Every person should try his or her best do good deeds and abstaining from bad deeds and also advise his or her family members to do the same so that all end up having a good and happy fate.
Religion is a reality as old as the history of man. The first human who stepped on earth i.e. Adam was a prophet himself. Though religiosity is an inherent need of man but along the history it has had its ups and downs. Aside from Satan who took an oath to deviate human beings, there have been people who stood against the prophets of God and tried hard to prevent them from reaching their goals, that is, guiding others to the way of God. The theory which claims that tendency towards religion is in the nature of man can be substantiated by the verses of the Quran as well as the traditions. God Almighty in his the holy Quran says:
فَأَقِمْ وَجْهَكَ لِلدِّينِ حَنِيفًا فِطْرَتَ اللَّـهِ الَّتِي فَطَرَ النَّاسَ عَلَيْهَا لَا تَبْدِيلَ لِخَلْقِ اللَّـهِ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ الدِّينُ الْقَيِّمُ وَلَـٰكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ
"So direct your face toward the religion, inclining to truth. [Adhere to] the fitrah of Allah upon which He has created [all] people. No change should there be in the creation of Allah. That is the correct religion, but most of the people do not know".[1]
Imam Ali (as) in this regard said:" فَبَعَثَ فِيهِمْ رُسُلَهُ وَ وَاتَرَ إِلَيْهِمْ أَنْبِيَاءَهُ لِيَسْتَأْدُوهُمْ مِيثَاقَ فِطْرَتِهِ وَ يُذَكِّرُوهُمْ مَنْسِيَّ نِعْمَتِه"
"God appointed his messengers among people and sent his prophets to them successively so that the prophets ask them to abide by the pledge they made to God in their nature and (that the prophets) remind them of the forgotten bounties of God ".[2]
One of the problems of our age is that this inherent nature has weakened due to living in an era which is replete with profanity broadcast on social media as well as on the internet. Access to programs which pollute one's soul has become very easy. As a result, the young generation is not as much religious as their parents used to be. The passivity of the parents and their inactivity to educate their children according to religious teachings is another reason that aggravates the problem. The Prophet (PBUH) rebuked such parents and said:
وَيْلٌ لِأَوْلَادِ آخِرِ الزَّمَانِ مِنْ آبَائِهِمْ فَقِيلَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ مِنْ آبَائِهِمُ الْمُشْرِكِينَ فَقَالَ لَا مِنْ آبَائِهِمُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ لَا يُعَلِّمُونَهُمْ شَيْئاً مِنَ الْفَرَائِض
"Woe unto the children of the end of time because of their parents. Someone said: O the messenger of God! Because of their polytheist parents? He said: Nay, because of their believing parents. They do not teach their children anything of the obligations".[3]
How to raise children according to religious rulings
Imam Sadiq (as) said: When the verse which says:
"يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا قُوا أَنفُسَكُمْ وَأَهْلِيكُمْ نَارًا وَقُودُهَا النَّاسُ وَالْحِجَارَةُ عَلَيْهَا مَلَائِكَةٌ غِلَاظٌ شِدَادٌ لَّا يَعْصُونَ اللَّـهَ مَا أَمَرَهُمْ وَيَفْعَلُونَ مَا يُؤْمَرُونَ"
"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.[4]" was revealed, people asked the Prophet (PBUH) how they should protect themselves and their families from the fire of Hell. The Prophet (PBUH) said:
اعْمَلُوا الْخَيْرَ وَ ذَكِّرُوا بِهِ أَهْلِيكُمْ فَأَدِّبُوهُمْ عَلَى طَاعَةِ اللَّه
Do the good and remind your family of doing good thus discipline them to obey God.[5]
The Prophet (PBUH) mentioned two important points:
"اعملوا الخیر" which means the parents themselves should be doing the good deeds otherwise their children will not follow what they say.
"ذکروا به اهلیکم". Which means parents should remind their children of doing good deeds. Most people every now and then need to be reminded of doing the good and abstaining from what is forbidden because Satan always tries to make man forget about what leads to his eternal felicity.
So, parents should remind their children of doing good deeds and staying away from bad deeds and for their advice to be effective what the parents do should not contradict what they say otherwise their children will not listen to them.
Footnotes:
[1] 30:30.
[2] Nahj al-Balaghah, Sermon 1.
[3] Sayyed Hussain Brujerdi, Jami' Ahadith al-Shia, Farhang e Sabz Publications, Tehran, Vol. 26, p. 851.
[4] 66:6.
[5] Nu'man ibn Muhammad al-Maghribi, Da'aim al-Islam, Published by: Al al-Bait Institute, Qom, Vol. 1, p. 82.