Paradise Under Your Feet — Page 80
80 children. Prayers are accepted more when mothers have a deep desire to keep them devout. Hence, I see so many girls who, I am afraid, are not trained well. And the reason is that parents have watched them grow up in the same environment in the same manner and did not care. ” 5. 2 However, if proper Islamic training has been carried out from the start, with parents as good role models who have maintained a loving, open relationship with their preteens, there should be little to worry about regarding any challenges that may arise on the way to their child ’ s maturity. If the home environment is such that the love of Allah permeates from every corner, the children will be drawn towards Him and thereby find it easier to work through any challenges that they might face. On the other hand, Hazrat Khalifatul- Masih IV (rh) has warned in his address of July 6 th , 1991 that if the attitudes of children begin to change, mothers should realize that their direction has begun to change, especially when they see the hairstyles, the manner of dress, their smiles, and the manner of their daughter s’ entertainments change. Huzoor (rh) warned that this happens when parents do not pay attention to the environment in which their children are growing up. The Holy Qur ’ an, the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (saw), the writings of the Promised Messiah (as), and the Sermon s of the Khulafa are excellent sources of guidance for the proper Tarbiyat of children of all ages. It is interesting that many secular books on raising children with a sound background talk about the same principles which are laid out in the Holy Qur ’ an a nd the teachings of the Holy Prophet (saw).