Culture of the Innocent Child

06/01/2011| IslamWeb

One may ask if there is a child who is not innocent, and I would tell you that all children are innocent and have the innate disposition that Allah The Almighty created them upon.

Allah The Almighty Says (what means): {[Adhere to] the Fitrah of Allah upon which He has created [all] people. No change should there be in the creation of Allah.} [Quran 30:30]

Dear virtuous caregiver who assumes the responsibility of the upbringing process, here we refer to the child in the early stage from one to three years -- the child who has not dealt with any person except his family members. How will this child build his culture and language? How will he talk? The child at this stage forms his culture from home to a large extent. You teach your child the first word he will utter; your child will hear the first word that you let him hear; he will see the first picture that you let him see. It is you who will build his language, and it is you who will form his culture.

 

Development of the child's linguistic culture

Doctors outline how the child linguistically interacts from the first month of his life till he turns two years old. They show the child's mental development as follows:

Month	Development
1	Weeping, irregular and repeated shouting without knowing the reason. He produces distinctive sounds to express his feeling of hunger and pain
2	Responds to the voice of the speaker and produces one-syllable sounds
3	Smiles in social situations, such as coddling, produces sounds which express happiness and joy, and starts babbling and repeats this when he gets up.
4	Babbling increases and he produces meaningless primary sounds in response to bodily needs
5	Turns his face to the source of the sound, produces loud noises to express his need for something or his discomfort
6	Imitates some sounds, shows his happiness through loud noise, forms meaningless sounds, produces a series of sounds, and utters some certain syllables
7	Produces multi-syllable sounds
8	Produces individual syllables (Da – Ka)
9	Can say "Papa" or "Mama" which means something and may come out late in the 15th month Often imitates sounds
10	His sentence consists of one word, which is the first word
11	Emulates simple words and understands gestures
12	Builds some vocabulary, is able to understand some words and responds to simple requests
15	His sentence consists of some nouns for things around him, and is one word
18	His phrases contains verbs, adjectives and adverbs, his sentence consists of two words, he is able to form phrases
24	His sentence consists of two words, including pronouns, prepositions along with nouns and verbs

What is the first sentence uttered by your child?

Dear caregiver who assumes the responsibility for the upbringing process now your child is two years old and is able to form a sentence, but what is the first sentence he utters and what does it mean? Is it a verse from the Book of Allah? Is it a Hadeeth (narration) of the Prophet, ? Or, is it something totally different, i.e., a sentence that contains bad words or offensive insults? Is it a story or a joke for people of base morals? Dear person who assumes the responsibility for the upbringing process, we have actually seen the two categories. We have seen young children who memorize parts of the Quran that adults do not, and we have seen young children whose obscene words make one's face turn red upon hearing them.

It is your turn

The Prophet, , taught you that the first word your child should hear is ‘Allah’. Yes, it is Allahu…Akbar Allahu Akbar (Allah is Great…Allah is Great) Ash-hadu An-laa ilaaha illa Allah…Ash-hadu Anna Muhammadan Rasoolullaah (I testify that none is worthy of worship but Allah and I testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah). It is the wording of the Athaan (call to prayer), which is a divine message through the words of the Prophet, , who does not speak of his own accord, and is nothing but a revelation revealed, implying that you should speak good words in front of your child. Dear person who assumes the upbringing process, how often does your child hear the word ‘Allah’ every day? The more your child hears this word, the more the seeds of his faith grow and his innate willingness to obey Allah The Almighty increases. By saying this word to your child, you have acquainted him with Allah The Almighty. Thus, when he makes a mistake or exceeds the proper limits, remind him of this word ‘Allah’ that he heard in the first moment of his life and upon which his sound innate belief is built on.

Dear person who assumes the upbringing process; it is you who forms the faith, moral and cognitive culture of your child. It is you who determines the way he speaks. Therefore, choose every word that you say in front of him. Try your best to teach your spouse to talk in the same way. Teach and raise your children on good words. By doing so, you are building the culture of your Muslim child at the first stage of his life.