Educating children is not an easy feat

3rd of Ramadhan 1441 Hijriah (26th April 2020)

In the current pandemic, one blessing in disguise is to be able to spend more time with our children. Schools have been closed, and for the first time in recent history, everyone is technically a homeschooler. Granted, the schools still give out tasks and assignments for the students to finish, the execution and day to day operationality of the children’s education is the responsibility of the students and their parents.

As I am sure many have realized in these past two to three months, that taking responsibility for a child’s education is an overwhelming task. Even as a homeschooler, I feel that I haven’t been able to do my best in regards to providing education for my two children. I always feel a sense of imperfectness, that I am failing to educate my children. I am guessing that this feeling is mutual for parents that take upon the responsibility of educating their own children.

It turns out that this (the difficulty in educating one’s children) has been the case throughout history. It is also documented in holy scriptures, and it even happens to the best of people. I am sure that Jews, Christians, and Muslims alike are familiar with the story of the Prophet Yusuf (Joseph) peace be upon him (PBUH). He was the son of another Prophet, Prophet Yakub (Jacob) PBUH. Prophet Jacob had 12 sons, and from the story in the Quran, 11 of them plotted against his favorite son, Joseph. At first they planned to kill him, but they pivoted and threw him into a well instead. They then lied to their father, Prophet Jacob, by saying that Joseph had died and eaten by a wolf.

As a prophet, Jacob PBUH had direct access to revelation so he would be able to educate his children. Yet God’s decree was that 11 of his children would lie and harm their brother. So even for a Prophet, educating others, let alone his own children, was not a straightforward task. This was also the case for Prophet Noah PBUH, whose child did not obey him to get on the ark. So in the case of Jacob, did he fail in educating his children?

At the end of Chapter Joseph in the Quran, his children eventually repented and became good people. The details of the process were not told, but it took many years until they came to their senses. So even for a prophet, the process of educating children was not a quick and easy one. Many years and effort need to be invested into it. But the key for the process to succeed is patience and having good estimation in God’s plans/decrees. 

You and I might have different methods in educating our children. We might even disagree with one another on the technicalities. However, reflecting on the story of Jacob PBUH and Joseph PBUH, all of us should include patience and good estimation in God’s plans/decrees for the outcome of the education process. You can be assured that it is a tedious and difficult process (like everything else in life). In fact, things might not even work out in the end. But then again what we need to do as parents is just do our best and pray/hope for the best. May it be easy for all of us to educate our children.

-Fendrri  

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