Should i make my children wear long sleeve shirts and pants even though they are christian? I am converting.?

Question

I am converting to Islam. My children from my first marriage are christian and they wear shorts and tank tops and spaghetti strap tops. I dont like my daughters wearing these kinds of clothes. Their father is catholic but their step father is muslim and i am converting. It is wrong for people to expose their body like that. Should i make them wear clothes that keep their body covered or allow them to continue to dress so trashy. I did not buy these clothes. Their fathers family gave them to them. I do not approve of this kind of dress. ALLAH is going to punish them and i do not want that. Can someone please help me with this.

Answer 1

As a Catholic I would agree that modesty is something that should be observed. Modesty has a 3-fold effect: being chaste (physical); being humble (mental); and being shy (spiritual). By following these 3 segments of modesty can we grow in holiness in a world that is corrupt.

I do, however, have to inform you that I do not believe you are converting for the right reasons. In the book of Acts it says that every day they (the apostles) added to their number those who were being saved. The Christian religion, and especially Catholicism, has become the largest religion in the world because of Divine Providence.

1. THE BIBLE AND QURAN ARE SCRIPTURALLY INCOMPATIBLE!

What are the major differences between the Quran and the Bible?

FACT: The QURAN CAME INTO EXISTENCE CENTURIES AFTER THE BIBLE AND TORA. People who believe in it seem to think a counterfeit comes before the original. Islamic believers cannot validate the claim that the Bible is the counterfeit because the Bible's existence preceded the Qur'aan.

FACT: THE QUR'AAN TESTIFIES ABOUT ONE TRUE GOD (ALLAH) AND HIS PROPHETS. These truths were in the Bible and Torah long before the Qur'aan. This fact reveals that the Qur'aan is not the first writtings about God and his prophets and suggests that the Qur'aan is not authentic but a forgery.

FACT: IT WAS WRITTEN BY THE ASSOCIATES OF MUHAMMAD (pbuh). Muhammad could not read nor write. Therefore, Muhammad could not verify the validity of the holy book.

FACT: THE QUR'AAN's EXISTENCE WAS AFTER THE TECHNOLOGY OF WRITTING WAS INVENTED. Believer's of the Qur'aan and Islam think the errors in the Bible prove it is not the Word of Allah. Nothing is further from the truth. The technology of writing didn't exist in the time when stories of salvation history were unfolding. So, naturally there are errors since the oral tradition existed before the invention of writing.

The Bible is not 100% accurate but, there are some things to take into consideration before declaring the Bible an invalid source to believe in. You ask a lot of good questions.

There are some problems with the Bible and errors. Please remember, the Old Testament was passed down by oral tradition before the technology of writing was available. Compared to the Quran which existed long after the technology for writing was invented. So, yes there are errors.

Secondly, there are different ways to interpret based upon the "literary forms" of writers. Depending whether it is in a historical context, prophetic, poetry, or some other type of literary form. I believe Jesus Christ IS THE WORD of God. The Bible is written by people inspired by God.

If you took a Bible course and discovered what SCRIPTURAL TYPOLOGY is you would be amazed. If you knew what SALVATION HISTORY was in the Bible you would understand. If you recognized DIVINE AUTHORITY you would know that there has to be someone in authority to reveal the "secret" truths God has given. If you research all those phrases you will begin a journey of discovery that will last a life time.

We have a saying in Catholicism: the New Testament is hidden in the Old and the Old is revealed in the New. There are many mysteries contained in the Bible that I have been amazed at discovering for the past 20 years and there is a whole lot more. St. Jerome said: Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ. The whole Bible is about our SALVATION: Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ fulfilled over 300 prophesies in the Old Testament about the Messiah you can discover 50 of them in cd's IT IS WRITTEN.

WHEN YOU HAVE BEGUN TO DISCOVER THESE THINGS YOU WILL KNOW IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO HAVE BEEN WRITTEN BY MAN. Jesus (a historical figure along with others in the Bible that are not fictitional characters) by fulfilling just 50 prophesies makes the odds of doing that 10X135 power! An astronomical figure that could not have been achieved by human means.

The thing that might shock you and others is that SATAN used scripture to tempt Jesus. So, too Satan will use scripture to trip us up from following the true faith. This is why there has to be DIVINE AUTHORITY that passes from the Old Testament to APOSTOLIC SUCCESSION in the New Testament. This is why someone cannot Authoritatively pick up a Bible and correctly interpret it nor can there be millions of interpretors to HOLY SCRIPTURE. There can only be one!

