The Command to Order Prayer and the Negligence of Parents in Training Their Children
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
The seven years: is the meaning that he has entered the seventh year or completed the seven years? If the child is in the eighth year. Why was the command specified as seven, O Shaykh?
The Shaykh:
Because, as a rule, he is of sound mind, whereas below that age, his mind is generally weak and he does not understand the prayer.
The questioner:
Many fathers, Shaykh, are negligent in teaching their children the prayer, so that when the child grows up, he does not attend the mosque.
The Shaykh:
It is obligatory for his father to fulfill this duty. This is the duty of the father, and the father and mother both; this is their duty. It is obligatory for the father and mother to carry out this matter in terms of raising the children with Islamic upbringing, directing the children to good, and ordering them to pray when they reach seven years of age, and striking them when they reach ten years of age, whether they are male or female. Yes.
The seven years: is the meaning that he has entered the seventh year or completed the seven years? If the child is in the eighth year. Why was the command specified as seven, O Shaykh?
The Shaykh:
Because, as a rule, he is of sound mind, whereas below that age, his mind is generally weak and he does not understand the prayer.
The questioner:
Many fathers, Shaykh, are negligent in teaching their children the prayer, so that when the child grows up, he does not attend the mosque.
The Shaykh:
It is obligatory for his father to fulfill this duty. This is the duty of the father, and the father and mother both; this is their duty. It is obligatory for the father and mother to carry out this matter in terms of raising the children with Islamic upbringing, directing the children to good, and ordering them to pray when they reach seven years of age, and striking them when they reach ten years of age, whether they are male or female. Yes.
Source
شرح كتاب المنتقى من أخبار المصطفى صلى الله عليه وسلم [ برنامج إذاعي ]، بداية من أسئلة في باب حجة من لم يكفر تارك الصلاة — islamhouse.com (6:32)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.