Admit it – when you are in the middle of taraweeh prayer, or any prayer, and all of the sudden you hear a kid screaming, crying or making a raucous, you can’t stop thinking about how irritating that is rather than focusing on your prayer. The mom or dad of the child screaming is usually embarrassed and one of them may have to sacrifice not coming to taraweeh the next time so some people don’t lecture them on how their child messed up the tranquility of their prayer.

Here are some tips  for parents interested in taking their toddlers, babies or young children to taraweeh. Ponn: I applied all these tips below, alhumdulilah. I pray you experience as much success as I have with them, inshaAllah. I am particularly partial to #1-4.

Top Taraweeh Tips for Taking Kids to the Masjid

1. Immediately attend to your child/ren whenever the slightest noise, whimper or cry occurs. It’s Sunnah to take your kids with you to prayer at the masjid. The Rasul sallahi wa alayhi wa salam himself allowed kids to sleep on or around him during prayer, and he also shortened prayer when he heard a child was crying. However, you must understand that taraweeh is lengthy, therefore shortening a juz is not an option for the Imam. You are allowed to walk away from the line of salah to hold, rock or attend to a crying baby. Return expeditiously only after the child is cared for. Have comfort knowing that attending to your needy child/ren is fadh, and taraweeh in congregation is sunnah. Therefore, gain the rewards of your ibadah that is prescribed for you.
   
2. Opt for the sisters and children area for prayer. Don’t take offense to this area. Take pride that your masjid made this allowance out of your respect for your family’s needs rather than a punishment. If your masjid offers this additional secluded space, it’s typically much more conducive to a growing family with little ones and with kids around there’s typically a more refreshing breeze, alhumdulilah.
3. Remember, the Masjid is not a babysitting facility. You can’t just take your children to the masjid, and allow your kids to play freely and go unattended. It is your responsibility to assure the purity of the masjid, such as kids’ dirty shoes when walking or running around directly in the prayer area.
4. Have your kids pray taraweeh with and without you. If a child is old enough, he or she should pray a couple of taraweeh rakats. Even if they pray two or four rakats, that is fine. Ponn: MashaAllah, I have pictures of my girls praying taraweeh in line with women when they were 3 and 4 years old. At this sign of maturity, we opt to go to Taraweeh even when I wasn’t praying because they wanted to gain the rewards of praying Taraweeh in the masjid. MashaAllah, hubby even started taking the girls alone at 5, 7 & 8 years old; which means he’s separated from them. To date, no one questioned our confidence that our girls would not be a nuisance. The only comments hubby and I ever received were, “MashaAllah, they were able to pray longer than me/some/many.” MashaAllah.
5. Take your child’s favorite paper books to read. Books are always safe because they’re easy to pack, don’t make noise (well most of them don’t), and are easily accessible.
6. Technology is a great way to keep young children entertained at taraweeh. Give them your Smartphone or tablet to play with some kid-friendly and Islamic apps for iPhone and Droid. There are many kid-friendly apps- games, trivia and puzzles. Just make sure the volume is turned off.
7. Make sure to pack snacks and water for your child. Taraweeh can be up to two hours, so packing a healthy mess-free snack is always a good idea. Try nuts, fruit snacks, granola bars. Try to stay away from sticky foods and foods that might make crumbs or stains.
8. Pack your child’s favorite quiet toys and activities to play quietly with others. Masjid-appropriate toys can be cars, blocks, dolls, some board games and flash cards they can play with friends in the back. Activity books, coloring books, fun workbooks available at the dollar store, that Ponn would typically purchase and give new each night or week. It’s important to make sure they keep their voices low out of respect for the recitation of the Qur’an.
9. Reward good ibadah and behavior. Tell your kids if they are well-behaved, and pray some rakats, you will give them a treat after taraweeh or the next day. Rewarding kids for good behavior every single day works wonders–and is considered sadaqah given to family, inshaAllah.
10. At the beginning of Ramadan, make a taraweeh sheet with your children. Put a star down for every rakah they pray, and at the end of the week count up the stars and give them a treat based on how many stars they accumulated: the more stars the better. Give them stars if they are too young to pray, but for each time they are well-behaved. Ponn: Note: I never did a star-per-rakat (which sounds like a great tip, and would have had I thought of it. ). However, I did do the good behavior, and we continue to mark Taraweeh to this day. However, the only way to get the “group star” is that they work together and pray all rakats as sisters to they motivate one another to reach this momentous goal, inshaAllah.
    
