What Happened to the Religion Development of Children If The Parents were Mu'alaf?
Greetings, friends of faith and religion, this article we will discuss the development of religion in a child if his parents are converts. Previously we will discuss religion first.
Religion definition
Religion is an important guideline for every believer, religion is an important factor for human survival and life. Because religion is able to provide meaning and purpose in life in human life itself.
Good religion is a religion that is planted and taught as early as possible on someone. Regarding the lessons and religious development of children, parents or families should be the first religious education for their children.
As the first educator, parents should be a function and have a very important role and must have a strategic way of forming values related to belief in their children.
While the school is only a facilitator and supporter of religion in a broader perspective in a child's environment. Religious education given to a child at a young age will influence and determine the child's religious life when they grow up later. Then how about planting religious education and religious development for a child if his parents convert?
Mu'alaf Definition
Mu'alaf is the transfer of someone from a non-Islamic religion to Islam. The meaning of Mu'alaf here is the parents of men and women who have just embraced Islam who are married and have a child and have full enthusiasm in learning all things about Islam.
Regarding the religious development of a child while his parents convert. The religious knowledge of parents greatly influences the primary and first religious learning of their children. If the parents are converts, then where is the initial religious learning of a child?
Religion development
There are several factors that influence a child's religious development. The first is the role of parents as the first religious educator, from the role of the parent should the child have the education and life experience about what and how it is a religion.
The second factor is the environment, if the family environment and society are very positive towards religion, they mean believing what is a religion (not atheist) then it will also affect the development of a child's religion. The next one is the planting of religious education both in schools and other educational sites. Of these factors affect the optimization of a child's religious development.
The first factor is the factor of parents as the main and first religious educators. Of course, the knowledge of religion and the experience of living in the religious world that is owned by parents who convert to Muslim parents is very different. Muslim parents are parents who have since converted to Islam. While parents who convert are still lacking in Islamic religious knowledge and education.
And in terms of skills in worship, they still cannot do it optimally and optimally. But this should not limit them in providing religious education to their children or not the reason parents do not give religious lessons to their children.
Because basically, the parents have responsibility for the deposit of God given to him to be taught about what religion is so that children can understand the creator and the creator of the universe.
To seek the religious development of children according to parent factors can be done when they are at the age of going to elementary school. At the age of 7-12 years is the right age for the formation of character and good behavior towards children's behavior. At this age, children are very easy to accept and imitate what their parents teach.
Now, at times like this, parents should bring out an exemplary attitude that should be imitated by a child to optimize children's religious development. Exemplary attitudes can be raised by more or fewer parents must get closer to God, obey existing orders and avoid bad behavior. So that the child can imitate that.
The obligation of parents to educate their children is also explained in letter at-Tahrim verse 6 which reads:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا قُوا أَنْفُسَكُمْ وَأَهْلِيكُمْ نَارًا وَقُودُهَا النَّاسُ وَالْحِجَارَةُ عَلَيْهَا مَلَائِكَةٌ غِلَاظٌ شِدَادٌ لَا يَعْصُونَ اللَّهَ مَا أَمَرَهُمْ وَيَفْعَلُونَ مَا يُؤْمَرُون
Hai who believe, protect yourself and your family from the fire of hell whose fuel is man and stone; keepers of angels who are rude, violent, and do not disobey God for what he commands them and always do what they are told.
From the explanation above, it can be concluded that the development of children's religion in terms of parental factors is very important. Where the religious knowledge of his parents greatly influenced the development of religious children.
If the efforts of the development of children's religion by parents are good, the children's religious development will be good and very good even though parents are also still lacking in knowledge. At least their example and the spirit of hard work for better exists, continues and can develop as well.
The second and third are the environmental factors of the community and the school environment, both of which are both the second religious learning after parents. Where both also has a very important role in the development of a child's religion. From the environmental factors of the community and the school, the environment is supporting factors for children's religious development.
Children will learn the religion from their environment by interacting with their communities and peers or by learning at school. Interaction with the community or good friends and believers will bring children to know and imitate the Islamic world from a broader perspective. Where they learn directly with someone who is both a convert and who is from the beginning a believer in Islam.
Religious learning in schools is also an effective way to spearhead the development of a child's religion. Children will learn religion that is more specific than the expert, the religious teacher. And this is very good for children's religious development. Religious learning from schools will greatly help convert parents who still lack religious learning.
Now from the explanation above, it can be concluded that the development of religion in a child if his parents convert to Islam has several supporting factors, namely, there are factors of parents, community environmental factors and school environment factors. Hopefully what I have explained above can be useful for the reader. Dear friends, friends
Author: Yeni Arifah