Worship
Reminder on Importance of Taraweeh (Tarawih) in Ramadan
Gateway to all Ramadan related posts on MM
With Ramadan right around the corner, it’s time to start gearing up and adjusting our schedules accordingly. One of the things we have to plan for during Ramadan is tarawih. Now I’m not going to delve into a fiqh discussion in regards to tarawih (plus there’s some video coming your way soon inshaAllah). What I’d like to talk about is the potential impact that Tarawih can have, particularly on children.
One question most Imams, Shuyukh, Du’at, etc get asked is, “How and when did you know this is what you wanted to do?” Often this question is asked by parents in order to get an idea of how to get their kids interested in similar things. Well my answer to this question has to do with attending tarawih in Ramadan. Alhamdulillah since the age of about 5 my father used to take me to tarawih every night in Ramadan, even on school nights. Around the time I was 8 I remember being amazed by the Imam’s recitation of the Qur’an from memory in tarawih. I even told my father that I want to be able to do what he does. So bi’idhnillah when the opportunity presented itself to go and memorize the Qur’an, I jumped at it and insisted that I be allowed to go. Keep in mind that this involved traveling overseas at the age of 10. Alhamdulillah, since then one thing Allah has granted me the ability to do consistently is lead tarawih every Ramadan. This was the beginning of my journey down the road of seeking knowledge and serving the Deen.
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So I recommended the same thing to my community and last year there was a family who regularly attended tarawih all Ramadan and even stayed afterwards to listen to the tafseer sessions. By the end of Ramadan they came to me with their 10 year old son saying that he insists he wants to memorize the Qur’an – and asking advice for how to go about doing it.
It’s really simple to understand, take your son to NASA and on the way home he’ll tell you that he wants to be an astronaut when he grows up. Take your daughter to the zoo and now she wants to be a veterinarian. Same thing goes for sports and athletes, Tiger Woods’ father starting taking him to the golf course at an early age. So if we want our children to develop a love for the Qur’an and knowledge in general and aspire to be students of sacred knowledge, then we have to introduce them to it. InshaAllah no time better than the present, use this Ramadan and tarawih wisely.
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The Prophet (SAW) has taught us the best of deeds are those that done consistently, even if they are small. Click here to support MuslimMatters with a monthly donation of $2 per month. Set it and collect blessings from Allah (swt) for the khayr you're supporting without thinking about it.
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talwar
August 21, 2009 at 8:27 AM
jazakAllah khair, nice, succint and practical post. Highly relevant and timely for parents with small children.
Gracious Creation
August 21, 2009 at 10:02 AM
Jazakallah khair for this super advice!!
ummasiyaah
August 21, 2009 at 10:19 AM
jazakallah khair for this insightful post. In a world where it is becoming increasingly difficult to bring our children up on the Siratul-Mustaqeem, it is incredible how something as simple as taking children to the masjid for tarawih can be so pivotal to a child’s future, as well as theirs and our akhiraah.
A Sister
August 21, 2009 at 11:01 AM
JazakAllahu Khairun
ammena
August 21, 2009 at 3:38 PM
masha’allah great advice for the future insha’allah
Ahmad AlFarsi
August 21, 2009 at 6:04 PM
And as a reminder to us all (including myself), as important as Taraweeh is, praying Isha or Maghrib or Asr or Dhuhr or Fajr in Jamaa’ah is EVEN more important, subhanAllah. (This is what Sh. Isam shared with us once at our masjid in Houston upon seeing many people miss Isha but come for Tarawih)
Ahmad AlFarsi
August 21, 2009 at 6:27 PM
Jazakumullahu khayran for the article shaykh. One thing that is an issue in many of our communities is that our masajid are often not that child-friendly. Any ideas/advices for how to overcome such issues? Same question to anyone else with ideas for this issue.
wa jazaakumullaahu khayran.
Amad
August 22, 2009 at 8:31 AM
Good question… also how do you deal with sisters who want to come pray but who have young kids prone to making a lot of noise? At what age should you take your kid considering that at a very young age, he/she could be also disturb other masallees?
Arif
September 7, 2009 at 3:21 PM
Alhamdulillah, your questions got answered :) – http://muslimmatters.org/2009/09/06/children-taraweeh-storm-in-a-teacup
Juli
August 22, 2009 at 10:22 AM
Assalamualaikum
When we were in Athens, Georgia, during Ramadan, the masjid organized kid-watching, where sisters who can’t pray would hoard the kiddies into the library and watch them there while the mothers prayed. if some kids cry wanting their mothers during the taraweeh, the sister watching would get the mother.
