رَبِّ ابْنِ لِى عِندَكَ بَيْتاً فِى الْجَنَّةِ
'My Lord! Build for me a home with You in Jannaah'
(At-Tahreem 66:11)


Saturday, August 4, 2012

How do we smack children to make them pray?

 
Abu Dawood (459) and Ahmad (6650) narrated from ‘Amr ibn Shu’ayb from his father that his grandfather said: The Messenger of Allaah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said:

“Teach your children to pray when they are seven years old, and smack them (lightly) if they do not pray when they are 10 years old, and separate them in their beds.”
Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in al-Irwa’ (247).

Ibn Qudaamah (may Allaah have mercy upon him) said in al-Mughni (1/357):
This telling and discipline is prescribed in the case of children in order to train them to pray, so that they will be used to it and it will become their habit, and they will not forsake it when they reach puberty.”

Shaykh al-Fawzaan said:
Smacking (lightly) is one of the means of child rearing. The teacher may smack, the trainer may smack, the guardian may smack for disciplinary purposes; and the husband may smack his wife in cases of willful defiance (nushooz).
But that must be within certain limits, and it should not be a blow that causes pain, breaks the skin or breaks the bone; rather it should be only as much as is necessary.”
Ighaathat al-Mustafeed bi Sharh Kitaab al-Tawheed (282 — 284)

Shaykh Ibn Baaz (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
Take care of the members of your household and do not neglect them, O slave of Allaah. You have to strive hard in their best interests, and tell your sons and daughters to pray at the age of seven, and smack them (lightly) if they do not do so when they are ten, a light smack that will help them to obey Allaah and make them get used to offering prayers on time, so that they will adhere properly to the religion of Allaah and know the truth, as is narrated in saheeh reports from the Messenger of Allaah (صلى الله عليه وسلم).”
Majmoo’ Fataawa Ibn Baaz (6/46).

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
‘The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) commanded us to tell our children to pray when they are seven years old, and to smack them (lightly) if they do not pray when they are ten years old, even though they are not obliged to do that yet, so that they may be trained in doing acts of worship and obedience and may get used to them, so that it will be easy for them to do that after they grow up and it will be dear to them. The same applies to all matters that are blameworthy; young children should not get used to them even though they are not yet under any obligation, because otherwise they will get used to them when they grow up and will enjoy indulging in them”.
Fataawa Noor ‘ala al-Darb, 11/386

The command implies that it is obligatory, but it is limited only to cases where smacking will be beneficial, because sometimes you smack a child but he does not benefit from being smacked, it only makes him scream and cry more and does not serve any benefit. Moreover what is meant by smacking here is smacking that is not painful, a light smack that serves the purpose and does not cause any harm.
Liqa’ al-Baab il-Maftooh, 95/18

He (may Allaah have mercy on him) also said:
“It should not be a smack that causes injury, and it should not be a smack in the face for example, or a smack to a lethal site; rather he should be smacked on the shoulder or the hand and the like, which would not cause him to die. Smacking on the face is risky, because the face is the highest and noblest part of a person and if a person is smacked on the face it is more humiliating and shameful than if he were to be smacked on the back. Hence it is forbidden to smack on the face.”
Fataawa Noor ‘ala al-Darb, 13/2

No comments:

Post a Comment