Over the Christmas break, we had the honour and pleasure of having Khayaal Theatre present the story of Prophet Isa and other stories. As is evident from the pictures, the audience were captivated by the range of tools used by this amazing theatre to make the stories real and engaging!
We held a Hajj Day at the Children’s Islamic Library!
Children 10 and under were invited to take part in a Hajj Simulation on Wednesday 30th August, 2017. They went through different stations as detailed below:
1. NIYYAH STATION:
Aim: To make them understand the effect of the RIGHT Niyyah – Those that hope to get closer to Allah SWT by doing the RIGHT NIYYAH will find it easy to find their way to the RIGHT direction.
– Magnetise needle in a circle motion
– Place magnetised needle on a piece of paper floating on water (in a bowl)
– The needle will spin until it aligns in the direction of the compass
– Now place non-magnetic material – this will not necessarily face the compass direction
2. ARAFAAT
Aim: Emphasise that Arafaah is all about contemplation and ask for forgiveness.
– Ask them to write two bad deeds on the white board.
– Spraying water is like reflecting on the act – it starts to do something but doesn’t totally get rid of it
– With Istaghfar insh Allah will forgive that action
3. MUZDALIFA
Aim: To prepare our pebbles for Jamaraat and rest under the beautiful night sky. admire Allah’s beautiful creation – The night sky filled with stars and prepare for Jamaraat (pelting the devil).
– Write down 3 (or more) bad deeds on the pieces of papers
– Scrunch up and make it into a pebble to use to pelt at Jamaraat
4. JAMARAAT
Aim: Think of our actions and pelt away the whisperings of Shaytaan from inside and outside.
– Get them to throw their pebbles at the Jamaraats
5. SACRIFICE
Aim: To give up an action that is not so good so we can get closer to Allah and make Him happy
Remind story of P.Ibrahim sacrificing P.Ismaeel
– They write one (not so good) thing they’ll try to give up for Allah’s pleasure and stick it on the sheep prop.
– Little ones can just stick cotton wool
6. TAWAAF
Aim: Thinking of our days of the week and making Allah central to everything we do
– Do tawaaf around the Kaaba!
7. MAQAM IBRAHIM
Aim: Show Maqam Ibrahim and tell them about P.Ibrahim’s footsteps imprinted on the ground when he stood after building the H.Kaaba. After Tawaaf we pray 2 rakaat Salaah behind Maqam Ibrahim.
– Go through actions of a 2 rakaat salaah.
8. SAEE – SAFA TO MARWA
Aim: To understand that we need to constantly strive in Allah’s way and not give up hope just like B.Hajra!
– Do Sa’ee!
9. MINA
Aim: To get to know other people who also love Allah so much and realise how we are not alone, there are millions of others who are also striving to get to closer to Allah SWT!
– Time to socialise and enjoy!
Alhamdulillah, the children loved learning about the Hajj through this interactive way! There was also a story on Hajj to wrap up the day J
Alhamdulillah, we had the Public Speaking workshop and Story-Time session last Wednesday!
The 8 to 10 year olds had their session first upstairs with Public Speaker Mentors Safia Tharoo and Sarah Yusufali Fazel. They all had opportunities to come up and speak and read out texts, and then worked on their public speaking skills such as tone, voice projection, etc… They were followed in the second hour by the 11 to 13 year olds.
Downstairs, keeping with the theme of public speaking, we had Islamic Story Bags in a room where the younger children could go through the bags and tell the story of what happened to their parents (or vice versa!). The bags ranged from Sura Feel to Prophet Musa, Prophet Adam and much more…
There were also two related crafts for them to do – they could make the apple tree from Prophet Adam’s story as well as make an origami whale from Prophet Yunus’ story!
We finished off as always with Story Time – the stories chosen were recent additions to the library and focused on tales of refugees and their struggles, appropriate for little ones to get an understanding of the current situation but without overwhelming them with the details. Stories and books are an essential and necessary medium to allow our children to learn about the world around them!
Lastly – Alhamdulillah, the event raised £177 for Yemen!
To view the pictures, see: http://www.childrensislamiclibrary.com/photo_gallery_view.php?id=43
Alhamdulillah, the Muharram half-term event at the Children’s Islamic Library was so well attended, and all ages children ended up being very busy indeed!
Downstairs, children created a wall of mosaic art – each chose a word related to the event of Kerbala that meant something to them, and then went on to decorate this word using materials of their choice. These different mosaic tiles then went on a wall to make a magnificent display. The children also had access to all the books and games from the library – it was great to see all these materials being used by so many!
Upstairs the children aged 7 and older were honoured to have a workshop with renowned recitors! Muhammad Datoo (from Voices of Passion) led a nauha writing workshop, along with support from Muhammad Abbas Khakhi, Ali Panju and Sakina and Sabiha Rahemani (Rahemani Sisters). They chose a nauha ‘Countless Voices’ and then worked on creating a new verse or two for that in their groups and individually.
They then joined everybody else downstairs and after Story Time, some shared their new verses for all to hear. They recited beautifully and we look forward to a new generation of recitors for the Ahlul Bayt, Inshallah!
Until next time… 🙂
P.S. Oh yes! We specifically requested no Fatiha to be brought (as is usually the custom for Muharram majalis – see some thoughts on that here: https://www.buzzideazz.com/thoughts-on-fatiha-in-majalis/). Instead the library provided a simple fruit jelly pack, and we asked for people to bring in some loose change or contribute whatever they wanted for charity instead.
Alhamdulillah the response was great, with someone even bringing in their entire money box for us to break and use! We managed to raise a grand total of £122.35, which will be going straight to those in need, via Hujjat Jamaat, with the thawaab going to all the families’ Marhumeen Inshallah.
A huge THANK YOU to everybody!
To view the pictures, see: http://childrensislamiclibrary.com/photo_gallery_view.php?id=39
Alhamdulillah, we had the Ice-Off yesterday and it was fantabulous to see all the creativity emerging from the children!
4-6 year olds (and siblings!) decorated… moon and gingerbread biscuits, then decorated the baskets to put them in as well. They then had a chance to play some games and read some books from the library…
During that time, the 7-11 year olds gather upstairs for their event with their cakes. Our awesome baking expert volunteer for the day showed them some icing techniques and then let them loose! They used fondant, buttercream, coloured icing pens, and toppings… and created some Ramadan masterpieces!
While they joined the rest downstairs for Story Time (where we read Ramadan themed books, of course!), their cakes were judged and two children each from the 7-8 year old category and 9-11 year old category were chosen – although this was a VERY tough decision.
We finished off with ziyarat and Dua Faraj – and the kids went home on a high (some of that was sugar induced, i must admit!)
To view the pictures, see: http://childrensislamiclibrary.com/photo_gallery_view.php?id=37
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