2. THE CONCEPT OF THE HOLY TRINITY CAN BE DEMONSTRATED:

A term used since A.D. 200 to denote the central doctrine of the Christian religion. God, who is one and unique in his infinite substance or nature, is three really distinct persons, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The one and only God is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Yet God the Father is not God the Son, but generates the Son eternally, as the Son is eternally begotten. The Holy Spirit is neither the Father nor the Son, but a distinct person having his divine nature from the Father and Son by eternal procession. The three divine persons are co-equal, co-eternal, and consubstantial and deserve co-equal glory and adoration.

We need to know how we are created in God's image to grasp the concept of the Holy Trinity and I think your question is a good one.

To understand this better chart it out or use a diagram of two triangles of equal proportions like the Star of David. This allows an easier understanding of the relationship between the Essence and Existence of a thing. The words following should be distinguished in the following categories: Physical, Mental, and Spiritual. These three words encompass everything in the Universe and make up the CREATIVE PROCESS to help describe the Creator, creatures, and creation.

God is spirit. He cannot be seen. If you were to examine all the creatures, the CREATOR has made a pattern emerges: angels and demons are intellectual creatures without a body; plants and animals do not have an intellect but a body and mortal soul. IT IS ONLY LIVING, HUMAN, BEINGS, that have a MIND, BODY, and SOUL. Only human beings have all three. Now, living, human, being is the existence of man. Those words describe the essence of man's mind, body, and soul. The Body is living, the Mind makes us human and distinguishing us from animals, and our Soul makes us the being that we become (good or evil).

Now, even Muslims will agree Allah is omnipotent (all powerful), omniscient (all knowing), and omnipresent (ever present). These words describe the existence of God. So, what is the essence of God? I will hold off answering this question till the end.

Now, if you think about the existence of a person they have a triple existence: physical (body), mental (mind), and spiritual (eternal soul). In fact, whenever we create something it has all three of these parts. When we cook we have a recipe (in our mind), we gather all the raw ingredients, and we cook (don't burn it, ha ha) what it is we are making. Cooking has the physical, mental, and spiritual parts. Same with engineering or technology it has three parts: the blueprints (to convey an idea), the raw materials (physical), and the workmanship (spiritual). If something goes wrong investigators will look for a design flaw, material flaw, or faulty workmanship. THIS DEMONSTRATES CREATION HAS THREE PARTS LIKE THE CREATOR.

Now, in the Bible it says Jesus is the visible likeness of the invisible God. (Colossians 1:15) The ESSENCE OF GOD IS: Father (mental), Son (physical), Holy Ghost (spiritual). ONE TRUE GOD IN THREE JUST LIKE A PERSON. THREE PARTS ONE PERSON. When you are sick you send for a doctor; when you are mentally troubled, a psychiatrist; when spiritually seeking you seek out a holy person.

Answer 2

Don't misunderstand the christian life and their way of dressing . The bible does not permit any true christian to dress like street boys /girls . It depends on the christian denomination to which you belong , and the kind of sermon they preach there ; or perhaps , a personal lifestyle to which one has adopted to live with. Also , most of these strange life are copied from outside , not from the Church at all . A good christian denomination knew that the biblical injunction is '' men and women should dress properly to cover there nakedness , and a man should not wear that which pertains to woman and neither should woman do so ( deuteronomy 22:5 & exodus 28:41-43 ) A real believer or christian new that he or she is regarded as a prince and a priest by JESUS CHRIST and in the sight of God ; therefore , should not live according to the partern of people who have no CHRIST in there life . Jesus Christ life standard is a clear example of how good christians should be ( Revelation 1:5-6 & verse 13 ) . If you are confused of your christian faith in the Roman Catholic , I advise you to look for any pentecostal church and begin to worship there . Except you have already made up your mind to convert to Islam , but Jesus Christ is still saying , ' come , I love you ' ( mathew 11: 28-30 ).

Answer 3

While I am not a Muslim I see no reason why you can't require modest dress for your daughters when they are in your home. You don't say how old they are, are they developing yet? Tank tops look trashy on teenage girls. Even worse, they make the girls look trashy.
You can't make them convert and you can't make them dress the way you want them to all the time, but you can make then wear decent clothing when they are in your house. Just tell them that if their father or his family give them clothes you don't approve of that they have to leave it at his house and they aren't allowed to wear them when they are in your house. Warn them that the clothing will be donated if it is brought to your house--then keep your word.
Don't try to make them wear the head scarves or other Muslim garb. Don't try to force them to convert. They will ask you to tell them more about what you believe and they can observe how it affects your life. This can be a powerful witness to them concerning Islam.
God is eventually going to give everyone what he is due and there is nothing you can do to alter that. You, however, can live your life to provide the best influence you can for your children. They will ultimately have to decide how they are going to live their own lives.

