Your child got accepted into the best university. You’re celebrating. Posting on social media. Telling everyone. You spent thousands on their SAT prep, their college applications, their tutors. You pushed them to get perfect grades. You sacrificed so they’d have the best worldly education money can buy.
But here’s a question that should shatter you: Can your child recite Surah Al-Fatiha correctly? Do they know how to make wudu properly? Have they read the Quran with understanding? Can they pray without watching a YouTube video to remind them what to do?
On the Day of Judgment—when degrees don’t matter, when university names mean nothing, when all that counts is what you taught them about Allah ﷻ—your child will turn to you and ask: “Why didn’t you save me from the Fire?”
And what will you say?
The Flock You’re Ignoring
Abdullah ibn Umar رضي الله عنهما narrated, as recorded in Sahih al-Bukhari (Book 67, Hadith 5188) and Sahih Muslim (Book 20, Hadith 1829): The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said: “Every one of you is a shepherd and every one is responsible for his flock. The ruler is a shepherd over the people and will be questioned about his subjects. A man is a shepherd over his family and will be questioned about his flock. A woman is a shepherd over her husband’s house and children and will be questioned about them.”
You will be questioned. Not maybe. Not if you feel like it. On the Day of Judgment, Allah ﷻ will ask you about your children—the flock He entrusted to you. What did you teach them? Where did you guide them? Did you save them from the Fire?
Traditional Islamic scholarship based on this hadith emphasizes that being a “shepherd” means you’re responsible for guiding, protecting, teaching, and ensuring the well-being of your flock—in both their worldly life and their eternal life. If a shepherd loses even one sheep due to his negligence, he’s held accountable. What about parents who lose their children’s souls to ignorance of Islam?
[Surah At-Tahrim, Ayah 6]
“O you who have believed, protect yourselves and your families from a Fire whose fuel is people and stones, over which are [appointed] angels, harsh and severe; they do not disobey Allah in what He commands them but do what they are commanded.”
Save your family from the Fire. Not “make sure they get good grades.” Not “ensure they get into Harvard.” Save them from Hell. That’s your job as a parent according to Islam.
But look at your priorities. You panic if your child’s GPA drops. But do you panic when they skip prayers? You ground them for failing a test. But do you ground them for missing Jummah? You invest thousands in their college fund. But do you invest even one hour a week teaching them Quran?
Your child will be asked about their prayers, their fasting, their knowledge of Islam. And when they fail those questions, they’ll turn to you. And you’ll have to answer for why you failed them.
The Education You Prioritized Over Paradise
Let me paint you a picture of the average Muslim household. Your son is thirteen. He’s in honors classes. He plays two sports. He has sports lessons on Tuesdays. Math tutoring on Thursdays. You’ve mapped out his entire path to an Ivy League school.
Ask him to recite Surah Al-Ikhlas. Watch him struggle, as scholars note happens with most Muslim youth today. Ask him what breaks wudu. Watch him google it. Ask him to lead prayer in your absence. Watch him panic because according to how you raised him, he’s never learned how.
You taught him algebra, but not ablution, as scholars lament when discussing modern Islamic education neglect. You taught him Shakespeare, but he doesn’t know the difference between Zabiha and Haram meat. You taught him about the American Revolution, but he knows nothing about the life of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
And here’s what should terrify you: On the Day of Judgment, Allah ﷻ won’t ask him what university he attended, or what scores he got.
He’ll ask him: “Did you pray?” “Did you know who your Lord is?” “Did you follow My guidance?” “Did you study My Book?”
And when your child fails those questions, Allah ﷻ asks “Why didn’t you know this?”—your child, will point at you and say: “They never taught me.”
[Surah Luqman, Ayah 13]
“And [mention, O Muhammad], when Luqman said to his son while he was instructing him, ‘O my son, do not associate [anything] with Allah. Indeed, association [with him] is great injustice.'”
Luqman’s first lesson to his son, was Tawheed—belief in One God. Not math. Not science. Not career planning. He prioritized saving his son’s soul before worrying about his worldly success.
Yet you do the opposite, as Islamic teachers observe in modern Muslim parenting. You prioritize everything worldly and leave Islam for “when they’re older” or “when they have time” or “it’s their choice,” according to common excuses scholars hear from neglectful Muslim parents.
“It’s Their Choice” – The Lie That Will Destroy You
Here’s a phrase that should get you questioned severely on Judgment Day based on Islamic teachings about parental responsibility: “I can’t force them to pray. It’s their choice.”
Really? According to that logic, you can force them to go to school—that’s not their choice. You can force them to eat vegetables. To do homework. To clean their room. To respect elders. To not touch the stove. You can force them to do dozens of things for their own good, as traditional Islamic parenting wisdom emphasizes.
