Children and the Quran | The Quran Hour

The Quran was sent for all of time and has promised to stay unchanged and as Muslims we know that this promise has been kept till this day. One of the ways in which the Quran has been successful in upholding this tradition has been through the younger generation in the Muslim world. However, what does the relationship with our children and the Quran look like today?

As time has progressed and especially in the current time, the younger Muslim generation is starting to become out of touch from the religion in general. There are a few reasons for this.

1. The lack of importance from Parents
2. The infinite distractions for children in the modern era
3. Poor facilities and teaching methods

1)The lack of importance from parents

The biggest responsibility for a parent is their child. A parent who pushes their child to gain academic success will increase the likelihood of their child becoming successful in their careers. The same goes with anything in a child's life. The trajectory is set by parents.

However, with the busy life that we live, lost in the hustle and bustle of work, it has pushed the priority of parents away from the Quran for themselves and in turn has had a trickle down effect on our children.

The lack of emphasis from us parents has resulted in a care-less attitude from our children. Our children's relationship with the Quran has taken a hit and that has been a direct result from our lack of emphasis as parents on the Quran.

2)The infinite distraction for children in the modern era

Smart phones, tablets, social media and game consoles are just a few of the vices that children find themselves lost in in todays modern era. Cartoons were the only distractions for me as a child however, our children are now exposed to much more and it has proven to be more harmful than beneficial.

One of the harms has been the lack of time children focus on the Quran.

If it's not Peppa Pig, it's Candy Crush on the tablets and if it's not that then it's memes on social media.

If there's one thing that the 21^st century has helped to do; finding ways to waste time is definitely one of them. See this article to read on the effects social media and technology is having on young minds.

3)Poor teaching facilities/methods

Most of us have been to a Madrassa and we can all agree that a lot of the methods used are just not going to be effective on todays ‘Gen Z’ generation. A lot of the methods are outdated.

Given the distractions that children have today and short attention spans that have resulted from these distractions, 2 hours of madrassa class of constant reading of a text children don’t understand is just not engaging enough.

The Solution

How do we help our children in bringing motivation and desire back into studying the Quran?

The very first thing is for us parents to take our time out and emphasise the importance of Islam. The best way to do that is to practice ourselves by taking action and establishing our prayers and reciting the Quran. Children are suckers for the actions of their parents so will do more of what you do as parents than what you say.

Secondly, and most importantly, we must use the very tools that distract our children from the Quran to bring them back to it!

Quran online learning on the very favourite tablets and iphones of our children will spark an interest and motivation within them as it relates to them. We must speak the language of our children and the language is technology. So lets use this technology by teaching our children the Quran online from the comfort of their own homes. You can see here for more information for services like this.

Lastly, the teaching methods must change! Our children have small attention spans! This is why a 30 minute class is much more beneficial than the traditional 2 hour madrassa classes. Children will be more willing to attend their short online Quran classes than having to travel to the local masjid to sit in a 2 hour madrassa class everyday.

Furthermore, the way in which we teach our children is important. Children need to be engaged and what other better way is there than having females teachers who understand the behaviours of young children?

Final Words

Implement the above solutions and bring your children to the sweetness of Islam. Our children are the future of the Muslim world and when we have left this world, they will be representing Islam. It is up to us as parents to decide how they represent it.