Latest / After Maghrib 🌙 / Curing the Brainrot Generation ft. Dr. Sayed Moustafa Al-Qazwini
Transcript
- 0:00Smila Rahman, Raheem, Salaam Alaikum and welcome back to
- 0:03another episode here on the After Maghrib podcast.
- 0:06Brothers and sisters, if this is your first time tuning into
- 0:09After Maghrib, go ahead, hit that subscribe button.
- 0:12So inshallah you're always up to date with our current and future
- 0:15episodes and releases. You're probably wondering where
- 0:19is my Co host? He sends his salaams.
- 0:21However, he's unable to join me on this episode as he's
- 0:24attending a family function all the way in Birmingham.
- 0:28Now. Brothers and sisters, over the
- 0:30last few weeks and over the last few years in fact and Inshallah
- 0:33in the upcoming years and upcoming weeks, we will continue
- 0:36to have our episodes where we discuss different subjects from
- 0:41spiritual, social, at times political.
- 0:44And these conversations continue.
- 0:46And the whole purpose behind this is that we can prepare
- 0:48ourselves to raise Inshallah righteous and noble families.
- 0:52And that means today's episode is going to be one that
- 0:55inshallah will be beneficial to not just new parents, but
- 0:59inshallah upcoming parents on how we can raise our children in
- 1:03the right manner. Now joining me in this episode
- 1:08is the amazing and wonderful Sayed, who's come all the way
- 1:12from the sunny state of California to the grey and rainy
- 1:18London. And that is none other then the
- 1:21wonderful, the humble, the eloquence, His Eminence doctor,
- 1:26said Mustafa al Kazwini Saidna Salaam alaikum.
- 1:38Alaikum Salaam al Ahmed Allah, said Ali.
- 1:41Good to see you again. Good to see you as.
- 1:43Always that's rain is not something bad.
- 1:46We love rain. That's.
- 1:50Usually when people come to the UK, they always complain, oh,
- 1:53the weather, you know, it's raining.
- 1:55It's miserable. It's good to have you back here
- 1:59again. I know last time you were here.
- 2:01For the viewers out there who missed that episode, we spoke
- 2:04about abuse and trauma. So please go back and TuneIn and
- 2:08make the most from that because post that episode saying that
- 2:12when it was released, we had a lot of our audience reach out.
- 2:15They engaged with us and they found it very beneficial,
- 2:18profound, and it allowed them to align their lives to understand
- 2:22at times that not every trial and tribulation is, you know,
- 2:27like something evil that comes upon the brother.
- 2:30It's a test and a way for them to understand how to connect
- 2:33with a lost panel with Tyler. So thank you for that episode.
- 2:36And Charlotte, this episode is no different for new parents,
- 2:39current parents, and those who are thinking in Charlotte to get
- 2:42married and raise a righteous family.
- 2:44And with your permission, saying that we begin if that's OK with
- 2:47you. And what we want to understand
- 2:50in this conversation, saying is what is meant by Tarbia?
- 2:54What is the right Tarbia? What does Tarbia even mean?
- 2:56Because upbringing to many people is different for those
- 3:00raised in the West, it can be different for those back home,
- 3:03for example, is different. Sometimes they see society
- 3:07telling you how to raise your children.
- 3:09They go to school. And it's very different to how
- 3:11our faith teaches us to raise children.
- 3:14So I just think just for the next few minutes, just so that
- 3:17we don't get confused as parents or upcoming parents.
- 3:21What does Tarabia mean from an Islamic perspective?
- 3:24Yes, Terbia or upbringing or raising family or children is
- 3:32the sacred, the most sacred mission God endowed the humanity
- 3:39with. It is the mission of the
- 3:40prophets and the messengers. If you ask why God sent many
- 3:45apostles, prophets, messengers to for, for this reason, Terbia,
- 3:51Terbia. And so the parents, they've been
- 3:56endowed with this responsibility.
- 3:58It's a big responsibility. It's very sacred.
- 4:01It's why we get married, why we raise a family.
- 4:05It's because of this, this important mission.
- 4:09And of course, it is very rewarding.
- 4:12You see the results in your life.
- 4:16You can see the results after one's death.
- 4:19The prophet says if someone dies, he would be cut off
- 4:25completely from access to this life except through three
- 4:29channels, one of them, his children, his virtuous children.
- 4:34If he had raised virtuous children, boys or girls, then
- 4:39they create an access for him into this life, meaning that he
- 4:43can benefit from them after his death.
- 4:47And if you allow me, I, I, I, I, I just remembered the story,
- 4:52please. The story says that one day
- 4:56Jesus, peace be upon him with his disciples in Palestine, he
- 5:01was walking in on the street and they came across a cemetery.
- 5:06So they passed through the cemetery and all of a sudden he
- 5:09hears noises coming from a grave.
- 5:13So noises of someone being tortured.
- 5:17He was screaming, yelling, crying.
- 5:20So Jesus asked God. He said to him, God, what's
- 5:23happening here? God said to him, this is a
- 5:27deceased person, that person who's done, you know, violations
- 5:33and mistakes and sins, and now he's being punished in the
- 5:37grave. So Jesus felt sorry for him, so
- 5:41he left. He couldn't do anything.
- 5:43He left. Then he came the following year,
- 5:47one year after, and he passed through the same cemetery, the
- 5:51same grave. It was quiet.
- 5:55So he asked God, last year I passed here and this guy was
- 5:58being punished. Now he's a quiet, What happened?
- 6:02God said to him, we suspended the punishment.
- 6:06Jesus said, why? God said to him, I'll translate
- 6:12this Liana who got Bella who well done for Asla Hatarican
- 6:17what our team man for a foreigner, Little B this this
- 6:25deceased had a boy. This boy reached the age of
- 6:29responsibility and maturity and he hosted, you know, an orphan
- 6:35in his home. And he paved in his own village.
- 6:38He paved the way for the people. We decided to forgive the father
- 6:43because of the deeds of the son. So raising good family, good
- 6:48children, good daughter, good son, it's an asset for us, not
- 6:54only in this life, but even in the hereafter.
- 6:57We can, we can tap into them. Even after our death, they
- 7:00remain an asset for us. This is why this mission is very
- 7:04sacred. This mission is not easy.
- 7:08You are a transforming the heart, the minds, the souls of
- 7:13people, educating them, getting them closer to God.
- 7:18So it requires a lot of sacrifices, a lot of investment.
- 7:22It's not easy. It's a full time job.
- 7:25It's a 24/7 job by, by both parents, by the father and the
- 7:30mother, not just one of them. And it requires a lot of work,
- 7:35you know, and it is not only up to the age of 5 or 6 or 10, it
- 7:40could be up to the age of 30 and, and 40 sometimes.
- 7:44So it's an ongoing mission, perpetual mission.
- 7:47But at the same time, it's very rewarding.
- 7:50If parents do well, they will see the results.
- 7:53They will see the results. You know, when, when your, your
- 7:57son, your, your daughter grown up, they do good.
- 8:00You'll really feel proud about them.
- 8:02And then you would realize that my effort, my sacrifices are not
- 8:07wasted. Beautiful now that's a very way
- 8:10nice of putting it and it's very nice to also mention, for
- 8:12example, well at the Saleh and the Hamela Saleh you can do
- 8:15which will affect also and benefit our parents who are no
- 8:18longer with us today we ask the last panel, what's Allah to?
- 8:22Specialized honourable dad, I remember your dad, he raised you
- 8:26very, very well, very kind. Allah bless his soul and may
- 8:29Allah protect your honourable mother too.
- 8:30And I'm saying that my Allah protects you.
- 8:32Having said all of this, can I just ask, just in addition to
- 8:35this question, as we're speaking about what is?
