Reinforcing Family Ties in Ramadan

18/07/2012| IslamWeb

Quran Session

You can organize a daily session with your children throughout the holy month in which you can recite one part of the thirty parts of the Noble Quran. What can be better and more beneficial for Muslims than gathering to benefit themselves by pondering over the Noble Quran in these Quran sessions?

Family Trip

You can organize a daily family trip with your children after Iftaar (fast-breaking meal) to the mosque to perform Taraaweeh (the night-prayer in Ramadan). This would help to familiarize your children with performing Taraaweeh prayers in congregation. Performing Taraaweeh has been scientifically proven to have great health benefits as well as a great psychological impact.

An Hour for Studying the Quran

One of the main factors that helps to instill ethical behavior and core values within the hearts of our children is edifying them on the meanings of the Quran, the reasons for the revelation of its verses, and the like that can be materialized through collective reading of a simple book of Tafseer (Quranic exegesis) or a book of prophetic biography written for children.

New Recipes and Cooperation (in their Preparation)

Plan with your wife to distribute the roles in the cooking process so that each member of the family would participate in the preparation of the fast-breaking meal and Suhoor (pre-dawn meal), each according to hisher ability. Do not forget to prepare a list of new recipes and meal ideas in order to guarantee some variety in the month of Ramadan.

Religious Lessons

Make sure, dear mentor, to allocate a short time per day to explain the provisions of fasting in Islam to your family members, and this would preferably be done in the context of addressing and correcting errors or during a discussion on a book.

Ramadan: A Very Special Family Occasion

You should give priority in this blessed month to being with your family at the Iftaar table and render it a quality family-time instead of quality time spent with friends. This does not mean depriving oneself of the reward of offering Iftaar to fasting people (other than family members), but there are so many ways to do so while giving priority to one’s family in Ramadan.

Neighbor's Rights in Ramadan

Ramadan is the month of goodness and mercy. A means to leave a lasting impression on your neighbors in Ramadan is to share Iftaar dishes with them, especially those that they love. The Prophet (may Allah exalt his mention), taught that exchanging gifts fosters mutual love among people.

Fun Ideas

Encourage your children to be creative and come up with new ideas to be implemented in Ramadan in fun and joyful family gatherings.

Charity

Encourage your children to offer charity in Ramadan; the season of charity and doing goodness, and urge them to give charity every day to the poor or to the oppressed or other worthy charity recipients.

Memorization of the Quran

Take advantage of this opportunity and invest the clarity of minds and spirits that exists during fasting in helping your children to memorize a few verses of the Quran every day before the Fajr (dawn) prayer or before the Maghrib (sunset) prayer. Teach them that their level in Paradise will be dependent upon the amount of Quran they memorized (and acted upon) in this worldly life.

Maintaining Kinship Ties

Accompany your children every day after the Taraaweeh prayer on a short visit to one of your relatives. It would be beneficial if you were to edify them on the virtues of maintaining kinship ties and how it is rewarded with having blessed lives and livelihoods.

Supplications Answered

Allah The Exalted loves to hear the supplications of His servants. Among the times in which Allah The Exalted answers the supplications of His slaves is while he or she is breaking fasting. The supplication of a fasting person breaking the fast is not rejected. One should supplicate for his fellow Muslims as well at that time.

Brotherhood

Remind your children - especially if one of them complains about hunger or thirst - that their Muslim brothers and sisters in many countries are deprived of the warmth of family and parental care, so that they would remember them in their supplications while breaking their fast.

Preparations for ‘Eed

Invite your children to cooperate in the last days of the holy month of Ramadan to launch a campaign for cleaning and decorating the house in order to receive ‘Eed Al-Fitr (the 'Eed that follows Ramadan).

‘Eed Clothes

Be keen to accompany your children on a visit to the mall to buy ‘Eed clothes and some gifts for ‘Eed Al-Fitr. This is a joy for fasting people and a reward of Allah for His slaves after their fasting and performing night prayers in Ramadan.