• Menu
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Jeddah Mom

Confident Parenting | Deliberate Motherhood | Kids Activities

  • Home
  • Motherhood
    • Home Management
    • Resources for COVID 19
  • Parenting
    • Kids Crafts
      • Sensory Play
    • Books
  • Schedule and Routines
  • Muslim Kids
    • Hajj Activities
    • Ramadan Activities
  • Jeddah Life
  • Search
  • Home
  • Motherhood
    • Home Management
    • Resources for COVID 19
  • Parenting
    • Kids Crafts
      • Sensory Play
    • Books
  • Schedule and Routines
  • Muslim Kids
    • Hajj Activities
    • Ramadan Activities
  • Jeddah Life
  • Search

Teaching Children to Love Salah With One Trick

June 7, 2015 By //  by Aysh Siddiqua 20 Comments

Share with a friend!

700shares
  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Email

Teaching children to love to pray Salah from from a young age. Everything about Namaz for kids and how to gently encourage them to pray Salah from from the beginning.

teaching children to pray salah muslim kids ramadan for kids teaching namaz for kids

As part of the Kids in Ramadan series, lets talk about how to set children up on the foundation to pray Salah from a young age.

We all deal with children who neglect their prayers or sometimes outright reject it. Today, I share tips that have helped me teach my children to perform their prayers and on time.

This post was written when my son was 7 yrs old. Many years have passed since I wrote this. I have three more children who I have used the same techniques with. Many readers have written in telling me how much this post has helped them start their children on the right track to love salah. Alhamdulillah, this was the right way to teach a child. Read on.

One of the first actions that a person will be held accountable for on the Day of Resurrection is for his prayers. If a believer’s prayer is sound then all his deeds will be sound too. Praying is not about just being able to remember God but also about obedience and responsibility.

How to Teach a Child to Pray in Islam

Teaching your child to love salah doesn’t come easy. 

He needs to be taught to love his prayer. It is instructed that you start teaching a child to observe his prayers from when he is 7 years old so that he can perfect it as he grows up. Introducing them to prayer would of course start early. They will watch you and learn too.

Most parents know that it isn’t easy to teach your child to pray all the time. They may pray some times when they are in the mood but praying five times a day…? Well… there will be come a time when they will outright say ‘No’. How do you handle this? Let me share my experience with growing little Momins (believers).

How my parents made me fall in love with prayer.

As a child, I loved watching the Salah being performed at the Holy Mosque at Makkah. I would sit and watch it till the end and at times my siblings would too. In Ramadan, we would let the TV run all the while the Taraweeh was on. TV wasn’t allowed in Ramadan for us but my parents would deliberately turn it on at Taraweeh time so that we watch it. Often, they would take us to the mosque too. It inspired us to recite the Quran like the Imam and often we would imagine we were little Imams too.

Lets-Play-Hajj-Actvity-for-Kids-JeddahMom
Grab my Hajj Activities Pack that teaches children about Hajj in a fun and playful way!

When cousins came over, we would perform the prayers together letting one of the older boys be the Imam. This was our ‘namaz for kids‘.

I am sure my parents felt pride seeing their children on the Right path. Fast forward to now, I am growing my son 12 years old and naughty. He knows more Quran than I did at his age and he prays at the mosque as often as he can too. But he wasn’t always this way… we struggled for a brief time when he would reject us and neglect his prayers. Here is what I did.

Teach your child to say the Adhan and Iqamah.

My husband would often feel disheartened when our son started talking back and telling us that he didn’t want to pray. I felt amused because we were talking about a six year old at that time.

My husband would often sit with our son and talk to him about the importance of prayer, he would take him on his lap and tell him stories from his own childhood how he enjoyed prayer time with his father. Ofcourse, Hubby wanted his son to be like him. He wants start father-son relationship that started with salah binding their hearts together. I understood that longing. After all every father wants that. Then again…

Prayer means obedience. If a child can pray, it means he will abide by his responsibilities. We talked to him about all these things but it didn’t work. he was six years old and a little child. We gave him stars… points… rewards but still it didn’t inspire him.

Then one day….

I told him that he was the Imam of our house. I told him that as soon as it was time for prayer, he should get up,  give the Iqamah (call for prayer signalling that prayer would start soon) and we would all gather behind him so that he could lead the prayer.

It worked like a charm. I had filled his power bucket and we had together filled his attention bucket. He was the Imam!

My husband would feel offended at first that I was making him pray behind his son but after a little encouragement he understood that something’s can be compromised. He was praying his own prayer independently standing behind him (because children don’t lead adults in prayer but you know…. 😀 ) Ever since that day, we have a little Imam in my house.

Teaching children to pray |jeddahMom
My girls playing… Umm… PRAYING! 😉

How to grow a child who loves to pray Salah

Here are a few more tips that can help your child observe his prayer and grow up to love praying.