- 8:38Upbringing and Turbia Is there a difference between the home and
- 8:43society or is it the same? No, no, there is a difference.
- 8:49The home is our first family, the society is our second
- 8:53family. Therefore, the responsibility of
- 8:56the home and the parents in a protecting, maintaining,
- 9:01encouraging, raising their kids is much bigger than the
- 9:05responsibility of the society. We are the products of our
- 9:09homes. Yes, we are influenced by the
- 9:12greater society, definitely by our friends, by the environment,
- 9:16by social media, by other people, by the school, the
- 9:20teachers, the peers. But our first, you know, first
- 9:25grade or first stage or first phase is our parents.
- 9:30They are our parents who are the one who are directly responsible
- 9:35for protecting us, maintaining us.
- 9:38So there is a difference. There is a difference.
- 9:41You know, at home our parents play a major role.
- 9:47And then of course, after that we go to the society.
- 9:50But if the parents fail in their mission, God forbids, society
- 9:56cannot cannot do much. You cannot expect parents who
- 10:01are doing not anything. They are not doing anything for
- 10:04their kids. Expect the teacher, an outsider,
- 10:07the nanny, or the friend to do this work for them.
- 10:11If parents are not doing it, then nobody is going to fill
- 10:14that gap. An upbringing say it.
- 10:19It's something that we've on this.
- 10:20I I know for myself personally, before I became a parent, I
- 10:24think before I even got married, I was thinking about children as
- 10:28well. And you know, raising them in
- 10:29the society and all the chaos and everything is like the other
- 10:33way around compared to how we were raised, like when our
- 10:36parents raised us, everything is different today.
- 10:38So I was like sort of thinking of the challenges and what I may
- 10:41face when I have children. But Salham Delay, I think it's
- 10:44manageable when you have a strong family.
- 10:46We have a strong community. When you can speak with your
- 10:49elders, you can seek advice from scholars, your local imams in
- 10:53the mosque and a community level.
- 10:55You speak with a friend you can trust.
- 10:57You know, I'm facing this issue with my kids.
- 11:01How do I approach that? So it's not just like we get
- 11:03stuck at home and it's just the mum and dad deal with it.
- 11:06No, there should be like a network where parents and
- 11:08Charlotte can reach out and don't be shy.
- 11:10Speak to all the family members, speak to community members and
- 11:13let them help you and Charlotte with any questions that you
- 11:15have. But just on this, I, my eldest
- 11:19at Handela, she's 8 years old, say it's if I can use my own
- 11:22children as an example here, my youngest recently turned 7 as
- 11:26well. So they are getting to an age
- 11:28where soon in Charlotte they'll become adults in the near
- 11:31future. And for me, I would say I really
- 11:36started to do instilling upbringing and raising them
- 11:41before the age of 3/4. And they start pulling like
- 11:44small, small CS and making them do kind acts, trying to make
- 11:47them understand certain things and the differences that we have
- 11:51at home compared to society around us.
- 11:53And Charlotte, I would say is working well.
- 11:57I'm not being biased ever. So Charlotte's working well.
- 11:59But when does raising your children really begin?
- 12:02And I know we've, we've come across sayings about Rasulullah
- 12:05Muhammad Sallallahu alaihi. Alaihi says, for example, you
- 12:08spill, you spill split, sorry, upbringing in three sections.
- 12:127/14/21. I don't know if you can
- 12:16elaborate on this just so that we understand what's meant by
- 12:19the prophet. I call them the 777777 sounds
- 12:24like stages which have been mentioned by both our Prophet
- 12:28Muhammad Sallallaahu Alaihi of Salaam and our six Imam, Imam
- 12:31Jafar Assad. They both have narrations on the
- 12:35importance of these three stages.
- 12:38But you asked me also an important question, where does
- 12:42it start? It does start from a very young
- 12:46age. Many parents think that their
- 12:50responsibility begins when the child is 12131415.
- 12:57No, it begins much, much, much before that, many years before
- 13:02that. Today, psychologist, they argue
- 13:05that your kids, they need attention, they need training,
- 13:13they need companionship as young as the age of 2.
- 13:17They are very smart. Kids now are different from kids
- 13:22before, very smart. So they need the attention of
- 13:27their parents, they need the involvement of their parents.
- 13:30So it begins at a very young age.
- 13:32I remember one time in America, one of the religious scholars
- 13:40who's not a Muslim, he's a leader of our other other
- 13:43traditions, other religious traditions.
- 13:46He told me that we focus on our kids.
- 13:49We focus on kindergarten and a preschool.
- 13:53I said, why kindergarten and a preschool?
- 13:56He says because this is the sensitive age where they grasp,
- 14:01they learn. OK, you inculcate, you instill
- 14:05the values at this age. If you don't do them at this
- 14:08age, for instance, if you wait until the age of 6 or 7 or 8,
- 14:13it's too late. You have to begin at the age of
- 14:152, at the age of 3, this is the right age with where they
- 14:19receive and they learn. So this is a critical age.
- 14:25Many parents, they neglect their kids at this age, they don't
- 14:28have time for them. They consider them to be kids.
- 14:31It is true that the Hadith says the first seven years let them
- 14:36play, but let them play does not mean be careless about them,
- 14:42don't tend to them, don't educate them, don't teach them,
- 14:45don't train them. No, no, it means do not
- 14:48overburden them. Don't overburden them.
- 14:52Be relaxed. But still you have to teach
- 14:55them. You have to spend time with
- 14:57them, even their brain. They say kids as young as five
- 15:02years old, they can learn many languages at at at age 5.
- 15:08So don't miss this opportunity. They can learn 345 languages at
- 15:14the same time. So it is a stage of a growing
- 15:18stage of learning and therefore we have to spend time with them
- 15:23when they are very young. And you know, just on this bit
- 15:27about time, we always hear, for example, I don't have time for
- 15:30my kids or there's no time in the day.
- 15:32You know, I'm working, I'm busy, I'm trying to provide for the
- 15:35family. Or sometimes today we find in
- 15:38today's societies, both parents are working or both parents are
- 15:41unable to spend quality time with their children, raising
- 15:44them in the right manner. Is there a difference?
- 15:46If, for example, because this question comes sometimes, is it
- 15:50right, for example, that we get childminders or people who can
- 15:54come look after our children while we're at work?
- 15:56Or is this something dangerous because there is a rise in this
- 15:59happening? I would not say it is dangerous,
- 16:02no, because sometimes, as you mentioned, parents have to work
- 16:08in these countries. In the West, in Europe and North
- 16:10America, both parents have to work to make ends meet.
- 16:14Because they feel guilty not being there at home.
- 16:17Yeah, but but at the same time, of course they have to be
- 16:21careful about their kids. They cannot abandoned them
- 16:25completely to the caretaker or the OR the nurse or the nanny or
- 16:31the, the, the whatever it is. No, they cannot.
- 16:36But we have to be also practical.
- 16:38You know, if a mother is working, the father is working
- 16:42and they need this job, they need this income.
- 16:44They cannot survive without it. So they can have a babysitter,
- 16:50but they cannot put all the load on that babysitter or or the
- 16:54nanny. They cannot still, even if the
- 16:58mother is working, she has to split her time between work and
- 17:02home. Even if the father is working,
- 17:05he must split his time between his job and home and his
- 17:10children. And if they cooperate, both of
- 17:12them, if parents, both of them, they cooperate, they work with
- 17:16each other, they help each other.
- 17:18I think they can manage. They can manage taking care of
- 17:21their kids. But some people are lazy.
- 17:24Some parents, they don't want to do it.
- 17:26They bring excuses. I've seen many parents who are
- 17:31super busy, but then the family is a priority too, so they spent
- 17:38time. They try to spend time at least
- 17:41three times a week, 3 * a week. They spend time with their kids.
