Preparing our kids for the Night of QadrLetting our kids be a part of the magic on this special night is a wonderful gift we can offer them. Whether you choose to include them for a short while or for the entire night…Whether you plan to stay at home or go to the masjid, spend some time planning for the night and explain all that will happen and what it’s all about. MConnect with your child and help them connect with the night. The time you spend doing that will iA go a long way 🤲🏻
We want our children to try and stay awake but be busy enough to let us do our amaal, right? And it would be great if they were occupied in Islamic activities as opposed to just normal stuff!
Here is another downloadable treasure hunt for Laylatul Qadr
– Downloading some Muslim Children Apps on the ipad and phone
– Having some Islamic games available for them to play with (siblings are ideal here!)
– Having some craft materials ready for them to make Eid cards and other crafts.
– Having some Islamic cartoons/programmes ready for them to watch (Inshallah am planning to cover this as a series soon!
-Get them to think about Sura Qadr in a fun way! A mum sent this: “For Laylatul Qadr we have created a balloon tree. We have a question about Suratul Qadr written in each balloon. The kids will pop the balloon and answer the question – and will receive a small treat for each correct answer!”
Any other ideas out there?
P.S. Loved this idea of amalgamating things into a Laylatul Qadr Gift Box by Islam from the Start:
“Seeing all the lovely welcome Ramadhan baskets, made to instill the excitement for the blessed month, inspired me to put together a simple Laylatul Qadr Box for the little one. Along with the main A’maal book are a few treats and activities to keep him busy through the night. There’s two new books, ‘A Picnic of Poems: In Allah’s Green Garden’ which comes with a CD, and ‘The Adventures of Captain Alif And The Stormy Sea’. It’s a gift pack set and comes with a tasbeeh and dua bookmark. There’s also a T-Shirt and some fabric markers to make a personalised top illustrating what Laylatul Qadr means to him. And finally after reading on QFatima about it being a night to show appreciation to those close to you, there’s a special letter written for the little one. InshaAllah, I hope the Qadr box will help to leave a positive lasting memory of this blessed night, one spent in His remembrance with love.”
Sometimes, it can be quite hard to get the balance right in terms of ensuring our children realise the value of the nights and benefit from it, and our own personal responsibilities. So how can we ensure this balance is maintained?
One way is to prepare the necessary materials for them, but then to leave them to it! Here is what one mum said:
“The last two Laylatul Qadr nights have come and gone, and one thing I realised quite early on is that if our children are staying up (or trying to), they can take up quite a lot of our time… while I was trying to help them with all the little bits and bobs (as well as answer questions, get them comfortable, etc), I was also very conscious of the precious minutes ticking away.
So tonight I am going to dedicate a little time to them to get them started, but then I am going to leave them to it, whatever they choose to do. Because tonight is about me and my God. Inshallah they will have many years ahead of them to benefit from this awesome night, but right now they are not even baaligh yet and it is MY responsibility to pray for them tonight.
The balance between helping them and helping ourselves is hard, and may Allah give us the tawfeeq to get it right! May we utilise this night to the max, and may we feel the ‘Salaam’ coming down on us Inshallah.”
Here is an excellent resource for mums to prepare:
Here is one way to ensure that the precious time during the nights of Qadr do not get wasted!
Created by Zakira Ummi Merali (QFatima), I have adopted its use to make it a bit more child-friendly – use according to your child’s age! Older children will be staying up longer and so will be able to do more, and so on… but remember, it’s QUALITY not quantity! Don’t force too much on them. Even if they want to stay up but not do the activities and just read, that’s OK – it’s a balance…
This is just a preview of the Time management sheet – to download and print, see the dropbox link below. TIME MANAGEMENT FOR LAYLATUL QADR – 19th Night of RAMADHAN – 17th July, 2014
TIME/ACTIVITY
9.21pm – Maghrib and Isha Salaat – IFTAR (eat light!) Give SADQA
10.30pm – Duas and Amaal
11.30pm
12.30am
1.30am – Recite Sura Qadr/Dua ‘Ahad (Nur), have sehri, do ghusl and pray the Night Prayer Give SADQA
2.49am – Fajr Salaat and Recite Quran This is witnessed as per 17:78 – “Indeed the dawn recital is attended [by angels].”
5.06am – Sunrise – do one last sajdah and then go to sleep! Give SADQA
SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES (to fill in the empty boxes of time): • Write down a list of things you are grateful for • Write down a list of things you are sorry about • Write down a list of people to pray for • Write down a list of your duas for the year ahead • Think about your goals for yourself for the year ahead – break it down into physical goals, spiritual goals, mental goals and emotional goals • Think about all the things that may be stopping you from these goals • Do a craft activity on Laylatul Qadr • Write a letter to the 12th Imam • Read a book about the Imams • Do an Islamic workbook • Go into Sajdah and just talk to Allah
THE SHOP IS CLOSING DOWN! Use this code to grab 20% OFF all remaining stock: buzzclosingdownsale. Customers who are not in the UK, please contact me for a shipping quote. Dismiss
