Teach Them Early

As-Salāmu ‘Alaykum wa Raḥmatullāhi wa Barakātuh. A‘ūdhu Billāhi Minash-shayṭāni r-rajīm. Bismillāhi r-Raḥmāni r-Raḥīm. Wa ṣ-Salātu wa s-Salāmu ‘alá Rasūlinā Muḥammadin Sayyidi l-Awwalīna wa l-Akhirīn. Madad yā RasūlAllāh, Madad yā Sādāti Aṣḥābi Rasūlillāh, Madad yā Mashāyikhinā, Dastūr Mawlana Shaykh Abdullāh al-Fā’iz ad-Dāghistāni, Shaykh Muḥammad Nāẓim al- Ḥaqqānī. Madad. Ṭarīqatunā aṣ-Suḥbah wa l-Khayru fi l-Jam‘iyyah.

Bismi Llāhi r-Raḥmāni r-Raḥīm:

(Qur’ān 02:183). ‘Yā ayyuhā lladhīna āmanū kutiba ‘alaykumu l-ṣiyāmu kamā kutiba ‘alā lladhīna min qablikum’, ‘O you who have believed, decreed upon you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you.’

Allah ‘Azza wa Jalla is saying in Qur’an ‘Azimu sh-Shan, “Fasting is made Fard for you, as it was Fard for those before you”. Fasting is not only in Islam. All of them are Muslim – There was fasting for the nations of all Prophets. Not only with the last Holy Prophet ﷺ, but it was present even before him. Their fasting was actually much more difficult than ours. They broke their fast only once and kept on fasting. It was not from the evening until Sahur. They broke their fast in the evening and made intention to fast again. So they fasted for 23 hours, if they ate for an hour, and continued to fast on. Allah ‘Azza wa Jalla made it less for us. Their times were longer. Some of them used to sometimes fast for six months.

Fasting was given like this to mankind to train their egos. When should we start it? In old times, people made children love it, as they were always together during the meals. And by watching, children saw Sahur and Iftar. So they had interest and desire to fast. Firstly, they let kids fast for half a day by giving them presents. They used to make children happy in Ramadan. When they were seven or eight years old, they would fast for half a day, or a full day, or as long as they could. Then they get used to fasting.

When the time of Ramadan comes and they are Bāligh/mature, it becomes Fard for them. For the rest, it is not Fard. Before a child becomes Bāligh/mature, nothing is Fard for him. What’s Fard for him is only to say Kalimatu Shahadah. Praying, fasting and all of this are not Fard for him yet. But he should perform them, because they are orders.

Especially praying, it should be started at seven years so that he certainly prays at ten years; our Holy Prophet ﷺ says so.

Fasting is not like this. It should be taught with love. When they become Bāligh/mature, it becomes Fard. And they will be accounted for it just like adults. When they are Bāligh/mature, they will understand their Thawab and sins, because they are not children anymore but grown-ups then. They are Mukallāf/responsible then. Mukallāf means they should do the things that Allah ‘Azza wa Jalla made Fard. If they don’t do them, they will be punished for it. There is no punishment before that for children who are not Bāligh/mature. Who else won’t be punished? People who are insane. They are not Mukallāf/responsible. But if they are sane, they should fast and do the rest.

When do children become Bāligh/mature? It is not like they say in the modern world when they reach eighteen years of age, but when they reach Bulugh/puberty. For girls, it is when their menstruation starts. They become Mukallāf/responsible then. When they are 13-15 years old, it becomes Fard for them.

Families and people nowadays are not encouraging their children. They say, “My child shouldn’t miss school. He shouldn’t fail the exam”. We have witnessed it many times that they didn’t let their children fast because of an exam, whereas they were 17-18 years old. Their sins are upon you, upon both you and them. Because they are Bāligh/mature already, so they should do it. They now say that everything has a punishment after the age of 18. It’s not like that. When they become mature or reach Bulugh/puberty, it can be even at 12 years, it is Fard for them then.

Therefore, people and families should pay attention to this. The religion is not according to your minds. It is as Allah ‘Azza wa Jalla ordered it and as our Holy Prophet ﷺ conveyed it. As we said, if children get used to it when they are young, it will be easy for them when they are Bāligh/mature. They will have started fasting Ramadan and praying beforehand. But otherwise, it will be very difficult when they start, and they will be deprived from a lot of Thawab. May Allah ﷻ grant us these beauties. May He ﷻ grant this beautiful worship to children and everyone insha’Allah.

Wa min Allah at-Tawfiq. Al-Fatiha.

Mawlana Sheikh Muhammad Adil ar-Rabbani 04 April 2022/ 03 Ramadan 1443 Fajr Prayer, Akbaba Dergah

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