- 17:45They take them out or even if they are at home, they spend
- 17:49time. They spend quality time.
- 17:51I remember a story. I mentioned this story in some
- 17:56of my lectures in the past, past 20-30 years.
- 18:01The story I heard this story in America that one day a father
- 18:07who was very busy with his business, very busy.
- 18:10He comes home late. When he comes home, kids are
- 18:14already in bed. They don't see him.
- 18:16He leaves early in the morning. They are either in bed or they
- 18:20are going to school there. So they don't see him and one of
- 18:23his sons, he would see his friends spending time with their
- 18:28parents. OK, the parents, they drop them
- 18:32at school. They pick them up after school.
- 18:34But his father is always absent, always absent.
- 18:38So he was hurt. He was deeply hurt.
- 18:42So one day his father came back home.
- 18:48He said to him, Daddy, I want to spend time with you.
- 18:52The father said that I'm busy. I know I'm busy.
- 18:55I'm a breadwinner. So he said to him, How much do
- 18:58you make an hour in America? They, they, you know, sometimes
- 19:03they pay according to the hour. I don't know how it works here.
- 19:06Usually there are hourly wages. If it's not a salary, yeah, it's
- 19:09also based on hourly. So the father Forster said to
- 19:11him, I make $50.00 an hour. So the son, he took $100 and he
- 19:20said daddy take this, spend 2 hours with me.
- 19:22Oh, man, it's very emotional. So parents, this is a priority.
- 19:29This is not something luxury that whether you do it, you
- 19:32don't do it. It's not you must do this.
- 19:35It's a responsibility. It's a response to otherwise you
- 19:39would lose. I've seen many parents who made
- 19:42millions of dollars, but they lost their kids.
- 19:45It's not worth it. Imagine yourself, you have 100
- 19:47million pounds, $100 million, but your kids are not with you.
- 19:51Your kids are lost. Your kids, they follow different
- 19:55paths, other paths. You're not going to enjoy your
- 19:58money. So we must make time.
- 20:01We must both, both parents, they must make time.
- 20:04Sometimes they have to cut back at their work, at their other
- 20:08relationships. I remember one time again, I was
- 20:12at at a conference in New York City and there were many
- 20:15leaders, Catholics, Christians, Muslims, Jews and other leaders.
- 20:22And we're debating about family matters.
- 20:25So the term came to 1 imam and the the the moderator was asking
- 20:32us how are you going to spend this summer?
- 20:36So everyone says something. One of them said I'm writing a
- 20:41book, I'm spending my time writing a book.
- 20:43One of them says I'm travelling, the other said I'm I'm giving
- 20:48lectures, whatever. One of the imams said I'm
- 20:52spending time only with my family.
- 20:55I'm doing nothing but taking care of my family.
- 20:58That's beautiful. Now sometimes if you say this to
- 21:01some people say they say well he's, he's useless, he's not
- 21:05doing anything. No, he's not useless.
- 21:07He's very useful. This is the right thing you have
- 21:10to do. Even if you are super busy and
- 21:12helping others, you must spend time with your own family, with
- 21:16your own kids, one-on-one. They see you, they travel with
- 21:20you, they walk with you, they they dine with you, you have
- 21:23conversation with them, you take them out.
- 21:26Even if you travel, take them out, talk to them.
- 21:29This is a very critical age. They need the parents, they need
- 21:33the father, they need a father figure, they need the mother,
- 21:37they need the love, the attention, the discussion.
- 21:40Otherwise we will be losers. And this is what God says in the
- 21:44Quran. Look at the Quran how many times
- 21:46God says in Al Qasrina, ladina khesaru and fusahum, the losers
- 21:53are not the one who only lose themselves, they lose their kids
- 21:57and their families. On the day of judgement, when
- 21:59God tells Ibrahim, Ibrahim, you have to connect with me,
- 22:02establish a prayers, what does he tell him?
- 22:04He he he tells him what Amor Ali aliyah Command them command them
- 22:12to pray. Ibrahim Ali Salaam says rabbit
- 22:15Ali Mukima Salati women the reality we want to pray together
- 22:21in in America, they say the family that prays together, they
- 22:24stay together. So it's a difficult task, but we
- 22:28must make time. There is no excuse for that.
- 22:32You know, don't see your friend decide that three times a week.
- 22:36I don't see my friends. I told them I'm busy, I spent
- 22:39time with my family. Yeah, that's very it's very
- 22:42true. And it's nice to see the
- 22:43importance of time and the role it plays in the upbringing.
- 22:47And just on this point of Salah as well, I think we'll get to
- 22:49some say, some challenges that parents face face rather just
- 22:54this thing with time and spending time with children.
- 22:58Quality time. People don't know what is
- 23:00quality time. There's parents, for example,
- 23:02they'll be in the same living room or sitting on the same
- 23:05couch or sofa, and their kids are just next to them, but their
- 23:10attention is completely somewhere else.
- 23:11So what is really meant by time? Is it?
- 23:14Yeah. And for example, I come home
- 23:15from work and I spent, you know, an hour or two just being in the
- 23:19same setting. Or is there something more
- 23:21that's expected from us, especially if fathers, because I
- 23:23always see fathers tend to. So it's to say, for example, you
- 23:27know, I'm providing for the family.
- 23:28That's like the maximum I'm doing.
- 23:30But why are they missing out on? What do we tell them?
- 23:34Quality time means that we sit and we engage in a discussion,
- 23:39for instance, over dinner, over lunch, breakfast, whatever it is
- 23:43over cup of tea. We sit together in the family
- 23:47room or outside or inside or even a cafe or a restaurant or
- 23:52in a park. But we are engaged.
- 23:55We are engaged in a discussion. The father asks the kids, The
- 24:00kids, they have the courage to ask the father, OK, over
- 24:04different issues, different issues.
- 24:06It could be political, it could be social, it could be
- 24:09philosophical, it could be theological, any, any issue.
- 24:15But what I mean by quality time that the father does not come
- 24:19home and he's tired, exhausted, hungry.
- 24:22Kids are talking to him. His his intention is somewhere
- 24:26else. Or he tells them no today.
- 24:28You know, I'll answer this tomorrow.
- 24:30I don't have time today. This is not a quality time.
- 24:33Quality time when, when, when you pay attention, both of you
- 24:38or you are sitting face to face. Sometimes you sit next to your
- 24:42kids, but they are on their phones, on their smartphones,
- 24:45they are not with you. Their mind is is miles away.
- 24:49This is not a quality time. Quality time when you engage in
- 24:53connection, in conversation, in a discussion and and you enrich
- 25:00each other. You support each other even if
- 25:03you disagree. Let's say you are discussing a
- 25:05political issue, let's say. It's very common these days,
- 25:08yeah. But you disagree.
- 25:10It's OK. It's OK, but the engagement is
- 25:13important, OK. The presence of the parents is
- 25:17important. The presence makes a huge
- 25:20difference. Parents when they are absent
- 25:22from their children's life. This is a recipe for all sorts
- 25:26of disasters. So you say this will make or
- 25:29break someone's? Absolutely.
- 25:33No sent some sent some say there's also something else I've
- 25:36like observed and I think I would say benefited from Olama
- 25:42and speakers and lecturers around the world.
- 25:44Normally they have discussions on family and dynamics and
- 25:48navigating family relationships between parents, siblings,
- 25:52children as well. And I remember there was a
- 25:56beautiful say it. I really love his.
- 25:58I'll go my shout out said Hadil Madarasi.
- 26:00He was speaking and he said sometimes, like the values
- 26:05you're teaching your children are indirect, sometimes not just
- 26:08direct. For example, the father could be
- 26:10sitting at home and his mobile phone starts ringing.
- 26:15His son comes to him and says, well, your phone is ringing.
