Children are a great blessing from Allah Ta’ala. They are a great trust given to us, and like all trusts bestowed upon us by Allah Ta’ala, we will be held accountable for them in the Hereafter.

Islam entrusts parents with custody and primary responsibility for their children in terms of their physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. Parents play a pivotal role in shaping the future of their children.

One of the many rights of a child is that they be given an Islamic upbringing. Children need to be provided with correct ta’lim and tarbiyah. This is the responsibility of the parents. It is a flawed assumption to think that by sending children to a Madrasah, they would be absolved of this duty. As parents, we need to play an active role in giving them ta’lim and tarbiyah.

Ta’lim refers to educating the child regarding the commands of Allah Ta’ala. The child should needs to learn what is halal and what is haram, what is fardh, wajib, sunnah, etc.
Tarbiyah is nurturing the child and training their minds and hearts so that they act upon the ta’lim that they have learned.

When correct Ta’lim is paired with Tarbiyah, the ummah is blessed with the likes of Shaykh Abdul-Qadir Jilani Rahimahullah.
His mother did his tarbiyah properly and one of the points she stressed to him was to always tell the truth and never lie. She then sent him away to study ilm, cleverly sewing some money into his clothing so that it would not be stolen on the journey. He did run into bandits on the way though, and when they asked if he had anything valuable he told them he had money and where it was hidden. When the chief of the bandits asked him why he had admitted he had money, he said simply that his mother had taught him always to tell the truth, for it pleases Allah ta’ala.

If we raise pious children, they will pray for us and do Esaal-e-Sawaab for us, and we will reap its benefits in the hereafter.

May Allah Ta’ala give us the ability to do shukr for this blessing and also give us the ability to provide our children with correct Ta’lim and Tarbiyah.