Nooresahar Ahmad, Hampshire
‘There was a time,’ wrote Wordsworth (1) of early childhood, ‘when meadow, grove, and stream, / To me did seem / Apparelled in celestial light, / The glory and the freshness of a dream.’ Now that the poem’s narrator is an adult, the phase of childlike wonder and delight is gone forever: ‘It is not now as it hath been of yore;— […] The things which I have seen I now can see no more.’
Many of us think of our childhoods in this way, as golden eras in which we were blissfully free from serious responsibility and worry. This nostalgia, however, masks a crucial truth: it is very hard to be a child. I was reminded of this a few months ago, when my four-year-old niece wandered into the room, picking up a book which was lying around. She flopped back on the bed, and began to flick through the pages. She addressed herself to me suddenly, her small face screwed up in confusion: ‘Why I can’t read?!’ she asked. I assured her that she would soon begin learning how to read (after I was done laughing), but her question gave me considerable pause. So much of our environment is text-based — not just books which can be read for pleasure or for information, but signs on the road and in shops and other communicative writings, from text messages to letters — and all of this is completely unintelligible to children below the age of about five. They are wholly dependent on others to interpret these things for them, and in the meantime they can only watch us wistfully as we engage in all manner of communication and activities which they cannot access.
It is not just reading which is out of the grasp of small kids; children generally have little to no control over their lives. They have an only rudimentary grasp on how to control and deal with their bodies and emotions. They also have little say in their day-to-day lives — what it is they will wear, eat, or where they will go (‘being a baby must be so confusing,’ goes one joke, ‘you fall asleep at home and wake up in Tesco’.) They are the most vulnerable group of people in the world, relying on the people around them to love and care for them, to explain their baffling and oversized surroundings to them, and to properly equip them with the skills with which to navigate the world.
Islam places great importance on this very thing — the act of childcare. Believers are reminded that their children are their future and must be treated with care, consideration and respect. The Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him), continually reminded his followers of their responsibility to their children, with words of wisdom such as, ‘Respect your children and cultivate in them the best of manners.’ And it is not just one’s own children that Muslims are instructed to care for. His Holiness Mirza Tahir Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) fourth Khalifa of the Ahmadiya Muslim community, pointed out that in Islam, ‘Not only one’s own children but that the younger generation as a whole must be treated with love, kindness and respect.’ For example, the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) instructed us to care for children who are not our own, particularly orphans, the most vulnerable children in society: ‘“I and the guardian of an orphan will be in Paradise like these two”. [Then] the Prophet of Allah (May peace and blessings of Allah be on him) demonstrated it by [closing] his two fingers [together], meaning his index and his middle finger.’
Today is World Children’s Day. If we were able to uphold our responsibilities to children that Islam has emphasised, it would surely change our personal lives and communities for the better — and if it was applied on a global level, how much greater our world would be. Over the past year, we have watched in horror as lives of thousands of children have been cut short by the Israeli military in Gaza, and throughout the world children are forced to suffer due to the greedy, selfish and bloodthirsty actions of politicians and other powerful figures. We would be wise to heed the words of the Quran when it warns us to be careful how we treat our future generations: ‘O ye who believe! fear Allah; and let every soul look to what it sends forth for the morrow. And fear Allah; verily Allah is Well-Aware of what you do.’’ [59:19]
References:
Voice of British Muslim Women 
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