Islamic Art

During our Middle East study, we learned a lot about Islamic Art. As Muslims, we don't draw people, so much of our art consists of geometric shapes, patterns, and nature. 

These are the two main books we used as references. 

Discovering Islamic Art 

DK The Arts A Visual Encyclopedia 

The first lesson we started with was learning about symmetry. The boys used pattern blocks to make designs and the others copied the design on the opposite side. 

After the boys understood that Islamic Art is all about symmetry they got to work on making their own geometric patterns and designs. 

We watched this short video

This study was part of our Iran country study and bridge lesson. Khaju Bridge in Isfahan, Iran has the most beautiful arches and ceramic tile art. The boys and I did a unit study on this bridge. If your interested you can grab this unit study from my TPT store. Click on the image below. 

Adhan Craft

Allahu Akbar
God is Great
(said four times)

Ashhadu an la ilaha illa Allah
I bear witness that there is no god except the One God.

(said two times)

Ashadu anna Muhammadan Rasool Allah
I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of God.
(said two times)

Hayya ‘ala-s-Salah
Hurry to the prayer (Rise up for prayer)
(said two times)

Hayya ‘ala-l-Falah
Hurry to success (Rise up for Salvation)
(said two times)

Allahu Akbar
God is Great
[said two times]

La ilaha illa Allah
There is no god except the One God

My preschooler and I worked on a fun craft while we were learning about the Adhaan. For Islamic Studies I read to him from the book Migo and Ali A-Z of Islam. 

We made a 'microphone' to help him practice saying the Adhaan. 

Material Needed

1. Toilet Paper Roll

2. Paint (We made our microphone gold)

3. Stickers for decorating 

Paint the toilet paper roll your color of choice, and allow it to dry. While you wait practice calling the Adhaan. After it dries add the stickers to make your 'microphone' even more special. When the Muadhin calls the Adhan, he uses his best voice and says it nice and loud so everyone can hear and join in the prayer. 

This is a simple and fun activity to do with your little ones. All the materials required are easy to find around the house. 

Suratul-Balad Activitie

Suratul Balad is all about hardship. Our birth and growth are hard, and the path to Jannah is hard. But, if we listen to what Allah tells us to do, then all the hardship will end in Jannah; we will live in ease forever!

For our Tafseer study, we used the Mini Tafseer Book Series

In Surah Balad we learn about the two paths. The Path of Jannah is full of trails and tests, and the Path to Jahannam is full of ease. There are five good deeds we can do to help us on the path to Jannah. My son painted the path and added the five good deeds using our label maker and toothpicks. 

1. Freeing the Slave

2. Feeding the poor/hungry/ and orphans

3. Being a Muslim

4. Being Patient

5. Being Kind

We also added some houses. Under each house is a question related to the surah 

Each surah in this series comes with a list of vocabulary words. We practiced the words through a matching game I made for my son. 

I wrote the Arabic on one side and the English on the opposite side. I cut out some long pieces of paper. My son connected the Arabic to the English. Making a path. 

That is all the activities we did for Surah Balad. We always memorize and read the tafseer book and then I added activities wherever possible. 

Letter Prefixes In The Quran

In the Quran, adding certain letters to the beginning of a word will change its meaning. During our study of Surah Moorsalaat, the boys and I explored 8 different prefixes. After reading through the lesson we made these paint palate prefix craft. 

We focused on these 8 letter prefixes from this chart. 

Then the boys and I cut a paint palate from brown construction paper. 

We added 'paint' using colored paper. 

For the top part of the flap we wrote the Arabic word with the 

letter prefix. On the inside, we wrote the meaning in English. 

Ad Duha Institute Tafseer Juz 29 Book

This was a simple and fun activity to enhance our Quranic vocabulary. I hope you try it with your kids.

Learning Plot Diagram Through Islamic Stories

As we learn about different language topics we like to apply them to our Islamic studies. My 5th grader recently learned how to make a plot diagram for the stories he reads. 

Exposition: Beginning of the story where the characters and setting are introduced

Rising Action: A series of events that build the story toward the climax

Climax: The most exciting part of the story. The turning point is where everything changes.

Falling Action: Events leading up to the end of the story

Resolution: The outcome of the story. How the problem gets solved. 

We applied the plot diagram to the story of the Battle of Uhud. After reading about the story in the book When the Moon Splits, we drew the plot diagram and added all the elements. 

