Reflections on the Decade- Islamic Identity and Fitrah
I feel it's apt now that ten years have passed since we made the decision to HS that I should revisit why we do it. I think I got lost many times in the process but insyaAllah, God will lead me back each time. If I could narrow it down to a few reasons from the most important one they have to be:
1. I want my children to have an Islamic identity.
2. I want them to have a connection to their spiritual self.
3. I want them to enjoy learning.
4. I want them to be strongly bonded to their family.
5. I want them to learn differently.
It's hard to have your individual identity when you are expected to be like everyone else in the system. It's even harder when your identity is negatively portrayed (lazy Malays, female-suppressing Muslims). It is confusing that when our faith puts great importance to seeking knowledge, we say to our children that it's fine to do it while being less Muslim at school.
Only those fear Allah, from among His servants, who have knowledge. (35:28)
A mindset of having to sacrifice being a Muslim (albeit temporarily while in school) to be a better person is ingrained from young. Nauzubillah min zaalik what they might put aside in future for the sake of being like everybody else and not sounding like an overdemanding Muslim minority.
And no less worrying is the absence of God in secular education which handicaps the opportunities present for children to build a connection to Him through His creations. By their fitrah, they lean towards learning more about Allah and in the early years the best means are through sensorial experiences which will ignite their awe of His Greatness and help build God-consciousness.
I often faced comments about how my children may not be able to handle the negative influences when they do go to school. At first, I was defensive and said something along the line that those years at home would insyaAllah build a strong base for them. Alhamdulillah, I am grateful to have followed that gut feeling for these years at home has been an opportunity for me to shield their fitrah from the negative influences and to help it grow through our lessons and learning opportunities together.
So direct your face toward the religion, inclining to truth. (Adhere to) the fitrah of Allah upon which he has created (all) people... (30:30)
I cannot know for sure how they will handle negative influences when they do go to school but that is when I can still make du'a for them and know that I have tried my best to prepare them for what lies ahead.
1. I want my children to have an Islamic identity.
2. I want them to have a connection to their spiritual self.
3. I want them to enjoy learning.
4. I want them to be strongly bonded to their family.
5. I want them to learn differently.
It's hard to have your individual identity when you are expected to be like everyone else in the system. It's even harder when your identity is negatively portrayed (lazy Malays, female-suppressing Muslims). It is confusing that when our faith puts great importance to seeking knowledge, we say to our children that it's fine to do it while being less Muslim at school.
Only those fear Allah, from among His servants, who have knowledge. (35:28)
A mindset of having to sacrifice being a Muslim (albeit temporarily while in school) to be a better person is ingrained from young. Nauzubillah min zaalik what they might put aside in future for the sake of being like everybody else and not sounding like an overdemanding Muslim minority.
And no less worrying is the absence of God in secular education which handicaps the opportunities present for children to build a connection to Him through His creations. By their fitrah, they lean towards learning more about Allah and in the early years the best means are through sensorial experiences which will ignite their awe of His Greatness and help build God-consciousness.
I often faced comments about how my children may not be able to handle the negative influences when they do go to school. At first, I was defensive and said something along the line that those years at home would insyaAllah build a strong base for them. Alhamdulillah, I am grateful to have followed that gut feeling for these years at home has been an opportunity for me to shield their fitrah from the negative influences and to help it grow through our lessons and learning opportunities together.
So direct your face toward the religion, inclining to truth. (Adhere to) the fitrah of Allah upon which he has created (all) people... (30:30)
I cannot know for sure how they will handle negative influences when they do go to school but that is when I can still make du'a for them and know that I have tried my best to prepare them for what lies ahead.
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