Why we should send our Children 
to a Muslim School

Obligations, benefits and blessings
by Hussein Abdulwaheed Amin

At state, secular or church schools in the West today Muslim children do not receive a proper grounding in knowledge of Islam.  Moreover, both in the classroom and in the playground they are often exposed to ideas, influences and behavior which can both pressurize and tempt them away from the straight path of Islam and its moral code.  Thankfully, as Muslim communities expand through immigration and the conversion of westerners, Islamic schools are being set up to cater for the educational and spiritual needs of our young people.  Where possible we should do all we can to strengthen and support these establishments.  Muslim schools are good for our community and our children because:

• The basics of Islam are taught and practiced in the school
  
• Almost all the teachers are Muslim and thus maintain an Islamic atmosphere in the classroom.
  
• Students are expected to wear Islamic attire and maintain a proper Islamic manner which is hopefully  reflected in the rest of their lives.
  
• There is less peer pressure to indulge in any un-Islamic behavior.
  
• Topics covered in classes are presented from an Islamic perspective, thus enabling the students to relate to the world from an Islamic point of view.
  
• There are no problems of drugs, guns, sexual promiscuity nor sexual education taught in a moral and religious vacuum.
  
• Muslim schools usually have small classes and a good student/teacher relationship and ratio.

Islam calls on Muslims to pursue the path of knowledge and show kindness to our children.  Having your child educated at a Muslim school fulfills both of these requirements simultaneously.

All creatures are God's children, and those dearest to God are the ones who treat His children kindly.
(Baihaqi)

Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "No one has given his children anything better than adab" (which in this context refers to knowledge).
(Tirmidhi, Baihaqi).

Verily, a man teaching his child manners is better than giving one bushel of grain in alms.
(Muslim)

If anyone pursues a path in search of knowledge God will thereby make easy for him a path to paradise.
(Muslim).

He who goes out in search of knowledge is in God's path till he returns.
(Tirmidhi, Darimi).

The search of knowledge is an obligation laid on every Muslim.
(Ibn Majah, Baihaqi).

It is therefore advisable that parents should try their best to educate their children in an Islamic environment in a Muslim school.  This will help their children to avoid the negative influences which are so prevalent in the state and church school sector.  Of course, this will usually entail paying fees in contrast to non-Muslim schools which are usually free at the point of use.  But let us bear in mind the following ahadeeth: 

If you spend (to help others), O son of Adam! I [God] shall spend on you.
(Bukhari, Muslim).

Sadqa given to a poor man is just Sadqa, but when given to a relative it serves a double purpose, being both Sadqa and a connecting link.
(Ahmad, Tirmidhi, Nasai, Ibn Majah, Darimi)

He who spends in the cause of Allah will have his reward seven hundred times.
(Tirmidhi)

The rewards of sending children to Muslim schools outweigh any expense and sacrifices which parents may incur.

This article incorporates content originally published at www.soundvision.com