 

Exposition: The Quraysh wanted revenge for the losses of the Battle of Badr. They gathered 3, 000 men. When the Prophet (saw) found out, he decided to meet them at Mt. Uhud.  

Rising Action: The Prophet (saw) and his army of 1, 000 marched to Uhud. 300 men abandoned leaving only 700. The Prophet (saw) put 50 archers on a hill to protect the armies back. Hamza , the lion of Allah, unfortunately dies in this battle. The Muslims were winning. 

Climax: 38 Archers came down from the hill. Khalid Bin Waleed attacked the Muslims from the back. The Muslims scattered and some of them ran. The Prophet (saw) was surrounded. 

Falling Action: The Prophet (saw) was surrounded by the enemy. Seven men from the Ansar and two from the Muhajireen rushed to help him. The seven Ansar died leaving the 3 Muhajireen. The Muslims managed to retreat back up the mountain safely. 

Resolution: The Muslims lost 20 men but none were captured. They lost the battle because they disobeyed the Prophet (saw). They learned a valuable lesson. Victory only comes when we obey Allah and His messenger. 

" Do not worry and do not grieve, and you will be superior if you are true believers."

(3:139)

Surah Moorsalaat- Tafseer

What is Suratul-Moorsalaat all about?

Allah presents a detailed case as to why Yowmul-Fasl will absolutely happen and what it will be like. Suratul-Moorsalaat also has a special countdown pattern to help us to memorize the tafseer. 

5 Groups of winds/angels Allah swears by that He will keep His promise.

4 Descriptions of the Promise (Yowmul-Fasl)

3 Reminders of Allah's absolute power and ability to make his promise a reality

2 Commands for those who deny Allah's promise on Yowmul- Fasl

1 Magnificent Reward of Jannah for the righteous who believed in Allah's promise. 

The countdown is for the righteous is a countdown to the best prize ever, Jannah. For those who deny it is a countdown to punishment on Yowmul-Fasl.

We watched this tafseer for Surah Moorsalaat

The boys wrote one of the countdowns for each flap. 

We used the tafseer book from Ad-Duha Institute Juz 29. The boys

also colored in the surah using the Juz 29 coloring pad. 

You can read about our other mapping activity for Surah Moorsalaat. Click the image below. 

Surah Moorsalaat Tafseer- Map of Destroyed Nations

Hi guys, I wanted to share with you the tafseer activities we did while studying Surah Moorsalaat. This activity was a map of destroyed nations focusing verse 16-18.

أَلَمْ نُهْلِكِ ٱلْأَوَّلِينَ

ثُمَّ نُتْبِعُهُمُ ٱلْـَٔاخِرِينَ

كَذَٰلِكَ نَفْعَلُ بِٱلْمُجْرِمِينَ

وَيْلٌۭ يَوْمَئِذٍۢ لِّلْمُكَذِّبِينَ

In these ayaat, Allah reminds us about the destruction of the disbelieving nations that came before us, like Fir'own and the tribes of Thamood, Iram, and 'Aad. All of these nations and tribes denied their messengers and denied Allah. They loved their traditions, cultures, and sinful behavior more than anything else. So, they paid the price in this life and will pay a higher price in the next life. That is because Allah has absolute power and ability to destroy/punish those who break His laws. 

Here are some of the resources we used. The big tracing pad is from Hands on Quran.

Our main resource is Ad Duha Education Tafseer book Juz 29 

We also watched this Juzz Tabarak series

Did We not destroy earlier disbelievers?

The boys and I talked about each of the different nations that were destroyed because they rejected their messengers. We used the Prophets of Allah map from Allamah Education.  We mapped each nation and found images online of the ruins. The boys wrote a short narration and drew a picture to represent each nation. 

Seerah- Battle of Badr Trivia Game

Hi guys, today I wanted to share with you our Battle of Badr trivia game. This was a fun family activity we did together to help us learn the main events. We read from the book When the Moon splits and watched this lecture by brother Abdurrahman Hassan. 

Material Needed for the Trivia Game

1. Board 

2. Construction Paper

3. Markers

4. Letter Stickers (or just write it with marker)

5. Reading Material or Video

The questions are based on this video and our reading from the book When the Moon Split. 

After we read or watched the lecture the boys would each write down a question to add to our board. 

After we completed our trivia board we had a family game night. We had snacks and treats to make it more fun. This activity helped our entire family connect more with the battle and the facts.