Paradise Under Your Feet — Page 147
Appendix 1: Establishing Salat Through the Ages 147 Almighty. At this age, strive to help your children develop an authentic motivation for Salat , so that it is more than just a habit. As in the earlier years, high school children should continue to offer their Salat in congregation whenever possible. High school is also a challenging time since the students have a lot of school work to accomplish, but the increased workload or extracurricular activities cannot be allowed to cause laxity in offering Salat. At this stage, help your children understand that Salat takes precedence over all other duties. Sincere Salat is our means of support and success. Since Jumu ’ ah is obligatory upon men, boys in high school must be encouraged to attend Jumu ’ ah at least once a month, even though the high school curriculum can be quite demanding. Salat through College Years College years present perhaps the greatest challenge to students in maintaining their Salat , as they are often no longer under full time supervision of parents. However, if parents have laid the foundation of establishing Salat in their children, then the children are not likely to stray away and become lax in their Salat. While college students can no longer be called children and legally have become adults, parents still have the responsibility to remind, instruct and guide them, especially in spiritual matters. Encourage your children as well to offer Nawafil (voluntary prayers) and to pray for success in their studies. So whether the children are living at home or on campus, they should be performing their Salat regularly. When choosing to live in a dorm, you can request the university for a Muslim roommate if possible, although your student will still need to be ready to discuss the differences in Ahmadiyyat. If finances are not a concern, then a single