15 Tips to Raising Great Children:

Children are easily influenced by their surroundings. These days, it is extremely difficult to expose our children to an ideal Islamic environment given the influences from media, friends and even other members of the family. With television, radio, Internet and forms of media mostly touting un-Islamic values, it is up to parents and adults close to the children to set the correct example. It is impossible to shield our children from all the negative forces that can shape their minds and, ultimately, their behavior.
However, by our own example and showing them better options, we can set them on the true path, which is to obey the commandments of Allah (swt) and our Prophet (PBUH) . Here are some tips you may want to follow in helping your children grow up with Islamic values.

01. Start by teaching them the importance of Worshipping only Allah: The best thing any Muslim parent could ever teach their children is to emphasize, from the day they can comprehend, that Allah (swt) is One and no one is worthy of worship except Allah (swt).  This is the fundamental message of our Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) and it is our key to Paradise.

02. Treat them kindly: Kindness begets kindness. If we were kind to our children, they in turn would show kindness to others. Our Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) was the best example in being kind to children.

03. Teach them examples:  Here are some tips you may want to follow in helping your children grow up with Islamic values of Muslim heroes: Instead of Batman or Superman, tell them about real heroes such as Abu Bakr, Umar ibn Khattab, Othman       bin Affan, Ali bin Abi Talib and others. Tell them how Muslim leaders brought a real peaceful change in the world and won the hearts of Muslims and non-Muslims alike.

04. Let children sit with adults: It is preferable for children to be among adults especially Islamic lectures. The Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) would often put children in the front row when he spoke to the people.

05. Make them feel important: Consult them in family matters. Let them feel they are important members of the family and have a part to play in the growth and well being of the family.

06. Go out as a family: Take family trips rather than allowing your children to always go out only with their friends. Let your children be around family and friends from whom you want them to pick up their values. Always remember that your children will become who they are around with most of the time. So, watch their company and above all give them YOUR company.

07. Praise them: Praise is a powerful tool with children, especially in front of others. Children feel a sense of pride when their parents’ praise them and will be keen to perform other good deeds. However, praise must be limited to Islamic deeds and deeds of moral value.

08. Avoid humiliation: Similarly, do not humiliate them in front of others. Children make mistakes. Sometimes, these mistakes occur in their efforts to please the parents. If you are unhappy with your children, tell them in private.

09. Sports: The Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) encouraged sports such as swimming, running and horse riding. Other sports that build character and physical strength are also recommended, as long as the children maintain their  Islamic identity, wear appropriate clothes and do not engage in unnecessary mixing.

10.Responsibility: Have faith in their abilities to perform tasks. Give them chores to do in line with their age. Convince them that they are performing an important function and you will find them eager to help you out again.

11.Don’t spoil them: Children are easily spoiled. If they receive everything they ask for, they will expect you to oblige on every occasion. Be wise in what you buy for them. Avoid extravagance and unnecessary luxuries. Take them to an orphanage or poor area of your city once in a while so they can see how privileged they are.

12.Don’t be friends: It is common in the West for parents to consider their children as friends. In Islam, it doesn’t work that way. If you have ever heard how friends talk to each other, then you will know that this is not how a parent-child relationship should be. You are the parents, and they should respect you, and this is what you should be teaching them. The friendship part should be limited to you and them keeping an open dialog so they can share their concerns with you and ask you questions when they have any.

13.Pray with them: Involve them in acts of worship. When they are young, let them see you in act of salaah (salat). Soon, they would be trying to imitate you. Wake them up for Fajr and pray as a family. Talk to them about the rewards of salaah so that it doesn’t feel like a burden to them.

14.Emphasize Halal: It is not always good to say “this is haraam, that is haraam”. While you must educate them on haraam things, Islam is full of halaal and tell your children to thank Allah (swt) for the bounties He has bestowed on them- not just for food and clothes. Tell them to be thankful for having eyes that see, ears that hear, arms and legs and, the ultimate blessing, Islam in their hearts.

15.Set an example: As parents, you are the best example the children can have. If you talk to your parents rudely, expect your children to do the same to you. If you are disrespectful to others, your children will follow too. Islam is filled with Divine advice on the best ways to bring up your children. That makes it an obligation upon parents to be good Muslims so their children will try to emulate them. If you don’t take Islam seriously, neither will your children. It goes back to our third point, which is to give them Islamic heroes. As a parent, you should be their number one Hero.

My dear sisters and brothers I wanted to take this opportunity to send you a message from the sisters and brothers in Gaza. Please hear our situation and tell everyone that you know and don’t know.

When the Zionists attacked us on 27th December 2008, they not only attacked Hamas, they not only attacked the Muslims of Gaza, they attacked Muslims everywhere. They attacked Islam in the hope that they will weaken it and ultimately destroy it and ummah of Muhammad صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم.

And they will never stop here. They want the beloved Al Aqsa, they want the West Bank and believe me when I tell you that they want the whole of the Middle East.

But they will never succeed. They will never remove the light of Allah inshAllah.

Our situation is dire but our iman is strong Alhamdulillah, even though we have no water to speak of, and when we do, it is polluted and diseased. We have no money to buy mineral water. When we find the money those that sell it say that it is too dangerous for them to travel out to get new supplies. We have no gas, and have not had for the last four months. We cook the little food we have on real fires that we have learned to prepare.

