At what age should one start praying ?
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Alsam alaikum
At what age do you think one should start praying ?
One hadith is saying at 7 (just to get used to the salat ) . Do you think it's good for children to " get used " to salat at early age or do you think this is burden them with something which they will just do it without any understanding or purpose ?Peace,
respectfully.There is a verse in the Quran that whose balance of good deeds will be heavy, will live a pleasant life, whose balance of good deeds will be light, won't.
This verse tells me that we should get a smany good deeds as humanly possible, as soon as possible, so one should teach his son/daughter a.s.a.p., to pray and read and obey Quran.
Peace.
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Peace Fajr,
If you mean at what age should a child be programmed to repeat words and motions 5 times per day, I would say never. I would teach my children, God willing, to call out to God and "speak" to God, to be grateful for the good things in his/her life, and to ask for forgiveness and blessings in all aspects - the moment he/she is self-aware, and as often as he/she can. As well, they will be taught to follow closely to the path of God, which in practical terms means constant refinement and improvement of onesself, contributiing regularly to society in ways he/she enjoys, maintaining a balanced and harmonious life - things like not littering, taking care of their property, shoveling the neighbor's snow, being aware of the consequences of their actions, smiling and laughing often, being genuinely nice and caring to others, standing up for the weak, being honorable and truthful, etc. "Salat" is, in fact, a life long process. Sincere prayer is just the tip of the iceberg.
Peace,
Taybravo
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peace all,
To answer the question, why not actually use the guidance given in The Quran itself?
All we need to do is run through the checklist and ask ourselves can my child comprehend/do the following?
http//www.mypercept.co.uk/articles/quran_on_salat.htm -
Peace to all,
Supernaut, do you care to share your reasons with us, I myself pray by physically prostrating, and I do it 5 times a day usually, but I agree with Tay. If all your doing is going through the motions with no sincere prayer or talking with God then whats the point, others may be able to have a sincere conversation with God without any physical aspects of prayer, its all about your hearts intentions and sincerity, nothing else will work no matter how many rakahs or units or whatever you do. I also disagree that we should be making our little children pray traditionally with us, I believe children are always in Gods mercy until they reach the age of maturity , then it should be upto them how and if they pray. I do however teach my children the existence of God by having them say little prayers over dinner or bedtime, their understanding will grow as their life experiences and observations grow, hopefully they will stay on the straight path to God and God alone.
Kurt
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peace all,
To answer the question, why not actually use the guidance given in The Quran itself?
All we need to do is run through the checklist and ask ourselves can my child comprehend/do the following?
http//www.mypercept.co.uk/articles/quran_on_salat.htmSalam to all
I found something strange in that article about salat , they say the following
"It is possible to take the salat as fun and games (entertainment/amusement). "The verse is not saying that we can take the salat as entertainment or amusement , the verse very clear , it's talking about the non believers who were mocking Muslims when they see them praying
5 58 When you call to the Contact Prayers (Salat), they mock and ridicule it. This is because they are people who do not understand.
Maybe they just say everything mentioned about salat in the Quran or what, I don't get it ?!
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Fajr, that list is ONLY about additional information that can be extracted about "salat" from The Quran.
It is NOT an article about what it is or what you should do.
It is simply saying whatever "salat" is, it is possible to take it as fun/games/amusement/entertainment.
Similar to when it says "The salat can be neglected/lost, in favour of following desires ", it is not implying this is what to do.
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Peace to all,
Supernaut, do you care to share your reasons with us, I myself pray by physically prostrating, and I do it 5 times a day usually, but I agree with Tay. If all your doing is going through the motions with no sincere prayer or talking with God then whats the point, others may be able to have a sincere conversation with God without any physical aspects of prayer, its all about your hearts intentions and sincerity, nothing else will work no matter how many rakahs or units or whatever you do.
Peace Iron Sky,
I believe the Salat is a ritual prayer because of what God says in verses like 4101-104, 2149, 4142, 56, 6162, 1959, 2014 and more.
I also disagree that we should be making our little children pray traditionally with us, I believe children are always in Gods mercy until they reach the age of maturity , then it should be upto them how and if they pray. I do however teach my children the existence of God by having them say little prayers over dinner or bedtime, their understanding will grow as their life experiences and observations grow, hopefully they will stay on the straight path to God and God alone.
Kurt
I don't see anything wrong with simply encouraging kids to observe Salat. It would be wrong to force them to observe Salat, but not simply explain to them why they should do it and encourage them to do it with you.
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Supernaut,
Whilst I understand the inclincation to get one's kids doing something the parents do (if they feel it is a good thing to do), but truthfully speaking, it is not about what the parents want.
Quite simply, children should only uphold "salat" when they can comprehend/do what The Quran says with regard to "salat". If they cant, then they shouldn't. Anything else is going against what The Quran says. Simple. -
Supernaut,
Whilst I understand the inclincation to get one's kids doing something the parents do (if they feel it is a good thing to do), but truthfully speaking, it is not about what the parents want.
Absolutely. It's what God wants that matters, and God says that we should encourage our children to be righteous monotheists who observe Salat (3116-19, 2133, 1435 and 5221). I will never say that children should be forced to believe in and worship God, but they should be encouraged.
Quite simply, children should only uphold "salat" when they can comprehend/do what The Quran says with regard to "salat". If they cant, then they shouldn't. Anything else is going against what The Quran says. Simple.
Yes, you're right, and one way they can learn and understand Salat is from their parents.
