8 Guaranteed Ways to Inspire Love of Islam in Kids
Before we get started with ways to inspire the love of Islam in your children, here’s what you need to know about them first:
- They want to copy and please you
- They observe and absorb everything
- They are fascinated by the world
- They learn best through their senses
- They learn best through concrete experiences (i.e. they don’t understand abstract concepts yet – not until closer to 6 or 7 years old)
- Allah has placed in them the innate desire to learn
All of my tips are developed with these things in mind.
Once we know this about our children, it makes it much easier to know what to do to create joy and love for Islam in them – and hopefully, leads you to realise that you don’t actually need to do much at all.
Even so, there are definitely actions we can take to keep the love of Islam burning bright, and thankfully, you don’t need to spend loads of money or time to do it.
1. Talk about and celebrate nature
Allah tells us repeatedly in countless ayat of the Qur’an to reflect on the creation as a manifest sign of his might and mercy – do this in concrete ways with your child.
Whenever you get a chance, draw your children’s attention to the wonders of the world.
Let them know what a wondrous gift the earth and everything in it is and that Allah has created it just for us – how special that will make them feel!
Take them out in nature and identify all the beautiful colours Allah has created for us to see and enjoy.
Allow them to feel the grass on their feet and the rainwater splash on them when out on a nature walk and observe how lovely it feels on our skin.
For older children, you could go further and discuss the water cycle, how water feeds humans, plants and animals, and what a blessing it is that we have water to drink.
Let them taste different natural foods and talk about the different flavours and textures.
Offer them opportunities to smell flowers and watch the bees at work.
There are boundless ways to engage with nature, but the important part is to bring it all back to Allah – the creator of it all.
How generous and loving that Allah has gifted us with so much beauty to explore and enjoy, and in doing so, we come closer to knowing him.
2. Explore the creations of humans
You might be wondering how exploring what humans have made has anything to do with love of Islam. Well, if we go by the first tip, the key is to bring everything back to Allah.
We can amaze our children by showing and exploring the different creations humans have made in history, the beautiful art, the incredible structures, the clever inventions.
How have humans managed to do such things? Because Allah has gifted us with the tools to do so. He gave us minds to invent, innovate, problem solve, improve, and he gave us hands to implement what the mind imagines.
You could take it further and show your children the stunning art and architecture made by Muslims that form part of the Islamic heritage. It’s never too early to appreciate art and beauty and your children will start to feel a connection to the Islamic culture.
3. Read storybooks about Islamic history
Reading has so many immeasurable benefits for children, and when they are regularly exposed to reading books from a young age, they will continue to love stories throughout their childhood (and hopefully, into adolescence and adulthood too).
Reading allows children to experience a world and people different to their own, grows their imaginations and builds their sense of empathy as they get to know and invest in the characters they read about.
Therefore, we should tap into this gift and share stories of our Islamic heritage with our children. There are many high quality children’s books on the market these days that teach kids about our Prophet (peace be upon him) as well as the other blessed prophets mentioned in the Qur’an.
A couple of suggestions:
- Migo and Ali: Love for the Prophets by Zanib Mian
- Stories of the Prophets – a collection by Learning Roots
If you aren’t in a position to purchase, it is worth looking into your local library provision and whether you’re able to order and reserve books, which is what I have done in the past.
4. Read storybooks with Muslim protagonists
Teaching children the stories of the prophets is not the only way to use books to build love of Islam. A crucial part of building an identity rooted in the deen is to allow children to relate to the characters they read about.
Muslim protagonists are so important for this reason.
When searching for a good book, aim for ones that reflect your and other diverse cultures. While I have no problem with stories based on animal characters, I really recommend finding books with human Muslim characters who are relatable. Appropriate role models, even in storybooks, can be very powerful.
A couple of our favourites include:
The Proudest Blue by Ibtihaj Muhammad
The Yasmin series by Saadia Faruqi
(Please note, these are affiliate links.)
5. Sing to your children
Be honest, how often do you sing to your children? I hope the answer is everyday!
Singing is a fantastic way to connect with your children and it is an incredible tool for learning – and make no mistake, this is a gift from Allah.
From babies through to preschool age and beyond, kids learn all sorts of nursery rhymes to learn academic concepts, like numbers and letters. There’s no reason why they can’t learn Islamic concepts in the same way.
Check out the songs I made up to teach my children about Ramadan and the Qur’an below!
Just have fun with it!
6. Model, model, model!
This is one of the most important tips on this list and hopefully, something you are already doing – modelling!
As parents, whatever we model, our children will pick up on and want to copy (remember, children want to imitate us). They might not do it immediately in that exact moment or exactly the same way you do it, but they are watching, hearing, and absorbing everything.
So pray salah in front of them, invite them to join you if you like but with no pressure for them to comply, recite or play the Qur’an in the house, make du’as out loud and encourage them to make their own prayers for whatever they want.
Model all of these practices consistently (children learn from consistency) and eventually, your little ones will start to imitate in their own kiddy ways. Honestly, aside from the many blessings, it is just downright adorable!
7. Involve them in Islamic festivities and practices
We have so many wonderful traditions that our children can learn from and be involved in. The obvious festivities include Eid and all the fun and preparation that comes from that, but can also include practices we may overlook.
For example, involve your children with sharing out qurbani meat after Hajj season and Eid-al Adha, to friend and family,
Go to jummah and the masjid when you are able and allow the kids to become familiar with the surroundings and the atmosphere of a precious shared prayer space. Let them play there, as was the sunnah of our beloved Prophet (pbuh).
A less obvious practice would be to involve the children in inviting friends and family over for gatherings, such as lunch, dinner or study circles. They could make invitations, help shop and prepare the food, prepare the house to make it inviting.
These may not seem overtly ‘Islamic’ practices but isn’t Islam a way of life? Modelling respectful behaviour, in any form, is all part of the raising a Muslim.
9. Do Islamic themed hands-on activities and keep it fun
This may not be everyone’s cup of tea and takes a bit more effort, but if you’re anything like me and love preparing little activities for your children, doing Islamic-themed activities is an easy way to expose the kids to the religion more.
This could take many forms: it could be activities teaching actual Islamic concepts such as the names of Allah, the names of the Islamic months, special days of Islam, etc.
However, it could also be teaching concepts like numbers and handwriting through an Islamic lens. For example, counting the number of shapes on a prayer mat, designing their own mosque, or making their own Islamic art with geometric patterns.
The more exposure your children have to Islam in a low pressure and fun way, the more it will help them build the most important thing – a relationship with and love for Allah.
And insha’Allah, God willing, as the kids grow, they will learn from such wonderful examples and willingly implement Islamic practices on their own with your guidance.
May Allah bless your efforts and make your journey easy.
Peace.
This is such great advice! I am pinning this, lots of good info to refer back to later. And thanks for the book recommendations! Really need to up my Islamic book game!
There are lots of great Islamic books out there, just need to have a little search. I really recommend checking your local library catalogue – I like to do this to check the quality of a book before purchasing outright.
Wonderful blog post with great, helpful, inspirational ideas which I hope to try with my own nieces and nephews Insha’Allah
Insha’Allah!