Oct 5, 2021 | Ideas for Marking Muharram/Safar with Kids, Muharram/Safar
This Muharram, the kids and I hosted a group of children (their cousins!) to do an Escape Room! The children were aged between 14 and 6, and the older ones guided the younger ones where needed.
Here are all the details if you would like to recreate it in your homes – most of the objects used should be available around the house, or not too expensive to buy if needed.
We started off by setting the scene: Mukhtar had paid homage to Muslim ibn Aqeel in Kufa and then gone to his tribe to gather more people for the army. It was on his way back that he heard of the unrest and then the eventual killing of Muslim. Mukhtar was arrested upon return to Kufa for his support of Muslim among other things, and was imprisoned along with several thousand Shias. YOU are one of those Shias. You know that Mukhtar plans to get revenge for the events of Ashura which occur while he is in prison, and you want to help him. He is released upon the intervention of his brother-in-law and an influential man, Abdullah ibn Umar, and ordered to leave Kufa. You want to escape and go join him but don’t know how! Luckily, one of the guards is a lover of the Ahlul Bayt. He can’t openly help you escape, but he has set things up so you can find the clues and do so yourself. Can you find the key to escape and help Mukhtar?
Oct 4, 2021 | Ideas for Marking Arbaeen, Muharram/Safar
A wonderful group of mums held this mini-walk in their neighbourhood and were happy to share their resources in case anyone would like to use them! Their Arbaeen walk was a route around the neighbourhood, and the Mawkebs were at their houses which were on the route.
Here is a folder with all the resources used, including tickets for the walk, a letter to the neighbours to explain what was going on and a scavenger hunt that the children had to do on the walk:
The children started at Najaf International Airport / the shrine of Imam Ali:
They stopped at many Mawqebs along the way and picked up a lot of tabarruk!:
One of the Mawkebs gave out a little craft folder too!:
One of the things to sight was Wadi-us-Salaam:
Finally they arrived at Kerbala, in Bayn-ul-Haramain, where they said their Salaams and gave some sadaqah:
All in all, a lovely recreation of the walk for young ones. Labayk Ya Husayn!
Aug 11, 2021 | Ideas for marking Muharram/Safar with the Community, Muharram/Safar
Imam Hussain and his message is not limited to a time or a people. It is universal. But it is up to us to ensure that we spread what he stood for, so his name becomes known far and wide!
We have seen rainbows for the NHS, BLM posters and England flags up at windows… why not start a new trend of having a Muharram flag up to mark this month? I have heard of people putting black flags up but am a bit wary of this. One, because of how black flags have unfortunately come to represent D**sh to the public and two, because that’s more of an If You Know You Know kind of situation.
So why not put up a flag with a little bit of information to raise awareness? This flag says: We Are Mourning For Hussain
www.whoishussain.org – but really anything along those lines could work.
Who’s in?! Could be a great activity to do with kids too! If you do do it, do share your pics!
Aug 10, 2021 | Ideas for Marking Muharram/Safar with Kids, Muharram/Safar
I love this! Budding Mu’min has created a little spy package for children to do one thing over the ten days of Muharram:
HUSAYNI SECRET SERVICE MISSION
Your mission is to serve others without being asked and without their knowledge.
You have a mission a day for each of the next ten days.
On each day open your mission letter, decode it and carry out your mission.
When each mission is completed leave behind a Husayni Secret Service Card
Here is the document, and here are the answers!
Jan 20, 2021 | Ideas for Marking Arbaeen, Muharram/Safar
Here are some resources to help teach children about Arbaeen:
- Here are some worksheets for younger children.
- Here is a book on Arbaeen by QFatima.
