The Qur’an: Reflection & Application: Children and the Masjid

Occasion: Transcript of an Isha lecture delivered on April 13, 2026; the place is not named in the video title.Source: transcription of a recorded lecture by Dr. Ahmed Abouseif — watch the original video on YouTube

We were supposed to talk tonight, inshāʾAllāh, about mutual compassion, mutual mercy. But before that, today I received a message.

A call from another state

The caller said, "I am so and so. I want to ask you about something, to help me." I said, "Okay, what is going on? I am here for you." He told me about his child, a daughter.^[1] A few years ago she began to move away from the regular ṣalāh. Then it went to another level. When she hears me praying at home, she is "zooming" (the word is unclear) and doing something else, showing me. She is showing me that she does not like to hear even the sound of the Qur'an in our home.

He said that perhaps something was missing, in words that are garbled,^[2] and suggested going to their country, where they might find some shaykh. Once she heard that, she became nervous and insisted: "I will never move. I will not go with you anywhere."

So, long story short, I asked him what the closest masjid to him was, so that I could find out whether I had a friend there who could help. Where are you living? He said he was living in a different state. I asked, "How did you get my phone number?" At the beginning I thought he was one of my neighbors asking the shaykh for help; that is usual, we receive it every single day. But he was in a different state. The person he mentioned, he had got my number from him. I had met that person once in my entire life, and we had not been in contact since. Yet the man still had my number, and that told me something: he does not have the numbers of any shaykhs around him. We do not have the kind of friendship that would make us the closest one to him.

No imām to call

When I asked him what the closest masjid was, and who was the imām around him that I could call, he answered, "I don't know anybody." How long had he been living there? A few years. He had no connection with the imām, no connection with the masjid; he was not going anywhere, and not practicing even in the masjid.

At the end of the day he was coming to me to help him temporarily. If I could just go, or he could come, to read Qur'an, putting my hand on the head of the person, reading and doing something. And once he was released from that position, he would go away again.

What kind of relationship do we have with the imāms?

That raises the question: what kind of relationship do we have with the shaykhs, with the imāms? Do we have a friendship with them? Do we usually contact them, "How are you doing?"

Take what I see here. I know all of you; one of the brothers here knows everybody in this place personally. Is that right? Yes. Because of what? Because he sees you. I see you here every single day. If you miss the ṣalāh, you are going to find somebody, or the imām, calling: "Salām, brother, how are you doing? We missed you today, man. Is everything good?" And you answer, "Oh, I am so sorry I missed it; forgive me; I will see you tomorrow." That means you are okay, and that is what I need. If you have a problem, or if you answer my "How are you doing?" with a cough, I can understand: what do you have, how can I help you, do you need a number from a doctor, a pharmacy, medicine, anything? I have it. I have my conviction because I am an imām here: everybody comes to me, everybody has a good relationship with me, and I am here.

So why are we waiting for a calamity to come to our children before we take them to the imām?^[3]

Four, five, six

A few weeks ago we started classes, special classes for the youth. So far we have four, five, six people coming in and out, and nobody else. Do you want to convince me that we have just four youth in our community? You do not have children in our homes? How many of you are here? You do not have children in our homes?

Take thirteen and up. At that age we can reach a level of connection to talk to them rationally, not just teach them how to recite and repeat. That is for the "learned children" (as the transcript has it), and mashāʾAllāh, a great job. But we need to move to the next level: to discuss the relationship between boys and girls at school, what they are doing. They are trying to be smart with me; you know what I am talking about.

Half of yourself at home

How can we meet Allah, subḥānahu wa taʿālā, when we are ignoring our children, leaving them at home and just coming to say Allāhu akbar, "I prayed, alḥamdulillāh, I attend the ṣalāh"? You are missing half of yourself. You are missing the important part, at home.

What are they doing there? Homework. Is homework more important than coming to pray and then going back to finish our work? Which one is more important? If I go to the prayer, the main class, can I fix the problem in my heart, in my mind, in my emotions, and then go back and finish my math homework? Is that important, or is it to leave them there and come without them?

If you bring your children, this place will not be enough for us. We will have to move to a bigger place, because of the number of people coming. And if they come regularly to the masjid, sometimes they will ask you why you are not going to pray: "I want to go. I have no right. I need you to help me go to the masjid, to get to this class."

This is our responsibility, the first priority of our life, our entire life: the offspring, the next generation. Will they continue coming to the masjid, or will they ignore the masjid?

Churches for sale

Right now we are buying the churches around us and turning them into masājid. They are for sale. They are for sale. You can do this tonight: go to a website called Lubnet,^[4] look specifically at the religious facilities and press there, and you will find at least ten thousand churches in America for sale. At least; I am just giving a random number. Imagine that number: at least ten thousand churches for sale.

Why? Why? Why? Nobody goes. That is the easy answer. Nobody goes there. They ignored them and left the deal,^[5] and now the church is for sale.

Can you imagine our masjid being for sale one day? And who is going to cause that? Me: because I am leaving my children at home, ignoring the events in the masjid. When we have, what do you call it, when we ask the people to come to eat, we have an event, we are inviting the shaykh to sit and teach us, and we do not care about that; we just come, pray, "alḥamdulillāh, I am done," and go back. No. You are in the masjid, and you are not under arrest. You are coming to have that relief. You are coming to have tranquility, that peace in your heart, in your emotions, in your mind. Do you want the same level of tranquility in the hearts of your children, or not? Why do we try to feed them physically and ignore the rest of the things?

Before Allah about our children

I think this is enough for you tonight. The mutual compassion, the mutual mercy: we are going to talk about that next time.

Guys, imagine yourself standing before Allah, subḥānahu wa taʿālā, on the Day of Judgment, and He is asking you about your children.

--- ^[1]: Editor's documentation: at first the lecturer says "my son or a daughter" and afterwards uses only "she", so a daughter is written. The caller is kept anonymous; no identifying detail was given in the lecture. ^[2]: Editor's documentation: the transcript is garbled here ("maybe we have something missing with the... gym beings something like that"). It may refer to the jinn, but this is not certain, so only the general sense is given. The word "shaykh" in the next sentence is likewise an uncertain hearing ("some she over there"). The words "I have no right" in the child's speech below are also of uncertain sense. ^[3]: Editor's documentation: the transcript has "a calamity or a ma..." and breaks off; only "a calamity" is kept. ^[4]: Editor's documentation: the name of the website as heard is "lubnet"; it is probably a commercial real-estate listing site, but the lecturer's own spelling is kept. ^[5]: Editor's documentation: "deal" is as it appears in the transcript, twice. It may be a mis-hearing of "dīn" (the religion), but this is not certain.