- 26:17And his dad says, oh, I don't want to speak to this guy.
- 26:19Tell him that's in the shower and that's it.
- 26:22But then long term, what you've allowed or instilled in your son
- 26:25is that I can lie. Yes, observance is very
- 26:28important. Yeah, absolutely.
- 26:31They are very smart children. Kids.
- 26:34They observe their parents, they observe their behaviour.
- 26:39They are very intelligent. So even sometimes if you don't
- 26:43speak, you know, they look at your behaviour, they look at the
- 26:47behaviour of the parents, they look at the relationship between
- 26:51the father and the mother also affect them.
- 26:55It has a long term effect on them, on their marriages in the
- 26:58future. If the relationship of the
- 27:01father and the mother based on respect, mutual trust, mutual
- 27:05respect, mutual cooperation. You don't have them to sit and
- 27:10and lecture your kids and tell them, oh be a good husband, be a
- 27:13Good Wife. No, they are looking at you,
- 27:16looking at the way you are treating your wife, looking at
- 27:19at the way you are treating their mother.
- 27:21So if the treatment is nice, is, is respectful, you are sending
- 27:26positive messages. This is an inspiration.
- 27:29You are inspiring them, you are teaching them.
- 27:32I say many times that we don't have to lecture.
- 27:34Sometimes your behaviour is better than your lecture.
- 27:38And this is a psychological theory in the Quran.
- 27:41Psychological theory. We we read it, but we don't pay
- 27:44attention to it. Yeah, yeah.
- 27:46You are Ladina Amanulima Takuluna Malatev Alun Kabura
- 27:49Maktan and Allah and Takulu Malatev Alun.
- 27:52You know, you talk the talk and you walk the walk.
- 27:56You not only sit and lecture your kids, oh, you have to do
- 27:58this, You have to do that. Sometimes your behaviour, your
- 28:01treatment of their mother or you as a mother, the treatment of
- 28:07their father. It's more powerful than than
- 28:09Nazi had an advice than than a lecture now.
- 28:12Actions do speak louder than words, and children do observe.
- 28:15Like I've realized that myself. Like sometimes I do something
- 28:18that I see my daughter will do something as well and she says,
- 28:21well, but you done that so I can do that.
- 28:23I without you telling them what to do or telling them this is
- 28:25right or wrong. They will do something based on
- 28:27if mum or dad is doing something to them that becomes something
- 28:30normal. And just like I'm thinking now
- 28:33while while you were saying it, yeah.
- 28:35I mean, sometimes you see children, they walk the same way
- 28:38their father walks or they talk the same way their father talks.
- 28:41So when you have a conversation with them, they remind you of
- 28:43their father. So Subhan Allah, it's like it's
- 28:46not very far away. You know, sometimes there are
- 28:51challenges saying that when it comes to raising children,
- 28:54parents, they may disagree on how to raise the kids.
- 28:58Sometimes they may have a different understanding of what
- 29:01Arabia is. To what extent does it stop only
- 29:04at, for example, education? What's good or bad for you
- 29:09spiritually, religiously, or is it everything?
- 29:13Because there are cases we hear say it now where children grow
- 29:19up confused. They say like sometimes they
- 29:22reach a level in life where they say, I don't know what to do.
- 29:25Is this right or this wrong? They say, for example, my dad's
- 29:28said this is wrong. I should avoid it.
- 29:30I should stay far away from it. Whereas my mother, she embraced
- 29:33it. She said, no, go do what you
- 29:35want and be the best you can be in this life.
- 29:37So how do we, even if we disagree as fathers and mothers,
- 29:42how do we ensure that we can, you know, be in One Direction
- 29:47when raising kids? Because there are differences
- 29:50and no one's from the same family.
- 29:51No one's from the same tribe, even as something that might
- 29:54look small to the kid is something big.
- 29:57And they see this as a disagreement with Mama and Baba.
- 30:00How do we ensure that we don't disagree in front of them?
- 30:02Or if we do truly disagree, how do we reconcile our differences?
- 30:06The process of raising and nurturing kids, it's very
- 30:11comprehensive and versatile. It's not only in the field of
- 30:16education or or business or work or career or it, it's very
- 30:21comprehensive. It's in every it, it, it
- 30:24encompasses every sphere of our life, every dimension of their
- 30:28life. And therefore you raise
- 30:32something very important that parents, the husband and the
- 30:35wife, they have to be at the same page.
- 30:37This is why compatibility in marriage is important.
- 30:41Compatibility, especially the compatibility when it comes to
- 30:45values and principles. Sometimes someone marries a lady
- 30:49because she speaks the same language, she's from the same
- 30:52village, OK, Or she has the same, let's say educational
- 30:58degree or, or they have the same financial status.
- 31:03This is not enough. This is not enough.
- 31:05They have to be at the same page when it comes to moral values,
- 31:10spiritual values. They have to be at the same page
- 31:14because if they are not, then their perspective on raising
- 31:18children will be different. One of them will be very, very
- 31:22strict. The other will be very relaxed,
- 31:24careless. OK, one of them is going to
- 31:27spoil the children, spoil them. The other says no, no spoiling
- 31:32raising. There is discipline.
- 31:35I don't just give money just to make them happy.
- 31:38Sometimes a father, he thinks that protecting his children,
- 31:42you know, taking care of them is just to throw money at them
- 31:46while the mother says, no, this is dangerous.
- 31:49You cannot do that. There should be some level of
- 31:52responsibility and discipline. So they have to be at the same
- 31:56page. And This is why when people come
- 31:59to me before marriage, one of the things that I advise them to
- 32:04do is that, listen, today you are two people now sitting in
- 32:09front of me asking me to officiate, you know, your
- 32:13wedding. But soon you're going to be
- 32:15parents. You're going to be a father.
- 32:17She's going to be a mother. Are you prepared for that?
- 32:20Have you prepared yourself? This is a huge mission.
- 32:23Yeah. It's not a joke.
- 32:25It's not a joke to just make making, creating a child, I
- 32:31always say, takes a few seconds to create.
- 32:34A few seconds. Yeah, but making him, you know,
- 32:40a true or her true human being, it takes forever.
- 32:45OK, so you have to be prepared. You have to be prepared.
- 32:49You have to educate yourself. You have to read books, you have
- 32:52to take courses. You have to listen to lectures.
- 32:55You have to to be prepared to be on the same page when you when
- 32:59you want to get married, Don't just speak about your
- 33:03relationship with your spouse, but also discuss if we going to
- 33:07have kids, what are we going to do with those kids about their
- 33:11life? How do we raise them?
- 33:13The education doing live close to an Islamic centre, Islamic
- 33:18school, what city, what environment We have to speak
- 33:23about these things. Often time we neglect them and
- 33:26This is why they come to a disagreement.
- 33:28And as you rightly mentioned things we consider them to be
- 33:32small. But the kids when they look at
- 33:34them, the conflict, it's not small for them, it's big.
- 33:38So parents have to prepare themselves for their children in
- 33:43my opinion. Someone was telling me the other
- 33:46day was telling me, but Prophet Muhammad says Tana kahootana
- 33:51asalu, you know for any Obahi become true.
- 33:57This hadith is true. The Prophet says get married,
- 34:00make children, I'm going to be proud of you.
- 34:04On the day of Judgement, I said it's not only about quantity.
- 34:09The Prophet is speaking about quality because he says I'm
- 34:13going to be proud of you. If the if children are bad, the
- 34:17prophet is not going to be proud of them.
- 34:19He's not going to be proud of them.
- 34:22When he said I'm going to be proud of you, it means the
- 34:26quality too, not just the quantity.
- 34:29So if you if you spend your time on making one child, making him
- 34:36a leader or her a leader better than making ten children and all
- 34:41of them are lost. He's not speaking only about the
- 34:45quantity, he's speaking about the quality.
