Title of Sermon: Summer Vacation: Planting Seeds and Building Character
Elements of Sermon:
When will our children become a true joy to our eyes?
Our responsibility toward them.
An ideal plan for making the most of the summer break.
All praise is due to Allah, the Most Forgiving, the Possessor of mercy. He has made children a gift and a blessing, and made their righteousness a comfort to the eyes and a cause for smiles. I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah, alone without partner. I bear witness that Muḥammad is His servant and Messenger. May Allah send peace and blessings upon him, whenever an ambition rises high and a determination is made sincere.
So fear Allah, servants of Allah, with true mindfulness of Him, and be watchful of Him in secret and in public:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِ وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنْتُمْ مُسْلِمُونَ
“O you who believe, fear Allah as He should be feared and do not die except as Muslims.” (Sūrat Āl ʿImrān: 102)
Servants of Allah:
رَبَّنَا هَبْ لَنَا مِنْ أَزْوَاجِنَا وَذُرِّيَّاتِنَا قُرَّةَ أَعْيُنٍ
“Our Lord, grant us from our spouses and offspring a comfort to our eyes.” (Sūrat al-Furqān: 74)
This is among the noblest of the supplications of the servants of the Most Merciful!
A comfort to the eye is when your heart rejoices, and your soul finds peace, every time your eyes fall upon your child—pleased with what he or she has become, reassured by Allah’s favor upon them.
But when will our children truly be a comfort to our eyes?
Al-Miqdād ibn al-Aswad, may Allah be pleased with him, said:
“By Allah, Allah sent the Prophet ﷺ at a time harsher than any faced by a prophet before him—in an age of ignorance in which people believed no religion was better than idol-worship. He came with a decisive criterion that separated truth from falsehood, even dividing parent from child. A man would see his father, his child, or his brother persisting in disbelief, while Allah had opened his own heart to faith. He would know that if his loved one were to perish in that state, they would enter the Fire. So his eye would find no comfort knowing that his beloved was destined for the Fire. This is what Allah the Almighty referred to when He said:
الَّذِينَ يَقُولُونَ رَبَّنَا هَبْ لَنَا مِنْ أَزْوَاجِنَا وَذُرِّيَّاتِنَا قُرَّةَ أَعْيُنٍ
“Those who say, Our Lord, grant us from our spouses and offspring a comfort to our eyes.” (Sūrat al-Furqān: 74)
The true comfort of the eye is when Allah rectifies your child, so that he or she is obedient to their Lord, living in what pleases Him. Their life is made wholesome through Islām and īmān (faith). Otherwise, what comfort is there in a child who faces Allah’s punishment through sin and heedlessness?
Allah the Exalted says:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا قُوا أَنْفُسَكُمْ وَأَهْلِيكُمْ نَارًا وَقُودُهَا النَّاسُ وَالْحِجَارَةُ عَلَيْهَا مَلَائِكَةٌ غِلَاظٌ شِدَادٌ لَا يَعْصُونَ اللَّهَ مَا أَمَرَهُمْ وَيَفْعَلُونَ مَا يُؤْمَرُونَ
“O you who believe, protect yourselves and your families from a Fire whose fuel is people and stones, over which are stern and mighty angels who never disobey Allah in what He commands them and who do what they are ordered.” (Sūrat al-Taḥrīm: 6)
Servants of Allah:
The summer vacation has arrived. Our children now take a temporary break from formal studies—about ninety days. What can we offer them?
Life and time are gifts from Allah, the Most Generous. The loser is the one who wastes his life in what angers his Lord and Master, or spends his days to no purpose.
The Prophet ﷺ said: “There are two blessings in which many people are cheated: health and free time.” (Reported by al-Bukhārī)
Our children are a trust from Allah. They are pieces of our own hearts, and they are the future of this Ummah. If we do not engage them with what is right—especially during the years of youth, strength, and vitality—then Shayṭān and his allies will engage them with what is wrong.
You, father, and your wife will both be questioned about this trust on the Day of Resurrection. The Prophet ﷺ said:
“Every one of you is a shepherd, and every one of you is responsible for his flock. A man is a shepherd over the people of his household and is responsible for them. A woman is a shepherd over her husband’s household and his children, and she is responsible for them. Indeed, every one of you is a shepherd and every one of you is responsible for his flock.” (Agreed upon: al-Bukhārī and Muslim)
We will also be questioned about our lifespan on the Day of Resurrection.