But when it comes to prayer—the thing that will literally determine their eternal fate—suddenly it’s “their choice”? That’s not mercy. That’s neglect. That’s abandoning your responsibility.
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said, as recorded in Sunan Abu Dawud (Hadith 495) and authenticated by scholars including Al-Albani: “Command your children to pray when they are seven years old, and beat them for [not praying] when they are ten years old, and separate them in their beds.”
Command them at seven. Not “suggest.” Not “if they feel like it.” Command them. Make it non-negotiable. Establish it as a foundational part of their life before they hit puberty and it becomes obligatory.
And at ten—if they’re still not praying after three years of training according to scholarly interpretation—discipline them. Not abuse them. Not harm them. But make them understand this is serious. This matters. This isn’t optional.
But you don’t do any of that. Your ten-year-old doesn’t pray. Your twelve-year-old doesn’t know Fatiha. Your fifteen-year-old openly skips Ramadan. And you do nothing because according to your flawed reasoning that scholars consistently refute, “it’s their choice” or “I don’t want to push them away from Islam.”
Here’s the reality Islamic teachers emphasize: By not teaching them, by not commanding them, by not making Islam central to their upbringing—you’ve already pushed them away from Islam. You’ve raised a child who thinks Islam is optional, that prayers don’t matter, that pleasing Allah ﷻ is less important than pleasing college admissions officers, according to the values you actually demonstrated through your parenting choices.
The Question That Will Haunt You
Imagine this scene: You’re standing before Allah ﷻ. The questioning is done. The scales have been weighed. And then your child—now an adult soul facing their eternal fate—turns to you.
Their book of deeds, is in their left hand. They’re being dragged toward the Fire. And they look at you with eyes full of betrayal and ask, based on the natural questions that victims of neglect would ask: “Why didn’t you teach me? Why didn’t you make me pray? Why did you care more about my GPA than my soul? Why didn’t you save me?”
What will you say? Will you tell them you were too busy with work? That you didn’t want to be “too strict”? That you thought they’d figure it out on their own? That you were more worried about them fitting in with their non-Muslim friends than fitting the criteria for Paradise?
These excuses won’t work on Judgment Day. Allah ﷻ gave you time. He gave you resources. He gave you knowledge. And you’ll be asked why you didn’t use any of it to fulfill your most important duty—raising your child upon Islam.
Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyyah, as documented by Islamic scholars studying his works on parenting, wrote: “Indeed, most children’s corruption comes from their parents and their neglect of them, and their failure to teach them the obligations and Sunnahs of the religion. So they neglected them when they were small, and they did not benefit themselves nor their parents when they grew up.”
Most corruption comes from the parents’ neglect. Not from society. Not from friends. Not from schools. According to Ibn Qayyim’s analysis studied by contemporary scholars, from you—the parent who was supposed to protect them but instead abandoned your responsibility.
[Surah Al-Anfal, Ayah 28]
“And know that your properties and your children are but a trial and that Allah has with Him a great reward.”
Your children are a test. According to scholarly interpretation, Allah ﷻ is testing whether you’ll prioritize their Dunya or their Deen. Whether you’ll raise them for this world or the next. Whether you’ll fulfill your duty as a shepherd or betray your flock.
Most Muslim parents, are failing that test spectacularly.
What You Should Have Done (What You Still Can Do)
If your children are still young, you still have time. If they’re older but alive, you can still try. If they’ve already left your home, you can still make dua for them and try to repair what you neglected.
First: Make Their Islamic Education Your Priority. Not an afterthought. Not “when we have time.” Priority number one. Before sports. Before other lessons. Before college prep.
Teach them Quran. If you can’t teach them yourself, find someone who can. Enroll them in Quran classes. Hire a tutor. Do whatever it takes because their ability to read Allah’s words is more important than their ability to play sports.
Teach them how to pray properly. Not just the movements—the meanings. The khushu. The connection with Allah ﷻ. Make them understand according to Islamic spiritual teachings that Salah isn’t a chore; it’s the rope connecting them to their Creator.
Teach them Tawheed—proper belief in Allah ﷻ according to Islamic creed. This is what Luqman started with as documented in the Quran. Make sure your children know who Allah ﷻ is, what He deserves from them, why they were created.
Second: Model Islam for Them. Children learn more from what they see than what they hear. If you’re telling them to pray while you’re scrolling through your phone during prayer time, what are you really teaching them?
If you’re lecturing them about honesty while lying to their teachers about why they missed school, what lesson are they learning? If you’re telling them Allah ﷻ is watching while you’re openly committing sins in front of them, you’re destroying their faith faster than any external influence ever could.
