Paradise Under Your Feet — Page ix
i FOREWORD In our Majlis-e-Shura of 2011, Lajna Ima ’ illah USA deliberated on the Majlis-e-Shura proposal: Raising our Children to Love Allah. As Ahmadi Muslim mothers we have the enormous responsibility of raising our children to understand, practice and love the beautiful teachings presented to us by Allah through His Holy Qur ’ an and our beloved Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw). The reality we face is that our children are attracted to the strong influences of society all around them, which pull them away from the good teachings of Islam and many of them sadly lose their connection with Islam and the Jama ’ at. It was decided then that A Mother ’ s Handbook , serving as a reference guide and a support for mothers on raising Ahmadi children from birth to college age, should be compiled. Ahmadi mothers have the immense task of not only raising good citizens, but raising children who love Allah, who turn to Him in Prayer and who strive their utmost to read, understand and live by the Holy Qur ’ an; children who have that distinction of knowing the Promised Messiah (as) has come, who listen to and love the Khalifa of the time and identify themselves with Jama ’ at Ahmadiyya. There are many excellent books on parenting in the secular world, whereas the purpose of this book is to serve as a companion to help and remind mothers about the Tarbiyat (moral training) of their children and of setting the best example for their children ’ s spiritual journey. Whether you are a mother already or a mother to be, Insha ’ Allah, I am sure you will find this book to be most resourceful. It is a compilation of wisdom and guidance from our Khulafa combined with valuable years of experience from the women who wrote it.