Imam Ali’s (as) Birthday – Ideas to mark the occasion!

May 23, 2013 | Aimmah, Rajab

It’s the birthday of Imam Ali (pbuh)!

Below is a compilation of some ideas by amazing mums from around the world, on how you can mark it with your children/classes:

Activity Ideas

• LOVE this Escape Room on Imam Ali. All related documents can be found here.
• Play this game of Fast Feet – Race to Get the Object – ideal to be played over zoom and get children moving during lockdown!
• Have children research and present one hadith by Imam Ali (as)
• Older children can do a short skit/play on his birth/life. Here’s one example of a puppet show one mum did.
• Have a gameshow with questions on Imam Ali (as) – here are some Kahoots!
• Have a poem writing or a spoken word competition with the subject being Imam Ali (as)
• Read ‘The Secret Jar’ (By Kisa Kids) and then have a honey tasting session
• One talented girl made fortune cookies with sermons from Nahjul Balagha in them

• One mum make Ali cookies with her little one! ‘We have a play dough set with Arabic alphabet cutters, my little one used them to cut the cookie dough and I just stuck the letters together, put toothpicks inside and baked. Then she helped me make the cupcakes too 😊 and we dropped them to all her friends. Then at home we stuck a candle inside and sung happy birthday to Imam Ali (AS) and she got to blow the candle out.’

• One family read how Imam was a lamp in the darkness, and then made a lava lamp!

• Mystery box: Usually used during circle time, you (or ask a child to) pull out items one by one that related to the theme or special person. As you take them out you explain the meaning or significance, and help deepen and broaden the children’s understanding of the theme or special person by attaching a visual and/tangible object to represent the different attributes of said theme/person. To make it more exciting, even with very young kids (2-5), you can put all items back in box and at the end of your session you can ask them to remember what items were in box. It’s a good way of seeing how much they picked up as well 🙂

The items mentioned below can be used for the mystery box idea:

1. 1. No. 1 – to represent him being the first Imam
   2. A small Kaaba – to represent where he was born
   3. A toy lion – he was known as Asad-ullah
   4. A ring – for when he gave charity while in ruku
   5. A sword – to represent his sword of Zulfiqar
   6. A door – to represent Khaybar/city of knowledge
   7. A prayer mat, bread/rice – as he used to feed the poor at night
   8. A bed – as he slept in the Prophet’s bed on the night of Hijra)
   9. A spool of thread – to show how he used to mend his own clothes
   10. A pen – because he transcribed/compiled the Quran
   11. Scales – for his sense of justice
   12. A small book – to symbolise Nahjul Balagha/Dua Kumail
   13. A picture of his shrine in Najaf
   14. The letter ‘ayn’ for his name

• Read this jellybean poem on Imam Ali (as) and have the children colour it in, and then finish off with some jellybeans for them to eat as a wiladat treat! Alternatively, one mum used M&M’s instead:
• Have a drawing competition on the theme, e.g. everyone draws a lion like one family did

• Create Imam Ali (AS) bags for the less fortunate: “We first explained how Imam Ali always helped people. We then went to the store and she picked items she thought everyone would need on a daily basis – comb, toothbrush, snacks. We came home and she packed everything into ziplock bags and asked the grandparents to come home to help write Hadith from Imam Ali (as) on the hearts which we put in the bags. Inshallah we will be distributing them to the people we came across on the street.”

• Or why not follow in his footsteps and take some food with your children to a food bank near you. Imam used to make every effort to feed those who had no food, often giving away the little he and his family had!
• One family went on a walk and wrote down all the street names in their area they came across. Then they went home and tried to see how many words related to Imam Ali (as) they could find using just those letters.

Craft Ideas

• Make Father’s Day cards with a hadith inside
• Make bookmarks and write Ali on top and decorate them
• Here’s a nice craft on the titles of Imam Ali by Teaching Young Muslims
• Decorate your home with home-made decor like one mum did

Or decorate with balloons like one mum did!

• Decorate cakes with Ali – this is what one community did!

• One mum baked donuts! ‘I started off talking to them about the story of when Imam Ali (as) gave his ring to a needy person while he was in ruku. As an activity, we had fun making mini donuts and decorating them! Then, we put a donut on our finger and demonstrated how Imam Ali (as) may have given the ring. We made extra donuts so packed and distributed them to relatives as a Khushali treat!

• Another thing we did in preparation for Khushali was make these lion decorations using a gold paper plate and coloured paper. I started off taking to them about Imam Ali’s (as) title of Asadullah and how he was very brave and strong. I explained how when we need help in being brave or strong we should say Ya Ali! I then had them cut around the paper plate to make it look like a lions mane the plate was a bit thick, so it make it slightly difficult to cut, so every time they would cut, they would say Ya Ali! Not only was the process effective, but the final product turned out quite nice for us to hang for Khushali!’

