Question: We want from your excellence an abridged advice to the parents/guardians about raising their children well and on righteous upbringing, especially in this era in which social media has emerged and many youth and people are connected to these means?
Answer: “No doubt the parents/guardians of young children are responsible to protect them from corrupting their religion and corrupting their honor. So they raise them with a good, upright upbrining. And they should order them to pray due to the statement of the Prophet (ﷺ):
مُرُوا أَوْلادَكُمْ بِالصَّلاةِ لِسَبْعٍ، واضْرِبُوهُمْ عَلَيْهَا لِعَشْرٍ، وفَرِّقُوا بَيْنَهُمْ فِي المَضَاجِعِ
Command your children to pray when they become seven years old, and beat them for it (prayer) when they become ten years old; and arrange their beds (to sleep) separately.
[Saheeh Sunan Abi Dawood no.495]
So raise them from the age of discernment [i.e. seven years] upon worship, purification, good manners, until they grow up upon it. And do not neglect them so they are raised upon what is not allowed from debased manners. Do not neglect them with the other children. The most important of that is not to enable them to watch evil, despicable channels or to bring them in their houses or enable them to look at cell phones which have now become the place of attraction for the people of evil except those whom Allah has mercy upon.
Whoever restricts to making calls on the cell phone, then this is something permissible and a great service. As for using it to find evil sights, filthy beliefs, misguided propaganda, then is is a great danger. The children should be made to avoid it and protected from it with the utmost protection”.
[https://www.alfawzan.af.org.sa/node/15889]
Translated by
Faisal Ibn Abdul Qaadir Ibn Hassan
Abu Sulaymaan