- 34:48And and this is what the Quran says.
- 34:50When Quran speaks about children, what does he say?
- 34:53Well, Ladina kuluna Rabbana Hebblanamin Azwajina with the
- 34:57Riatina Corvata Aion make our spouses and our families and our
- 35:02children a comfort, A cause for for comfort, A cause for peace,
- 35:09not a cause for tension. And you cannot make them a cause
- 35:13for comfort unless you really spend time, your time, your
- 35:17effort, you know, 24/7 mission and raising them, empowering
- 35:22them, inspiring them, protecting them.
- 35:24No, Santom, that's that's beautiful advice, especially for
- 35:28people who want to get married to know that it's not just about
- 35:31you 2 and the compatibility between the both of you.
- 35:35Rather it's a family unit and there's more to it than just,
- 35:38you know, saying I do and Kabil to and holding a wedding and
- 35:41inviting guests. No, it's, it's a journey and
- 35:44it's a journey in Charlotte where as a family you, you
- 35:47strive towards Alana Charlotte be together in gender, the
- 35:50ultimate goal, God willing. But you know, say it.
- 35:54Sometimes people say, I believe I chose the right spouse, but
- 35:59she's the wrong mother or not the right father because they
- 36:03say, for example, and I've heard this a lot say they blame, they
- 36:06say our oldest, our eldest told us, you know, this guy's a good
- 36:11guy. You're suddenly you're so
- 36:13Mahalakazian. You know, the prophet says
- 36:15Sallallahu alaihi wasallam. If you are satisfied with, you
- 36:18know, his Dean and his morals as character, then it should be
- 36:21sufficient for you to say yes. So they tick the boxes and we
- 36:25believed they are the right spouse for us.
- 36:28But when it came to the time of raising children, they were
- 36:33completely different people lost and there was no religious
- 36:36values or moral values, not even a clock.
- 36:39To the extent where they think about divorce, they say, for
- 36:42example, I don't want her to be the mother of my kids currently
- 36:48if this is the way she is and I disagree of how she's raising in
- 36:52our children and vice versa. The wife would say the same
- 36:54thing about the father, her husband basically.
- 36:57And how do they reconcile? There are problems today.
- 37:00Say, you know, where people are thinking of divorce.
- 37:03As parents with young children, how do we tell them?
- 37:08You know, you guys need to work it out for the sake of the
- 37:10children because people always forget.
- 37:12They say aye, aye, aye. Sometimes they say that the
- 37:16better thing to do is to divorce for the sake of the children.
- 37:18But many ways you are ruining the children.
- 37:22Say it, Ali, to be honest with you, Yeah, it's too late.
- 37:28After having children, multiple children, and you find out that
- 37:34your partner is not cooperative, he or she are not living up to
- 37:39their responsibilities of taking care of children.
- 37:44It's too late to reconcile. I, I, I do this business.
- 37:48I, I've, I spent days and, and weeks and months on family
- 37:54counselling and I find that really it's, it's too late.
- 37:57We have to prevent this from happening always.
- 38:02Prevention is better and easier and faster than the cure before
- 38:08the marriage. I always say this always in my
- 38:11discussions and my lectures. When you look, when you are
- 38:17trying to choose a partner, don't look at him or her as
- 38:22being just a spouse or partner. Look at him as being the future
- 38:28father. Is he going to be a future
- 38:31father? Maybe as a friend, as a spouse.
- 38:34This man is good for me. He's generous, you know, he's
- 38:38lovely, he's friendly, he's smiling, he's upbeat.
- 38:42But is he going to be a good father for our kids?
- 38:45Or this lady is beauty queen? Mashallah, so beautiful, so
- 38:50energetic. Is she going to be also a good
- 38:54mother for my kids or not? This is important.
- 38:58This is important. Many people they don't pay
- 39:01attention to this. How would they know like what
- 39:03quality stands out? They have to spend time, they
- 39:06have to spend time they decision of marriage.
- 39:11Marrying something someone should not be quick or fast.
- 39:16Some people are misled by the beauty, by the vibes, positive
- 39:20vibes. Well, I love her.
- 39:22From the first glance I saw her, I knew that she is going to be
- 39:26my wife. This is nonsense.
- 39:28This is nonsense. You know, you should take your
- 39:32time and look at this partner and spend time, ask questions,
- 39:38OK, Look into his family. Because sometimes these genetic
- 39:42traits, they transfer from parents to kids.
- 39:45Look at the family. The family does.
- 39:48Does the family believe in family values?
- 39:51His parents, did he, they raise him well?
- 39:54Did they raise her well? You have to spend time.
- 39:57You have to speak about, you have to interview each other so
- 40:02many times. You have to have debate and
- 40:04discussion, especially over kids.
- 40:07What are we going to do with our kids?
- 40:10Do you know that sometimes they never mentioned kids?
- 40:15And as soon as they get married, the wife does not want to have
- 40:19children because she wants to pursue her career.
- 40:22And the husband insists that he wants children.
- 40:25And then they get into a divorce because of this.
- 40:27Or sometimes it's vice versa. The the the girl, the wife, she
- 40:31wants kids, he doesn't want kids.
- 40:34And then they they disagree. So they don't even discuss basic
- 40:38things about children. They must spend time.
- 40:42Of course, nothing is guarantee, nothing is going to Sometimes
- 40:46you look at him or her St. you know, OK, but then after
- 40:53marriage you discover new things.
- 40:56But you have to try. At least you have to try.
- 40:58You have to investigate, you have to ask, you have to ask
- 41:03family members, friends about this person.
- 41:07So and if there are red flags, you have to be concerned about
- 41:11them. Don't, don't you know?
- 41:14Can you give 2 examples of what a red flag is in this scenario?
- 41:19One of them is the person himself.
- 41:23When you spend time with people and you talk to them and you go
- 41:27out with them, then you would realise whether they are
- 41:31narcissistic, selfish or selfless.
- 41:35You're going to understand from their behaviour.
- 41:38Nothing could be hidden, Imam Ali Aliah Salaam says Ma ofmara
- 41:43ahadunshay and fiq albehi illawa bahara Ala qasamati wajihi au
- 41:48fella tatilisen. If someone tries to hide his
- 41:52character or a trade, a trade, sorry, then he cannot, he cannot
- 41:58go for a long time. One day, one day, either the
- 42:02slip of the tongue, he's going to, you know, reveal himself or,
- 42:08or his face can tell. So they will understand if this
- 42:14spouse, if this person is narcissistic, is selfish or
- 42:19selfless, they will understand. So if he's selfish, stay away.
- 42:25A selfish person, you cannot live with him.
- 42:28A a a person whose egoistic, who puts himself before others, who
- 42:34only cares about himself, not others.
- 42:38You cannot establish a family with that person.
- 42:41No matter how generous that person is, how smiling and
- 42:44handsome and whatever, you cannot live with that person.
- 42:48Why? Because the family needs
- 42:50sacrifice. Say, if there is no sacrifice, a
- 42:54father would not be able to fulfil his mission.
- 42:57A mother cannot continue her journey.
- 42:59They need a sacrifice. Mothers, they sacrifice their
- 43:02lives for their kids. Same thing with fathers.
- 43:05So if this person is not ready to sacrifice his life, he's not
- 43:10going to be a father. She's not going to be a good
- 43:12mother. So leave them.
- 43:15Leave them. So this is a red flag when you
- 43:18see someone putting himself always before others.
- 43:22And you can realize that if you are smart from the way they
- 43:25talk, from the way they criticize all the people, but
- 43:28they praise themselves. One of the signs of a
- 43:31narcissistic whatever he does, whatever he says is, is, is
- 43:36good, is excellent. Whatever others they do is bad
- 43:39and terrible. This is not narcissistic.