• This is a craft one mum and daughter worked on. This is what mum said:

“FZ and I made a luminarium (paper lantern) using waxed paper that we normally use for baking, crayon shavings, oil pastels and sharpies, to celebrate the birthday of the Prince of Believers, Imam Ali as! We used a candle in a glass holder on the inside to ‘light’ it up, and the overall effect was pretty awesome. Luminarium tutorial here.

Over the past week, we had discussed various aspects of Imam Ali’s life and teachings through stories and activities…his miraculous birth, devotion to Rasulullah and Islam, steadfastness in belief, compassion and charity towards those less fortunate, love of children, and his bravery, strength and courage. To culminate our activities, we talked about Sermon 187 from Nahjul Balagha, where Imam Ali as says: ‘Amongst you, I am like a lamp in the darkness. Make your way through Life by my Light…’ (paraphrased)

FZ used sharpies and oil pastels to draw her designs onto the front and back of the luminarium. She wrote ‘Ya Ali’ on the front and the drawing on the back is ‘a beautiful palace in Jannah for the Shia of Ali as’. Insha’Allah we shall be lighting up our luminarium often as a visual reminder to always hold on to the Rope of Allah swt (Qur’an 3:103) through His Chosen Ones.

• One mum said: ‘We usually try and create some artwork for Khushali. This time we used metallic spray and glitter to create a sparkle, as per the sermon in Nahjul Balagha.’

• One mum made was figurines: ‘The figurines are made out of Stockmar beeswax. We use beeswax for a number of reasons, firstly because of the sensory experience it provides. Beeswax has to be warmed by the hands to make it soft enough to be shaped. The process of warming the beeswax also brings out the lovely smell of the wax, which children and adults alike really enjoy. Finally, the wax comes in a wonderful array of colours making the wax visually pleasing for all. Working with beeswax has many benefits from a child development perspective. It requires commitment and perseverance as beeswax doesn’t easily mold in to the desired form. Modelling with beeswax also develops the fine motor skills and is used in Waldorf style education to prepare the child’s fingers for holding and writing with a pencil. We also mixes colours together which was a great learning experience of secondary colours too.’

Books, Journals and other Resources

• This colouring book by Islam from the Start.
• This Nahjul Balagha Mini-Book by Towards Jannah is great to do.
• Here is a Nahjul Balagha reflection journal for older children.
• Here are sermons from the Nahjul Balagha for younger children by Jaffari Centre in Atlanta.
• I love this personalised colouring sheet idea – (Child’s Name) loves Imam Ali (as)!
• This links to a story on Imam Ali’s birth in the Kaaba (slides).
• This Imam Ali powerpoint is a great visual quiz and has plenty of teaching opportunities.
• This document is on Imam Ali’s (as) Life and Stories.
• This is a great website filled with info on the Imam.
• This short document on Imam Ali (as) might be useful.
• For older kids, 12shiaimams.com is a great site for more info on the Imam.
• Here is NAHJ_AL_BALAGAAH_ for children.
• This story and activity book by Oasis Foundation.
• This crossword on the Imam.

Rhymes

• This is a simple rhyme that goes to the tune of Barney’s I Love You song. These posters (Allah loves Imam Ali!_Rhyme) can be used alongside the relevant lines:

• Here are some more rhymes:

Props like laminated picture of number “1”, a small cube painted like Kaaba, a toy lion from a dollar store, a ring, and the picture of a sword or a toy sword can be used when singing the rhymes, to help visual learning.

Story Books

• Read ‘Isa Climbs Mt Mushkil’ and watch the corresponding nasheed:

Here’s a reading of it:

A craft to go with this is making a shield with Naade Ali on it:

Video Resources

• Here is a link to a YouTube playlist on Imam Ali (as) with Nasheeds in English:

• And here’s a movie on Imam Ali (as):

Books on Imam Ali (as)

• The Secret Jar – from the Great Prophets and Ahl-al Kisa series (Kisa Kids)
• Why was he Named Ali? from the Blessed Names Series (Kisa Kids)
• The Name Chronicle (Has a chapter on Imam Ali which includes a timeline of his life. Kisa Kids)
• Isa Climbs Mount Mushkil by Twelver Kids
• Meet The Masumeen: With Class 786 (Chapter book)
• Let’s Get To Know Imam Ali
• The Champion of Islam
• Imam Ali (as) – Illustrated Short Stories for Little Readers