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Proper upbringing of children

Answered as per Hanafi Fiqh by Fatwa.org.au
What can a person do to free a child from bad habits, such as taking drugs etc? Also, how can one protect his children from bad influences, especially in non-Islamic countries?

Answer:

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

_ We suggest keeping the child away from bad company and from all sources of evil – such as TV, internet, etc. – and keeping him in an Islamic environment free from all sources of evil.  Also, he should be properly equipped with good Islamic education and his parents should be his role models. Without taking these precautions, we cannot protect our children. However, if one is determined to raise his children with proper Islamic values and he directs all his attention to this and proactively takes all steps possible to achieve this, Allah Ta’ala will make it easy for him.

After discussing the issue of migrating to a non-Islamic country and mentioning the different cases and their rulings, Sheikh Mufti Taqi Usmani (may Allah protect him) writes:
 
The issue of raising up Muslim children in a non-Islamic country is a serious issue. One must abstain from this in those cases in which it is makrooh or haram to migrate to a non-Islamic country, the details of which we have mentioned in the answer to the first question.

However, as for those cases in which it is permissible to migrate to a non-Islamic country without it being makrooh, since in these cases there is a need to migrate to a non-Islamic country, one who is in such a situation must give full attention to the proper Islamic upbringing of his children. And it is compulsory on the Muslims who live there to create a pure and Islamic environment in which the new Muslims who come there can effectively protect their beliefs, actions and character.

(Buhooth fi qadaya fiqhiya mu’asara: 1/331)

And Allah knows best.

Mufti Faizal Riza
26/1/2012

This answer was collected from Fatwa.org.au, which is connected to Darul Ifta Australia, based in Melbourne, Australia.
It is operated by Mufti Faizal Riza, a student of Mufti Ebrahim Desai from South Africa.