Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1 Contemporary Jurisprudence - Nawab Higher Seminary - Khorasan Razavi Seminary - Holy Mashhad - Iran
2 Professor of Jurisprudence and Principles at Mashhad Seminary; Assistant Professor at the Khorasani Akhund Specialized Center (affiliated with Baqir-ul-Ulum University), Mashhad, Iran.
Abstract
Although there is no disagreement among Islamic jurists regarding the necessity of teaching obligatory acts of worship to children—based on the principles of gradual familiarization, practice, and encouragement—the teaching of recommended (mustahabb) acts of worship has long been a subject of contention. Many jurists exclude the instruction of recommended rituals from the sphere of legal obligation, considering it outside the educational responsibility of parents. Relying on certain evidences, they argue that recommended acts are meant exclusively for adults, and some even regard children’s worship as lacking the conditions for validity.
This study, employing a descriptive–analytical method within a jurisprudential framework, examines and critiques these opposing views and their reasoning. The findings indicate that such restrictive interpretations of taklīf (religious obligation) have led to the misunderstanding that parents bear no responsibility for teaching recommended acts. However, based on the general and absolute Qur’anic and Prophetic evidences, no barrier exists against assigning this educational duty to parents; on the contrary, numerous textual and practical examples affirm such responsibility. Moreover, this parental duty should not be construed as implying a juridical obligation of the recommended acts themselves or a direct acquisition of reward for the child’s performance. Rather, teaching these recommended practices serves as a formative training process that nurtures spirituality, faith, and self-control in children, thereby preparing them psychologically and behaviorally to embrace both obligatory and recommended acts of worship upon reaching maturity.
Keywords
- Recommended Acts of Worship
- Religious ObligationParental responsibility
- Children’s Worship
- Child Education
- Jurisprudential Schools
- Fiqh of Education
Main Subjects
* Nahjul-Balagha
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