Voice of British Muslim Women

Tooba Khokhar, Cambridge

There was a time when meadow, grove,

and stream,

The earth, and every common sight

To me did seem

Apparelled in celestial light,

The glory and the freshness of a dream. ⁱ

Childhood is an age of wonder, a time when our eyes have not grown used to the sights of this world, nor our hearts weary of them. It is a period when we are unfamiliar with the tomes of science man has produced and the multitude of classifications ascribed to the workings of our universe. It is an age instead when we look upon “every common sight” with an attitude of marvel.

The Holy Qur’an encourages precisely this attitude, encouraging believers to explore the world around them with wonder and marvel at the signs of God. In chapter 2, verse 165 we read:

“Verily, in the creation of the heavens and the earth and in the alternation of night and day, and in the ships which sail in the sea with that which profits men, and in the water which Allah sends down from the sky and quickens therewith the earth after its death and scatters therein all kinds of beasts, and in the change of the winds, and the clouds pressed into service between the heaven and the earth — are indeed Signs for the people who understand.”

In this modern era, we are all too often living in the din of cities and towns, become detached from the natural world. But, to a child, the waddling of the ducks, the flight of the birds, or the swaying of branches on an ancient tree are as significant a concern as any in this world. Many dismiss this enthusiasm as “childish” or “silly” but with introspection, it is often the case that it is our concerns, arising as they do from our woeful worldliness, that are meaningless, while it is their interests and fascinations that are in fact truly profound.

As English Romantic poet William Wordsworth once mused:

Heaven lies about us in out infancy!
Shades of the prison-house begin to close
upon the growing boy,
But he beholds the light, and whence it flows,—
He sees it in his joy; ⁱⁱ

It is this joy that is the most beautiful fruit of the human spirit, and is found so abundantly in the hearts of children. It is this clarity that allows children to see the luminosity of this world and its Source. Where do these bounties come from? They emerge from our fitra, the innate human nature upon which we are born.

We are commanded in chapter 30, verse 31 of the Holy Qur’an:

“So set thy face towards religion ever inclined to truth – and follow the nature of Allah after which He fashioned all mankind. There is no altering the creation of Allah. That indeed is the religion which is firmly upright and supports others to be upright. But most men know not.”

Islam is a religion that instructs us to remain close to our source, and its teachings and practices act as a compass and polestar to return to us our fitra. It contains wisdom that brings us closer to piety and goodness, so that we carry some of the blessings and wonders of childhood into every season of life.

As we mark World Children’s Day, we make note of the spiritual lessons childhood holds for us. However, it is also a time for us to reflect on the obligation we have to ensure every child is protected, guided and nurtured in a way that allows them to embody the joy that is in their fitra and develop the piety that is in their natures.

i Wordsworth, Ode: Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood

ii Ibid