Parenting Perspective

Faith is intended to feel like a source of strength, hope, and beauty, not a heavy burden for you or your children. When parents are able to model a joyful practice of Islam, children naturally learn to view their faith as a blessing. Conversely, if your practice appears to be pressured, rushed, or gloomy, they may come to see religion as something restrictive and joyless. By taking a few mindful steps, you can model a faith that feels uplifting rather than heavy.

Emphasise Love Over Obligation

When speaking about acts of worship, try to focus on the language of love before the language of rules. For example, saying, ‘We pray because Allah loves when we speak to Him,’ creates a very different feeling from, ‘You must pray because it is your duty.’ This simple shift in language frames worship as a loving and desirable choice, rather than as a mere obligation.

Weave Gratitude into Daily Routines

Incorporate small, cheerful expressions of gratitude into your daily life. Saying ‘Alhamdulillah’ after a good meal, ‘SubhanAllah’ when admiring a beautiful sunset, or ‘Allahu Akbar’ in a moment of excitement are all simple ways to do this. This practice makes faith feel like a natural part of your family’s joy.

Introduce Practices Gradually and Celebrate Effort

It is important to avoid overwhelming yourself or your children with too many expectations at once. Introduce new faith practices in a gradual, step-by-step manner. Instead of demanding perfection, make a point of celebrating progress and effort, for instance by saying, ‘Alhamdulillah, it was so nice that we all prayed on time together today.’ A focus on effort keeps the practice of faith feeling light and encouraging.

Surround Worship with Sensory Beauty

You can help to create a positive association with worship by making the environment feel beautiful and calm. Using a clean, soft prayer mat, lighting a pleasant fragrance in your home, or listening to gentle Quranic recitation can all contribute to this. When acts of worship are associated with beauty, they naturally begin to feel more joyful.

Connect Faith to Real-Life Experiences

Show your children how faith can be a practical support in daily life. You could say something like, ‘Making dua really helps to calm my heart when I am feeling stressed.’ This demonstrates that faith is not a set of rituals detached from reality, but a living and relevant source of support.

When these steps are applied consistently, you model a faith that lifts the spirit rather than burdens it, making Islam feel attractive, relevant, and approachable for your children.

Spiritual Insight

The Quranic Principle of Ease in Religion

Allah Almighty states in the noble Quran at Surah Al Hajj (22), Verses 78:

‘…He (Allah Almighty) has selected you, and has not placed any difficulty for you (in attaining success) on the pathway of this way of life…’

This verse contains a foundational principle of our faith: that Islam is built on a bedrock of mercy, not on hardship. Regularly reminding your children of this truth helps them to understand that their religion was designed by their Creator to bring them ease and joy, not to overwhelm them.

Prophetic Guidance to Make Faith Approachable

It is recorded in Sahih Bukhari, Hadith 6125, that the holy Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said:

‘Make things easy and do not make them difficult, give glad tidings and do not drive people away.’

This beautiful hadith shows that an attitude of joy, gentleness, and encouragement is at the very heart of the prophetic method of teaching. When parents practise their Islam with smiles, gratitude, and a sense of balance, their children witness religion as a source of light and hope. Over time, they will come to learn that practising their faith is not about carrying a heavy weight, but about walking joyfully with the mercy of Allah guiding their every step.