FROM WHAT AGE ONE SHOULD TEACH Children TO PRAY?
Our children are creatures whose upbringing Allah has trusted us.And the main task of parents is to Teach Children what the Almighty has commanded each one of His slaves to fulfill.
To begin this important training, no doubt, one should start with namaz - prayer, because in the hadeeth of the Prophet ﷺ it is said:
"علموا الصبي الصلاة ابن سبع سنين, واضربوه عليها ابن عشر".
"Teach a child to pray, beginning at the age of seven, and punish him for refusing it from the age of ten"
[at-Tirmizi No. 407].
قال الطالبين:
Concerning the instruction of children to pray in "i`anat at-Talibin" the following is written:
(و يؤمر) ذو صبا - ذكر أو أنثى - (مميز) بأن صار يأكل ويشرب ويستنجي وحده أي: يجب على كل من أبويه وإن علا, ثم الوصي ... أن يأمر (بها) أي الصلاة, ولو قضاء وبجميع شروطها (لسبع ) أي بعد سبع من السنين أي عند تمامها وإن ميز قبلها. وينبغي مع صيغة الأمر التهديد.
"Parents are obligated to command their children, regardless of their sex - male or female - after reaching seven years, from the moment they became mumayyiz (i.e.the age at which a child can discern between right and wrong, distinguish between a man and a woman and what to eat and drink), so that they pray with all the required conditions, be it a mandatory timely or missed prayer.
If there are no parents, the responsibility rests with grandfather and grandmother on the part of the father or mother and on those next of kin available. And if there is neither one nor the other, responsibility to command performing namaz passes to the guardian of the child.
If necessary, they should command children to perform prayer and even warn them that they will be punished if they leave it."
(ويضرب) ضربا غير مبرح - وجوبا- ممن ذكر (عليها) أي على تركها - ولو قضاء - أو ترك شرط من شروطها (لعشر) أي بعد استكمالها للحديث الصحيح: مروا الصبي بالصلاة إذا بلغ سبع سنين وإذا بلغ عشر سنين فاضربوه عليها. وحكمة ذلك التمرين على العبادة ليتعودها فلا يتركها.
(ج 1 ص 38)
When the child reaches the age of ten, the above mentioned guardians of the child should punish him/her without causing them pain for negligent attitude to the obligatory or missed prayer, or its conditions.
The reason for this is the authentic hadith of the Messenger of Allah:"You command the children to perform namaz when they are seven years old, and after reaching ten [for negligence], punish.[Abu Dawood No. 493]
And the wisdom of this attitude is to educate and strengthen in children diligence in worship that will not allow them to forget the skills of worship.["i'anat at-Talibin" vol 1, p. 38].
