 4.2 - Bio: The Prophet Muhammad as a Prophet of God (PART II of III)

  • Topic 4.3 - A Brief Biography of the Prophet Muhammad (s): The Prophet’s Character (PART III of III)

  • Topic 4.4 - The Prophet Muhammad (s) as Messenger and Teacher

  • Topic 4.5 - The Prophet and his Relationships

  • Topic 4.6 - The Prophet’s Sunnah and Hadith

  • Topic 4.7 - Ghadīr and Arafah: The Two Last Sermons of the Prophet

  • Topic 4.8 - Jesus and Mary in Islam

Section 5 - The Qur'an and Hadith

  • Topic 5.1 - Islam and Other Religions

  • Topic 5.2 - What is the Qur’an? A Short Introduction to Islam’s Holy Book

  • Topic 5.3 - The Structure of the Holy Qur’an

  • Topic 5.4 - The Quran and Islamic law

  • Topic 5.5 - The Qur’an, Allah and Humankind

  • Topic 5.6 - Hadith and Sunnah, difference and variations

  • Topic 5.7 - The Reliability of Hadiths

  • Topic 5.8 - A Reflection on Verses of the Holy Qur’an

  • Topic 5.9 - Hadith al-Thaqalayn

  • Topic 5.10 - Imam Ali (as) and Nahj al-Balagha.

  • Topic 5.11 - Taqlid and Tawḍih Al Masail Genre of Literature

Section 6 - Measuring Good and Bad in Islam

  • Topic 6.1 - Guidance According to Islam

  • Topic 6.2 - Life and Death in Islam

  • Topic 6.3 - Heaven and Hell in Islam

  • Topic 6.4 - The Effects of Our Actions in this World

  • Topic 6.5 - The Gray Areas of Islamic Law and Morality

  • Topic 6.6 - Benefits of Islamic Law in this World

  • Topic 6.7 - Good and Bad Deeds: The Spiritual Consequences of our Choices

  • Topic 6.8 - The Effect of Culture and Environment in Shaping our Religious Choices

  • Topic 6.9 - Fate and the Consequences of our Choices in Islam

  • Topic 6.10 - Trivializing the Harām

  • Topic 6.11 - Sinning Against Others and their Delayed Punishment

  • Topic 6.12 - The Three Kinds of Rights in Islam

  • Topic 6.13 - Major Sins in Islam

  • Topic 6.14 - Repentance and Forgiveness of Sins in Islam

  • Topic 6.15 - Kufr in Islam

  • Topic 6.16 - Why Allah Allows People to Sin

Section 7 - The Legacy of the Prophet Muhammad (s) and his Ahl al-Bayt (as)

  • Topic 7.1 - Islam and Knowledge: the Importance of Islamic Education

  • Topic 7.2 - The Ahl al-Kisa

  • Topic 7.3 - Imamah in the Qur’an

  • Topic 7.4 - Fatima al-Zahrah (as)

  • Topic 7.5 - A Brief Look at the Lives of the Imams (Imam al-Hasan until Imam Muhammad al-Baqir)

  • Topic 7.6 - A Brief Look at the Lives of the Imams (Imam Jafar al-Sadiq until Imam Hasan al-Askari)

  • Topic 7.7 - A Brief Look at the Life and Importance of Imam al-Mahdi (aj)

  • Topic 7.8 - Salawat and Atonement in Islam

  • Topic 7.9 - The Companions (Sahaba) of the Prophet According to the Qur’an

  • Topic 7.10 - Clerical Hierarchies in Muslim Communities

  • Topic 7.11 - Mosques in Islam

  • Topic 7.12 - The Philosophy of Karbala and Majalis

  • Topic 7.13 - A Brief Biography of Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib (as)

  • Topic 7.14 - The Battle of Karbala: A Brief History

Section 8 - Islamic Relationships, Sects and Conflicts

  • Topic 8.1 - Islam and Rights

  • Topic 8.2 - Islam and Religious Conflicts

  • Topic 8.3 - Major Sects of Islam

  • Topic 8.4 - Sunnism and Shi’ism, beginnings and historical developments.

