What might childrearing centered on submission to Allah look like for the contemporary Muslim? In this NAWB discussion, we talk with Ustadha Sulma Badrudduja (author of “Guiding Children to Their True Purpose”) to try and understand how slavehood to Allah might be made manifest in the everyday aspects of raising our children. From attitudes toward test-taking, to throwing “salah parties,” to reeling in our adult children’s focus back to God as they make their way in the world, this discussion has insights that even non-parents can benefit from greatly.
0:10:00 The inspiration for the article
0:19:45 The MSA kid
0:26:10 Motivating our children toward right practice as Western Muslims go more mainstream
0:32:25 Talk to your kids
0:46:35 How soon to motivate daughters toward hijab?
1:02:08 The modern aversion to the concept of slavehood
1:14:28 Celebrating kids’ Qur’an accomplishments
1:21:06 Instilling an appropriate sense of social justice
1:30:46 Summary of session by Fatima Quadri
1:32:40 Supporting kids who are getting it right
1:39:00 The need for reprimanding
1:43:12 A major reminder: teaching your child to not stress, and instead have tawakkul
THE PANEL
Ustadha Sulma Badrudduja (Author/Presenter)
Sulma Badrudduja began studying the Arabic language and the religious sciences over twenty years ago. She studied traditional Islamic disciplines in Jordan and while there received several ijazas in Qur’anic recitation and memorization. She received her ijaza in the ten canonical recitations (`ashara sughra) with the late Mufti Umer Esmail, may Allah be pleased with him. She currently teaches and continues her studies. She lives in Kentucky with her husband and children.
S. Fatima Quadri (Guest)
S. Fatima Quadri is an educator certified in the areas of secondary/middle school education, history, and reading. For more than a decade she has served as an educator in parochial and public schools. Fatima has also taken Islamic Studies courses under the guidance of traditional scholars from institutions such as Salihah Central and Kiflayn. She has conducted several programs for youth and children, including the youth engagement initiative Sisters Steppin’ Up. She currently runs the educational program Darus Salah and lives in Chicago’s northwest suburbs with her husband, mother-in-law, and two children.
Dr. Fareeha Khan is an intellectual historian and a founding member of the Sila Initiative. She holds an MA from the University of Chicago in Middle Eastern Studies and a PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of Michigan. She has also studied with Muslim scholars in Jordan, the US and Canada. Born and raised in Chicago, she now lives with her husband Ibrahim Mansoor in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia where she continues to write and conduct research.