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I am a Muslim, and so is my husband. Our 8 year old son is refusing to learn how to offer namaz and does not offer prayers either, and in his school, he has been slapped and beaten by teachers for questioning the righteousness of God. (In my country, which is Pakistan, it is common for boys to be beaten to motivate them to learn, this happens in every school with the exclusion of international ones, which are extremely expensive.)

Recently, he came back home with half of his face completely red. When I asked him what happened, he told me that his teacher slapped him hard for asking "Why is God so hungry for praise?" and although this doesn't sound too much cruel in English, in Urdu, it was said in a very harsh and informal manner, which was "Khuda itna bhuka kiyun hai tarifen or namaz key liye?"

He keeps doing these things often, and I am afraid that one day, he will get us in a very bad situation. I do not want the scholar at school or anybody to say that we should kill him, which is becoming more and more possible. (In Pakistan, there is a law set by the government that anybody, of any age, will be hanged for speaking vilely against God.)

I cannot ask anybody for help in this case, the answer will very surely be "Beat the blasphemy out of him!" and I do not want that.

Is there a way I can make my son realize that there is a God, or if not, then how can I teach my son not to say things like these in front of anybody ever again and just listen? (We have already tried telling him nicely, but he never acts accordingly.)

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    Sana -- if you have already tried to talk to him without any result, what are you wanting in terms of advice?
    – Acire
    Nov 23, 2015 at 19:45
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    You may wish to read islam.stackexchange.com - which may have more formal or approved guidance
    – Rory Alsop ♦
    Nov 23, 2015 at 20:03
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    Please keep comments respectful, constructive, and on topic.
    – Acire
    Nov 23, 2015 at 21:18
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    Is religion the only part of your son's life which is a source of conflict and concern or is what you described part of a bigger situation? Also, have you sought help from a child psychologist? Finally, can you find a teacher or religious leader who can answer your son's questions in a way that your son will be satisfied and even encouraged to more observance?
    – Zayde in NY
    Nov 25, 2015 at 13:45
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    Voted to reopen - this is like any other question here; we have behavioral problem X, we've tried things A, B, and C and they didn't work, we're looking for other things to try. The context doesn't change the on-topic nature of the question, and not everyone who uses SE lives in happy go-lucky Western liberal democracies, and nothing about the site charter says we should only help people that do.
    – mxyzplk
    Dec 9, 2016 at 14:49

1 Answer 1

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Explain it to him as it is, in such abusive environment where they rip the childhood out of the children you have no choice but to be honest as the damage has already been done.

You should explain to him that he might get executed and those whom he love might get hanged, if he is smart enough to ask questions about Allah then he is smart enough to figure out that he has to protect those whom he love

At home the best thing you can do is to allow him to ask these questions, he has all the right to do so.

I wish could you give a better advice but the only other advice I can think of is "get the hell out of there"

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  • Your experience and advice are useful, but please limit your answer to that which answers the OP's question. See here, here, and other meta questions. The answer as it is now is not very helpful. If you have questions, you can raise then in chat or meta. Thanks.
    – anongoodnurse
    Nov 23, 2015 at 23:00

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