Eat Together With Your Children

Recite ‘بِسْمِ اللّٰہِ ’ and eat from your side

Sayyiduna ‘Umar Bin Abi Salamah رَضِیَ اللہُ تَعَالٰی عَنْہُ  said: I was under the blessed care of the Beloved Rasool صَلَّی اللہُ تَعَالٰی عَلَیْہِ وَاٰلِہٖ وَسَلَّمَ in childhood. (While eating), my hand used to go around in the bowl (i.e., I used to eat from all sides). The Beloved Rasool صَلَّی اللہُ تَعَالٰی عَلَیْہِ وَاٰلِہٖ وَسَلَّمَ  said to me, ‘O boy! Recite ‘بِسْمِ اللّٰہِ ’, eat with your right hand, [and] eat from your side’. Since then I eat in the same manner. (Sahih Bukhari, vol. 3, pp. 521, Hadees 5376)

O devotees of Rasool! We should also make our children eat together with us and we should continue teaching Sunnahs to children while having meal. By virtue of it, children will keep receiving Madani Tarbiyyat [training].

Benefits of eating food with children

Different researches showed that those children who eat food with their parents remain healthier than other children and their mental abilities are also improved. Experts say that if children start eating with their parents from the age of 6, they will have its positive effects.

Some Madani pearls regarding eating food with children

٭   All family members including children should eat food sitting on dining mat.

٭   Keep your children sit near you so that you can pass Roti, water etc., to them as per their need.

٭   Teach your children from the beginning to eat food sitting according to Sunnah.

٭   If you act upon this Sunnah, children will copy you and act accordingly, اِنْ شَـآءَ اللّٰہِ  عَزَّوَجَلَّ.

٭   While eating food, keep telling Sunnah acts and Islamic manners to children.

٭   Eat the particles of food if they fall on the dining-mat and motivate your children to do so.

٭   Make your children collectively recite Sunnah Du’as with concentration before and after eating food.^[1]

٭   Make your children memorise these Du’as and make them recite also, encourage them and give them prize etc.

٭   If a child eats or drinks with his left hand, correct him with courtesy, and inform him that eating and drinking with the left hand is a Satan’s way.

٭   If a child drops food, water etc., during eating, deal the situation gracefully in an appropriate way instead of scolding or making him ashamed. Aggressive attitude on such occasion will cause a negative impact on the upbringing of a child and he will be overwhelmed by the fear that he should not eat food with elders.

Hay falah-o-kamrani narmi-o-aasani mayn

Her bana kaam bigar jata hay nadani mayn

صَلُّوا عَلَی الْحَبِیْب! صَلَّی اللہُ تَعَالٰی عَلٰی مُحَمَّد

It will be the first day tomorrow after vacation and I had a mindset that I would go to school after 2, 3 days. I was standing outside my house in the evening; my class-fellow Zubayr came to meet me.

After saying Salam, he asked, ‘Uzayr Bhai! Will you go to school tomorrow?’

Uzayr: There won’t be any studies now, so, I will go to school after some days.

Zubayr: Generally it takes few days when new lessons are started at the beginning of the year but this is my experience that students get time to learn many new things from the teachers.

Uzayr: Zubayr! You are right! But what will we both do after going to school when others are not coming?

Zubayr: Our benefit lies in going to school; why should we do our loss due to others? Be prepared tomorrow, I will come to take you.

Uzayr was well acquainted with Zubayr; so, he could not refuse him.

Next day, Zubayr and Uzayr reached school. 9 out of 22 students were present in class. The first period started, the teacher of social study took attendance and said to the students, ‘New year has begun and I would draw your attention towards a special fact.’

Hasan, out of happiness: Sure sir!

Teacher: Now you all are in seventh class. You have read multiple books on different subjects (science, Islamic studies, Urdu, English etc.), so, if you are given a chance to speak about any subject, can you brief on any subject for 10 minutes? You may also quote examples, not mentioned in the book. If your answer is in affirmative then how many such students are there? If the answer is in negative then what is the reason behind it?

Zubayr (slowly): Yes Uzayr! Is there any answer?

Uzayr: Your point is correct but what is our fault, because till now, no one has even guided us in this way.

Zubayr: Ask the same question to the teacher.

Uzayr: Sir! Your point is correct but what is our fault because no one has guided us ever regarding it.

Teacher: There is a proper time for everything; neither does it sound good before the time nor after the time. You were not told about it until now because you did not have adequate knowledge about all the subjects and you were unaware of the importance of each subject, but now you have learned about many subjects.

Irfan: Sir! What should we do now?

Teacher: It is necessary that you should choose any one subject and study it well so that when you pass your intermediate examinations, you have sufficient knowledge about it.

Jabir: Sir! Why, just one subject?

Teacher: Because it is not possible for everyone to have expertise in every subject, lest a student even fails in one subject in pursuit of a few subjects as we have experience of many years.

When the teacher had left the class, Zubayr said to Uzayr, ‘Look! I told you that we would get something to learn.’