Upbringing of Children

Correspondence of Hazrat Moulana Yunus Patel Saheb (rahimahullah)

Letter: 

Assalaamu ‘alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakaatuh

Respected Moulana

Alhamdulillah, I am in hijaab and punctual with salaah. I try to please Allah Ta‘ala and follow the sunnah. However, since I have had my daughter, I find bringing her up to be very trying and so I sometimes lose my temper. She is now two years old and very demanding, always wanting my attention and disrupting me.

Please guide me and advise me as to what I should do.

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My Journey into the Unknown

All praise is due to Allah Ta‘ala, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Blessings and salutations upon our beloved Nabi Muhammad (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam)

Bismillahir Rahmaanir Raheem

I was born into a mixed-parentage family. My father was a Buddhist Chinese and my mother is a Hindu. They both practiced different faiths. I grew up worshipping idols and visiting temples, so I never felt odd or weird about the rituals. Because I was born in a Muslim country, Islam was not foreign to me.

I was 17 when I started asking questions about my religion. Prayers and rituals did not make sense anymore. I then started seeking the religion that made the most sense. An invitation came for me to visit a church and attend a sermon. I did attend, but still felt that it wasn’t for me.

Read more: My Journey into the Unknown

Living my Dream

Assalaamu ‘alaikum

In the name of Allah, the Most Kind, the Most Merciful. 

My journey into purdah was not an easy one. I left school at the age of 14 and went to madrasah. It was my father’s dream for us, his daughters, to be in purdah and become ‘Aalimahs, so I did it to please him.

After I started wearing it, I hated the idea of it. I used to see other girls with tight jeans and short tops with their hair done up and I used to long for that. Also, besides that, you receive constant ridicule from ignorant people. All of that used to bother me so much that I would cry for days. I just didn't want to do it anymore! I used to think, “Why should I cover myself when I have everything to show?” How naive I was... I had forgotten that women were jewels that needed to be protected.

Read more: Living my Dream

Modern to Modest Re-launch

The saying “no pain, no gain”, although clichéd (overused), expresses a concept that all people acknowledge and understand – that in order to gain, one must be prepared to sacrifice. However, sacrifice is something for which very few people are prepared, as it takes one out of the ‘comfort zone’ into unfamiliar, trial-filled territory.

When most people contemplate their goals, they view the sacrifices that are necessary to achieve them and lose courage, thinking to themselves, “I can never do this, it’s impossible!”

Hence, one of the most effective ways to gain motivation is to consider other people who are just like us and faced the same challenges as us, yet overcame the seemingly insurmountable odds and achieved their goal.

Read more: Modern to Modest Re-launch

Etiquettes of Serving and Assisting Others

1. As far as possible, assist people in need. If you cannot personally assist the person, try to arrange for others to help him.

2. If a person is uncomfortable with accepting one’s service and assistance, then one should not force his service and assistance onto this person.

3. By assisting orphans, one will be blessed with the companionship of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) in Jannah.

4. Those who assist widows and needy relatives obtain the reward of jihaad.

5. If one is able to assist a person who is oppressed, it will be necessary to do so.

Read more: Etiquettes of Serving and Assisting Others