Helping faith become part of how a child sees the world
In Raising Righteous Muslims, Islamic educator and mother of five Elza Sadika explores what it means to raise children with a strong Islamic identity while they are surrounded by the influences, assumptions, and distractions of modern life.
Rather than treating Islamic education simply as information children need to learn, the book asks a deeper question: how do parents help faith become part of the way a child understands themselves, other people, and the world around them?
Across six chapters, Sadika considers belief, guidance, character and personality formation, cultural influences, and the parent’s role in creating an environment in which a child’s inner Islamic foundation can grow.
The book is organized into six substantial chapters. The titles below are a map, not a summary; the author’s full discussion is in the book itself.
It is possible to teach a child a great deal about Islam and still wonder whether faith has become part of how they see themselves and the world. Sadika’s question invites parents to think about identity as something that grows from within, not only something that is explained from the outside.
Is faith in our home mostly something my child learns about, or something that is gradually shaping how they see?
The book gives attention to the influences, assumptions, and distractions children meet every day, including the tension some families feel between Islamic culture and secular society. Naming these influences calmly can be a first step toward responding to them thoughtfully.
Which influences in my child’s world am I most aware of, and which might I be overlooking?
The book’s final chapter turns to the parent as a guide and to the environment a child grows up in. A child’s inner foundation is shaped not only by what we say, but by what daily family life makes feel safe, normal, and worth exploring.
What about our home environment helps my child’s faith feel like something safe to explore?
One particularly valuable idea in the book is the importance of teaching children to pause, observe, question, and reflect on the world Allah created.
Sadika contrasts this kind of attention with the increasingly screen-absorbed lives of children. Her response is not simply to tell children to put their phones away. She encourages parents to redirect children’s attention toward creation and help them become curious about what they see.
For example, a parent might notice the transition from day to night with a child and ask questions such as:
The goal is not necessarily to arrive at a perfect answer. The conversation itself teaches a child to pay attention. Parents can connect these observations with appropriate Qur’anic verses and explore together how creation points toward order, wisdom, balance, and the power of Allah.
This turns an ordinary experience, such as looking at the sky, noticing an animal, watching the seasons change, or thinking about the human body, into an opportunity for reflection.
These questions are ValueOurKids paraphrases inspired by Sadika’s approach, not quotations from the book.
The next time you are outside with your child, choose one ordinary thing you can both see: a tree, clouds, an insect, the moon, rain, or even your own hands.
Instead of immediately explaining it, ask a question. “What do you notice?” Then follow their curiosity.
The aim is not to turn every walk into a lesson. It is to help children develop the habit of noticing, wondering, and eventually connecting what they observe with a deeper awareness of their Creator.
In her discussion of forming a Muslim personality, Sadika presents human relationships through three fundamental dimensions. She describes them as developing in this order during childhood:
This framework offers parents an interesting way to think about spiritual development. A child’s Islamic identity does not develop in isolation from the rest of their emotional and relational life.
How children come to understand themselves, how they learn to relate to other people, and how they eventually understand their relationship with Allah are interconnected parts of their development.
The framework invites parents to think beyond the question, “What Islamic knowledge should my child learn?” and also consider, “What kind of inner foundation are we helping this child build?”
This is Sadika’s framework, and this page offers only a brief introduction. Her own explanation in the book is the place to explore it more fully.
IF YOU'D LIKE TO REFLECT A LITTLE FURTHER
No single parenting approach will work identically for every child or family. Age, temperament, developmental differences, neurodiversity, family circumstances, and the seriousness of a particular behavior can all affect what an appropriate response looks like.
Treat the ideas in this resource as invitations to reflect rather than rules that must be applied perfectly. This page introduces the book and a few of its ideas; it does not mean ValueOurKids endorses every recommendation in it, and parents are welcome to explore the original work and decide what fits their family.
By Elza Sadika
Book
Raising Righteous Muslims in the Modern World is a faith-centered parenting guide by Elza Sadika, identified in the book’s subtitle as a mother of five and an Islamic educator. It is presented as a step-by-step guide with practical tools for raising children with a strong Islamic identity in the modern world.
The book is organized into six chapters covering the dangers children face, belief in Allah and a strong Islamic personality, guidance, the formation of a Muslim’s personality, the conflict between Islamic culture and secular society, and the parent’s role as guide.
Primary topic: Faith & Identity
Also explores: Islamic Identity, Spiritual Identity, Faith in a Secular World, Values & Character, Parent-Child Communication, Screen Time, Digital Life
Explore the original book →ValueOurKids is not affiliated with the creator or publisher unless specifically stated. This page highlights selected ideas and reflections inspired by the resource and is not intended to replace the original work. We encourage readers to explore the original resource directly.
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