• Teach by example. Our kids watch us more than they listen to us. If you pick up a mussalla as soon as the Adhan is called. So will your child. They will watch you and by nature want to be like you.
• Give them their own mussalla. Let them love to be little believers with all their own stuff. Give them skull caps and hijabs too.
• Show them the right way to wadhu.  I have seen by personal experience that the more perfect a child is at his wadhu the more better will be his concentration.
• Call out the Iqamah. My husband has a habit of calling out the Iqamah if he prays at home. My kids go running when they hear him. They call out like him too.
• Take them to the mosque. Let them see that it is the way of life.

Your dua (prayer) for your children matters too.

Include your children in your prayers and specifically ask the Almighty to guide them.

رَبِّ اجْعَلْنِیۡ مُقِیۡمَ الصَّلٰوۃِ  وَمِنۡ ذُرِّیَّتِیۡ ٭ۖ رَبَّنَا وَتَقَبَّلْ دُعَآءِ

“O my Lord! make me one who establishes regular Prayer, and also (raise such) among my offspring O our Lord! and accept Thou my Prayer.” (Surah Ibraheem 14, ayah 40)

Share with a friend!

700shares
  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Email

Related

Filed Under: Blog, Raising Muslim Kids Tagged With: A-Z of Akhlaaq, Hajj, Mom Hacks, Muslim Kids, Muslim Parenting, Muslim Parenting, Ramadan

Disclaimer: JeddahMom and its content are for informational purposes only and should never be used as a substitute for advice from a qualified professional.
Disclosure: Per FTC guidelines, this website may be compensated by companies mentioned through advertising, affiliate programs, or otherwise.

Amazon Associate

Jeddah Mom is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for website owners to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com and any other website that may be affiliated with Amazon Service LLC Associates Program. Please see Privacy Policy and full disclosure here.

Previous Post: «menu planning busy lazy moms meal planning An Easy way to Meal Planning for Busy Moms
Next Post: 25+ Finger Puppets For Story Time »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Saima naseem

    June 7, 2015 at 10:40 pm

    Hey salaams

    Jzk for your lovely post. I have a five year old son and this is very inspirational insha’Allah I will take this on board when he starts his prayers, iA.

    W/salaam

    Reply
  2. Qoyyuum

    June 8, 2015 at 12:07 pm

    Awesome tip! I’ll definitely give this a try once I have my own kids one day. 🙂

    Reply
  3. Tarana Khan

    June 9, 2015 at 2:39 pm

    Completely agree about setting an example. That teaches kids more than anything else, and that’s how I learned from my father.

    Reply
  4. hasma usman

    June 24, 2015 at 7:30 am

    Very good sharing of how we should lead our children by example. It brings me back then to those years where i did the same. I have 3 boys and 2 girls 10 to 5 yr olds. I alternate them in going to Jumaah prayers so they will see in actual how salah is done in mosque and among a large number of people adding to their initial appreciation of what Islam Ummah is all about. I also trained them how to fast starting to abstain food up to recess time, so they
    do not have an intake from 7 to 9:30 am. But they also wake up for the
    sohoor. I also enroll them to the madrasah every summer, so they have 2
    months of concentrated islamic learning experience. I believe those children who at an early age learn Islam will have more chances of being a Muslim adult. I learn and discovered that by experience. At present, modesty aside and in Allah swt will and blessings, i now have a 5 grown up professionals, all Muslim practicing adults, 2 lawyers, a nurse who has pursued a medicine aduated a course at the moment and 2 certified public accountant, one of
    whom has graduated Masters in Islamic Finance and Banking in one of the universities in Malaysia. Alhamdulillah and truly Allah swt is Great. Allahu akbar! Shukran fornthis opportunity of shring mine too.

    Reply
    • Aysh

      June 24, 2015 at 1:32 pm

      Jzk for sharing. I am sure many will appreciate your experience. We can all learn to parent better by watching how others are doing it. Thank you for sharing such excellent tips. MashaAllah.

      Reply
    • Dia

      June 9, 2019 at 6:16 pm

      mashaAllah. Lay Allah shine your children paths. You must be a proud Muslim mummy.
      Bless you all

      Reply
  5. Hina

    June 25, 2015 at 10:31 pm

    thank you for this beautiful piece! Very inspiring, mA. I wrote a piece called “Planting the Seeds of Prayer in Our Young Ones” for SeekersHub. You can find it online; I pray it benefits, iA.

