It is the ultimate right of every child to receive sound education, i.e. wholesome, useful and complete from their parents and guardian. The Islamic interpretation of knowledge being that of which is useful for their success in the life here and more importantly in the Hereafter.
“The best gift to children from their parents is their correct training.” (Narrated in Tirmizi).
Parents, on their part, hold great leverage in terms of what they teach their children and ultimately how they grow up as adults. Therefore, Islam holds every parent/guardian responsible for steering their children’s upbringing according to the guidelines of the Quran and the Prophet’s traditions.
“Allah (SWT) will ask every caretaker about the people under his care, and the man will be asked about the people of his household” (Narrated in Nasa’i, Abu Da’ud).
In today’s materialistic world, it is common to see parents focusing on the kind of education that emphasizes on worldly achievements at the expense of Islamic education. A successful career, which in due course leads to an overall prosperous outcome in life is deemed more important than being an upright Muslim. In reality, depriving children of proper Islamic teachings will prevent them from building a close relationship with their creator Allah, which is the cornerstone of success in this life and the hereafter.
Liberalism – A threat to education
As of all things modern, liberalism too, unfortunately do not leave childhood education untouched. A political ideology founded on the ideals of individual liberty and equality, liberalism places too much emphasis upon the preservation of the unabashedly glorified self-esteem, that there is minimal room for remorseful self revisionism.
This is clearly against the fundamentals of Islamic teaching, whereby the principle of tauheed is centered around the shahadah “la-ila-ha-illallah” (there is no God beside Allah), and all forms of religious acts of worship is to further inculcate the oneness of Allah even further into our souls, thus strengthening the relationship between God and Man. Any form of deviation from this path, hidden or otherwise; no matter the time span, calls upon the need for self reflection, remorse, and repentance.
Mu`âdh bin Jabal relates that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said to him: “O Mu`âdh! Do you know what is Allah’s right over His servants and what their right is over Him?” I said: “Allah and His Messenger know best.” He said: “Allah’s right over His servants is that they worship Him without associating any partner with Him in worship, and their right over Him is that He does not punish anyone who worships Him without associating any partner with Him in worship” [Sahîh al-Bukhârî and Sahîh Muslim].
The second right observed in Islam is Al Huqqul Ibad (the rights of others). It is about respecting the rights of others and especially understanding others’ rights from an Islamic standpoint. It is concisely explained in the following verse:
“Worship Allah and join none with Him in worship, and do good to parents, kinsfolk, orphans, Al-Masakin (the poor), the neighbor who is near of kin, the neighbour who is a stranger, the companion by your side, the wayfarer (you meet), and those (slaves) whom your right hands possess. Verily, Allah does not like such as are proud and boastful (An-Nisa 4:36).”
As for the rights of oneself (nafs), contradictory to the tenets of liberalism, it is subjected to the regulations placed by Allah on us. For the unreliability of the nafs is notoriously known.
Imam Ghazali in his book Ihya’ Ulum ul Diin mentioned that Hasan al-Basri said: “Two thoughts roam over the soul, one from God, one from the enemy. God shows mercy on a servant who settles at the thought that comes from Him. He embraces the thought that comes from God, while he fights against the one from his enemy” To illustrate the heart’s mutual attraction between these two powers the Prophet (s) said: “The heart of a believer lies between two fingers of the Merciful” [Muslim, Ahmad, Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah]… The fingers stand for upheaval and hesitation in the heart… If man follows the dictates of anger and appetite, the dominion of shaytan appears in him through idle passions [hawa] and his heart becomes the nesting-place and container of shaytan, who feeds on hawa. If he does battle with his passions and does not let them dominate his nafs, imitating in this the character of the angels, at that time his heart becomes the resting-place of angels and they alight upon it…
Islam vs liberalism
The conflicting core values between Islam and liberalism leave no room for assimilation between the two. Additionally, the comprehensiveness of Islam as a religion AND a way of life is clearly far more superior over the man-made ideals of liberalism. Coexistence between the two values can only bring about confusion in the minds of our young.
For example in the case of the recognition of LGBTs, or other forms of sexual queerness for that matter, Islamic teachings dictate that mates consists only of a male and female, whilst liberalism fights for the acceptance of nearly every possible form of coupling. The latest in the form of paedophilia!
http://misguidedchildren.com/domestic-affairs/2013/07/pedophiles-to-seek-same-rights-as-gays-using-same-tactics-as-homosexual-lobby-report-says
And of His signs is that He created for you from yourselves mates that you may find tranquillity in them; and He placed between you affection and mercy. Indeed in that are signs for a people who give thought. (Ar-Rum:21)
This is the clearest example of the clash between Allah and the nafs (clearly in the form of shaytan in this matter) as the center of our beliefs. How do we expect children to digest this type of incongruency without choosing one over the other?
A positive side?
Some might argue that there is a positive side in the ideas promoted by liberalism that we can take advantage of, free and fair elections for example, that demands good governance. But doesn’t Islam demand the same thing from its leaders? All we need are leaders who actualize the Qur’an and Sunnah in spirit and deed. This is achieved only through the proper teachings of Islam and the choosing of the right role models the likes of Abu Bakr, Umar and Umar Abdul Aziz.
We certainly do not need man made principles as a form of improvement of Islamic teachings or even as a complementary subject. Looking at America now, the country from where liberalism originated, it is enough to watch the damned struggle of their religious and moral standards to be forewarned against the embracing of liberal ideas.
Conclusion
After the arguments mentioned above it is imperative for us as parents to fight against the slow but sure infiltration of modern liberalism into our children’s education, formal or otherwise, by making Islam our sole means and purpose and obliterating once and for all any opportunity for the ideals of liberalism to creep into the minds of our young.
It is a hard fight, for the modern civilization of man is too hot in its selfish and loud pursuit of individual satisfaction that the greater good of the silent majority is lost in their eyes. Islam provides a wholesome solution to each and every problem since the first Ayah was revealed to the prophet some 1400 years ago until the end of time.
And in return, for us, as parents, besides the personal satisfaction, raising good children is also a source of salvation in the Hereafter. At the end of it all, Jannah is waiting.
“Upon death, man’s deeds will stop except for three deeds, namely: a continuous charitable fund, endowment or goodwill; knowledge left for people to benefit from; and a pious righteous and God-fearing child who continuously prays to Allah, for the souls of his parents” (Muslim).
Dr Siti Nurhayati Aznan
ISMA Activist
