People knew my grandfather Shaikh Ali Tantawi r.a. long before I knew him. They benefited from him even before I was born. People benefited from his writings, lectures, and discussions. Even before I became literate, many books and articles of my grandfather were published and reached the hands of readers. But still there came a time when I too felt the necessity of saying something about my grandfather. As I am his daughter-in-law, and I was brought up in his home under his care, so I saw how loving a father and grandfather he was to his children, I saw him as a master of a family and a benevolent guide to those who live around him.

Grandfather took the issue of Tarbiyah very seriously. In his writings and speeches, he drew people's attention to the importance of proper Tarbiyah and encouraged them to give Sahih Islamic Tarbiyah to their children.

There are two basic foundations for Islamic Tarbiyah. One is to instill deep faith in the child. and the second, which is called Ihsan in terms of hadith, is the feeling that Allah Ta'ala is always watching everything. Make him always remember that Allah is always watching me. 

Grandfather compares Tarbiyah to the process of construction of a building. The first and foremost task in the process of construction is to construct the foundation of the building. The foundation of the building can be different depending on the building. A person who wants to build a two-storied house will excavate the land in proportion to that and make the foundation with rods and cement. Whoever wants to build a ten-story building will also make his foundation suitable for ten floors. And he who wishes to build a skyscraper will build a foundation very deep and very strong.
The principle of building a life under Islam is like building a house with bricks and stones.

If we want a generation with deep faith, good deeds, and pure Islamic values, then it is essential for the teachers to cultivate the fear of Allah and the remembrance of Allah in the hearts of that generation and to sow the seeds of deep faith.

This life-building process must begin in childhood. From that time every event and every circumstance around the child must be used in the work of heart-building.

In this case, constant awareness is required on two things. Through this, it will be possible to build a firm and strong foundation of faith in the child's heart. One is to inculcate the pillars of faith in the heart of the child. And the other is to make the child used to the basic practices of religion such as prayer, fasting, sadaqah, and make him know what is halal and what is haram. However, to be successful in this case, the guardian must also have the correct knowledge and understanding of the halal and haram of Islam. (continue)