- 43:42This is a very clear sign. We are lucky was far away such
- 43:47people and I've had many stories of people who have like, you
- 43:51know, narcissistic traits in their house houses, may Allah
- 43:54make it easy for them just on this thing about, you know,
- 43:58we've spoken quite extensively on what the critical age of
- 44:02upbringing was expected for us as parents and at last from, you
- 44:07know, from the very moment, early years until the very end.
- 44:10It's a lifetime thing, but parents can be doing it all
- 44:15correctly. So they can be showing, not just
- 44:18telling the actions can speak louder than words and things
- 44:21like this. And a lot of time parents, they
- 44:25miss the the important bits. And if, for example, if I can be
- 44:30blunt when I mention this, say it's there are sisters who, for
- 44:35example, reach the age of 1617 and they they may fall in love.
- 44:44Would someone be at school or they've just started working
- 44:48somewhere and someone simply just tells them one word, I love
- 44:51you or you look beautiful. And that's it.
- 44:53They they figure everything else exists.
- 44:55And all they can think about is I see a future with this guy
- 44:58now. But something has led to that
- 45:02because girls when they're raised and they just told what
- 45:05to do, stay away from this and just do this.
- 45:07And and a father doesn't show love to to his children.
- 45:12Yeah. And there was someone who said
- 45:14those who don't say I love you to their daughters, the moment
- 45:17someone else says I love you, they forget the father exists
- 45:20and they go straight to there. If I believe what I'm doing is
- 45:24right. And religiously, spiritually
- 45:28encouraging them to build them out of her with Sahab Zaman, for
- 45:32example. All of this by by lack showing
- 45:34them compassion. I like showing them love.
- 45:38I like showing them full time just to them.
- 45:42Is there an effect? Would I be responsible, for
- 45:45example, on the day of judgement, if something goes
- 45:48wrong and I've done everything religiously, I should as a
- 45:51parent to instill in them, But as they grow up, they lose the
- 45:57religious connection with their faith and with their Dean.
- 46:01How do we balance that? Because there are also times
- 46:03where there was a time where someone messaged in and they
- 46:07said I've raised. There was a mother and she said
- 46:10I've raised my child the best way I can.
- 46:15Father's there, here and there, different country.
- 46:18And she says he prays, he falls, he goes to the mosque, all his
- 46:23friends are Muslim. And then one day he just came
- 46:26home and said I don't believe in God anymore.
- 46:29And they couldn't find what went wrong or how do we bring.
- 46:32There is a reason. There is a reason these things
- 46:35do not come from vacuum or all of a sudden people do not change
- 46:39180°. They go to bed and wake up in
- 46:42the morning and they are changed.
- 46:43No, these are the accumulations of things that is happening in
- 46:48their life. There is a void in their life.
- 46:51It's not enough, said Ali. I want you and the viewers to
- 46:55know it's not enough for the parents to teach their children
- 47:01to pray and fast and observe hijab.
- 47:03This is not enough. This is not enough.
- 47:08Islam is not only praying and fasting and hijab Islam.
- 47:12Islam is much more deeper than this.
- 47:16Parents have to be involved with their kids.
- 47:20The father and the mother have to be in their Life OK from a
- 47:25young age. They have to give them respect
- 47:28and a freedom and allow them to come forward and ask parents
- 47:34questions without fear, without intimidation.
- 47:38They enjoy the freedom, the courage of coming to the Father
- 47:42and telling, I have a problem understanding this.
- 47:46I have a problem understanding God.
- 47:48I have a problem. Can you explain that to me?
- 47:50If the Father cannot, if parents can't, they can take them
- 47:54somewhere else. So it's not only about giving
- 47:59them money, teaching them to pray, teaching them to fast.
- 48:03We are not robots just to teach us things.
- 48:06You know, prayer. The prayer could be mechanical.
- 48:09The human touch. Yeah, prayer it, it could be
- 48:14like an exercise. Mechanical, not spiritual.
- 48:17Many people, they do their prayers mechanical does not
- 48:20change their life at all, at all.
- 48:22Even the month of Ramadan they fast mechanical fasting, OK, but
- 48:27not a spiritual. There is a difference between
- 48:30mechanical and spiritual. Parents have to teach them the
- 48:33value of fasting. Not just you have to fast, but
- 48:36the value of fasting, the value of the prayers, the value of
- 48:40hijab. What difference it makes you
- 48:43know whether you wear the hijab or hijab is a piece of a cloth,
- 48:48piece of a cloth. The the physical hijab is a
- 48:51piece of a cloth. But this is not the message of
- 48:53hijab. Message of hijab is much bigger.
- 48:55It's about your behaviour, about how you carry yourself, how you
- 49:00value yourself. OK, not to cheapen yourself, not
- 49:03this is the message of hijab. So it's much bigger.
- 49:07This is why raising children, it's an art by itself.
- 49:11It's a, it's a, it's a school by itself.
- 49:15It's a school. It's not a, it's not something
- 49:17easy. Many parents are not qualified
- 49:20for that. And fortunately they are not
- 49:22qualified to raise children. They are not qualified.
- 49:25Many mothers are not qualified. They need someone to raise them.
- 49:30Some parents who discipline. One day a father was
- 49:36disciplining, physically disciplining his son.
- 49:39Their mom said he needs discipline.
- 49:42This man, he needs someone to discipline him.
- 49:45OK, so some parents, they need discipline, they need someone to
- 49:49raise them and educate them. Philosophy says if someone lacks
- 49:55something, he doesn't have it, he cannot give it to others.
- 49:58So it's it's a big task, unfortunately, but we don't care
- 50:02about it. Where parents have taken this
- 50:05easy, you know, they are not prepared for it.
- 50:09They are not. They think since I have money, I
- 50:12have extra bedroom in my house, then I'm ready for children.
- 50:15It's not only about money. It's not only about, you know,
- 50:18bringing food to the table. It's much bigger than that.
- 50:21It's about inspiration. Are you an example for your kid,
- 50:24children or not? Many religious people are not
- 50:29good example. They are religious.
- 50:31And I tell you something else, many scholars are not good
- 50:34example. Yes they are not good example.
- 50:39They are well versed in knowledge, but when it comes to
- 50:42family values they don't do. Well, interesting you mentioned
- 50:47that. Yeah, it just goes to show you,
- 50:50honey, there are experts in the field when it comes to
- 50:53upbringing and things like that. So it's not just anyone, you
- 50:55know, or your uncle or something, you know, speak to
- 50:58the right people, inshallah for them to guide us on how to raise
- 51:02children. And you know, as you were saying
- 51:04all of this say there I was thinking about sometimes the
- 51:08interaction on on the Terbia, it's, you know, showing rather
- 51:14than always telling. And actions speak louder than
- 51:16words and you don't just yell at them and things, but sometimes
- 51:20to an extent. And this is where many parents
- 51:22get around. I think it's improved from why I
- 51:25understand and our day and age now is that, for example, Terbia
- 51:29doesn't involve parents becoming physical with their children.
- 51:33And I know that if there are parents out there who do that,
- 51:37they need to understand that this leaves a lasting impact on
- 51:41the child because they may see it as abuse.
- 51:43And it can be abuse in many ways.
- 51:45And they may see us, for example, you know, my father or
- 51:49my mother doesn't love me and the, and the parent will say,
- 51:52no, I'm doing it out of love for my child.
- 51:54You know, I'm disciplining them and things like this.
