Children’s Fitrah
Children are born with a fitra of innocence, which means they are not accountable before Allah SWT for any wrongdoing until they are at an age of maturity and understanding. One of the common practices of a parent while disciplining their children is to instill a negative idea about Allah SWT. Normally this is done through frightening the child about Allah SWT’s anger and reminding them constantly about the Hellfire for their errors. Teaching children to fear Allah SWT not only harms their intellect but damages their positive and hopeful outlook and can affect their love for the deen.
Childhood, being the foundation of a person’s adult life, need to be nurtured correctly and that begins with exposing them to the immense love, mercy, kindness and the gifts of Allah SWT. A child’s capacity to accept love and gentleness is far more valuable to their upbringing than to frighten them about the hereafter; hence, we must foster, inspire and encourage the love and mercy of Allah SWT in the hearts of our children.