Paradise Under Your Feet — Page 144
144 Respect for the place of worship, whether at home or at the mosque, must be taught at an early age, together with respect for those who are performing Salat. As in the early years, the best way to inculcate love of worship in our children is to include them in congregational Prayers. The Holy Prophet (saw) had said that by the time a child is seven years old, he should be gently reminded to perform his daily Salat. When the child turns ten then the parent is allowed to be strict with the child about the daily Salat. Offering Salat in congregation increases the blessings of Salat many times, therefore parents should make it a point to offer Salat in congregation at home and to take children to congregational Salat in the mosque as often as possible. Hazrat Khalifatul-Masih II (ra) has emphasized the importance of instilling the habit of congregational Salat in children in a very emphatic manner. He said: “ Congregational prayer, in my view, is the most important intervention to teach children good morals and habits. Children should be trained to offer Salat in congregation. In my view, there is no bigger enemy of a child than those parents who do not inculcate the habit of offering congregational prayer in their children. While a grown-up who fails to offer congregational Salat is a hypocrite, parents who do not inculcate this habit in their children are their murderers. It is impossible for a child to sustain irreparable moral damage if parents help them develop a habit of offering prayers in congregation. ” A1. 3 When the father is not at home, the mother can lead her children in congregational Salat. If there is a boy who is able to perform the entire Salat then allow him to be the Imam in his father ’ s absence and