Qur'anic Knowledge

1. Surahs: An Naas, Al Falaq, An Nasr, Al 'Asr. (Simplified English and Arabic + revisit previous surahs.)

A. Simple meaning of An Naas:

"In the Name of Allah, the Caring and Kind. Say out loud: 'I want to be safe with the Lord of People, the Ruler of People, the God of People, from the secret bad whispers in the hearts of people from the jinn other people.'"

B. Simple meaning of Al Falaq:

"In the Name of Allah, the Caring and Kind. Say out loud: "I want to be safe with the Lord of the sunrise, from the fear of (any danger in) what He made, from the fear of the night time, from the fear of bad magic and from the fear of a jealous person when he's jealous."

C. Simple meaning of An Nasr:

"In the Name of Allah, the Caring and Kind. When Allah's help comes and you (Muslims) win, you will see lots of people entering the lifestyle of Allah, so glorify your Lord and look for His forgiveness. He is the one who forgives."

B. Simple meaning of Al 'Asr:

"In the Name of Allah, the Caring and Kind. Time proves it! People are truly lost. All except the ones who believe, do what is right, and who teach each other the truth and how to be patient."

C. Simple meaning of Surah Al Qadr:

"In the Name of Allah, the Caring and Kind. (Allah began) this revelation on the Night of Power! And what is the Night of Power? The Night of Power is better than a thousand months, because lots of angels come down and the (Angel Jibrail comes too), all of them have their Lord's permission. They do every kind of job. Peace is everywhere until the sun comes up!"

2. The Qur'an was sent to the Prophet Muhammad (p) by Allah. Allah asked the Angel Jibra'il to carry the Messages to him. Allah is to powerful and important to bring them to a small human by himself, although he can do it. A person could not handle all the power and light he would see.

3. The Qur'an was given in the Arabic language because the Prophet and his people spoke that language. Also, Arabic is a language that is good for rhyming and poems. The Qur'an often uses rhymes so it is easy to memorize and learn. We also have English translations but the Arabic is better.

4. The Qur'an has chapters called, "Surahs" and verses or sentences called "Ayahs." Their are 114 Surahs. The longest is Surah Al Baqarah and the shortest is Surah Al Kauthar.

5. Muslims learn the Qur'an by heart and say it in their prayers. They also learn it by heart so they remember the directions Allah wants us to follow. We get rewarded by Allah for reading the Qur'an, saying it out loud and learning it by heart. Every letter gives us a reward.

6. The Qur'an can only be touched if you are clean. We need to make Wudu if we need it before we hold the Qur'an. We don't need Wudu if we are only saying it out loud and not holding the book.

7. Another name for the Qur'an is "Kitabullah" or "The Book of Allah." The word Qur'an means, "The (Book) to read."

8. The whole Qur'an was revealed, or given, to the Prophet Muhammad in his life. He could not read or write himself so he learned all of it by heart as the Angel told it to him. Then the Prophet would go to the people who could write and tell them what to write.

9. The Qur'an has never been changed by people and Allah promised He would never let people change it.

10. Muslims should read a little bit of the Qur'an everyday.

'Aqeedah

1. Allah is just one and has no partners or helpers, and He doesn't need any.

2. Introduce the word "Tawheed" and its significance, in simple terms, to the doctrine that Allah is one.

3. Allah has no children, wife, husband or parents. Allah is not a boy or a girl. We only sat the term He because in Arabic there is no word for "it." And anyway, it wouldn't sound nice to call Allah an "it."

4. Allah is not a creature, spirit or a thing we can see, but His knowledge is everywhere all at the same time. When we believe in Allah, we have "Eman" or belief.  (Sometimes "Eman" is spelled "Eemaan" or "Iman" or "Imaan".)

5. We should say, "Subahanahu wa ta'ala" (Glory to Him and the Highest) whenever we say the holy name: "Allah."

6. The angels are not male or female. They can move super fast and do whatever Allah tells them. They are made out of light.  Allah does not need them but they need Allah.

7. There is another kind of creature called a Jinn. The jinns are invisible and are made from fire energy. Some are good and some are bad. The bad ones come to bother people and make them think bad thoughts.

7. Allah chooses people to bring His messages to other people. These special people are called Prophets and Messengers. There were many of them. Every group of people everywhere got a Prophet a long time ago. The Qur'an tells us the story of some of them. The last Prophet Allah sent in the world was Muhammad.

8. The world will all end one day and we will all stand in front of Allah and find out how we did in our life. We are alive to be tested. We must try to be as good as we can and we must never forget that we will have to face the One Who made us and He will give us our final grades.

