Salah, Chaos, and Tawakkul: A Muslim Parent’s Everyday Struggles

 Salah, Chaos, and Tawakkul: A Muslim Parent’s Everyday Struggles

Teaching Tawakkul to Our Children: Trusting in Allah’s Wisdom

As Muslim parents, we often find ourselves explaining the concept of tawakkul—putting our trust in Allah—to our children. But let’s be honest: this is a lesson we, as adults, struggle with ourselves. Tawakkul is a virtue that we don’t typically think about when life is going well. It’s when life throws us unexpected turns, disappointments, or even tragedies that we truly grapple with its meaning.

Processing Life’s Ups and Downs

When something unfortunate happens—whether it’s a missed opportunity, a sudden hardship, or even something trivial like trying to pray in peace—we go through a series of emotions.

Like when you finally manage to carve out a few moments of solitude for salah. The house is quiet (miraculously), you set your intention, raise your hands, and just as you begin reciting Al-Fatiha, chaos erupts. A child suddenly needs something urgent, the doorbell rings, or a sibling war breaks out in the next room. You try to focus, telling yourself to stay calm, but with every shout or interruption, frustration builds. You start thinking, Maybe I should have prayed earlier! I should have locked the door! Should I stop and start over? And finally, as you complete your prayer amidst the distractions, you sigh in resignation. Ya Allah, You know I tried. I hope this counts. And deep down, you remind yourself: Allah understands our struggles, and He will accept our efforts, even if they weren’t perfect. Well, in all seriousness now… life does throw some actual and very real curve balls at us…

And this is where tawakkul comes in.

Tawakkul is not just passive acceptance; it is an active process. It has three essential steps:

1. Acceptance – Recognizing and acknowledging what has happened, no matter how difficult it seems.

2. Taking Action (Asbab) – Doing what we can to improve the situation while understanding that our efforts are part of a larger divine plan.

3. Finding Serenity – Trusting that Allah knows best and that even what appears as a hardship may have hidden blessings.

This mindset, however, doesn’t form overnight. It develops with experience, hardship, and deepening faith. Often, our resistance to what happens stems from our ego—thinking we know better than Allah what is good for us. But in reality, we see only a small fraction of the grand picture. So, how do we help our children understand this wisdom early on?

Teaching Tawakkul to Our Children

Children learn best through stories, experiences, and discussions. As parents, we can use real-life examples from our friends and family, or even historical stories, to show them how trust in Allah always leads to something better—even if we don’t see it right away.

One powerful way to teach this is through storytelling. 

That’s why we created the book Adam Learns About Tawakkul: When the Horse Left… and Came Back! It tells the story of Adam, a young boy who loses his horse—an event that seems like a loss at first. But then, the horse returns with seven stallions, turning a misfortune into a blessing. However, when Adam tries to tame one of the stallions, he falls and breaks his leg—again, seemingly a bad event. But when war breaks out and all young men are called to battle, Adam is spared because of his injury.

Through this tale, children learn that what seems good or bad in the moment is not always what it appears. The story teaches them the three stages of tawakkul: accepting what happens, taking action, and trusting that Allah knows best.

As always, you can subscribe to our newsletter to get the eBook for Free during monthly promotion events, or you can find the print version on Amazon.

Enriching the Time We Have with Our Children

Every day, our children are exposed to ideas that shape their worldview, whether we realize it or not. With the limited time we have with them—perhaps just half an hour before bedtime—it’s crucial that we make those moments meaningful. Teaching tawakkul through engaging, relatable stories can help them develop resilience, patience, and a deep trust in Allah’s wisdom.

In a world where instant gratification is the norm, instilling this mindset in our children will equip them with the ability to navigate life’s challenges with faith and confidence. Because, at the end of the day, only Allah knows what is truly best for us.