Eid Mubarak!!

May you have a wonderful and blessed Eid!!

Fall Craft: Leaves Plate

We did some fall craft activity in the masjid a few weeks ago.
And this is how they turned out.









I let the children color in the leaves first, then cut them out.
Then they pasted the colored leaves around the paper plate.
It' so easy that my three-year-old son could do it all by himself.

You can download the templates here.

leaves template.doc

Fall message English.doc

"Dua After Adhan" sheet

"Dua after Adhan" with its meanings. (A4 sheet)



Can be downloaded from here:
dua after adhan.doc

More worksheets.

"Farm" worksheet


The barn door can be opened like this.


You can download them here:
farm clipart.pdf

farm worksheet.doc

"Allah Gives Us Rain" worksheet

Tear out the colored papers and paste them like flowers.

Can be downloaded here:
ajisai template.pdf

Playgroup Activity (Theme: Homes)

Here's another activity we did.

The theme was "Homes".
We talked about how Allah blessed each of us with homes as shelters.

This is the book we used.
This book talks about how Allah protects all His creatures by provinding them with all kinds of houses.
It also introduces children to the various shapes, such as circles, squares, triangles, ovals, etc.
My one-year-old son loves this book!



And some worksheets on this theme.





Which house is suitable for each creature?
Cut and paste.



You can download them here:
homes template.doc

homes clipart.doc

Another worksheet.



Cut out the shapes and paste them in the appropriate places.





The worksheet should turn out like this when finished.



You can download them here:
house template.doc

house shapes.doc

Again they're bilingual of Japanese and English, you can erase the Japanese parts if you don't need them:)

Playgroup Acitivity (Theme: Clothes)

InshaAllah, I'll share some of the activities we have done in our local playgroup.

We've been focusing on the theme,"The Gifts from Allah".
We talk about various gifts from Allah, using some Islamic storybooks and crafts.

Our most recent theme was "Clothes".

There were no appropriate books for this theme, so I made one myself.
Here's what it looks like.













You can download the book here:
Allah Gives Us Clothes.doc

And we did some worksheets on this theme.





Cut out the items and paste them in the appropriate places.

It should look like this when it's done.



You can download them here:
Playgroup clothes.doc

Playgroup clothes clipart.pdf

We did some veggie stampings, too.




Here's the template for the T-shirt.
T-shirt template.doc

Some worksheets are billingual of English and Japanese, but you can easily erase the Japanese part, inshaAllah.

InshaAllah, I'll try to update on other themes as well.

13 steps to memorize the Qur’an by Yasir Qadhi

http://muslimmatters.org/2009/10/27/13-steps-to-memorize-the-quran-by-yasir-qadhi/


During one of his seminar about the Sciences of the Qur’an, sh. Yasir Qadhi shared with us some practical steps that helped him memorize the Qur’an during his teenage years.

Realize it’s a spiritual AND physical project. It’s a miracle and blessing from Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala that you’re able to absorb the Qur’an. If you want to take advantage of this blessing, you should be in a position to receive it and therefore strive physically to achieve it and strive spiritually to get the maximum benefit.

1. Sincerity. The first matter you have to pay attention to is your intention (if you intend good you will get good). Make sure that the intention you are making is only for the sake of Allah SWT, to seek His Pleasure so that inshAllah, with His Mercy, we will be rewarded in the Aakhirah. It is not to show off in front of others that you have memorized a lot. Sincerity is not a one time factor rather it’s a continual battle that you always have to renew.

2. Consistency . The more frequently you memorize, the easier it becomes. It is very essential to be consistent, and not to skip even one day. There is no Week-end in worship. The bare minimum that one should memorize is at least 3 lines, 5 is more ideal. If you are consistent, inshAllah, you will be able to be huffadh in 5-6 years

3. Timing. The first thing you should do in the day is memorize – even do so before your breakfast, because this is your spiritual breakfast. The best time to memorize is right after Fajr. . (sh. Yasir used to take one hour to memorize a page in the beginning, and eventually came down to 15-20 minutes)

4. Atmosphere. Have a secluded place to go to and memorize in a place that is quiet. You just can’t memorize properly with distractions, so turn off all your devices (like cell phones)

5. Familiarity: start at the same time, at the same place and use the same mushaf every day. You need to have your own copy of the Mushaf (the Madani Mushaf is highly recommended), it will later become so dear to you.

