- Categories: ,PROPHET ﷺ, CHILDREN-YOUTH
- Language: ENGLISH
- Format: PDF
The Prophet (S) realized that dealing successfully with a child depends on studied educational methodologies based on learning, experience, experiment, patience, and comprehension. Because of the importance of this category of age, he (S) created a scientific and educational methodology to handle it. Hence, this methodology produced successful and achieving characters, unique distinguished leadership, and peerless intellectual scientists. So, among the most important pivots of the educational methods in his (Peace be upon him) dealing with children are:
Showing kindness and simplicity when dealing with them. Children always love the one who is kind to them and lives with them as equals, but they shun the one who is harsh, grim, and angry. Also, they are enthusiastic with the one who is venerable and serious. Hence, Muhammad (S) knew the natures of this age. Furthermore, he used the things they love when dealing with them and tried to spread – through his simplicity, humour and kindness – important messages to build good behaviour and a successful character.
On the authority of Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) who said, “We were praying with Allah’s Messenger (S) the night prayer , whenever he went down for prostration Al-Hasan and Al-Husayn jumped upon his back. When he went to raise his head he took hold of them both, with a soft grasp, and placed them upon the ground and he kept doing this until the end of prayer and they were setting on his thigh”. [1]
Through his five senses, the child cannot comprehend duties, rights, origins, principles, values, and meanings. Yet, he starts to learn them step by step during his life span. It is a huge mistake to treat a child the same as one would treat an adult who is familiar with principles and restrictions. Therefore, it is obviously incorrect to ask a child to be calm and quiet when doing so is beyond his ability.