Answer 4

Depends how old your kids are.. if they are quite young then there are no restrictions on how much they should be covered, but it is good to very slowly get them used to the idea of modest dress, such as regular t-shirts in summer, long sleeved tops in winter, bermuda shorts in summer, long pants in winter, long socks etc. Also, punishment does not occur until an individual is of Accountable Age, that is, after reaching puberty. Generally speaking, at the age of puberty, an individual is supposed to be able to understand the moral differences between right and wrong, and should by that age know the duties required of a faithful follower. If a person has Not yet learned these duties or the distinctions between right and wrong, no matter what age, they are Not Accountable.

However, try to remember two important points here:

1. Ultimately, it is your children's choice and no amount of forcing will change who they are or who they want to be. In fact, forcing them would be completely wrong, as Islam clearly states it is not to be forced on people, and a person will never be convinced of something if he is forced into it.

2. The most any mother and father can do is to lead by example, and offer patient guidance, counsel and wisdom throughout a child's life. Don't be afraid to explain things to death to them. Children are naturally curious and it takes a lot of exploration for them to be able to analyse things in their minds and come to their own conclusions.

Most Important Of All: be Patient, be Patient, be Patient..
give your kids a chance to learn things in their own way, but always be there to offer them information, advice, and be a good role model.

It might also help to get opinion from different people, including learned scholars, family, friends, both muslim and christian communities.

Answer 5

"Trashy" is a matter of opinion. Comfortable is more the word you are looking for. Is it ok for your children to dress comfortably. I think it's fine. As long as penis's aren't hanging out. I don't want to see undies or part of a breast then It's ok. Exposing yourself is exposing parts that only a spouse should see. Please don't force your children to be muslim. It's there choice. Feel free to answer questions if they have some. Also, I hope you're not converting just because your husband is muslim. You have the opportunity here as a Christian to save him. I would think if you loved him you would want to spend an eternity in heaven with him.

Answer 6

Your children should have the choice in what to wear dear Heart. You are converting to Islam, and that is your privilege. They should have the same privilege providing they do it with respect when in the presence of their step father.
Can't you have a talk with them and ask them if they would mind dressing some other way when in the presence of their step father. I don't think this issue should be pushed on them. I presume they are young responsible adults and out of respect for your choice, they would probably agree to modify the way they dress, but this is an issue that has to be discussed openly and respectfully for all parties.

Happy new year. Much happiness to you and your family.

Answer 7

Your children are not Muslim, so this is a tricky situation. The thing to keep in mind is that your views on what is or isn't appropriate are coming from a religious standpoint that your daughters and ex-husband's family do not share.
You might try to speak to all of them about why you think this is inappropriate, keeping in mind both you and your ex-husband have a say in what is right for your children.
I hope you able to resolve this-good luck!

Answer 8

1) Let your children decide what religion or lack of religion they want. Do not force them into Islam.
2) If they are 18 or older they may wear what they want. If they are younger than 18, you may advise them to cover up more with their clothing. Personally, I see nothing wrong with tank tops and spaghetti strap tops or shorts... but the tops WITH the shorts is... well not trashy per se... just a little risque.
3) Does Allah say anything about being against smaller sizes of clothing? I doubt it. Do not tell them lies to make them fear you and your belief. That's child abuse.

Answer 9

The outfit in your question would be better than a black sweater. Blacks usually clash anyway, but it looks OK if it's a dress shirt and slacks. A black sweater with black dress pants looks very cheesy, a little 1987. As for the white shirt, it's not disrespectful; it would just make you look like a waiter.

Answer 10

first you talk to them but if they didnt listen there is nothing you can do about it
i know you care about them but you should worry about them being non muslim rather than their clothes
cuz allah gonna judge them for not believing in him before judging them cuz of what they wear (19. Truly, the religion with Allâh is Islâm. Those who were given the Scripture (Jews and Christians) did not differ except, out of mutual jealousy, after knowledge had come to them. And whoever disbelieves in the Ayât (proofs, evidences, verses, signs, revelations, etc.) of Allâh, then surely, Allâh is Swift in calling to account. )
you try to talk to them but if they didnt obey you
there is nothing you can do as Allah said ( 256. There is no compulsion in religion. Verily, the Right Path has become distinct from the wrong path. Whoever disbelieves in Tâghût[65] and believes in Allâh, then he has grasped the most trustworthy handhold that will never break. And Allâh is All-Hearer, All-Knower. )