6. No Magic trick: repeat, repeat, repeat, over and over again. It is just repetitive recitation and/or listening that will help to memorize.

7. Memorize with the meaning: read the translation before you start and try to match the Arabic words with their meanings

8. Surround yourself with recitation: listen to the Qur’an. Before you start memorize, listen to what you are about to memorize. Sh. Husary is highly recommended (see here the best resources to help you memorize)

9. Find a recitation buddy: get a friend, a family member or someone you know who will listen to your recitation every day. Ideally, get someone who is also memorizing to create a peer pressure system.

10. Recite daily in your salaat what you have memorized. If you forget one portion, you will immediately rush towards the Qur’an and correct your mistake and you will never do this mistake again.

11. Triple daily dose:

a) New memorization at your assigned time of the day

b) Revision of the previous 7 days, just before you start the new memorization: This is because the fastest thing you forget is the new memorization. And doing so, will also build the connector between the old ones and the new portion you are going to memorize. Plus, it will be a good warm up for the brain when you recall from your memory and recite, before you go into the real exercise of doing the new memorization.

c) At a later/another time of the day, revise those before the recent 7 days. The bare minimum should be 4-5 pages.

12. Do not jump around. Be consistent. Don’t try to go to another surah if you find it difficult and stick to the order. That way, you will have the satisfaction of having completed a juz rather than leaving some portions here and there.

13. The three chunks. Start from the back. Shorter surahs will bring you a big boost. You should divide the memorization of the Qur’an in three parts:

a) Juz 28, 29, 30 or just Juz 29, 30

b) Surah Al-Kahf till Juz 28

c) Surah Al-Baqara to Surah Al-Kahf

Quranic Home, First Step Towards Love for Quran

What parents do not wish to have children who love and practise Al-Quran?The first step toward this is creating a home where parents read,cherish and practise Al-Quran, because children learn by examples.



Teaching the children Al-Quran and encouraging them to memorise it is an honourable duty in life,wrote Dr Saad Riyadh in his book Kaifa Nuhabibul Quran li Abnaina(how to instill the love for Al-Quranin our children), before commencing on the need to build a home where a love of Al-Quran can be fostered. Build a model home, he said.



If you wish your children to love Al-Quran, turn your home into a model home where interaction with Al-Quran proceeds in the best manner.



This is a home where Al-Quran isread in a beautiful voice and in tranquillity, instead of in a loud voice that disturbs other people.




‘Ignorant’ Home


This is the house where no one cares about Al-Quran. Nobody reads it. Or are reluctant to read it.Yet the parents of the house think that it is important that their children learn Al-Quran, so they send the youngsters to Islamic schools or places where they can memorise the Book. It does not occur strange to the parents that they themselves do not read it, or even if they behave in ways that are against Al-Quran. The children may memorise some chapters of Al-Quran, but those verses remain mere words that they can utter if they have to but not something that the children live. The words ofAl-Quran do not enter their hearts,and they will be forgotten soon.




‘Rigid’ Home


This is the home where Islam is practised by the parents in ways that do not give any space for the children to be relaxed or creative.Parents insist that their children study Al-Quran through methods that disregard the uniqueness ofeach child, their characters, abilities and inclinations.Children will remember this inflexibility and it will be difficult for them to associate learning Al-Quran with ease, affection and comfort.




‘Quran-less’ Home


This is the home where its inhabitants have forgotten all about Al-Quran, and so Al-Quran has forgotten them. Instead of Al-Quran, the noise of all kinds of musical instruments enters the mind and the heart of the children.




‘Model’ Home


T h i s i s a ho m e w h e r e i ts inhabitants love, read, practise and translate Al-Quran into their daily lives. Al-Quran is alive amongst them, and so love and compassion grow strong in their hearts. The children believe in Al-Quran and the guidance provided therein for their lives. When Al-Quran says this or that, they believe in that guidance and follow it. They love Al-Quran because they believe and witness all the goodness that comes from it in their own lives.