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was the best teacher, because he lived what he taught. His life was his lesson, as documented in authentic Seerah literature. Be that for your children.
Third: Make Islam the Center of Your Home. According to Islamic teachings about creating a faithful environment, your home should breathe Islam. Quran recitation should be heard regularly. Prayer should be established in congregation. Islamic knowledge should be discussed at dinner, as traditional Muslim households historically practiced according to scholarly documentation.
Your children should see you reading Quran.They should hear you making dua for them. They should watch you rush to prayer. They should witness you prioritizing pleasing Allah ﷻ over pleasing people.
Fourth: Be Firm About Non-Negotiables. Prayer is non-negotiable. Fasting in Ramadan is non-negotiable. Basic Islamic knowledge is non-negotiable. Respect for Islam’s rulings is non-negotiable.
Your child might complain. They might be upset. They might say their friends don’t have to do this. Stand firm anyway. Because according to prophetic warnings you’ve learned, on Judgment Day, when they’re facing the consequences of ignorance, they won’t blame you for being too strict. They’ll blame you for being too lenient.
[Surah Ash-Shu’ara, Ayah 214]
“And warn, [O Muhammad], your closest kindred.”
Warn your own family first, according to this Quranic command to the Prophet ﷺ . If the Prophet ﷺ—whose family had no excuse for not believing given his direct prophethood—was commanded to warn them, what about you? What about your children who completely depend on you for their Islamic education?
The Time You’re Wasting
Your daughter is eight. She still has time to memorize large portions of Quran. To develop a deep love for Islam. To build habits of worship that will carry her through life. But you’re too focused on her getting into gifted programs.
Your son is twelve. He’s on the edge of puberty. Prayer will soon be obligatory for him. Does he even know how to pray properly? You have maybe a year or two to establish this before it becomes a sin he’s accountable for. Are you using that time?
Your teenager is sixteen. In two years, they’ll leave for college. Away from your influence. Surrounded by temptation. Will they have the Islamic foundation to resist? or will they crumble because you never built them a fortress of faith?
Time is running out. Every day you delay is a day wasted. Every week you prioritize their sports schedule over their Islamic education is a week you’ll regret.
And here’s what should absolutely crush you based on Islamic teachings about death’s unpredictability: You don’t know if you have tomorrow. You don’t know if they have tomorrow. Death doesn’t wait for you to be ready. If your child dies today, with the Islamic knowledge they have right now—are they prepared to meet Allah ﷻ? Have you done your job as a shepherd?
The Reality You Can’t Escape
Abdullah ibn Umar رضي الله عنهما said, as documented by Islamic scholars studying statements of companions: “Teach good manners to your child because you are responsible for him and he is responsible for being dutiful and obedient to you.”
You’re responsible. Not the Islamic school (if they even attend one). Not the Sunday school teacher who sees them once a week. Not YouTube scholars. You—the parent.
On the Day of Judgment, Allah ﷻ won’t ask the Sunday school teacher why your child doesn’t know how to pray. He’ll ask you. You’re the shepherd. They’re your flock.
And if you failed them—if you prioritized their Dunya over their Deen, if you cared more about their worldly success than their eternal salvation, if you gave them everything except Islam according to your actual actions—then according to Islamic teachings about justice, you’ll face the consequences.
Your child will stand there, with a book full of sins they committed because they didn’t know they were sins. With prayers they missed because you never taught them prayers matter. With a lifetime of ignorance about their Creator because you never made time to teach them.
And they’ll ask you why, based on the natural question any abandoned soul would ask. You won’t have an answer that satisfies Allah ﷻ.
[Surah Luqman, Ayah 17]
“O my son, establish prayer, enjoin what is right, forbid what is wrong, and be patient over what befalls you. Indeed, [all] that is of the matters [requiring] determination.”
Luqman’s advice to his son, covered the foundations: prayer, commanding good, forbidding evil, and patience. He prioritized their relationship with Allah ﷻ and their moral character. Not their career prospects. Not their social status. Their soul, as Islamic parenting wisdom consistently emphasizes.
That’s the example Allah ﷻ preserved in the Quran for you to follow, according to Islamic understanding of why these stories were revealed. Are you following it? Or are you following the example of the Dunya—parents who raise their kids for this world and forget they’re heading to the next?
Stop making excuses. Stop delaying. Stop prioritizing everything else. Your children are your responsibility. Their Islamic education is your job. Their salvation is partially in your hands.
Teach them. Train them. Save them from the Fire, according to the Quranic command you were given. Before it’s too late. Before you’re standing before Allah ﷻ with no answer to the question: “What did you teach them about Me?”