Islam and Social Development | ||
Islam and Social Development Compiled by: Majid Rashidpoor Translated by: Mina Salimi Excerpts from the book “Islamic Point of View on Social Development” Parent’s Responsibilities Certainly parents are responsible to educate and train their children as best as they can, making them quite acquainted with and informed about religious teachings and moral principles. And in the same vein, parents need to teach their children how to behave in the society and in communication with the others. This is because children, like narrow streams cannot remain away from and independent of the society for ever and should willy-nilly join the sea of the society some day. Obviously, to preserve their identity, self-respect and other valuable spiritual qualities in the face of the roaring waves of that sea – the human society, they need to be sufficiently equipped with spiritual powers and all the required know-how. No doubt, social life involves miscellaneous contacts with various sorts of people, including the good-tempered, the bad-tempered, the selfish, and the sensitive …. Thus, to become able as grown-ups to deal properly with the people and have desirable social lives, individuals need to have an appropriate education and training in their childhood and youth, the foundations of which are to be laid by parents in the home environment. Unfortunately, there are some parents who, out of lack of knowledge, do not consider it necessary to let their children speak out and/or express their views and thoughts. Such parents evidently raise children without boosting self–confidence and the ability to defend their rights and express their views in the society; while, as divine teachings point out, children have the right to have their personality respected and to be raised in such a way to be self-confident and capable of expressing the views properly. Evidently, the child who learns self-esteem and in the same vein accountability, will have the grounds for successful social life nurtured in her/his being as she/he grows up…. Such a child is unlikely to feel afraid or embarrassed at school and will most probably exhibit adequate compatibility with the school environment and acceptable behavior towards her/ his classmates. Next to parents the school authorities and the teachers are burdened with the heavy responsibility of educating and training children. In this regard the opinion of a psychologist is worth-mentioning: “The school should not be isolated from the (broader) society, since school-children will soon become adult members of the society. And so schools play a significant role in bringing the children’s talents to fruition, besides training them to grow up to be useful and truth-seeking members of the society.” Thus, the duty of school teachers and educators does not just include making the pupils listen and learn what they are instructed. Rather, this great duty covers also the task of teaching the pupils the principles of social life and all the required know-how in this regard. They should on a step-by-step and continuous basis, make acquainted both boys and girls with fact of life, thus preparing them to face various hardships every man or woman inevitably faces in her/his life as an adult and a responsible member of the society, and making them understand the fact that social life (as well as personal life) has its ups and downs to be dealt with patiently and with wisdom. The great Muslim scholar, Khwaja Nassir al-Din Tusi, in his famous book on ethics has advised parents (and other educators) to encourage offspring since their childhood to engage in (suitable) activities, so they would get acquainted with facts of social life in their childhood, thus growing up to be adults who do not to fear hardships and obstacles in their social life. A very significant point to be mentioned here is the fact that children and youngsters should not be expected to exhibit all merits and praise worthy qualities suddenly and all at once, and that for the children to learn virtues and proper behavior, it takes a process of careful education, including the following instructions: - Help your children and/or your pupils get rid of embarrassment and give them answers which are consistent with their level of knowledge and understanding. Never suppress them through angry words or impatient reactions. Try to use soft, pleasant language when talking to them. - Teach your children and/or your pupils to use their minds and reasons invariably and in particular in matters concerning themselves, and allow them to express their views in the same connection. - Let your children attend the gatherings and parties arranged for the adults and encourage them to talk with the others. - Let them solve some their problems on their own (as far as possible), so they will learn how to remove their obstacles in their way to a fulfilling and successful life. - Be sure to make them learn and understand the principles of peaceful co-existence and proper treatment of their fellow - human beings. - Try to strengthen the spirit of cooperation and sympathy in them, leading them to consider help, sympathetic views and treatments as pleasant and satisfying. - Help them to grow up to be energetic and hard-working since their childhood. Hence, they will avoid laziness in the future. - Explain facts of life little by little to them, so they will get familiar with and ready to tackle various problems which they will not probably face as adults. - Have them learn orderliness and discipline as children, since otherwise they will cause lots of harm and also suffer a lot themselves in the future due to their negligence, lack of discipline and carelessness. No doubt, success in social life depends among others, on one’s spiritual and mental capabilities which in turn depend upon, among others, one’s upbringing. All of us have more or less met some people who in spite of having university degrees are weak when it comes to their social behavior and relationships with the others. According to many researches, the main causes of such weakness are to be sought in the method used by their parents in bringing them up and training them. It is an undeniable fact that children mostly pass on to the others (in society) what they have learned through their parents at home. Thus, irresponsible and/or aggressive parents are most likely to present irresponsible and/or aggressive children to the society and likewise considerate, polite and well-mannered parents will bring up children in the society who exhibit the same praiseworthy manners they have observed at home. No wonder, our Infallible Divine teachers have placed great emphasis on parents’ duty of giving good, proper upbringing to their children. A Hadith from the Infallible: “Teach your children Ahadith before the others deviate them through misleading words.” | ||
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