  • Topic 8.5 - Misconceptions about Shi’ism

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Special Topics
Section 9 - Independent Topics

  • Topic 9.1 - Muslim Converts – Welcome to Islam!

  • Topic 9.2 - Basic Dos and Don’ts of Being a Muslim

  • Topic 9.3 - Halal Food and Zabiha

  • Topic 9.4 - Modesty in Islam

  • Topic 9.5 - Family, Parents and Marriage in Islam

  • Topic 9.6 - Marriage in Islam

  • Topic 9.7 - Islam and Sex

  • Topic 9.8 - Women’s Menstruation in Islam

  • Topic 9.9 - Music, Alcohol, Drugs and Pork in Islam

  • Topic 9.10 - Islam and Science

  • Topic 9.11 - A Reading List of Islamic Knowledge

  • Topic 9.12 - Islam and Sufism

  • Topic 9.13 - Ritual Prayers and Supplications in Islam

  • Topic 9.14 - Death & Burial Rituals in Islam

  • Topic 9.15 - The Battle of Armageddon: An Islamic View

  • Topic 9.16 - The Muslim Calendar

  • Topic 9.17 - Muslims and non-Muslims in the Shariah

  • Topic 9.18 - A Timeline of Major Events in Islamic History

  • Topic 9.19 - Introducing the Qur’an: Why it is the way it is

  • Topic 9.20 - The School of Imam Jafar al-Sadiq

  • Topic 9.21 - Major Fields in Islamic Studies

  • Topic 9.22 - The Caliphate in Sunni and Shia Islam

  • Topic 9.23 - The Spread of Islam: After the Prophet until the Ottoman Empire

  • Topic 9.24 - Islam, Racism and Anti-Semitism

Section 10 - Islam, Religion, and Modern Controversies

  • Topic 10.1 - Modern Fallacies about God: where Theists and Atheists Agree

  • Topic 10.2 - Tawhīd: The Muslim God according to the Prophet Muhammad and the Ahl al-Bayt (as)

  • Topic 10.3 - God’s Existence: The Argument From Being (Wujūd)

  • Topic 10.4 - God’s Existence: The Kalam Cosmological Argument

  • Topic 10.5 - God’s Existence: The Argument From Design

  • Topic 10.6 - The Problem of Evil, Suffering and Pain

  • Topic 10.7 - Why did God Create Us? The Purpose of our Creation

  • Topic 10.8 - Why Humans Need Religion according to Islam

  • Topic 10.9 - Jahl and Spiritual Ignorance in Islam

  • Topic 10.10 - Faith in Islam: Belief without Evidence?

  • Topic 10.11 - Do Non-Muslims Go to Hell?

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Family, Parents and Marriage in Islam

Abstract

Parents play central role in the religiosity and moral upbringing of their children. It is not enough to just teach them words, parents need to be active role models for the future generation. 

INTRODUCTION  

 

Bismillāhir Rahmānir Rahīm, As-salāmu ʿAlaykum wa rahmatullāhi wa barakātuh. Peace be upon you brothers and sisters.  

 

Welcome back to the Muslim Converts Channel!   

 

In this lesson, we’re going to go over some of the duties and responsibilities which God, through the Messenger of Allah and the Ahl al-Bayt (as), has ordained for families. Here you we will see how parenthood is integral to the salvation of the Muslim community as well as humanity.   

 

BODY OF TEXT  

 

In a famous hadith, a companion of the Prophet (s) once remarked:  

 

I never saw anyone who was more compassionate towards children than Allah’s Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). His son Ibrahim was in the care of a wet nurse in the hills around Madinah. He would go there, and we would go with him, and he would enter the house, pick up his son and kiss him, then come back. 

 

Our Duties As Parents: Mother and Father  

 

There are a set number of parental duties that are well known to most Muslims. We know that it is obligatory for mothers to breastfeed their children when they are first born.   

 

We also know that it is obligatory for fathers to provide for their children when it comes to clothing, shelter and food.   

 

Parents, however, also have moral/religious duties to their children. (say moral slash religious duties)  

 

Both parents have the responsibility of being moral examples for their children. An unfortunate reality today is that many kids pick up vices like lying from their parents. Have you ever seen a parent telling his or her spouse that “they aren’t there” when someone calls? Well, that’s a form of lying, and kids see that and pick up on it.  

