For Muslim parents, stress settles in when their kids turn seven. They think about cultivating a passion for praying in the minds of children. You shouldn’t force your kids to pray because it wouldn’t help them understand the underlying reason for praying. They’ll grow up hating prayers because you’ve been pushing them to do it instead of making them fall in love with prayers. You haven’t helped them understand the beauty of connecting with Allah (SWT). Likewise, many aspects interrelate with praying. Parents don’t make an effort to teach kids why and how one should pray. But since you are here, you’ll gather some practical tips. On top of all, we will discuss a fantastic product that will hook your kids to pray!
As parents, you lead by example
If you are not going to set the example for your kids, they will not realize the importance of prayers. Kids learn everything from their parents as they are the only people they get exposed to in their childhood. If kids can pick up the language from you, it wouldn’t be a big deal for them to learn praying from you. For example, you can congregate prayers in jamaat (group), so their interest is piqued, and it might influence them to pray with passion.
You shouldn’t force them, but you should ask whether they performed the prayer in due time. If my dad’s away from home, he’d call us during the prayer time to ask whether we prayed or not. It was a reminder, and we were obliged to do it. It’s also important to teach your kids that we rely on prayers, and our life is based on it!
Salah/prayers should bring in a positive vibe
One of the common mistakes we Asian parents make is we, yell or scream at kids for not waking up for fajr. Of course, you shouldn’t be careless or ignorant when your stubborn teen doesn’t wake up for fajr. But that shouldn’t push you towards turning into an evil parent, and it will eventually make salah look like an annoyance.
Instead, you should let the kids know why you wake up to perform thahajjud and make dua during thahajjud. I’m not regular in offering thahajjudh prayer, but I do it whenever I wake up, and a clear difference that I have witnessed is peace and tranquility during the day. It gives immense pleasure, and my day unfolds with so much barakah.
So when you are waking up your kids for fajr, you should explain how your day began because you prayed thahajjudh. Use kind words when you are waking them up, and you shouldn’t say things like, “Allah will punish you if you don’t wake up now,” or don’t bang their doors. Gently wake them up by saying that it’s time for prayer and missing it would be a great loss. Tell them the blessings that come your way when you pray on time.
Explain the benefits of salah creatively
If you have one way to connect with your little kids, it could be storytelling. Kids love to listen to stories. I lived in an extended family, so there were many little kids in the house. My aunt narrated us Islamic stories in the evening and those stories are still vividly remembered. That’s the power of storytelling. The stories weren’t scary; instead, they were inspiring and motivational. It was interesting at the time, and we wanted to be like the characters in the story.
If you want your kids to experience the beauty of prayers, and if you want them to pray regularly, you should reach them creatively. You should make them want to engage in prayers instead of running away from them. You can tell them how Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) used to make dua during his prayers and how they came true. This will inspire them to do the same. And you must feed deen from the early stage of upbringing.
If they are teenagers, you should explain to them that salah is a stress buster. We, Muslims, are blessed with 5-times prayers to unwind and connect to Allah (SWT) every day. You can talk about your experience. If I were you, I’d tell them how my stressful day became less stressful when I prayed. I’ll tell them how I found solace in Salah. Likewise, you can tell your experiences to motive them. You can also talk about The Connection Between Muslim Prayers (Namaz/Salah) and Yoga Poses and tell them the health benefits salah carries.
These three tips will help you cultivate the passion for praying in your kids’ hearts. But there is an amazing product that has already gone viral, and maybe I’m late to discuss it. Anyway, the interactive prayer mat is produced using the technology innovatively. If you can purchase it, you will be able to make your little kids run to you when they hear the azan (call to prayer) because the product is educational, informative, and fun!
“My Lord, make me an establisher of prayer, and from my descendants. Our Lord, and accept my supplication.” [Qur’an 14:40]
My Salah Mat is one of the best tools you can purchase to increase your kids’ interest in salah. This was designed by Kamal Ali, who’s a British Bangladeshi. It is available for 24 countries globally, and you can easily place an order on Amazon.
As kids are more interested in technology these days, this product eventually attracts kids’ attention. It has around 11 languages, including Arabic, English, Malaysian, French, Indonesian, Urdu, Turkish, Bengali, Russian, German, and Spanish. Apart from that, there are 36 sensitive keys to play surahs. You can adjust the volume of recitals and it’s foldable, and so you can carry it wherever you go. The free instructor manual will help you understand everything easily.
Take-through
All in all, it’s not a must to purchase this product if you can guide your kids to pray without it. But this product would make teaching easier and more fun. Regardless of the method of teaching, you must remain calm and composed when you are teaching your kids to pray!