- 51:56So it's, it's a tricky vault. It's, it's a, it's a whole new
- 51:59world. And I think many times you
- 52:01referenced it in the conversation today is that it
- 52:04starts at the very beginning. It starts during those
- 52:08conversations when you want to have with your spouse on how to
- 52:10raise children beyond of, you know, beyond just how we are
- 52:14compatible rather how the children can be raised in the
- 52:18family. But I, I, I don't know, I just
- 52:21find I find it weird. Say it if I can say, for
- 52:24example, that you're trying to get to know someone and you want
- 52:27to know them first and you want to say you want to see what's
- 52:30their religious values and things like how do you speak
- 52:33about the children? How do you mention?
- 52:35How do you bring it? And I mean before marriage.
- 52:37Yeah, because there's many people, young audience listening
- 52:40today and they're looking for a spouse but they've never thought
- 52:42about, OK, let me discuss with my potential spouse, the
- 52:46children, how do they ask the right questions or start those
- 52:50meaningful conversations with? Those are one of the essential
- 52:54questions that you have to ask. Soon you're going to be parents
- 53:01whether you like it or not. And then you have to be prepared
- 53:04for that. You have to be emotionally,
- 53:07psychologically prepared for that.
- 53:09You should not be taken by surprise.
- 53:11So I think they should encourage each other to take courses on
- 53:16parenting, good parenting. They should.
- 53:18They should read books, listen to lectures, to discussions and
- 53:25be, be ready for it. You know, sometimes when, when
- 53:28the wife conceives with a baby, the first thing she does, she
- 53:33and her parents and her family and her husband is to go on to
- 53:37buy the crib, you know, to paint the room.
- 53:40You know, if they if they know the the gender of the, the the
- 53:44newborn, they prepared it accordingly, the colour,
- 53:48whatever. These things are OK, it's good.
- 53:52But these things are not very instrumental.
- 53:55If you don't prepare the crib, your your child is not going to
- 53:59die. OK, you can put them somewhere
- 54:01else to sleep, but to prepare yourself psychologically, how do
- 54:06you handle this baby? One day I saw in one of the
- 54:12cities in North America a child which is brilliant.
- 54:21You know I was I was mesmerized when I saw this child.
- 54:28She was above average in everything above her age.
- 54:34So I asked the parents. The mother said say it.
- 54:38When I was pregnant with this baby, I never missed my prayers.
- 54:43Whenever I eat a meal, I do although perform although so the
- 54:48food that goes to this baby is a spiritual food, clean and pure
- 54:54and I did all the recommend recommendations must have, but I
- 54:59never did a sin. OK.
- 55:01The food that I eat, I make sure that this is halal food.
- 55:05It the income is halal income. So I spent time on this baby.
- 55:10The baby was in my womp for nine months.
- 55:13I was raising the baby when the baby and I would, I would listen
- 55:18to Quran, I would listen to lectures knowing that this baby
- 55:21can hear the Quran while she's in my tummy.
- 55:25So this is this is parenting. This is good parenting.
- 55:29Now maybe you told me say this is too much, you know, maybe
- 55:32it's too much, maybe it's too extreme.
- 55:34But we have to do our best. We have to be prepared even
- 55:39before children are born. We have to be prepared for that.
- 55:43You know, I've seen some parents as soon as they know the mother
- 55:47is, is, is carrying a baby, they go and open a bank account for
- 55:52them, for their schooling, for their tuition.
- 55:55The baby is not even born. They open a bank account for him
- 55:59or her, so when they go to college, they have the money.
- 56:03So why not preparing the moral things for them too?
- 56:06Not the physical, just the physical, the moral ones.
- 56:09It's a big responsibility. No, it is a big responsibility
- 56:12and thanks for sharing that story.
- 56:13Say that's it's an emotional 1 and it shows you like the love
- 56:16that a mother can have with her son or daughter even before
- 56:20birth. That that relationship and that
- 56:22connection is, is, is beautiful, as spiritual, as religious and
- 56:27it's different. I've never heard this one
- 56:28before. And it's it's something we can
- 56:31all ponder on future mothers, upcoming mothers like you can
- 56:34build a beautiful relationship with your child before they even
- 56:41come to this world. Subhanallah and say we've taken
- 56:45or I've taken rather a lot of your time in the conversation
- 56:48today. And I think I just want to come
- 56:50to the final bit of the conversation today.
- 56:53And and it's one that's based on rebellion at home.
- 56:59As a final question, with your permission, is that parents
- 57:03these days, they try their best and I think they do not their
- 57:08very best, but as the bare minimum, they try to keep them
- 57:11in an environment which are suitable for us as Muslims, in
- 57:15particular Shia Muslims, environments where there's
- 57:19always conversations about God, the conversations about our
- 57:24history or conversations about our our MBR.
- 57:27And this is very beautiful. Fathers have conversations at
- 57:29home about anything and everything mothers have with
- 57:32their daughters about anything and everything.
- 57:34And they've done this for many, many years.
- 57:37And it goes on and it can even go on till the 1819.
- 57:41So some people are still not married, so the father and
- 57:44mother still feel like, you know, they're looking after
- 57:46their children even at 30. And that continues.
- 57:49But sometimes children disagree with the world, and they
- 57:53disagree with faith and they disagree with their parents.
- 57:56And sometimes a clock is forgotten.
- 57:58And certain values and principles of how to approach
- 58:02such such subjects brings disaster and chaos at home.
- 58:08But what do you do with a child? A son or daughter becomes
- 58:12rebellious about everything and anything.
- 58:14Doesn't have to be religious wise.
- 58:16But if I can give a religious example, I don't want to pray.
- 58:19There's no benefit in praying, they say.
- 58:22And the parent has tried his very best to ensure Salah Ali
- 58:26it's established. Habibi said Ali no rebellion is
- 58:32found in every family, but sometimes it's loud, you can
- 58:37observe it, you can see it. Sometimes it's silent, sometimes
- 58:41it's visible, sometimes it's invisible, but it is found in
- 58:46every family. Sometimes it's regarding
- 58:49financial affairs or issues, sometimes religious, sometimes
- 58:54moral, sometimes marriage, sometimes family.
- 58:57So it is found. You cannot find two people who
- 59:00are a father and a son who are 100% agreeing with each other or
- 59:06or a daughter and a mother which is 100% agreeing.
- 59:10This is this would never happen. This would never happen.
- 59:15But some of them are tolerable. For instance, some types of
- 59:20disagreements. If my son disagrees with me
- 59:24regarding how to run the business, it's OK.
- 59:27This is his understanding and this is my understanding, OK,
- 59:32Other types are not, not intolerable.
- 59:35It's difficult, but we have to be patient.
- 59:39I have seen many people who quit praying.
- 59:43They stopped praying, they quit hijab, they quit fasting, they
- 59:48quit mosque, they quit Islam, but after a period of time, they
- 59:54came back. I've seen, in my experience in
- 59:57North America, I've seen that for the last three decades.
- 1:00:03Some Muslim children, they rebelled, they became Christian.
- 1:00:10They went to a church for some years, they went to a church for
- 1:00:17many years, and then they came back to Islam.
- 1:00:20I've seen this. I've seen some mothers who told
- 1:00:24me that my my son or my daughter is an atheist atheist.
- 1:00:31I've seen some mothers who tell me my son, I raised him to be a
- 1:00:36Shia and now he's a Sunni. I tell them, never mind, it's
- 1:00:41not the end of the world. We need to speak to them.
- 1:00:45Number one, do not give up on them.
- 1:00:48Don't lose hope. Don't despair.
- 1:00:51Don't despair, OK? Don't say I lost him forever.
- 1:00:56Don't say that. Say I'll try.
- 1:00:59I'll try to bring them again. Show them love.
- 1:01:02Don't show them anger and frustration.
- 1:01:06Don't keep yelling at them, disrespecting them.
- 1:01:10Don't alienate them. Tell them you are still my son.
- 1:01:14You are still my daughter. I still love you.
