Paradise Under Your Feet — Page 101
Chapter 6: High School Years 101 strongly connected to their faith, or may have no faith at all. Frequent mention of Allah Almighty as a well-known Friend will remind them of His presence and assure them that He is their Friend also. They should always be encouraged to pray for every little thing they need. Daily recitation of the Holy Qur ’ an should be encouraged and continued as from previous age groups. High school children are notorious for their “ I don ’ t have time, I ’ m already late ” excuses, but insisting that they read at least a few lines of the Holy Qur ’ an before leaving for school will establish the importance of starting the day with the Word of God in their thoughts. After school , they can focus on translation, either word by word translation or reading the short and long commentaries. At the weekends, parents can establish a Darsul-Qur ’ an time for all the family to sit together and study the commentary of a few verses or memorize some prayers and Ahadith. This is a great opportunity for fathers to play an important role in the Tarbiyat of their children, as usually they do not have time during the week to interact with their children very much. As children grow older, the father ’ s active participation in the Tarbiyat of children becomes more crucial and often has a greater impact on teenagers than the efforts of the mother, especially for boys. Reading books of Ahadith, biographies of the Holy Prophet (saw) and books by the Promised Messiah (as) should also be encouraged, as their understanding and insight is gaining maturity at this time. Be realistic in goals and perhaps assign 1-3 books in the summer break, or ask your teenager to read a few pages of one of the Promised Messiah ’ s (as) books each night before retiring. Be available if they want to ask questions or discuss what is being read.