Family Question of the Week

Past Answers

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How Do I Protect My Children From Religious Extremism? (Part Two)
Family Question of the Week
How Do I Protect My Children From Religious Extremism? (Part Two)
Family Question of the Week

This is a four-part answer on protecting your children from Religious Extremism. Read the second part where Shaykh Hamza talks about the Superficial Religiousness of Extremism.

Family Question of the Week
How Do I Protect My Children From Religious Extremism? (Part One)
Family Question of the Week
How Do I Protect My Children From Religious Extremism? (Part One)
Family Question of the Week

“I am terrified by the stories of young Muslim teenagers being brainwashed by the violent ideology of ISIS. How do I make religion an important part of my children’s lives while at the same time protecting them from religious extremism?”

Family Question of the Week
How Should I Wake Up My Son For Fajr?
Family Question of the Week
How Should I Wake Up My Son For Fajr?
Family Question of the Week

Our obligation as parents is not merely to get our young children to perform the action of praying Fajr. Rather, our obligation is to get them praying in a way that trains them for their own independent religious lives as adults.

Family Question of the Week
My Seven-Year Old Son Lied To Me
Family Question of the Week
My Seven-Year Old Son Lied To Me
Family Question of the Week

Is lying a cardinal sin? Read Shaykh Hamza’s answer on dealing with young kids who lie to their parents. Every week, we will select one of your questions on parenting and answer it in this space.

Family Question of the Week
How do I prevent my young child from having jealousy towards his newborn sibling?
Family Question of the Week
How do I prevent my young child from having jealousy towards his newborn sibling?
Family Question of the Week

Every week, we will select one of your questions on parenting and answer it in this space. This week's answer deals with preventing jealousy and malice among siblings.

Family Question of the Week
How do I protect my children from LGBTQI+ influences?
Family Question of the Week
How do I protect my children from LGBTQI+ influences?
Family Question of the Week

Every week, we will select one of your questions on parenting and answer it in this space. This week's answer deals with raising Muslim children in the age of LGBTQI+ influences.

Family Question of the Week
When should I teach my children about sexual matters?
Family Question of the Week
When should I teach my children about sexual matters?
Family Question of the Week

Every week, we will select one of your questions on parenting and answer it in this space. This week's answer deals with teaching our children about sexual ethics and knowledge.

Family Question of the Week
How do I protect my children from verbal hostility?
Family Question of the Week
How do I protect my children from verbal hostility?
Family Question of the Week

Every week, we will select one of your questions on parenting and answer it in this space. We are all human beings, and sometimes we get frustrated, lose our temper, and say things that we shouldn’t. Learn how to protect your children from verbal hostility this week.

Family Question of the Week
How do I answer my five-year old daughter when she asks, “Where is Allah?”
Family Question of the Week
How do I answer my five-year old daughter when she asks, “Where is Allah?”
Family Question of the Week

Introducing Parenting Question of the Week! Every week, we will select one of your questions on parenting and answer it in this space. Read the first answer now.

Family Question of the Week

Other Resources

Why Our Children Leave Islam?

 

Every week, we will select one of your questions to answer on my blog on healthy and religious Muslim families.

Questions on Muslim Parenting

I answer questions that religious Muslim parents grapple with as they try to raise their children against the pressures of modern culture.

If you are a responsible parent (and you should be!), then before you ask me any questions, you will ask me who I am and why you should do I what I say.  

Shaykh Hamza Karamali

Shaykh Hamza Karamali

Who are you?

My biography tells you something about my qualifications and what I do. You can learn more about my views on this conversation that I had with a friend and student -- Is religion relevant in the 21st century?  -- and by watching a YouTube series called Why Islam is True.

I grew up in a well-educated middle-class immigrant family from the Indian Subcontinent and my parents taught me Eastern values in a Western culture. I love teaching children, particularly teenagers who are transitioning into adulthood.

I also am an involved father of six children.

Why should I do what you tell me to do?

The short answer is that you shouldn’t. For you to close your eyes and simply do what I say would be irresponsible.

The Holy Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “Every one of you is responsible and every one of you will be asked about those under their care.” (Bukhari and Muslim)

You are responsible for your children’s religious, emotional, and physical well-being. My answers to your questions are not fatwas that you must follow in order to avoid going to the Hellfire; my answers are sincere (but fallible) advice based on my experience growing up in a loving and traditional Muslim family, studying sacred knowledge with traditional religious scholars, teaching what I have learned to a diverse range of children and parents, and trying my best to raise my own children in light of those experiences.

I hope that you will find something in my experiences that helps you along your path as you raise your children. But you are the one who is responsible for your children and you are the one who will be asked about their religious, emotional, and physical well-being. For you to surrender your own judgment and common-sense to anyone else would be a mistake. Take what works and leave the rest.