The War On Kids in the Modern Muslim Family

In this reminder, Sheikh Mohammad Elshinawy addresses one of the most urgent crises facing Muslim families today: why parenting has become so hard, and what the Prophet's model offers as a way through. Why did raising children feel natural across every civilisation in history, and why does it feel almost impossible now? Sheikh Elshinawy traces the collapse back to the Industrial Revolution, the dismantling of village life, and the rise of peer orientation, showing how forces largely outside the family's control have quietly severed the bond between parents and children. And he explains why no technique, workshop, or parenting book can substitute for what was lost. At the heart of this talk is a prophetic framework built on three pillars: expressed compassion, reasonable expectations, and early empowerment. Drawing on the story of Yusuf, the hadith of Abu Omar and the pet bird, and a striking confrontation between the Prophet and a Bedouin father who had never kissed his ten sons, Sheikh Elshinawy shows that what keeps children oriented to their parents is not discipline, but warmth. Sheikh Mohammad Elshinawy graduated in English Literature from Brooklyn College and in Islamic Studies from Mishkah University. He serves as the Religious Director of Jesus Son of Mary Mosque in Pennsylvania, Research Fellow at Yaqeen Institute, and Instructor at Mishkah University. His work spans Islamic theology, contemporary Muslim family life, and applied prophetic ethics. Support the show