{"_id":"6858c651e124a378d8498496","title":"{\"ops\":[{\"insert\":\"How can I balance dealing with my own religious struggles while trying to teach my children Islam?\\n\"}]}","question":"{\"ops\":[{\"insert\":\"I am struggling with praying 5x a day. I was better before, but if things happen in my life, small inconveniences, I’m discouraged. I know this is my fault, but I am easily influenced by negativity and am confused on how to fix this. If I’m not able to pray, it’ll be hard to have our children to do so as well. I’m the only “practicing” Muslim, but I’ve fallen off and I’m ashamed of this. I feel like there are so many distractions for me to focus on myself or focus on my kid’s religious learning or teaching due to this. What can I do? \\n\"}]}","answer":"{\"ops\":[{\"insert\":\"May Allah ﷻ reward you for reaching out about this very important topic. The weight of building yourself while also trying to give your children a sound Islamic upbringing, is certainly a heavy load to carry, but also a noble one. \\nIt’s a topic that needs to be discussed more. Due to the ummahs disconnection over the last 100 years from our traditions of obtaining authentic and sound Islamic knowledge, many of us find ourselves as adults not having that firm grounding and having to start from square 1. A lot of times we come to this realization after we have kids. I want you to realize that you’re not alone on this journey. It is nothing short of a blessing and sign of love from Allah ﷻ that he has awakened this worry in your heart, to do better for yourself and for your children. While this may feel like, it’s only regarding the prayer, there likely is much more to it. You mentioned you’re the only practicing Muslim, which leads me to believe much of the responsibility lies solely on your shoulders. This can feel very overwhelming. \\n\\nLet us evaluate how you can ensure a strong spiritual foundation for yourself, in order to also give the best to your children as well, insha’Allah. \\n\\n\"},{\"attributes\":{\"underline\":true,\"bold\":true},\"insert\":\"Importance of Acquiring Basic Obligatory Knowledge (Farḍ ʿAyn)\"},{\"insert\":\"\\nEvery Muslim is obliged at a minimum to learn the basic tenets of Islam. The key is to obtain this knowledge from a proper teacher who is traditionally trained and connected to one of the 4 schools of Fiqh. Understanding the basic principles of Islamic Creed, Prayer, Fasting, Zakāt, Ḥajj etc is every Muslims first building block in their foundation of faith. Anyone can blindly follow instructions on how to pray, fast etc but understanding Allah ﷻ and His attributes and WHY we believe in what we believe in, cannot be blindly followed. Allah ﷻ commands us to do the legwork necessary to obtain this knowledge from a qualified teacher and build that convinction within ourselves. You cannot bypass this step, otherwise your foundation will remain weak and and you will struggle with even the simplest acts of worship. If you are local to the Raleigh area, reach out to me privately for some recommendations.\\n\\n\"},{\"attributes\":{\"underline\":true,\"bold\":true},\"insert\":\"Prioritize Your Journey\"},{\"insert\":\"\\nYou mentioned being impacted by negativity and distractions. This is the nature of this dunya. It pulls and pushes every single one of us in a million directions everyday. You are also blessed to be a mother and that adds more pressure and demands on your time and energy. Build firm principles and habits in your life, habits that you’re not willing to compromise. As you look at your day in the morning, plan your day around your prayer times, prioritizing prayers over anything else. When you build the habit of prioritizing Allah ﷻ in even the mundane daily activities, you will find more ease insha'Allah in completing all of the other tasks as well. Your life has one lane. Everything should be through Allah ﷻ. Set your intentions for everything you do to always be for pleasing Allah ﷻ. \\n\\nPraying 5x/day is certainly one way to worship Allah ﷻ, but every ḥalāl action you do in life can be turned into a means of worshipping Allah. Find fun ways to instill this in your children, so they also learn that Allah is not only found in the prayers 5x/day. Allah is found in the birds, in the trees, in the blessings, in the sad times and the happy times, etc. Build the love of Allah ﷻ in the hearts of your children first, and then connect them to the obligatory acts such as prayers, fasting etc. Many times, as parents, we miss the step of connecting our children to Allah’s love first. This is crucial.\\n\\n\"},{\"attributes\":{\"underline\":true,\"bold\":true},\"insert\":\"Raising Righteous Children\"},{\"insert\":\"\\nThe pressure of raising righteous children in the world we live in, can be very stressful. I truly commend you on worrying about them and wanting to raise them on the straight path, insha’Allah. That in itself is a blessing, Alhamdulillah. Remember that part of raising righteous children will be what they learn at home and see their parents do, but that isn’t the entire equation. Ultimately guidance comes from Allah ﷻ, no matter how pious the family. We are people of action and duaa. You are obliged to teach them the basics or find someone qualified to do that for them. Cultivate a righteous home environment that gathers for the prayers, reads Qur'ān daily, converses about our history etc. and make duʿāʾ for the guidance of your children insha’Allah. Even the most righteous of mankind, had family members who did not accept guidance. Their beloved family never stopped trying to guide them and supplicating for their guidance. We do a combination of the work, duʿāʾ and ultimately rely and trust in Allah ﷻ for the best result insha’Allah. Let that be a weight off of your shoulders. With Allah ﷻ, no effort goes to waste. Trust in Allah ﷻ and always expect the best outcome from Him. \\n\\nIn summary sister, be gentle with yourself. Alḥamdulillah Allah ﷻ has blessed you with feeling this unhappiness with being disconnected. Take that as an invitation from Allah ﷻ, and not a punishment. \\n\\nMay Allah ﷻ grant you and your entire family guidance and ease and elevation towards Him on this beautiful journey, insha’Allah.\\n\"}]}","tags":[{"_id":"668da0010b76658b4c232b9d","tag":"Relationships: Parent and Child","count":111},{"_id":"668d9fe30b76658b4c232829","tag":"Worship: Dua","count":109},{"_id":"668da0320b76658b4c2330a7","tag":"Worship: Tazkiyyah","count":87},{"_id":"668d9fdd0b76658b4c232765","tag":"Women: Children and Childbirth","count":50},{"_id":"668d9fe80b76658b4c2328bd","tag":"Worship: Dawah","count":24}],"createdOn":"2025-06-23T03:13:21.142Z"}