That’s a Good Question!

A new section of our monthly newsletter featuring questions asked by parents and the sincere advice from our Sanad Trust Team. This month a parent asks about salaah for young children.

I wanted to get your advice on how to approach salah for my son. He is 6.5 years old.

Should we wait till he knows some surahs? Or have him pray 1 salah with us daily? Sometimes the entire process of salah takes 20 minutes after school  (including dua etc) and I don’t want him to be burnt out by this so should we wait till he actually needs to start praying?  Would love your suggestions!! 

Answered by Ustadh Rehan Mirza

If he can, definitely have him join you for at least 1 prayer daily (if not more when possible and easy for him). Learning prayer for children is first outward and then inward. They must observe through eye and ear their parents praying before anyone else. There are a lot of psycho-social reasons for this, in addition to spiritual. Have him stay near/with you for as long as he can. Shower him with love before and after (hugs, kisses, handshakes:). And reward him with love for as much as he is able to do. He should associate the prayer with love. Allow him to also associate reflection, dhikr, and cleanliness with prayer too. So he should learn wudu alongside you and the setup of a nice clean place to pray, as well as see that you can sit for a few mins before and after prayer reflecting, making dhikr, and duas. I would not wait and present a sudden expectation of prayer on him. Start with these building blocks and you will cultivate the potential for him to have a strong inward connection to prayer insha’Allah.

Thank you so much for your question and your trust in us. My children are alongside yours at Sanad Prep. We are all working towards the same goal for them and our families. May Allah give us ikhlas and tawfiq.