Can I Take My Daughter to a Church for a Family Activity?
Answered by Ustadha Shazia Ahmad
Question
Is it permissible in Islam to take my 2-year-old daughter to a church for family stay-and-play activities?
Answer
Thank you for your question. No, this would be impermissible and goes against Islamic principles and the proper upbringing of your daughter in the eyes of your Lord.
Entering a Church
In general, a Muslim would avoid entering the places of worship of other faiths without reason, need, or benefit—and would particularly avoid others’ religious services. [Ibn Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar; Nawawi, al-Majmu` Sharh al-Muhadhdhab] [Shaykh Faraz Rabbani]
In the Shafi‘i School, it is generally unlawful for a Muslim to enter non-Muslim places of worship, such as churches, temples, or synagogues, if these places contain revered images, symbols, or figures that are forbidden in Islamic law. [Ibn Hajar, Tuhfat al-Muhtaj (2/424), Ramli, Nihayat al-Muhtaj (2/63), and Hashiyat Qalyubi wa ‘Umayra ‘ala Sharh al-Mahalli (4/236)]. [Shaykh Irshad Seddick]
Family Activity
It confounds me that you would want to take your daughter to the very place where shirk is revered. Please review your obligations toward your child and your child’s rights over you. Even if a child was a few months old, one would abhor letting them enter a place devoid of baraka, where rituals are performed that Allah detests, and see the images made up by people who have lost their way.
Please turn your mind toward the mosque or even organize your own play activities at home with other like-minded Muslim mothers. Every single little thing that your child sees, hears, and feels affects her faith, so let it be things that strengthen it, not muddy or weaken it.
Dua
Please make these duas abundantly:
رَبَّنَا لَا تُزِغْ قُلُوبَنَا بَعْدَ إِذْ هَدَيْتَنَا وَهَبْ لَنَا مِنْ لَدُنْكَ رَحْمَةً ۚ إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ الْوَهَّابُ
“Our Lord! Do not let our hearts deviate after you have guided us. Grant us Your mercy. You are indeed the Giver (of all bounties). [Quran, 3:8]
رَبَّنَا هَبْ لَنَا مِنْ أَزْوَاجِنَا وَذُرِّيَّاتِنَا قُرَّةَ أَعْيُنٍ وَاجْعَلْنَا لِلْمُتَّقِينَ إِمَاماً
“Our Lord! Bless us with (pious) spouses and offspring who will be the joy of our hearts and make us models for the righteous.” [Quran, 25:74]
Please see more details here:
- Entering a Church for Non-Religious Activities
- What is The Ruling on Entering Places of Worship According to the Shafi‘i School?
- Can I Go to Church with a Friend?
- Can I Send My Child on a School Trip to a Church?
- Rights of Children in Detail
- What Is the Ruling on Raising Children in Islam?
- What are my children’s rights upon me?
- Advice regarding children’s upbringing
- Upbringing of children
May Allah give you the best of this world and the next.
[Ustadha] Shazia Ahmad
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Irshaad Sedick
Ustadha Shazia Ahmad lived in Damascus, Syria, for two years, where she studied ‘aqida, fiqh, tajweed, tafsir, and Arabic. She then attended the University of Texas at Austin, where she completed her Masters in Arabic. Afterward, she moved to Amman, Jordan, where she studied fiqh, Arabic, and other sciences. She later moved back to Mississauga, Canada, where she lives with her family.
