🧒 Raising children (tarbiyah) · #64
How can parents help their children choose good friends?
By getting to know their friends, opening the home to them and teaching the child to judge friendships — not by forbidding blindly.
The Prophet ﷺ said that a person follows the religion of his close friend, so let each of you look at whom he befriends (Sunan Abu Dawud 4833). He likened a good companion to a perfume seller and a bad one to a blacksmith: from the first you get a pleasant scent, from the second your clothes are burnt or you get a foul smell (Sahih al-Bukhari 2101). The Quran records the regret of one who took a misleading friend (al-Furqan 25:28). In practice: invite your child's friends home, get to know their parents, involve your child in activities that bring them together with good peers such as sport, the mosque or clubs, and discuss the values of friendship. If your child is caught up with a dangerous group, act firmly and get the school's help. See Educating the family.
The Prophet ﷺ said that a person follows the religion of his close friend, so let each of you look at whom he befriends (Sunan Abu Dawud 4833). He likened a good companion to a perfume seller and a bad one to a blacksmith: from the first you get a pleasant scent, from the second your clothes are burnt or you get a foul smell (Sahih al-Bukhari 2101). The Quran records the regret of one who took a misleading friend (al-Furqan 25:28). In practice: invite your child's friends home, get to know their parents, involve your child in activities that bring them together with good peers such as sport, the mosque or clubs, and discuss the values of friendship. If your child is caught up with a dangerous group, act firmly and get the school's help. See Educating the family.
Sources
Sunan Abu Dawud 4833 (hasan)Sahih al-Bukhari 2101Surah al-Furqan 25:28