Our men have lost all of their jobs. They spend their days at home now. My husband can spend a day just going from place to place just for the basic need of water. He usually returns empty handed. There are no schools, no banks from which we can withdraw our money. Few hospitals are open for our wounded. You are constantly aware that you risk your life when you go out and when you are indoors. They give us a curfew between 1-4pm. We can go out, they say, in safety to get your supplies, but that is a lie. They have often used that opportunity to add more shuhadaa to their list.

We eat one day rice and one day bread. Meat and milk are a luxury. They are using chemical warfare in the areas which are on the borders. They are killing us by bullets and tanks and B52s, but they are also killing us slowly by starving our children, inflicting indescribable diseases with their chemical warfare and laughing as our suffering becomes prolonged and unbearable.

All this and we are being told that people demonstrate all over the world. MashAllah the fact that you go to embassies and leave your homes makes us feel truly that we are not alone in our struggle.

But you go home at night and lock your door. We cannot do that. I have to leave my home on the second floor every night and stay with my sister on the ground floor. Should there be an attack, it’s quicker to leave from the ground floor.

But the ummah is asking where are the Muslim armies? Where is the victory? And where is our true leader who will save us from this death? Where are the armies of Salahadeen Ayubi? Do not look to the UN, they recognised Israel in 1949 as a state and sealed our fate as it is today. Do not turn to America or Britain, did they not invade our ummah in Iraq and Afghanistan. Call the armies in Egypt, in Syria, in Turkey, in Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan. In Bangladesh, in the Gulf, in Indonesia and in Libya where are they? Are they content to watch women scream for their help as they bury their young children? Are the screams of their sisters and brothers falling on deaf ears? We have a right to eat and drink in safety and security. We have a right to laugh and live in hope, do we not?

Yes we are tired. When we hear rockets and bombs and see planes that fly too close to our building, I scream with my young son and my husband feels helpless. The brothers will know what it must be like to feel helpless to protect the honour and lives of your family. It kills something of him inside. We often wonder when will they sell our land cheaply, will it take one thousand or two thousand deaths. We wait to see. The Israelis have started to plan where their settlements will be in Gaza. This is what we have become.

In all this there is no one but Allah سبحانه وتعالى that can save us. Don’t forget us because you are all that we have now. Your sadaqaat is not reaching us, and when they open borders it only reaches a few who can do nothing with it because we risk our lives just to buy food. They will kill anyone, anyone even if he is a five year old child carrying food for his family. We want to live from the sweat of our men, not from the sweat of others because we are dying.

Keep up the work of Allah and pray and work for the victory that will come soon and rescue our ummah everywhere inshAllah.

May Allah سبحانه وتعالى make us steadfast in our deen, during struggle and during ease. Ya Allah bring us the victory soon and re-establish Islam as the authority by which we live, Ya Allah send us the sons of Salahudeen, the army of Islam to rescue Mohammed’s صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم ummah from the oppression under which we live. Ya Allah protect our children and remove the zionists from our land. Ya Allah witness today that we account our rulers, we pray that you return our true leader the Khaleefah soon. Ameen.

والسلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته

Your sister umm Taqi

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Actor’s romantic link with political dynasty - Is George Clooney dating Fatima Bhutto? Or A Scandal Fatima Bhutto is facing? An Independent UK Exclusive Report!

“Fatima Bhutto is said to be worried about the age difference between herself and George Clooney”
He is Hollywood’s most eligible bachelor. She is an outspoken poet and journalist born into Pakistan’s greatest political dynasty. What, then, could spark a bigger media circus than a “secret romance” between George Clooney and Benazir Bhutto’s 26-year-old niece, Fatima?

Newspapers across the subcontinent were thrown into frenzied excitement yesterday when America’s most influential supermarket tabloid claimed that Clooney had embarked on a long-distance relationship with Ms Bhutto after meeting her at an international conference last year.

The National Enquirer alleged that the 47-year-old actor and political activist was privately smitten by the “brainy foreign beauty,” who lives with her brother and step-mother in a prosperous suburb of Karachi.

“George has courted her by phone and email, and arranged to meet her abroad when their schedules allowed,” a friend of Clooney told the paper. “Now he wants her to spend time with him in Hollywood. He’s still out there with his usual assortment of eye-candy hanging from his arm. But George insists those days could be coming to an end if Fatima wants to take their relationship to the next level.”

The report was taken with a pinch of salt in the US, where the Enquirer has a mixed reputation for accuracy.

“Fatima was educated at Columbia University [in New York] and knew of [Clooney’s] heart-throb rep,” said the Enquirer. “But she didn’t take his advances seriously because she thought their age difference would make a serious relationship impractical.”

Ms Bhutto, who often writes newspaper columns criticising Pakistan’s government, is reported to be contesting her late aunt’s former seat in the Larkana constituency in the next elections. She is also a prominent intellectual who has published a book of poetry, The Whispers of the Desert, and a memoir of the 2005 Kashmir earthquake.

The journalistic background would certainly strike a chord with Clooney, whose father was a famous newspaper reporter. He has always taken a keen interest in global affairs, although his roster of previous girlfriends is almost exclusively made up of cocktail waitresses, actresses and models.

In pictures: Clooney’s Women

Source: The Independent UK (http://www.independent.co.uk) by Guy Adams

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