A friend posted this on my Facebook wall, as related to her by my child’s pre-school teacher:
“Smlm lagi cute, dia mumbling-nyanyi sorang2 tau den i tanye hyder nyanyi lagu apa den dia ckp sumting habib habib… Den i ask him to sing again, den bila nyanyi, ada mcm zikir, ratib n memuja Allah n Rasul! So cute!!!”
However, no, we are not riak, we are not parading around in pride, Nauzubillah. Instead, we are happy, so happy and filled with joy, that our efforts to imbibe him with bits of Islamic songs, doas, are paying off, so much so that he’s singing them on his own, without being asked to!
Some people have asked me how do we make him interested in nasyids, in maulids? How do we cultivate in him, love for our beloved Nabi Muhamad (saw), and his family, and most importantly to Allah? How do we try our best to make him be a man full of taqwa?
As parents, we’ve got to think ahead, all this that we are doing is just laying out the foundation, so that he may grow up and build on it, add to his iman, fulfill his duties as a Muslim, and work towards Jannah. (Amin!)
I am embarrassed to say that we didn’t start early. Yes, when I was pregnant with him, I listened to the Quran on the iPod on the way to work. Yes, Husband recited the azaan at his ear when he was born. We did the usual sunnah acts of tahnik, shaving the head, doing aqiqah, circumcision.
But that didn’t feel enough. How do the mothers of the pious men do it?
Habib Umar ibn Hafidz of Hadramaut, Yemen, mentioned in his talk at a local masjid when he visited Singapore last year, 5 ways on how bring your child up in an Islamic way.
One of the ways was to always always always bring your child to majlis ilmu, to masjid, to sit with Ulama, and of course with the Habibs, descendants of our Nabi Muhamad (saw). From young, that will make him have love for the alim ulama, and Insha’Allah will make him want to be one of them. AMIN!
We started having ngaji lessons at our own house, had a teacher come over to teach us on a weekly basis, Alhamdulillah. And while we practise reading, our then 2 year old son will be nearby us. Sometimes he joins in, he now can read from Alif up to Kha. When we are done reading the Quran, after we kiss it, he will want to kiss it too. That makes him appreciate the sacredness of the Quran.
We also bought for him his own sejadah, for him to join us for prayers. Jubahs and songkok to go for maulids in. You can get jubahs for toddlers at Arab Street or Geylang market.
It was only when we moved into our own house, that we started switching on CDs with nasyids, maulids, readings of Quran. By then my son was 2 years old, and it already felt like a late start to us. But please know, it’s never too late. Afterall, it has been said, “If we turn to Allah, He will turn to us with greater effort. If we walk to Allah, He will run to us.”
At his age, he also likes to copy what his elders do. So whenever he sees his father use the siwak, he wants to use it too. Husband bought him a small one. When he sees Ustazs and Habibs wearing the sal, he wants it too. After buying it for him, we explained to him that it’s sunnah, it’s something that our Nabi likes to wear, and he gets it, Alhamdulillah!
Mention Allah and Nabi (saw) in daily actions. “Allah likes it when you listen to Ummi!” / “Nabi (saw) likes it if you wear shoes on the right foot first!” That will Insha’Allah make him think of Allah swt and Nabi saw, before doing anything.
We also sometimes call him Ustaz Hyder, or Habib, and he loves it. Now if you were to ask him what’s his ambition, what does he want to be when he grows up, he will say “Ustaz!” Insha’Allah, as his mother, I always pray he will grow up and be one.
Most importantly, it is the doa of us parents for our children that is most important. Our beloved Nabi Muhamad (saw) said that doa of a loving parent is never unanswered, so this is the greatest tool we have as parents!
May all our kids be successful dunia and akhirat, may they (and us!) be people full of iman and taqwa, and may we get to be with our beloved Nabi Muhamad (saw) in syurga! Amin!
Shida Hussin is a mother to a 3-year old boy, Hyder, and constantly learning & trying to bring him up in the best possible way, with her loving husband by her side.
