The Importance of Islamic Education for Children at an
Early Age
by Nanik Pradana
The role of family
in religious education for children is very important. Rasullullah hadith which
reads اُطْلُبُوْاالْعِلْمَ مِنَ الْمَهْدِ اِلَى اللَّحْدِ. It means seeking
knowlade from the cradle to the grave. In this messager is explained that the early
education occured whithin the family. Before the children recognize to the
spare, society, school, and others. First they influence by the family environment,
especially their parents. We can see that the first time children are getting
an education from their family. The first thing that is very important in
children is how to instill a good education for them. The primary education is
cultivation of religion values. This is very important building a strong basic
religion as preparation for the next future life. Family plays an active role
in the education and formation religious in chidren. If parents hand over
formation to environment or school, it is a big error. Since religious
education is liable of parents. In the Islamic , children are
mandate from God that must we accountable. Essentially, parents is accountable for
growth and personal perfection children to maturity. Hadith history, Abdur Razaq and
Shaid bin Mansur said that teach your kids and family kindness and bring them up. Parents
should expected to guide, educate, train and teach children in matters relating
to the formation of child’s personality and learning activities. There is a
aphorishm says that a fruit does not fall far from the tree. It means that
children would not be must different from the character, nature, and habit of
their parents.for example, If their
father is a drunk, then the children will emulate their father as an alcoholic.
But, if their father like charity, then the children will imitate their father
behaviour. Parents as central teacher in the family must teach good religious
values for their children. For example: prayer, charity, sincerity, and many
others. If parent can play its role then the result later their children will
become useful for them and country. Beside it, parents will be proud to see
their children grow up to be a good boy or girl.
Islamic
education as a foundation of personality. Educate children from childhood is like
carved on the stone. That’s Our prophet Muhammad saw shows that is the
importance of educating children at an early age. Children’s education from an early needs
patience because parents need to repeat the concept over and over again that
will be implanted. But if the concept is strong implanted in children, it will
be difficult to lose like carving on the stone. That is the importance of
religious education as foundation of personality. Children is an unique,
different, and has characteristic according to the stage of their age. Early
age is golden age where stimulations all of aspect have important role for
futher development. Information and children’s first experience will be
permanent and determine futhermore behavior. The stimulation or aspect that
children need are religion, psychology and education. Smart children without
having religious education in their life are zero, it will not mean anything. Religious
education is a framework that is use to shape children’s personality. The
others sciences such as mathematics, sociology, geography and etc are
complementary colour to give external appearance. Every children have right to
go to paradise someday. So parents should ensure their children to obtain their
right. If there is a child deviates then parents duty is straighten although
it should use forcefulness way. Parents need to make target for children at
the early age. Belief coaching is
performed by teaching children that God always see what everyone do. Adopting Rasullullah,
Rasullullah family, and Rasullullah relatives as an example of their conduct.
Parents teach children to read the Quran and its meaning. Parents teach children to maintain their faith and
sacrifice for it. Fear to God will prevent children from bad deeds. God’s prohibition
to not denounce, injure, or kill someone else will be obeyed children who have
fear to God. So that food, thing, and object that are forbidden by God. They
will avoid it all. Then they will habitually to be patient and steadfast. That
is the practice of wordship that should be taught and be implemented to
children. So they will have an dependability to the laws of God. Formation of
personality according to the religious is formed in order to children social
interaction out of danger, deviation, and wrongness. They grow up to
habituality since they were born by their parents. Bad attitude such as
emotional, temperamental, greedy are figuration from their parents. And good
attitude such as respectful, honest, care, wise are also figuration from their
parents. So personality education with religion at the early age is very
important, because bad attitude will be big problem in the future. Good
figuratting children’s personality will create good habitual and laudable
behavior. And the opposite of it is bad figuratting will create bad habitual
and contemptible behavior.
Religious
education for children aims to build them in order to become people who have good
characters. Basically, planting religious education for children functions to
arrange children’s behavior in order to children become person that have discipline and be
responsible on what they do. Generally parents have mind in order to their
children have good character but they can not control and keep them carefully.