It’s a win-win situation. The sister watching gets ajr while she herself can’t pray, and the mothers get a break and get to pray, and the rest of the congregation can also concentrate.
But most of all, this is an opportunity for sisters who can’t pray to hoard ajr during Ramadan…subhanallah
it would depend on logistics though..some masaajid are not big enough to accomodate this kind of set up
Hamida
August 22, 2009 at 11:09 AM
The difficulty with most Masjids is that they lack of volunteers to run it. Where I live, we have a designated area for that, but lack volunteers to manage it. I doubt any mother would leave their children knowing that theirs only one or two volunteers.
Pingback: Reminder – The Importance of Taraweeh « Muslim Student Association at the University of Tennessee
Ahmed
August 22, 2009 at 11:42 AM
MashaAllah tabarakAllah, and may Allah reward your father. Seems the attitude with some parents these days is “oh no, my boy/girl needs his/her sleep for school tomorrow” when it is Allah who determines how well we do in all of our affairs.
Mostafa
August 22, 2009 at 1:39 PM
Jazaka Allah Kheir. Beautiful reminder masha Allah.
Shaikh, i can’t wait for your Meaningful Prayer Bayyinah class in Windsor insha Allah.
May Allah put barakah in your time and tawfique in all your words.
Yunus Ahmed Jnr
August 22, 2009 at 2:58 PM
Salam,
May Allah Almighty’s Blessings & Mercy Be with U all!!!
AbdulNasir Jangda
August 22, 2009 at 3:42 PM
@ Ahmad AlFarsi – excellent question. In fact, I spoke about this last night at my Masjid. First of all there is a very fine line between ensuring that people’s Salah is not disturbed and creating an environment that is unwelcoming to families and children. The best solutions require certain facilities such as separate rooms with A/V arrangements for parents to pray in with their children, and Alhamdulillah we have such arrangements.
However many Masajid do not have the luxury of such facilities, in that case the community has to be taught to be tolerant and see the bigger picture. If a child cries during Tarawih (which is not fardh in any opinion) it’s not the end of the world. I’ve often told my community that the one bothered by it the most is probably the one leading Tarawih (me :) ) and if I’m not fussing then everyone else needs to chill-out (mandatory 80’s reference). Basically it has to come from the top down and people need to be educated on the matter and made to understand what’s at stake.
@Juli – another very practical solution for mothers, particularly in case the children go to bed before Tarawih, is that the parents need to tag team the kids :) I recommended this to couples that were experiencing some frustration and issues during Ramadan and Alhamdulillah it helped ease the tension. Often new mothers can experience Ramadan withdrawal so they need to take turns watching or staying with the kiddos.
@Ahmed – Yes Alhamdulillah, I thank Allah and my father for his decision to do so. I know there might be those more knowledgeable than me who don’t agree with me on this, but I feel it’s an invaluable experience and whatever little inconvenience it causes to their school routine is more than worth the trouble. BTW one thing I didn’t mention in the post is that Alhamdulillah despite attending Tarawih and fasting everyday from an early age, I was always top of the class.
@Mostafa – I myself am really looking forward to coming to Windsor for the class InshaAllah :)
Nahyan
August 23, 2009 at 9:11 AM
well said, jazakallahukhair.
Curious
August 25, 2009 at 6:25 AM
Where is the masjid in the above picture? It looks very much like one I used to pray in in Jeddah in the diplomatic district, behind were Fuddruker’s (sp?) used to be. This may sound like a petty question, but I really must know or else this is going to bother me…
abu abdAllah Tariq Ahmed
September 7, 2009 at 3:53 PM
Allaho Akbar! Allaho Akbar! Allaho Akbar!
After reading this article, I love your dad. :) May Allah protect him and be pleased with him. May the crowns your parents wear for their supporting you in becoming haafidh of Qur’an be resplendent, and may Allah give us all tawfiqh to follow the sunnah and their example.
Pingback: Ramadan = Tarawih Time! | AbdulNasir Jangda
Aaqil Mahmood
July 23, 2012 at 11:44 AM
You are soooo handsome with that beard.