It is one of Allah’s blessings to the Muslim that He enables him to fast in the daytime of Ramadan and spend his nights in prayer. It is a month in which good deeds are multiplied and people are raised in status when Allah frees some of His servants from the Hellfire. So the Muslim should strive to make the most of this month to attain the goodness it brings; he should hasten to worship Allah night and day.
Such great blessing of Allah is obvious in considering people who have been deprived of tasting the sweetness of this month because of sickness, death, or misguidance! A Muslim must make use of this blessed month to get his children accustomed to the ethics and morals of fasting.
A Muslim must make the most of his time during this month. He has an unavoidable duty toward his children, to raise them well and bring them up properly, to urge them to do all kinds of good deeds and make them get used to that. A child usually grows up in the manner to which the parents make him or her accustomed.
During the blessed days of Ramadan, fathers and mothers have a great role to play in seizing this good occasion for their own benefit and for that of their children, and we can offer parents the following advice:
1. Check on the children’s fasting and encourage those who fall short in this regard.
2. Remind them about the real nature of fasting, and that it is not just giving up food and drink, but it is a means of attaining taqwa (piety), and that it is an opportunity for sins to be forgiven and expiated.
It was reported by Abu Hurairah (Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) ascended the pulpit and said Ameen: It was said to him, “O Messenger of Allah, why did you do that?” He said, “Jibreel (Aleh Salam) said to me, ‘May Allah curse a person who lets Ramadan elapse without having his sins forgiven,’ and I (Prophet Muhammad) said, ‘Ameen.’ Then he said, ‘May Allah curse the one who lives to see his parents grow old, one or both of them, but he does not enter Paradise,’ and I said, ‘Ameen.’ Then he said, ‘May Allah curse the one in whose presence you (the Prophet) are mentioned and he does not send blessings upon you,’ and I said, ‘Ameen. ‘ (Reported by Ibn Khuzaymah, At-Tirmidhi, Ahmad, and Ibn Hibban)
3. Teach them the manners and rules of eating, such as eating with the right hand from what is directly in front of them, reminding them that extravagance is haram (unlawful) and harmful to the body.
4. Don’t let them spend too long eating iftar so that they don’t miss performing Maghrib prayer in the congregation.
5. Remind them about the situation of the poor and destitute who cannot find even a morsel of food to satisfy their hunger. Remind them of the situation of those who have migrated or are fighting in jihad for the sake of Allah in all places.