Are you looking for Islamic parenting books for you to get some wisdom about how to raise Muslim children?
Here are the lists of Islamic parenting books that I would recommend to all Muslim parents.
I have read many of these Islamic parenting books and I find them to be very inspiring.
1. Children Around the Prophet by Nizar Abazah.
I had just recently bought this book from a local Malaysian bookstore and I was very happy with my purchase.
This book is a small book that comprises stories of the children around Prophet Muhammad SAW. However, the author first starts by narrating the Prophet’s childhood and the difficulties that he had endured. The author also highlights the key people who took the Prophet into their care.
What I got out of this book is: it takes a village to raise a good human being. Prophet Muhammad SAW was an orphan but even so, he was still very compassionate. Especially towards children and the needy. He was kind and loving not just to his own children, but to children who were around him at the time.
Related post:
Islamic Children’s Books that Your Children Will Love
I enjoyed reading this book because it illustrates how the Prophet was very loving to children while being firm whenever they made a mistake. The message emphasises how parents and adults must be very patient with children, and wise enough to instil discipline and adab in them.
Bought this book from: Nur Innai Bookshop
RELATED POST: Quran Journaling: An Overlooked Form of Self-Help
2. Children Around the Prophet: How Muhammad SAW raised the Young Companions by Dr Hesham Al Wadi
Dr Hesham Al Wadi writes how Prophet Muhammad addresses certain issues related to children. Most seerah books focus on the narratives of the Prophet. The author does the same, however, it is slightly different in a sense that he gives more analysis into the narratives of how the Prophet addresses these issues.
At the same time, he also tried to relate some of these issues to current problems that Muslim parents are facing.
There are seven chapters in this book which are:
- Introduction
- Muhammad and the Children
- Developing Emotions
- Building Faith
- Worship
- Developing Morals
- Disciplining Sexual Desires
- Developing Social Character
- Afterword
In each of these chapters, he narrates about the Prophet in a thematic fashion – all based on hadeeth.
Therefore, it makes it easier for readers to refer to the book again whenever they need to.
Besides that, the author provides “practical tips” for parents. The list of advice he gives for parents are listed as below:
- Ways to encourage your child to love the Quran
- Methods to build your child’s faith and creed
- How to train your child to worship Allah
- Developing manners in your child
- How to change a child’s behaviour
In addition to the seerah that he uses to narrate how the Prophet conducted himself and how he talked to and dealt with children, he also highlights the importance of the child’s cognitive development.
Related post:
8 Super Simple Sensory Play Ideas for Toddlers
He stresses that a child must be cognitively able first, before you teach him or her about the Prophet SAW and Allah SWT. That is why when we tell them stories about the Prophet or the magnificence of Allah, we need to narrate it according to their level that they understand.
For instance:
Allah created everything in this world and such as food, water, and everything on earth so we can use it. Therefore, we need to be grateful and show our appreciation to Allah.
We also need to build a connection, or trust with our children.
But most importantly, he stresses how we, as parents, need to also inculcate love of the Prophet and Allah in the household by becoming good examples first. The reason is because kids emulate our behaviour easily and don’t really resonate with what we are trying to teach them when we lecture them. Especially when they are not in the best state.
Bought this book from: Iman Shoppe
3. Advice to a Son ‘Ayyuhal Walad’ by Imam Zayn-ud-Din Abu Hamid bin Muhammad Al-Ghazali
This book is a very short one but the message is very moving.
Imam Al-Ghazali stresses on the sincerity of obtaining Islamic knowledge and conducting oneself based on it.
“O child, knowledge without practicing it is insane, and practice without knowledge is not possible, which does not keep you away from rebellion today, and does not carry you upon the path of obedience, will not keep you away from the fire of hell tomorrow…” (p10)
Imam Al-Ghazali
The advice in this book highlights how Muslims should conduct themselves in this life so we can attain the highest station in the Hereafter.
The book may not contain steps to how to raise a child, however, the message is more for parents. It focuses on how we really need to think about acquiring Islamic knowledge in order for us to know how to properly conduct ourselves.
I bought this book from: Nur Innai Bookstore
Related post:
Tips for Fasting and Breastfeeding in Ramadan
4. The Concept of Education in Islam by Syed Naquib Al-Attas
Another Islamic book I’d recommend Muslim parents to read is The Concept of Education in Islam by Syed Naquib Al Attas.
However, I must caution that this is not an Islamic parenting book per se. The author analyses the concept of education in Islam, which I believe is fundamental for educators and parents to really understand and practice this with students and children.
According to Syed Naquib Al Attas, the concept of education is defined as:
Recognition and acknowledgement, progressively instilled into man, in proper places of things in the order of creation, such that leads to the recognition and acknowledgement of the proper place of God in the order of being and existence.
Prof Syed Naquib Al-Attas
As someone who had earned her degree in the United States, I had trouble with accepting subjectivism and pluralism just because my brain could not really grasp the idea that “everything is the same.”
In this book, the author has brilliantly managed to define what education is and what it is for, and how it should be instilled.
He notes that the purpose of seeking knowledge in Islam is instilling goodness in man and of course, to create a good individual.
Unlike Western thought, he writes, the aim of education is to create a good citizen.
When I first read this, it was mind-blowing. When I was younger, I never really knew that there was different concepts of knowledge but actually, it all makes sense.
As Muslims, our relationship with our Creator and our understanding of teachings of the Prophet will affect our worldview. And this, in turn, will determine our adab, to which the author defines as:
…the discipline of mind, body, and soul; the discipline that assures the recognition and acknowledgement of one’s proper place in relation to one’s physical, spiritual, and intellectual capacities and potentials; the recognition and acknowledgement of the reality that knowledge and being are ordered hierarchically according to their various levels and degrees…
Prof Syed Naquib Al-Attas
As Muslim parents and educators, I really do believe that by understanding the concept of education in Islam and adab (the proper places of things and not just good manners), can really help us to raise or children the correct way.
After reading this book, I also feel less anxious but more inspired to gain proper knowledge about Islam so that I can raise my children to the best of my ability.
This book, and along with his teachings, has really answered the many questions I had lingering in my mind.
My intention in this blogpost is not to write an analytical summary of his works, but to encourage parents and teachers to read this book as I consider this a profound Islamic parenting book – although, I must reiterate again, the author does not describe how to raise children.
Instead, the message in this book is for adults who need to understand what education in Islam is, what it is for and later on, how we can gradually instil adab into our children.
You can purchase this book from: Pelita Dhihin Bookstore on Shopee
RELATED POST: Best Quran Journaling Ideas
There is one common theme that all these books share which is:
How we educate and raise our Muslim children are heavily based on the the importance of knowledge that parents have and how we carry ourselves. Children will observe our actions more, and will learn what is important from there.
To me, that is quite scary as it reminds me that I will need to conduct myself well especially in front of them. Being patient at all times is challenging too, especially if you have small children and need to carry other demands.
However, if we continue to strive for the best by gaining more knowledge and practising what we have learned, Insha’Allah things can be okay. We also must remember to make du’a for our children to be protected and for them to grow to be good Muslims.
Currently, I am reading two more books which I believe will help to share the Muslim parents understanding that will help with raising our children.
Once I am done reading and reviewing these books, I will update them in the list here.
What is your favourite Islamic parenting book that you like to read?
Share with me in the comment section below!
