Children

Biologically, a child (plural: children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of child generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger than the age of majority.

68996

Mother . Breastfeeding . Children . Sexual

Is it allowed for a mother to breastfeed her child while in the state of Janabah?

Masuma Jaffer, Dr Masuma Jaffer is a qualified dentist, with a Masters in Islamic Studies and has also attended Hawza in Qum. She obtained a PGCE - teaching qualification – and has taught Hawza studies at the... Answered 5 days ago

Salaam

Yes she can feed her child in the state of Janabah. It is recommended to do wudhu before feeding.

68131

Children . God (Allah)

Why doesn't Allah save the children who are abused?

Sayyed Mohammad Al-Musawi, Sayyed Mohammad al-Musawi is originally from Iraq and heads up the World Ahlul Bayt Islamic League in London. Other than being involved in various humanitarian projects, he frequently responds to... Answered 2 weeks ago

Allah (SWT) saved and saves billions of human beings from harm with out forcing them, but He has given us free will and ability and help to do good or the freedom to do bad if we opt for it . Many prophets and infallible Imams were killed by enemies of Allah who opted to be criminals and insisted on that. Allah (SWT) does not force people to avoid bad as He has examined them and gave them free will after showing them the right path.

The crimes are the responsibility of the criminals and we can never expect Allah (SWT) to stop the criminals, otherwise the whole system of life will be disturbed as life is based on free will to do good or bad and there no meaning of good or bad if we expect Allah (SWT) to force people.

Wassalam.

63852

Anxiety . Children . Qur'anic Verse . Du'a (Supplication)

Are there any Duas or Quranic verses one can recite for developmental delay and anxiety for special needs children?

Abbas Di Palma, Shaykh Abbas Di Palma holds a BA and an MA degree in Islamic Studies, and certifications from the Language Institute of Damascus University. He has also studied traditional Islamic sciences in... Answer updated 3 weeks ago

as salam alaikum

daily recitation of Qur'an is good for the spiritual and mental development of the child insh'Allah. The supplication of Imam al-Sajjad, peace be upon him, for his children that can be found in the al-Sahifah al-Sajjadiyyah (dua number 25) has some good words for the protection of children from difficulties.

The company with good-hearted people that avoid too much formalities but are able to give real love is also very important in the mentioned case. Be aware of people who do vain talks and spiteful comments but look for people and families who are sincerely committed to the Din of Islam and purity of heart.

With prayers for your success.

66201

Marriage . Islam . Children

Is child marriage allowed in Islam?

There is no valid marriage in Islam unless both man and woman are Baaligh (Mature). Even if the father under certain circumstances wants to save the future of his child in a form of marriage, such marriage is not valid unless the child grows up and become mature then willingly decides to go for this marriage.

Wassalam.

65294

Children . Caliphate . Imam Ali

Did Imam Ali (as) name his children after the first three caliphs? If so, does that indicate that he held them in high esteem?

Zoheir Ali Esmail, Shaykh Zoheir Ali Esmail has a Bsc in Accounting and Finance from the LSE in London, and an MA in Islamic Studies from Middlesex University. He studied Arabic at Damascus University and holds a PhD... Answered 1 month ago

Bismillah

Thank you for your question. Naming children according to sectarian lines was not a factor in the early ages of Islam and therefore, it is not an indication of holding a certain person with the same name in high esteem. For example, certain companions of the Imams (as) were named Yazid and Mu'awiya, but this in no way indicated that they condoned the actions of the Caliphs with the same names, or held them in high esteem.

May you always be successful.

66454

Parents . Children . Soul

What is the relationship between the name parents give their children and their soul? Can the child later choose to change their name to one that they prefer even though there was nothing inherently wrong with their birth name?

Amina Inloes, Amina Inloes is originally from the US and has a PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of Exeter on Shi'a hadith. She is the program leader for the MA Islamic Studies program at the... Answered 1 month ago

A person is allowed to change their name even if there is nothing inherently wrong with their birth name.

Whether there is a relationship between one's birth name and one's soul is a more difficult question. I am not aware of anything in our religious sources that discusses this apart from that on the Day of Judgment it is said that people will be addressed by their names and their mothers' names (apart from Shi'i texts which say that the Prophet's descendants will be addressed by their names and fathers' names), but it is hard to say without being there whether that will be a recognizably verbal utterance of a name or just some means of identifying us that we will understand. Also, there are situations where the Imams (A) informed people of their birth names (as part of demonstrating their comprehensive knowledge) and perhaps there is a hint of some significance there. But in those cases it seems that the birth names were changed due to circumstances and not because the person actually wanted to be identified by a different name.

