SPECIAL REPORTS, Friday, 05 July 2013
Islam does not
permit the father to neglect giving his children a Muslim upbringing. It
is important to remember, though, that a Muslim upbringing does not
force a child to live his entire life as a Muslim. A Muslim upbringing
simply prepares the ground for the child's adulthood. Ultimately, when
the child reaches maturity, he will make his own decision regarding
which faith to follow.
Shaykh Hamza Karamali
QUESTION
Dear Sir,
I have a question concerning religious education of children in Muslim-Christian partnerships.
I
know that the dominant opinion among the Muslim community is that these
children have to be raised solely as Muslims. As far as I am aware,
this is not explicitly stated in the Qur’an, but based on the following
assumptions:
1) Every child is a Muslim at
birth. Only the parents and/or its environment make it to follow any
other religion than Islam. Thus, the inherent and therefore right
religion of every child is Islam.
2) The
Qur’an explicitly states how children should be taught about religion
e.g. with regard to learning prayers at a certain age etc. Because these
are general statements, children born to parents who are not both
Muslims are no exception either. These rules also exclude the Christian
partner from teaching the children about her religion in the same way as
the Muslim partner is obliged to do.
3) A
Muslim man can marry a Jewish or Christian wife, but not the other way
round. In the male-dominated society at the time of Prophet Muhammad, it
was supposed that a Muslim woman might experience difficulties in
practising her religion having a husband who would not acknowledge Islam
and its Prophet, whereas a Muslim husband would appreciate Judaism and
Christianity and thus ensure that his Jewish/Christian wife could
continue practising her religion. However, the husband’s dominance over
his family would also imply that children would be brought up in his
religion. Thus, the tolerance of a Muslim husband towards his wife
practising her religion would not entail her passing on this religion to
the children.
Leaving aside all practical
and emotional difficulties arising from this “Islam only” stance with
regard to education of children for Muslim-Christian marriages, I am
aware that there are also Islamic theological positions justifying the
teaching of both religions to children (and subsequently allowing them
to choose one themselves once they are old enough).
Would
you, please, let me know what verses in the Qur’an these are based upon
and how their theological reasoning is? I would be grateful if you
could, please, go into some detail in this. Also, it would be
interesting to know which respected scholars hold this opinion.
Thank you very much for your help.
ANSWER
Thank you for your question. I pray that this message finds you in the best of health and spirits.
The
tolerance of Islam to other religions is--as you point out in your
question--borne out in the permissibility of Muslim men to marry
Christian or Jewish women. The nature of a successful marriage
relationship is one of friendship, love, and genuine concern for one's
spouse, and non-Muslim wives are not an exception to this rule.
However,
there is a difference between one's non-Muslim wife and between one's
child from the non-Muslim wife. The wife is a mature adult who has the
ability to reason things for herself and then choose her own belief. Her
God-given ability to reason implies the freedom to choose her faith.
God Almighty says in the Qur'an, "Let whosoever wishes believe, and let
whosoever wishes disbelieve." (18:29)
Children
do not have the ability to reason independently. Rather, they are
innocent pieces of clay waiting to be moulded into whatever form their
parents desire. Parents are responsible to give them the best upbringing
possible to best prepare them for their lives as adults. It is not, for
example, acceptable for the father to neglect educating his child and
to say instead that "he can grow up and learn to read and write if he
wants to." For him to not educate his child would put the child at a
tremendous disadvantage when he grows up. This would constitute parental
neglect.
Muslims believe that God gave all
humans the ability to freely choose whatever faith they please. This
freedom of choice does not, however, imply that they believe every
choice to be equally good. A Muslim father believes that his Christian
wife has the freedom to choose her faith. But he also believes that her
choice is not the best one--that's why he retains his Muslim faith.
For
a Muslim father not to give his child a Muslim upbringing would
therefore constitute parental neglect on his part because the child will
be at a disadvantage compared to other children who will have a "head
start" over him through their Muslim upbringing. For this reason, Islam
does not permit the father to neglect giving his children a Muslim
upbringing.
It is important to remember,
though, that a Muslim upbringing does not force a child to live his
entire life as a Muslim. A Muslim upbringing simply prepares the ground
for the child's adulthood. Ultimately, when the child reaches maturity,
he will make his own decision regarding which faith to follow. Belief is
something in people's hearts and is beyond the reach of compulsion.
I
hope this answer helps clarify matters for you. Please don't hesitate
to follow up with further questions if something remains unclear.
Sincerely,
Shaykh Hamza Karamali, SunniPath Academy Teacher
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