Introduction
The word ‘aqeedah’ means ‘whatever you firmly believe in your heart, such that everything youdo is for that belief’. It comes from the Arabic ‘aaqidu’ which means ‘to tie a knot’, so the idea inthe word ‘aqeedah’ is that you’ve tied a firm knot in your heart about this belief. Does the word ‘aqeedah’ mean Islam? No. It is general. We can talk about the aqeedah ofthe Buddhist, or the aqeedah of the Christian or the Jew, and so on.So what is ‘Islamic aqeedah’? It is ‘everything that the Quran and the authentic Sunnahprove.’
And we can add to this ‘whatever the Sahaabah believed in their lifetime’ as well. Theywere witnesses to it and learnt it direct from the Prophet, sal Allahu alayhi wa salam, so, afterhim, they knew best about the religion that Allah had sent to them.
How to teach Aqeedah to young children?
Aqeedah is the core of the religion of Islaam. Aqeedah is the foundation upon which the deen is built and by which actions of a Muslim become sound and correct.
Some of us may have the thought that this is such a complex concept and little children are unable to absorb and understand this concept at an early age. therefore it is best to wait till they grow and reach an age they are able to distinguish important criteria in order to explain Aqeedah to them.
This thought is natural because sadly, many of us learnt the right Aqeedah when we were older.
However, children are like sponges, especially when they are young. And parents and teachers rush to give them every other knowledge in order to develop their language, motor and social skills from a very young age, and of course, put off Aqeedah for later.
My advice is to let the teaching of Aqeedah be the first thing that you teach your children. If that is the case, the next question is how exactly we should be teaching little children Aqeedah?
Yes I agree Aqeedah is not something you can do like teaching mathematics, language and science. We do have limitations as many of the aspects of the Aqeedah are from the unseen (Ghaib), and we have Islaamic restrictions and boundaries to adhere to.
So here are some simple tips and ways to consider teaching Aqeedah for little children.
Use the Books of the Scholars
Get your information from the works of our scholars. Subhanallaah we do not have to look elsewhere. They have left a legacy behind with authentic rich text and information. Invest in the books of the Ulama from the right publishers and authors.
They gave importance to Aqeedah and they taught just as the Prophet sallaahu alaihiwasallam taught his companions. When you use information from the correct authentic sources it becomes very easy to teach these aspects to your children. All you need to do is simplify it and feed in the information little at a time with some creativity as per age and ability. You cannot teach something you do not know. So it is best that you equip yourself with knowledge first.
Integrate Aqeedah into Academics and Day to Day Learning
Children learn well when they see relevance to their own lives and surroundings. So the best way to teach Aqeedah is to INTEGRATE it into what they explore and learn every day. If you separate Aqeedah or Islaam from academics and their surroundings they will see no relevance to it and it would become something boring for them. If you expose them to learning other subjects with engaging resources and enthusiasm and leave off Aqeedah for other than that, they will not be keen to learn the Aqeedah.
Get the Right Resources
If you stick to the serious rich information the child will be receptive and imagination can be limited. This largely depends on your approach and the resources you use. So be mindful of choosing the correct resources. Check if the resources that you choose are from the right authors and right sources. Remember, Aqeedah is the core if you take this lightly and use anything and everything it will be really difficult to take out the wrong or incorrect information fed into little minds.
References
1. Who is Allaah? – Nurture Islaam Series – Umm Maimoonah
2. Where is Allaah? – Nurture Islaam Series – Umm Maimoonah
3. Who Created You? – Nurture Islaam Series – Umm Maimoonah
4. Allah Gave us a Special Book – Nurture Islaam Series – Umm Maimoonah
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