So, I think the best answer to the first question is that maybe there is a relationship, but if there is, it isn't something that is focused on in the Twelver Shi'i tradition.

Certainly the Prophet (S) did not see a problem in encouraging people to change their names where necessary.

As a side note, although I've never seen this discussed, I would imagine that some of the mothers of the Imams (A) were not born with the names they were born with because their names are usually given as Arabic/Persianate whereas some of them were said to come from far-off regions, so perhaps some of them acquired these names during their life journey.

65969

Woman . Children . Marriage . Conversion to Islam . Circumcision

If a Muslim woman marries a convert who has not been circumcised, and who does not intend to, is it acceptable for her to have children with him?

It is compulsory on any new Muslim man to get himself circumcised.
Circumcision for him is an obligatory act (Wajib). If he does not
perform this obligatory act, his Tawaaf around the Ka’aba will be
invalid and if he slaughters any animal, that animal will be not be
Halal.

As far as having children with his Muslim wife, it is permissible in principle, but
his Muslim wife should be sure that he is really a Muslim who does not object
to the rules of Islam.

The Muslim women should be sure about the future of her marriage future with him and should not, God-forbid, have to face unexpected situation that he rejects the rules of Islam.

Wassalaam.

66160

Marriage . Christianity . Children

If a Muslim man marries a Christian woman in the church according to the Christian faith, then produces a child with that woman, is the child considered legitimate?

Seyed Ali Shobayri, Seyed Ali Shobayri is of mixed Iranian and Scottish descent who found the path of the Ahlul Bayt (a) by his own research. He holds a BA in Islamic Studies from Middlesex University through the... Answered 1 month ago

Bismillah,

Asalamu Alaykom,

A Muslim man should conduct an Islamic marriage contract with a woman. Scholars differ as to whether someone can marry a Christian woman permanently. All allow temporary marriage and some scholars say that both temporary and permanent are allowed.

If however a Muslim man was ignorant and he for example read a marriage contract such as a civil one instead of Islamic (while he thought that this counts as marriage) then some scholars would say that the marriage wouldn’t be fornication.

This therefore could make the child one of shubha where they aren’t deemed as illegitimate.

If he found out his mistake though, then he must do an Islamic marriage as soon as possible.

May Allah grant you success

66161

Children . Heaven . Paradise . Destiny

It has been claimed that illegitimate children can never enter heaven because they are destined to do something that will forbid them entry into paradise. Is this true?

Allah says in the Quran that no one will bear the burden of another. We are all responsible for our deeds.

It is not healthy to go through life with a sense of pre-destination that one will go to hell, because that can easily become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Sometimes some people are irresponsible when they talk about illegitimate children and either say things without thinking, or else they don't critically examine the texts they are talking about and quote them without thinking or comparing or examining them closely. It perhaps doesn't occur to them that some of the people sitting there listening are not of legitimate birth. There should be more responsibility in discussing these things so that people do not go around worrying they will go to hell because of what their forebears did.

54485

Movies . Children . Shi'a

Can you please recommend some Shi'a Islamic movies that we can watch, both those that will appeal to adults and also some that will be at the level of children?

Mateen Charbonneau, Sheikh Mateen Joshua Charbonneau achieved a certificate from Harvard University in Islamic Studies. He undertook Howza classes under esteemed scholars since 2013 and has been teaching at Imam Mahdi... Answered 1 month ago

There is a great movie in English about Sayeda Narjis (sa) called The Princess of Rome.

64994

Mujtahid . Children

How do I raise my child to be a Mujtahid of the highest order?

You need to start very early in teaching him the basic Islamic knowledge, in a way which makes him like this knowledge and continue gaining it in the Hawza ( Islamic seminary).

Becoming a high level Mujahid needs decades of continuous hard work in seeking Islamic knowledge along with sincerity and humbleness which are essential in enlightening the heart.

Wassalam.

64246

Children . Marriage . Sunni-Shi'a . Vasectomy

I am married to a Sunni and we have 4 children who I fear will not be raised to be Shia. We're struggling to raise the kids and have had several near divorces in the past. Is it permissible to have a reversible vasectomy without permission of my wife?

You do not need permission from any one for such operation, but you need to be sure that it is reversible vasectomy.

Wassalam.