The Second Stage: From Age Eight to Fourteen.
The Prophet said, “The child is... a slave for [the next] seven years.”
Since thisis theage whenthechild's mindcan grasplogicalreasoning
and is developed for formal education—it is very important that the
child not onlybe educatedbut, atthe same time, heor she shouldbe
raisedwith proper Islamic ethics. By sayingthat the child isa “slave”
fromeighttofourteen,the Prophetwantstoemphasize thatatthisage
the parents should be strict in disciplining their children. A childis a
“slave”inthesensethathehastofollowtheinstructionsofparentsand
teachers.
Inthe sayings ofthe Prophet (s.a.w.) and the Imams of Ahlu'l-byat
(a.s.), threethings have been emphasized for the male children in the
secondstageofupbringing:1.literacyforsecularknowledge;2.religious
knowledgeand 3.physicaleducationandmartialarts.Forexample,the
Prophet(s.a.w.)said,“Itistherightofthemalechildonhisfatherto...
teachhimtheBookofAllah...andridingandswimming.”ImamJa`far
as-Sadiq (a.s.) said, “It is the duty of the father to teach his son writing.”
Religiouseducationisverycrucialatthisstagesothatthechild'sreli-
giousbeliefsarebasedonsoundreasoningandfirmfoundation.Imam
Jafar as-Sadiq (a.s.) said, “Make haste in teaching your youngsters hadith before they are approached by murjiite (a misguided sect).”
Literacy, and seeking of secular and religious knowledge has been
equally emphasized for the girls in our ahadith. However, instead of
physicaleducation,the ahadithtalk aboutthosespecificsubjectswhich
wouldhelpthegirlsinbecominggoodwivesandeducatedmothers.The
destinyofthefuturegenerationsoftheummah,afterall,dependsonthe
motherswhoarelearned,informed,andawareoftheirroleinestablish-
ing a society which is always conscious of Allah's presence.