It means that occasionally parents devolve monitoring and education to the
their assistant, school, society or
someone else. What children are need at the beginning age are parents. Children
need distinct dealineation about what is prohibition and perrnitted. Children
will feel safe if they know it certainly. Method is used to forbid children inside
something dengerous and harmful should be thought carefully. Parents have to
look for a way to give them know with no hurt them. Parents also may not use
allegationaly excessively. Because children’s character will be formed from
parents’ habit. The early age is age where children grow up. Figuration of
children’s character and influence children’s ways of thinking will has an
effect on their future. In order to become the rising generation who have good
character and always positive thinking at all things. Religious education is a
requirement of all people. Because human is creature that live based to the law
of God. Religious education is one of education that can influece children’s
character development at the future. Religious education for children must be
formed at the beginner because it can influence their attitude, characteristic,
mental, and behavior. Religious education is done to create and change
children’s character. So they will have religious foundation and it must be
applyed. Family is the main factor in figurrating children’s character. Character
is values of human behaviour that is related to Allah, our self, fellow being
human, society, and nationalistic that is materialized in opinion or idea,
attitude, feeling, and deed is based on religious aktivity, law, culture, and
tradition. According to the psychoanalyst named Kerschensteiner from Germany. He state in public
that character is devided into two. They are biology and inteligibel character.
Biology character is related to the appetite and low sense. And it is concerned
to the human bodies. Biology character is irreversible. But inteligible
character is can be changed. Inteligible character is related with cunning and
human intellect. This character contains elements like strength of willing,
clarity of decision softness of feeling. Children should be educated in order
to have strung feeling, which means the feeling that the children may love all
things that is good and hates everything that that is not good.
Religious education for children stimulates children’s spirit development. How
to analyze children’s spirit development in an optimal fashion by religious
education? Children’s spirit development is determined to their spahare,
included experience and education in the school or society. Children’s religion
follow their parents. Children’s religion foundation from their family will be
developed in school. But children do not only need physical requirement. They
also need spiritual requirement such as affection requirement, sense of
security requirement, feeling success requirement, and freedom requirement. It
can be chanelled through religion. Friendship has a major influence in
children’s live. To be good parents who know children’s need, parents also be
able to act as a friend for children. Because if the love between parents and children
are kept awake then children will feel safe and comfortable, so that children’s
affection requirement will be fulfilled. Some ways that can be used to
stimulate children’s spirit according to the examples of our prophet Muhammad
saw such as giving children reward make them more active and stimulating her
spirit, parents accompany their children playing to build spirit of
togetherness and motivated them, parents need to be good of choosing friends
for their children and always keep an eye of on their progress. Parents should
be aware that beyond the enemies ready to pounce on their children. Various
traps and snares are set for their children. Be careful with how provide
children with strong faith at their early age. Excitement is imression that is
admired by children and children are identical with happy. Young people are
generation that are pure and they are nation’s future. Even themselves are the
means joy for parents. They are very cheerful to their parents. Therefor
parents should provide spiritual cleansing and religious provision for their
children because it is very important for now and future. Parents do not regret
for not educating children as well as possible. Creating good relationship
between children and parents are very influential on children’s phychology and
spirit. If children and parents communication do not exist well then children
will likely be closed and solitary children. And the worst possible is children
will seek out the attention of their parents. So parents should be managed in
way maintain, preserve, observe, and give the children well.
The importance of Islamic education at the early age in order to children
can balance life’s purpose in the world and the hereafter. Knowladge is not just
for the purpose after life but there is a balance life goals include happiness
in the world. Provide religious education to children from an early age is a
way to introduce the children what is the truth nature of life goals. By
introducting and applying the basic of religious laws that exist in the Quran,
children will know that there are things that should not be done. So that
children will have sense of fear that will not do things that are prohibited.
If things like that is used in daily lives of children and start in this early
age, then children will have idea or purpose’s life. So they will think that if
they do the things that God has forbidden or retricstion that exist in the
Quran then they will not get happiness in the hereafter. But if they avoid from
what God prohibition and wolk on what is ordered by God seriously then they
will not only get happiness in the hereafter but also in the world. In the
daily life, children also need the right guidance and instruction. It is not
enough just giving children explanation or understanding. The difficult things
for parents inducate the value consist in religion. Then doing habituation and
excercises help parents to educate children planting the religious values.
Because with training and habituation, children will prone to accept all that
is good and leave the bad things. Similar with religion education, educate
children from childhood by training, accustom and habituation in religious will
make children grow up to be people who taugh, polite, and know religion.
Islamic education for children at an early age creates young generation who
can build the progress of nation. Religious
education is the most important element to build nation. In this era education in
Indonesia, emphasizes the mastery of knowledge and intelligence aspect. But
ignoring the religious education. The foundation of a good personality and good
character have been applied since childhood trough religious education. So expect
the good moral of young generation and good character that has built at the
early age to be able to transform this nation into the nation’s dignity.
