Author: Abdul Hai Lay'yan
The Divine Education Model in the Family of the Prophets (part 97)
Educational Guidelines from the Story of Luqman the Wise (AS)
Sixth Guideline: The Believer’s Responsibility in Guiding His Family and Reforming the Home Environment
Just as a believer is responsible for guiding himself and reforming his heart and soul, he is also responsible for guiding his family and cultivating a righteous home environment. Through the story of Luqman, the Wise (AS), the Holy Qur’an presents a model of a Muslim family and clarifies the responsibilities entrusted to the head of the household regarding the upbringing, supervision, and moral development of children based on ethical virtues and human values.
Accordingly, a believer is not only obligated to reform himself but must also strive to guide his family members and strengthen the foundations of his household.
Islam is a religion that gives special importance to the family institution and clearly defines the responsibilities of a believer toward his family and home.
The Muslim family is the primary nucleus of Islamic society and its smallest constructive unit. Islamic society is formed from the collective body of such families, and each family is like a cell within the living structure of the Muslim community.
A Muslim home is, in reality, one of the fortresses of the Islamic creed. This fortress must possess internal strength and cohesion, and each of its members should play a role in safeguarding its values and principles. Without such internal strength, deviations and harmful influences can easily penetrate from within, allowing intellectual and moral enemies to infiltrate this fortress.
Therefore, the believer’s first field of da‘wah and reform is his family and close relatives. Before attempting to reform others, he is obliged to strengthen the foundations of his own family and close all avenues through which corruption may enter the home.
In this regard, the role of a Muslim mother is fundamental and decisive. The presence of a righteous Muslim father alone is not sufficient to ensure proper family upbringing; rather, the cooperation of both parents is an essential condition for success in raising children.
The establishment of an Islamic society cannot be achieved solely through the education of men; women also play a foundational role because they are the guardians of future generations and the nurturers of the seeds from which tomorrow’s society will grow.
Therefore, a Muslim man must recognize the gravity of his responsibility. He is not only commanded to protect himself from Allah’s punishment but is also obligated to protect his family from it. Allah the Almighty says: يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا قُوا أَنْفُسَكُمْ وَأَهْلِيكُمْ نَارًا Translation: “O you who believe! Protect yourselves and your families from a fire.” [1]
For this reason, a Muslim man should exercise great care when choosing a spouse and select a righteous and religious woman whose thoughts and worldview are shaped by the teachings of Islam and who will assist her husband in building a faithful family committed to Islamic values. In doing so, a person may need to overlook certain superficial and deceptive standards and prioritize religious commitment, good character, and spiritual integrity over outward beauty and material attractions, as emphasized by the Messenger of Allah (PBUH). [2]
When a family is established upon such foundations, both parents can fulfill their roles in raising children upon sound belief, sincere faith, and noble character, a generation that will contribute to the strength of the family, the well-being of society, and the advancement of the Muslim Ummah.
Seventh Guideline: The First Duty of Parents Is to Establish Sound Belief in the Hearts of Their Children
Luqman the Wise (AS) began his advice and counsel to his son with the most important matter of all: correcting belief and strengthening faith in Allah the Almighty.
He first forbade his son from associating partners with Allah, and this prohibition inherently included a call to sincere worship and devotion to Allah alone. He then explained the reason for this prohibition, stating that polytheism is a tremendous injustice.
As Allah the Almighty relates from the words of Luqman (AS): يَا بُنَيَّ لَا تُشْرِكْ بِاللَّهِ إِنَّ الشِّرْكَ لَظُلْمٌ عَظِيمٌ Translation: “O my son! Do not associate partners with Allah. Indeed, associating partners with Him is a great injustice.” [3]
The first matter that concerned Luqman (AS), and the first piece of advice he offered his son, was faith in Allah the Almighty. This is precisely what should receive the highest priority in the upbringing of children, because creed (‘aqidah) is the foundation upon which all religious education is built, and all other Islamic obligations and values rest upon it. Therefore, nurturing sound belief is among the greatest responsibilities of parents toward their children.
Luqman the Wise (AS) was not calling his son to something new or unfamiliar; rather, he was directing him back to a truth that Allah the Almighty has embedded within human nature itself. As Allah says: فِطْرَتَ اللَّهِ الَّتِي فَطَرَ النَّاسَ عَلَيْهَا لَا تَبْدِيلَ لِخَلْقِ اللَّهِ Translation: “[Adhere to] the natural disposition of Allah upon which He created mankind. There is no change in the creation of Allah.” [4]
Faith in Allah the Almighty has been placed within the very nature and disposition of human beings. The Holy Qur’an refers to the primordial covenant between Allah and the children of Adam: وَإِذْ أَخَذَ رَبُّكَ مِن بَنِي آدَمَ مِن ظُهُورِهِمْ ذُرِّيَّتَهُمْ وَأَشْهَدَهُمْ عَلَى أَنفُسِهِمْ أَلَسْتُ بِرَبِّكُمْ قَالُوا بَلَى شَهِدْنَا Translation: “And when your Lord took from the children of Adam—from their loins—their descendants and made them testify concerning themselves, [saying], ‘Am I not your Lord?’ They said, ‘Yes indeed, we testify.’” [5]
Accordingly, nurturing faith and sound belief is one of the greatest responsibilities of parents. If sufficient attention is not given to this aspect of upbringing, a child may grow up with weak faith and an unstable creed. In some cases, due to the influence of corrupt environments, deviant cultures, and misguided societies, he may stray from the path of truth and fall into doctrinal deviation.
In such circumstances, returning him to the straight path, sound faith, and divine guidance becomes extremely difficult.
For this reason, Islam emphasizes that a child’s upbringing should begin with the foundations of belief. Parents must instill faith in Allah, Tawhid, love for Allah, and sound Islamic beliefs into the hearts of their children before anything else. When the foundation of faith is strong, moral conduct, acts of worship, and all other religious practices will likewise be built upon a firm and stable base. [6]
To be continued…
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References:
[1] Surah At-Tahrim, 66:6.
[2] Sayyid Qutb, Fi Zilal al-Qur’an, vol. 6, pp. 3619–3620.
[3] Surah Luqman, 31:13.
[4] Surah Ar-Rum, 30:30.
[5] Surah Al-A‘raf, 7:172.
[6] Jad al-Mawla et al., Al-Qasas al-Qur’ani, pp. 342–343; Abdullah Nasih al-‘Ulwan, Tarbiyat al-Awlad fi al-Islam, Cairo: Dar al-Salam, 1415 AH, vol. 1, p. 163.
