🌿 Nurturing with Love: A Lesson in Parenting from Ayatollah Haeri Shirazi (RA)

A beautiful piece of wisdom for every parent and educator:

"Do not sacrifice your child's love for you for anything!" — Ayatollah Haeri Shirazi (RA)

In raising children, some focus only on teaching obligatory and recommended acts of worship. But the key lies deeper:

First, make your child fall in love with you.

When a child loves you, they will love what you love — including your faith. Many parents pressure their children to pray, but the real issue isn’t the prayer — it’s the lack of love.

Don’t trade your child’s love for anything — not even for discipline.

When you need to correct them, do it with one hand — while with the other, draw them close with tenderness.

📍 He shared a beautiful analogy:

“I was planting tomatoes and tying them to a stake. A friend came to help and pulled a plant out by the roots. I told him: ‘When you want to guide your child, don’t pull them out from the roots. Don’t uproot their faith.’”

📌 The Prophetic Model:

The Quran says:
“The believing men and women are allies of one another.” (9:71)
First, be a friend. Fill their hearts with love for you — then guidance will follow.

Imam Ali (AS) said:
“Let your heart be filled with both love and fear of God.”
So too with your children: let them both love you and respect you.

💌 Let their hearts be full of love for you — so when you speak, they listen not out of fear, but because they trust you.

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🕊️ #ParentingWithLove
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https://t.me/haerishirazi/5043
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