The Prophet ﷺ said: “The son of Ādam’s feet will not move on the Day of Resurrection until he is asked about five things: his life—how he spent it; his youth—how he used it; his wealth—how he earned it and how he spent it; and what he did with the knowledge he acquired.” (Reported by al-Tirmidhī)
Since this is the reality, it is incumbent upon us first to plan a beneficial vacation for our children, not to leave them aimless and without purpose. How many years have passed without a plan or a goal, with days wasted and no fruit to show?
The Prophet ﷺ said: “A believer is not stung from the same hole twice.” (Agreed upon: al-Bukhārī and Muslim)
Allah has commanded us to take the Book with strength and praised His servants who possess strength and insight. The leader of those who rely upon Allah—our Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ—would plan his daʿwah carefully while placing full trust in his Lord. Islām does not call for randomness or complacency. Allah says:
خُذُوا مَا آتَيْنَاكُمْ بِقُوَّةٍ
“Hold firmly to what We have given you.” (Sūrat al-Baqarah: 63)
And He, the Almighty, said:
وَاذْكُرْ عِبَادَنَا إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَإِسْحَاقَ وَيَعْقُوبَ أُولِي الْأَيْدِي وَالْأَبْصَارِ
“And remember Our servants Ibrāhīm, Isḥāq, and Yaʿqūb—men of strength and insight.” (Sūrat Ṣād: 45)
And here is the Prophet ﷺ—throughout his life—considering matters with the mind of a wise person, seeking guidance and aid from his Lord. He would take the necessary means, understand the condition of his companions and the reality of his own situation, as well as the circumstances of those around him—even the nations, their lands, their kings, and what they were upon. He sent a group of his companions to Abyssinia, planned his blessed migration with the utmost wisdom and precision, prepared his army before his expeditions, prioritized between what was most important and what was less so, reflected on the outcomes of matters and the consequences of events, and then acted with diligence based on this. This was his noble way ﷺ.
The first thing we must be keen on is building faith in the hearts of our children, for this is the foundation and the ultimate purpose for which Allah created us.
Jundub ibn ʿAbd Allāh, may Allah be pleased with him, said: “We were with the Prophet ﷺ while we were young boys nearing puberty. We learned faith before we learned the Qur’ān, then we learned the Qur’ān and it increased us in faith.” (Reported by Ibn Mājah)
How do we teach our children faith?
We should sit with them and teach them the fundamentals of faith in Allah—guiding them to know Allah, His names and attributes. We should plant in their hearts His Oneness, His greatness, His love, and reverence for Him. We should teach them the fruits of believing in Allah, His angels, His Books, His Messengers, the Last Day, and divine decree. We should tell them about the beauty of Islām, recount to them the stories of the Qur’ān. If we are not proficient in this, we should learn it ourselves and then teach it, or bring them to gatherings of knowledge and scholars who are skilled in this, so they may be raised upon faith, good character, and virtues.
We should enroll them in Qur’ān circles, whether in Qur’ānic centers or in the mosques. If none is available, then at the very least we should arrange with a skilled reciter of the Book of Allah to teach them so they can memorize whatever is easy from the Qur’ān. Set a plan and a reward for this.
The Prophet ﷺ said: “The best of you are those who learn the Qur’ān and teach it.” (Reported by al-Bukhārī)
Enroll your child in the Qur’ān circles and rejoice in the day when you and your spouse will be adorned with garments more splendid than this world and all it contains. You will ask, ‘Why have we been adorned with these?’ And it will be said to you:
“Because your child took hold of the Qur’ān.” (Reported by Aḥmad)
Then make one of your goals to strengthen the bond between you and your children—to make them feel the warmth of the family and the unity of the household.
Look at the Prophet ﷺ—the trustworthy educator—how he would spend time with his wives, sit with his daughters, and play with his grandchildren. Look also at what he said to those young men who came to learn from him about Islām and faith:
Mālik ibn al-Ḥuwayrith said: “We came to the Prophet ﷺ as a group from our tribe and stayed with him for twenty nights. He was gentle and kind. When he saw that we were longing for our families, he said: ‘Return to your families. Stay with them. Teach them and instruct them… and pray as you have seen me praying.’” (Agreed upon: al-Bukhārī and Muslim)
This was the prophetic advice: ‘Return and stay with them.’
