Education for Children

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.