Family Matters

Was so blessed to be a part of this great seminar organised by Muhammadiyah recently. Indeed, I took away alot of useful advise, not so much to prepare myself to be a the best parent ever for my future kids, rather to understand the challenges, the root causes (not just the symptoms) and plausible solutions towards maintaining family harmony.

On hindsight, I am a follower of the talented Ustaz Dr. Mohd Asri. Its not so much of his looks (actually he's not bad at all, married... oops! Next?), rather his in-depth knowledge, intelligence and above all, his genuine concern for the ummah and charisma reflected via his presentation that captures my heart and set my mind thinking...

The 2005 statistics appalled me:

• 80,000 Malay-Muslims have no islamic education
• 2,000 divorces in a year
• Out of 2 cases of pre-marital sex, 1 is a Malay-Muslim
• 30% of which went through abortion
• 40% of which contracted STDs

What will be the future of our community in Singapore? According to the speakers, the root cause of these symptoms are parents. And the solution is simple - keep to your religion as God has said, "I have perfected for you your religion" i.e. the way of life. The lack of dedication to their religion will ultimately bring the downfall of their family, resulting in a domino effect throughout their future generation.

A holistic approach was proposed:

• Nurturer i.e. parents (knowledge, communication, role model)
• Curriculum to nurture kids (priority, approach, openness)
• Conducive environment (attention, concern, exposure)

Bottomline, parents must:

• Make the effort towards improvement (never give up trying)
• Pray consistently (keep you close to God)
• Have faith (remember God and he'll be closer than your jugular vein)

In retrospect, the situation I faced back at home before the divorce of my parents made me realised the importance of finding a suitable husband, the head of the household. It is a challenge being a good parent, what more a good Muslim parent at that. In this era, in the midst of the hustle and bustle of daily stresses in life, there is a need to focus on a quality balance between work and family. Above all a strong dedication towards God first, and the rest will fall into place...

Life on earth is but a mere 'one and a half hours'. What you invest in that period in life will make or break your position in God's eyes. There is no compulsion in the religion; Choose wisely...