    Reply
    • Aysh

      June 25, 2015 at 11:20 pm

      Thank you for sharing Hina. Will definitely check it out. 🙂

      Reply
  6. Misha

    June 29, 2015 at 11:21 pm

    Such a nice tip MA n u r right kids follow your example rather than your advice my 18 month old whenever sees me praying start doin the same actions n he really loves doing it May Allah guide our kids to the right path ameen

    Reply
  7. Yasmin Hussain

    November 10, 2016 at 9:03 am

    Aawrwb sis, it’s not allowed for a minor ie someone who is not past the age of puberty to lead the salah for adults. one of the conditions of an imam is that he must be a man ie past puberty. He can lead other children but not adults. Please double check with a scholar. Very good other useful tips in the article. Jzk.

    Reply
    • Aysh Siddiqua

      November 10, 2016 at 9:58 am

      Assalam alikum Sister,

      Yes, I know that it is not allowed for minors to lead a prayer. I should add this as a note in the post. Thank you for the reminder, sister.

      This post is just a personal experience. It was how we started our child on the path to prayer to establish his habit. My husband always prayed his own
      Prayer even behind the child. Majority of the times, he wasn’t even available to pray behind him as he was at the Mosque but my little boy would still lead the prayer for his little stuffed toys (and later on for his baby sisters). This post is not intended to introduce any new innovations or rituals… it is only as an idea on how we can help them have a love for prayer.

      Reply
  8. Fatema

    December 23, 2017 at 3:59 pm

    Salaam
    My child is now turned 20 and though they both pray, it
    takes ages & they leave it to the last minute.
    As younger children they used to rush to pray
    I don’t know what to do

    Reply
    • Aysh Siddiqua

      December 25, 2017 at 12:44 pm

      Assalamalikum Fatema,

      It is very difficult as they grow older, I agree. There is no one way and reason why they neglect. Our only choice is to be as kind as we can. 🙁

      Have you read this post: https://jeddahmom.com/2016/05/10-ways-send-boy-mosque-for-prayer/
      I created a printable chart a few months ago that has been working for my family. I’ll share it with you. see if it works. <3

      Reply
  9. Kamal Ali

    April 24, 2018 at 5:00 pm

    Salaam, I love your article on salah. We have been working extremely hard to inspire children and have created the first Interactive Educational Prayer Mat for Children. Please visit http://www.mysalahmat.com

    We would love to work with you?

    Reply
    • Aysh Siddiqua

      April 24, 2018 at 5:15 pm

      Assalamalikum,

      Can you email me at jeddahmomblog(at)gmail(dot)com please?

      Reply
  10. Haiza

    April 25, 2018 at 5:19 am

    I have 4 YO boy, He will most at the time refuse to pray. I need to change technic. Bring his to the most to perform solah. As at home he doesnt have dad figure to show example.
    If you can give me some tips on how to guide my son. We are being abstain from perform salah. I will bring my son to mosque in secret.

    Reply
    • Aysh Siddiqua

      April 25, 2018 at 2:14 pm

      Assalamalikum Haiza,

      Can you create a small area in your home dedicated to prayer? Ask your son to lead you. Teach him the words of the Adhan and Iqama (call for prayer). Show him videos of Imam leading a prayer. You can ask him to lead you or his toys behind him.

      When they are 4years old, prayer is just an act of play for him. We cannot expect them to be perfect at it as they are just bigger babies themselves.Let him pray whathe can. Lead by example. I have a four year old daughter. Some days she will outright say no to even standing beside me to pray. She is just too tired to pray so I let her sit in my lap while I pray sitting. What I am saying is, don’t force it. Be gentle. e. In time they will learn that prayer is a way of life for us muslims.

      Reply
  11. Recite Al Quran

    November 30, 2018 at 5:05 pm

    We have a good news for you that now You and your children can learn Quran-e-Majeed online. We are here to teach Quran-e-Majeed which will give us the real power to understand the worldly affairs and the purpose of the creation of the universe.

    Reply
  12. Esraa

    February 13, 2019 at 7:52 pm

    Great, seems a useful trick,
    I’ve been concerned about how to make our children fall in love with prayers nowadays when kids are already engaged with the smart gadgets around them!

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Tips on how to teach your children to pray (part 2) | Victorian Muslimah AUSTRALIA says:
    October 2, 2019 at 1:53 am

    […] https://www.jeddahmom.com/2015/06/teaching-children-to-love-salah-with-one-trick/ […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Welcome to Confident Deliberate Motherhood!

Do you want to create a loving, happy, organized home environment where everyone (including the mom!) can thrive?

Here on Jeddah Mom, we Play, Pray and Parent with passion!

Come on and join us.

Read more about Jeddah Mom here.

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Trending Now

10 Ways to Get Your Crochet To Hold Shape
How to teach children the Holy Quran with Love
DIY Orange peel powder face mask and scrub
Daily Routine for 3 Year Old Toddler + PDF download
Q is for Quran-  Rules for Reading and handling the Holy Quran
Manners in Islam: Teaching Children about Islamic Manners  and Morals

Looking For Something?

Copyright © 2020 All Rights Reserved | Jeddah Mom | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy



We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.OkRead more