- 1:01:16You know, I'm your biological mother.
- 1:01:19I'm your biological father. You are still part of my family.
- 1:01:25I would say something sensitive. I don't know how it's going to,
- 1:01:28you know, how people are going to react, but tell me if they
- 1:01:32react, you have to tell me. You have to call me in America
- 1:01:34and tell me. I've seen some children who say
- 1:01:41we are gay, gay and lesbian. And the mothers, they come to me
- 1:01:47frustrated, you know, despondent, crying.
- 1:01:53I say take it easy. Yeah, I know this is bad.
- 1:01:57But there is a solution. Don't tell them you are not part
- 1:02:01of my family. Don't tell them you're yes.
- 1:02:04The what What you are doing is not part of my values.
- 1:02:09But you as a son, as a daughter, you are still my my child.
- 1:02:14I raised you. Something went wrong.
- 1:02:18Prophet Lord Alaihissalaam, the five towns, the five villages.
- 1:02:23OK, he said to them in Neely, American men alkaline.
- 1:02:30I don't hate you, I hate what you do.
- 1:02:34There is a big difference between telling your son and
- 1:02:37your daughter I hate you or I hate what you do.
- 1:02:41There is a big difference. We don't hate people, we hate
- 1:02:46what they do. When people are unjust
- 1:02:49wrongdoers, OK, they commit violations.
- 1:02:53We hate the violations, we hate their acts.
- 1:02:57We don't hate them because those people may change tomorrow, they
- 1:03:01may change, OK. So do not give up on your
- 1:03:05children. First of all, pray to Allah,
- 1:03:08Subhanahu T Allah. Prayers play a major role and
- 1:03:14try to bring them back with love, with care.
- 1:03:17Be patient. Some of them I'm not
- 1:03:20guaranteeing. I don't guarantee that all of
- 1:03:23them are going to come back because some, some people like
- 1:03:27this. The son of Noor was Noor a bad
- 1:03:30father? He wasn't a bad father, no, but
- 1:03:33he lost his son. This was his personal choice.
- 1:03:36He made a poor choice. The father went after him many
- 1:03:39times even till the last minute. Khala saawi illa Jebel in
- 1:03:44Yasimuni min alma. The father is is telling him
- 1:03:47call Allah assimiliomen. There is no escape from God's
- 1:03:51wrath. He didn't want to listen so it
- 1:03:53was. We cannot blame the father for
- 1:03:55that. We cannot say Noah was a
- 1:03:57failure. See, because of what happened to
- 1:04:00his son, Noah didn't do a good job.
- 1:04:03No Noah did a good job. But this is sometimes their
- 1:04:05personal choice. They rebel.
- 1:04:07You cannot do. But most of them, when you show
- 1:04:11care and love and attention and you have hope, you can retrieve
- 1:04:17them, you can bring them back. So it happens in every family.
- 1:04:21We have to be patient. This is life, this is life.
- 1:04:25We cannot to blame. Sometimes, yes, the parents did
- 1:04:28not do a good job. Yes, they were delinquent.
- 1:04:31Unfortunately they were. They made mistakes themselves.
- 1:04:34They did not pay attention to this, OK?
- 1:04:37They thought that a child I'll just to bring him into this
- 1:04:41life. And since I'm a Shia Muslim, I'm
- 1:04:44going to this Islamic centre to the he automatically is going to
- 1:04:48follow me. Maybe he automatically follows
- 1:04:50you the first few years, but after that he quits.
- 1:04:55We need to do more. But at the end of the day, even
- 1:04:59if something wrong, you know, happens, we should not lose
- 1:05:03hope. We we might bring them back
- 1:05:06again. Don't disconnect with your
- 1:05:09children. This is the advice I have to
- 1:05:11many parents, many mothers and fathers, do not completely
- 1:05:17disconnect with your kids. Don't cut them off.
- 1:05:21Don't lose hope. Try to reach out to them.
- 1:05:25Try to reach out to them till the last minute.
- 1:05:29If God wills he'll to bring them back my son to my son to say
- 1:05:33very beautiful and it's very. Nice how you you, you bring hope
- 1:05:37into the conversation and by referencing there is always hope
- 1:05:39and shallah for those who have challenges and are struggling
- 1:05:43between their children or even children and their parents.
- 1:05:46That's a lot to make it easy for them.
- 1:05:47And it is a test. At the end of the day, this
- 1:05:49dunya is a test. And it's important that we we
- 1:05:53passed that test and shall I say it.
- 1:05:55And for those of you who haven't don't have children yet, we ask
- 1:05:59our last panel at Allah to grant you inshallah, noble and
- 1:06:02righteous children. And I think we've reached the
- 1:06:06end saying that. If there's anything you want to
- 1:06:08mention as final few words, I don't know for possibly new
- 1:06:11parents out there, yes, as I mentioned earlier.
- 1:06:16Put this at the top of your list, a priority when you are
- 1:06:21about to get married. Think about being a father,
- 1:06:25being a parent. Soon you're going to be a
- 1:06:27parent. Prepare yourself for that task.
- 1:06:31Don't look at the family as being only two individuals.
- 1:06:35It begins with two, but then it will multiply and then your role
- 1:06:39becomes much greater, much more important.
- 1:06:43So prepare yourself for that task.
- 1:06:45And let me just conclude with one hadith, please.
- 1:06:48One day a person comes to the Prophet.
- 1:06:50He said Yahasul Allah I you know, I have a girl and I have 3
- 1:06:59girls and I'm doing my best to raise them but you know
- 1:07:05sometimes I can't control everything.
- 1:07:07So do you think I will make it to paradise?
- 1:07:10The Prophet said to him if you educate them, if you raise them
- 1:07:15well, if you put your trust in God, those three daughters are
- 1:07:20going to be hijab between you and Hellfire avail protecting
- 1:07:25you from Hellfire. So another companion stood, he
- 1:07:28said you also Allah, I don't have the three, I have two girls
- 1:07:31with that rule applied to me. The Prophet said yes, it will
- 1:07:35apply to you. They will protect you if you
- 1:07:37raise them well with good intention, you do your best and
- 1:07:41leave the rest with God then they will going to protect you
- 1:07:44against Hellfire. 1/3 companion stood.
- 1:07:47He said yeah, so I have only one daughter with that rule applied
- 1:07:50to her. He said yes it will apply even
- 1:07:53if you have one daughter, you raise her very well, she's going
- 1:07:56to protect you from Hellfire. So it's again, it's a prophet.
- 1:08:02Your time is not wasted. Your effort is not wasted.
- 1:08:05You're going to be proud in this life and in the hereafter.
- 1:08:09Well I said so thank you for that hadith saying that.
- 1:08:12It's an amazing reminder and that just tells you you do your
- 1:08:14best and inshallah leave to God the rest.
- 1:08:17And on that not saying that I thank you for today.
- 1:08:21I found it very beneficial, insightful and many things that
- 1:08:24I can imply in my home alongside my wife.
- 1:08:27I love his daughters. Mashallah every time I come to
- 1:08:29London. He brings them, I greet them, I
- 1:08:32tell them your father is my favorite friend.
- 1:08:35Al Hamdallah, he raised his, he he's an example, said Ali in
- 1:08:38parenting. Him and his wife are a good
- 1:08:41example in this community. That's very kind of you.
- 1:08:48Brothers and sisters, if you find if you found this episode
- 1:08:51to be beneficial to you, please share it with your friend, share
- 1:08:55it with your husband or wife and share it with those who you
- 1:08:58think need to listen to today's episodes.
- 1:09:02Anisha Allah, we will be back soon next week with Ahmed Gokul.
- 1:09:07Stay tuned W Salaam Alaikum, War Ahmed Allahi or Barakat
- 1:09:12Salaikum.