Modern means of communication have fragmented these bonds. Family gatherings have turned into times of isolation on phones. Should we not revive this connection? Let us spend time together, converse, and share meaningful discussions, so our children may experience the friendship of a wise father and the compassion of a loving mother.
Make it one of your goals that your child comes to know his relatives and maintains family ties.
The Prophet ﷺ said: “Learn enough about your family lineage so that you may maintain ties of kinship. For upholding kinship brings love within the family, increases wealth, and lengthens life.” (Reported by al-Tirmidhī)
Make it one of your goals that your child comes out of the vacation stronger—intellectually, physically, emotionally, and in skills. For the strong believer is more beloved to Allah than the weak believer.
The Prophet ﷺ said: “The strong believer is better and more beloved to Allah than the weak believer, though there is good in both. Be keen on what benefits you, seek help from Allah, and do not be helpless.” (Reported by Muslim)
Buy him beneficial books, enroll him in a purposeful course, and give him a reward for every course or book he completes. We are a nation whose Prophet ﷺ first heard from revelation:
اقْرَأْ بِاسْمِ رَبِّكَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ
“Read, in the name of your Lord who created.” (Sūrat al-ʿAlaq: 1)
It is also commendable to enroll him in a permissible sport, through which his body will be healthy and he will avoid laziness and sluggishness. The Prophet ﷺ said:
“Everything that does not involve the remembrance of Allah is distraction and play—except for four things: a man walking between two targets (for archery practice), training his horse, playing with his family, and learning swimming.”
(Reported by al-Ṭabarānī)
May Allah bless me and you through the Noble Qur’ān, and may He benefit us all with what is in it of verses and wise remembrance. I ask Allah for forgiveness for myself and for you, so seek His forgiveness—for He is the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful.
The second khuṭbah
All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah, upon his family, his companions, and those who follow them. To proceed:
Dear fathers,
The enemies of Islām are planning day and night to corrupt our children. They immerse them in forbidden desires and spread misleading doubts among them, seeking to strip them of their religion and creed, to sever them from their identity and their belonging to their Ummah. For this reason, every responsible guardian must protect his children from being lost and from the causes of that loss.
Allowing our children to frequent misleading forums, suspicious centers, and entertainment clubs that are not governed by the rulings of the Sharīʿah—under the pretext of providing entertainment during the summer vacation—is truly a corruption of their religion and worldly life, and a betrayal of the trust that Allah has entrusted us with. How often have such centers and clubs led to the ruin of children through addiction to drugs, the pursuit of girls, attending places of vain entertainment, and engaging in prohibited acts.
Dear fathers, pay attention to the friends of your children. Do not leave them to the company of bad companions. For the Prophet ﷺ said:
“A man follows the religion of his close friend, so each one of you should look carefully at whom he takes as a close friend.” (Reported by al-Tirmidhī)
Dear fathers, your children are your planting—so make it a good and wholesome planting, by which your hearts, your worldly life, and your Hereafter will be gladdened, and by which your Ummah will find happiness. As the Prophet ﷺ said:
“When a human being dies, his deeds come to an end except for three: a continuous charity, beneficial knowledge, or a righteous child who prays for him.”
(Reported by Muslim)
O Allah, rectify our offspring for us! Truly, we repent to You and we are among those who submit to You.
Our Lord, grant us from our spouses and offspring a comfort to our eyes, and make us an example for the righteous.
O Allah, grant victory to Islām and honor the Muslims. O Allah, destroy the criminal Jews. O Allah, send tranquility upon the hearts of those striving in Your path, and rescue Your oppressed servants, and raise high the banner of the religion, by Your power, O Strong, O Firm One.
O Allah, forgive the Muslim men and women, and the believing men and women, those who are alive and those who have passed away. O Allah, grant success to our leader in that which You love and are pleased with, and guide him to righteousness and piety.
Our Lord, grant us good in this world and good in the Hereafter, and protect us from the punishment of the Fire.
Servants of Allah, remember Allah with much remembrance, and glorify Him morning and evening. And our last supplication is: All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds.