My Parents, My Teachers


When parents say they wish their children to love and know Al-Quran, they must first know and close to Al-Quran and love it thoroughly. They say to their children,Al-Quran is the Book of Allah.Whoever guards it, Allah will guard him or her. Whoever holds on to it for guidance in life, Allah will help them. This is the Book that will help us become good people, loved byAllah.After that, the parents go on to show that their behaviour, too, is according to Al-Quran. Which child would want to heed a parent who tells him that Al-Quran will make him a good person, but then goes on to do things that prohibited byAl-Quran?




Winning Childrens Hearts


Parents need to realise that Allah has planted in their hearts the love for their children, but that they will need to work to have that love reciprocated. Before parents can expect their children to love Al-Quran, they need to first win their childrens love and respect for them. Here are some tips from various experts.



● Build closeness with the children.Pray that Allah grant good foryour children, and pray that Allah unite your heart with theirs.

● When introducing your child to Al-Quran, treat him in accordanceto his ability. Do not push him excessively.

● Be creative and use different methods when teaching, including games and quizzes, so children will not be bored. Use CDs, pictures, or films and colourful books for your study sessions with the children.

● Give rewards. Or withhold rewards, as a form of punishment this is better than snapping or humiliating your children for failing to achieve something. In this way the children will be able to maintain their self-respect, and will inturn respect their parents.

● Know your children well, so you can appeal to their uniqueness.

● Try to be your childrens friend,instead of an instructor or even a hero who gives them a home, food and clothing and thus has the demand that they give back by learning Al-Quran for you.

● Be sensitive and pay attention to anything that might prove to be obstacles in your childrens happiness and tranquility at home. Try to prevent any elements that might be harmful, even in the forms of friends of your children or television.

● You can never say I love you enough so express your love to your children as often as possible.

Islamia/The Brunei Times

Eid Mubarak!!

Prayer Rug Magnets

We're in the last 10 days of Ramadan, and this is the craft we did yesterday.



I got the idea from here. Jazahallahu khairan.

I told my children that since we're in the last 10 days of Ramadan, we should be spending more time on the prayer rugs, praying, and asking duas for Allah(SWT).

Egg Shell Mosaic Art

We did another craft activity today.










We painted the egg shells first, and then pasted them on papers to make mosaic arts.
We loved this craft, alhamudulillah, it was fun!!
This will be another memory for Ramadan, inshaAllah.

Ramadan Lantern

Ramadan is half way over already!
SubhanAllah, time really flies!
My daughters have been fasting whole day this Ramadan, inshaAllah, hope they will make it to the end this Ramadan.

We're spending our days reciting and memorizing Quran.
We've also memorized some new supplications and hadiths, too.
We're using Ad-Duha curricurum for Islamic studies.
And... here is the fun part of Ramadan! Yes, craft!!

Little ones tend to keep us busy, so we're not able to do much, but, this is the craft we did recently.

Ramadan lantern.




We painted the empty jars with glass paint.





This is what they look like when the candles are put inside.





InshaAllah, we'd like to do more crafts later on.

Our Ramadan Bulletin Board!

Ramadan Kareem!

Well, Ramadan is already here,and time is going very fast this Ramadan.( Maybe it's because I have two little ones to keep me busy!)

This is the third year of fasting for our daughters, and they've been fasting full days so far. We have set up a Ramadan bulletin board this year.





I have used many materials from this site. May Allah reward the sisters for sharing!!

We made Hifdh Trees for each of the children.
I traced each child's hand, and made it into a tree trunk.


We'll be adding a leaf or a flower everytime they memorize a new dua or a new surah.
It will look like this with leaves and flowers.


And dua lists for each child.


They can be kept in this pocket.



And here is the good deed stars mobile that we made using materials from Umm Abdul Basir's





May Allah reward her abundantly for sharing!!

My oldest one is memorizing Al Hadid right now, and the younger one, Al Saff. Hope they can make lots of progress on their hifdh journey.

May you all have a succesful Ramadan!!