The Messenger of God said,
“Everyone is born with an innately pure nature, just as cattle produce whole offspring without any branding. Then their parents condition them into following organised religion, be it Judaism, Christianity, or Zoroastrianism,”
Then Abu Huraira recited the Quran:
In accordance with the natural disposition which God has instilled into the human being. There is no changing God’s creation. (30:30)
(Bukhari & Muslim)
‹ awakens
Categories: Hadith
Blogging Theology 
Then why do we have to start teaching children when they are 3 to 4 years old, to be nice and not hit their brother or sister and to stop being selfish in demanding their own way and to correct them when they yell and scream at their parents when they want a cookie or ice cream instead of the vegetables?
Why do we have to teach them the right way? Why doesn’t the right way come naturally?
Why do they automatically, without teaching, choose selfishness and pride and anger and yelling and screaming?
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Ken Temple “Then why do we have to start teaching children …”
Because otherwise there would be no learning, no development, no pupils, no teachers … No responsibility, no forgiveness, no true human interaction …
In a universe where everything is purposeful and has a meaning, the human condition is also purposeful and meaningful. There is nothing wrong with being a human.
The idea that humanity is cursed by God and needs fundamental “improvement” makes no sense, it seems absurd.
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You said;
Then why do we have to start teaching children when they are 3 to 4 years old, to be nice and not hit their brother or sister and to stop being selfish in demanding their own way and to correct them when they yell and scream at their parents when they want a cookie or ice cream instead of the vegetables?
Why do we have to teach them the right way? Why doesn’t the right way come naturally?
Why do they automatically, without teaching, choose selfishness and pride and anger and yelling and screaming?
I say;
Because of choice and freewill that makes human beings different from other creations like angel who do not have freewill and always obey God.
When a child is born he is pure and sinless and with no inheritance of sin from any one and according to Islam when a child dies before adolescence, that child is still pure and innocent and will go to heaven.
Now, when the child reaches 3 to 4 years, he begins to see choices and does not know right and wrong and it is our duty to bring the child to the right path. The child is still pure at this age and will be forgiven from his choice. If a child is yelling and screaming, it means he has seen something that is not palatable to him and that is natural to adults as well and it does not mean the child had chosen selfishness and pride, not at all. We all saw how our brothers and sisters like us when we were all children but will fight when one wants to cheat and reconcile again when we understand each other and forgive our offending sibling.
Children do not choose selfishness, and pride and anger and yelling and screaming but sometimes reacting to the environment that they see and consider as unjust and because they are children they have to react the injustice by their actions because they do not have the intellect at that time for an alternative.
Thanks
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There is lots of other evidence that Islam teaches some kind of original corruption that gets passed down to the children. (from the plurals used in the Qur’an, commentaries and some Hadith. Commentaries by Ibn Kathir, Jalalayn, and Yusuf Ali indicate this.
See here.
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Burhanuddin1 cut the quote off at “teaching children”
Ken Temple “Then why do we have to start teaching children …”
Because otherwise there would be no learning, etc.
I did not mean learning in general or math or science, rather learning morality and right from wrong.
No, without specific teaching of what is right vs. what is wrong, a child naturally will be selfish and prideful.
It is not because of injustice, as “Intellect” says, but because of innate selfishness.
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Bismillah,
No, we were not born selfish (or evil) , on the contrary there are built in compassionate quality of human nature.
Research by Professor Nancy Eisenberg, perhaps the world’s expert on the development of compassion in children shows that “voluntary behavior intended to benefit another.” attempts at concern and reassurance can be seen in children as young as 1.
Other top notch scholar Scott Huettel a professor of psychology and neuroscience described two broad theories to explain prosocial behavior. Experimental studies he conducted have shown that the same brain region that is activated when people win money for themselves is active when they give to charity — that is, that there is a kind of neurologic “reward” built into the motivational system of the brain. So people are born with compassionate quality.
So even sciences have shown that compassion is deeply rooted in our brains as human innate quality. This built in compassion fosters compassionate behavior and helps shape the lessons people pass on to their children.
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