 

The same goes for other acts of dishonesty, such as parents lying to each other. Here is another example, angry children often pick up their anger from their parents. Similarly, anxious and fearful kids also inherit much of their fears and panic attacks from their parents.  

 

Parents therefore have the duty to be proper role models for their children in Islam. Parents need to be morally upright and also be calm sources of emotional security, not emotional ruin!  

 

Parents also have the duty to educate their kids about Islam. First, they need to teach them the basic principles of Islam, both the usul al-deen where the basics of Islamic creed are taught.  

 

Second, kids need to learn the proper rituals and dos and donts of Islam. So they need to learn how to pray, fast, do wudu and also know what is impermissible and ritually impure.  

 

Some parents think that by sending their kids to Islamic schools they’ve done their job and they don’t need to teach them anything. But remember that words can only go so far. If kids see their parents not practicing Islam, the teachings of Islam won’t mean anything.  

 

When parents don't practice, kids often think about Islam the following way: "if Islam isn’t good enough for my parents to practice, why should it be good enough for me to practice?"   

 

So you or a school can teach, but central here is parental practice of Islam.   

 

Mothers and fathers also have their own specific duties.  

 

Obviously there are many, and unfortunately we don’t have the time to go over all of them.   

 

Here a few pointers:  

 

Mothers Duties to Daughters  

 

Mothers have the duty to teach their daughters the female-related rulings of Islam. It can be awkward for a father to teach his daughter about menstruation laws for example. So these things are best coming from a mother for Islamic law is not just about knowing things in theory, but also about getting practical advice!   

 

Mothers must also be an example of modesty for their daughters. It is hard for a daughter to be modest if her mother is not modest.

 

The same goes for behavior. If a mother wants her daughter not to gossip, then she also needs to learn not to gossip herself!  

 

Father’s Duties to Sons  

 

Fathers have the duty to teach their sons about male related rulings in Islam. In this case its not really about the sense of awkwardness as many boys are still more comfortable with their moms. But like the previous point that was made, there is theory and then there is experience.  

 

What fathers can offer their sons, in addition learning about Islamic rulings in theory, is practical advice which they had to go through themselves. These includes advice on various kinds of sins, temptation, and how to better control oneself. The practical advice that a father may give as a male may be more valuable than what a mother may say.  

 

This is the necessary and difficult role a father must play in order to save his son from destructive sins and behavior. Often enough, friends, especially at a young age, won’t push their friends to abstain from sins. Unfortunately, they tend to encourage them! So developing a relationship of trust is very important. 

 

Until Next Time, Thank you for watching. As-salāmu ʿAlaykum wa rahmatullāhi wa barakātuh 

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Q1

I am tired and I don’t have the energy to teach Islam to my kids, is it enough to send them to an Islamic school?

Kids must see passion for Islam in their parents. If the passion is not there and the responsibility is delegated elsewhere, they won’t take Islam seriously. If they see that Islam isn’t good enough for their parents, why should it be good enough for them? 

Q2

Is it enough to teach my kids the basics of Islam only and leave it to them to practice?

As a parent, you must make the effort in practicing yourself. If parents don’t take practicing Islam seriously, the children won’t either.  

Q3

Can both mother and father teach gender specific laws to their kids?

Yes, but it is better if mothers teach female specific laws to their daughters, same with fathers to sons. The reason for this is practical experience which theory alone won’t give.  

 

Q4

What are some of the religious obligations mothers have in Islam when a child is born?

Breastfeeding at the time of birth.

Q5

Do mothers have to contribute financially to the wellbeing of their kids and family?

The responsibility is with fathers only according to Islam. This does not mean, however, that women are not allowed to contribute. The difference is that it is optional for women. 

Muslim
God
Allah
Ahl al-Bayt
Muslim Community
Salvation
prophets of God
healthy families
properly functioning families
usul al-deen
Islamic creed
adolescents in Islam
active role model for children

From Marriage To Parenthood The Heavenly Path by Abbas Merali