11. Active monitoring, breaks and limitations dependent on each individual child. For some kids, it is absolutely difficult to sit still or quiet for a couple of minutes, especially children with ADHD, autism, or special needs. In between taraweeh prayers, have your kid stand up and stretch, or go get a drink of water together. Know your child/ren’s temperaments, and attend to their needs and desires first.
12. Ask successful moms at the masjid for their tips! Never shy away from prime advice especially if you see it happening before your own eyes. When you see a Muslim sister accomplishing what you want for yourself and your family, just ask. Ponn: I learned some of these tips from successful sisters before me, mashaAllah. May Allah bless us all for our humble actions to help ourselves, our families, and our ummah to become true believers eager to please You and Only You, Ya Allah. Ameen.

What are some other taraweeh tips you have? How do you keep your children well-behaved during taraweeh prayers?

photo credit: travelmeasia

Tips for Parents When Taking Kids to the Masjid for Taraweeh is a post from: American Muslim Mom Blog

One of my favorite things about Ramadan is going to taraweeh, which are the extra recommended night prayers during Ramadan made after ishaa prayer. It’s spectacular to see a great amount of people gathered at the masjid  after a long day of fasting. Here are some tips and reminders for all of you who are intending to go to taraweeh. Again, it is optional for both men and women to go to taraweeh at the masjid.

Many women opt to pray taraweeh at home, which is recommended. Regardless where you pray the action of praying taraweeh itself is rewarding and a lot of good deeds will be accumulated. God Willing, everyone has a blessed Ramadan and make the most out of it.

Top Taraweeh Tips

• Renew your intentions. This is something so simple, yet often we forget the reason why we are going. The intentions can be for several good reasons (receiving good deeds, meeting your fellow sisters, listening to a lecture, etc.) but make sure you renew it before you go so you get more hasanat (rewards).
• Garlic-free. We know you spent hours preparing for a big family iftar at your home, but make sure you take a quick shower to get rid of the delicious food that might have lingered. You don’t want to be praying while the person next to you smells like yummy curry, garlic, or samosas. And you want to talk to Allah (swt) while smelling fresh and clean.
• Comfortable clothes. You want to wear comfortable clothes during the 2-3 hour prayers. Abayas are fine, but make sure you don’t wear pajamas under it (and for men, don’t wear pajamas under your jelabeya)! It is disrespectful to go to the masjid wearing pajamas. Think about it, when you go to a job interview, you put on a nice suit, skirt, and iron everything. Now how about when you go to Allah (swt)’s masjid? Leggings, cotton pants or loose fitting jeans are comfortable and appropriate under the abaya. Another option for the ladies would be maxi dresses because they are chic, comfortable and modest.
• Cell phones. There are signs everywhere at the masjid that remind people to turn off their cell phones, but someone still manages to forget to put it on silent and the latest nasheed or ring tones start playing in the middle of taraweeh. As soon as you walk into the masjid, make it a habit to put your phone on silent—even better, turn it off if possible. You want all your attention to be focused on prayer and worship, inshaAllah.
• Gossip. Many times I go to the masjid during Ramadan and there’s a room filled with people sitting there and gossiping. Gossiping is haram any time of the year, but one must be extra careful not to gossip, use bad words or backbite during Ramadan. Try to refrain as much as you can from gossiping. This is a good time to re-read one of Ponn’s most popular posts, Muslim Wives Need to Learn to Just Shut Up! article.
• Shoe rack. Masajid are filled during Ramadan, Alhamdulilah, and often people run into the prayer area and throw their shoes at the entrance of the door. Don’t do it. People will trip, the area looks messy, and shoes will get lost. Please carefully place your shoes on the shoe rack—it will take only 5 seconds more, inshaAllah Ta’ala.
• Water. I like to take a tumbler with me to taraweeh and fill it up with ice and water before I go. A reusable water bottle will also work. This will keep you refreshed and hydrated throughout taraweeh so you don’t have to keep running to the water fountain after every two rakahs. These are my two favorite water bottles: Water Bobble and Tervis Tumbler which can be found at Bed Bath and Beyond, Target, and many super markets.

Those are my top tips and reminders. What are some of your taraweeh tips? What actions do you see at taraweeh that bug you and wished people didn’t do? Let us know below!

photo credit: AlCortés

Taraweeh Etiquettes 101 is a post from: American Muslim Mom Blog

The Islamic Center of Irvine is proud to hold the first national Qur’an competition judged by World Renowned Qari, Sheikh Mishary Al-Afasy from Kuwait for any Muslim 14 years or older.  For rules, instructions, and the registration form click here . InshaAllah, World Renown Qari Sheikh Mishary Al-Afasy from Kuwait will also lead Taraweeh Prayers at Islamic Center of Irvine during the ?Holy Month of Ramadan 2009. One of our family’s most favorite Shaikhs. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if ICOI hosted a live-streaming of the each Taraweeh prayer?!

First National Qur’an Competition to be judged by Shaikh Mishary Al-Afasy is a post from: American Muslim Mom Blog