9. Allah knows what happened yesterday, today and what will happen tomorrow.

10. Allah knows all our hidden thoughts and we can't keep any secrets from Him.

11. In the next life, after we die, we will be sent to Hell-fire if we were very bad and we will go to Paradise, Jannah, if we were good and we believed in Allah.

12. Hell is a bad place where bad people are punished. Paradise is a fun place where the good people get endless fun and rewards. Everyone is always happy there and there is no crying, fear or sadness.

13. The biggest bad Jinn is named Shaytan. He disobeyed Allah a long time ago and said he would hurt all the people and make them disobey Allah also. Hell is where Shaytan will go, too.

'Ibadah

1. Our biggest job in life is to serve Allah. The word for this is 'Ibadah, or service to Allah. (Use the word "serve" for 'Ibadah and never use the word "worship." 'Ibadah comes from the root word "'Abada" which means to serve. We don't say "Worshipper of Allah" when we translate the name 'Abdullah, get it? Worship is the one word we must avoid because it is a Christian term denoting simply praying and hoping. Nothing more.) 

    Allah is good and He loves goodness from people. Allah hates it when people do bad. Mention Tawhid in more detail.

2. The word Islam is the name of our way of life. Islam means to do what Allah asks so we can feel nice and peaceful inside. A Muslim is a person who follows Islam. A person becomes a Muslim only if they say and believe in what the Shahadah means. Anyone can become a Muslim and everyone should. The words of the Shahadah are: "Ash hadu an la ilaha illa Allah wa ash hadu anna Muhammadar Rasulullah." (It should be learned in Arabic and English) Use this English translation: "I say that there is no god but Allah and I say that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah." Islam is a Deen, or way of life.

3. Students will be taught the basic Salah procedure, in order, concentrating mostly on all of the physical movements. The terms Rak'ah (section), Sajda (bowing), Jalsa (sitting), Qiyam (standing) and Ruku (bending forward) will be introduced and the students will be taught that they are supposed to look at the spot of Sajda during the whole Salah procedure.

4. The verbal parts of Salah will be taught. The Tahiyat and Durood Sharif may take most of the year to teach it right. Go easy on the students this year concerning those two items and let them learn at their own pace. Don't give a deadline for these items. Never be harsh or do anything that will make the students associate Salat with disappointment, anger or fear.

5. Teach the number of Rak'ahs in each Salah as well as the concept that there are extra prayers called Sunnah prayers. Only teach the wajib (two rak'ah) prayer before Fajr and the two-rak'ah Sunnah prayer after 'Isha. Introduce in more detail, the names and times of the Salah.

6. Zakah is the way Muslims help each other. A monthly collection system of pennies can be used to demonstrate how Zakah can benefit the community (class). The proceeds at the end of the month can be used to buy food for the needy local Muslims, or a canned food drive, using the food as symbolic money, can be organized. Teach civic Islamic duty early!

7. Muslims stay away from food and drink for one month every year. This is called fasting, or Sawm. (Siyam is an alternate way of pronouncing this word.)  It happens in the month of Ramadan. We learn to feel sorry for the poor and we learn to control our hunger. From before sun up to sunset we don't eat, drink or let ourselves get angry.

8. Children should not fast all day yet. The amount of "practice" fasts and the length is up to the parents. Make a special accommodation for those students "practice" fasting and encourage them lavishly. Monitor closely so they don't faint or get sick. If any child seems very weak, make them eat and encourage them by telling them that they are only "practicing" right now and look how long they went today!

9. Ramadan is a special month. The Qur'an started to be given to the Prophet Muhammad in this month, a long time ago. Surah 97 tells us about the night it first started to happen.

10. It is the month where all our good deeds get extra rewards, up to 700 times more!

11. Sahoor and Iftar concepts should be introduced.

12. At the end of Ramadan is the special holiday called 'Eid ul Fitr. Teachers must make the 'Eid as special and as festive in the school as Christmas is for non-Muslims. Otherwise, the children will long for Christmas and think 'Eid is nothing very special. Encourage gift-giving in the class and a special party should be held in the school before the 'Eid vacation begins. Give the children 'Eid gifts.

13. Muslims pray more in Ramadan, especially in the Masjid at night. This is called Tarawih.

14. Ramadan is the chance to get lots of bad deeds forgiven, if we do our fasting the right way. Ramadan comes once a year.

15. Our parents use special time-tables to show the sahoor and iftar times.

16. The Hajj is a special month. It is the month where Allah invited every Muslim in the world to go to Mecca and visit His special place. Everyone who can make it, goes there for Allah's invitation. The Ka'bah is a building in Mecca that people face when they pray because the great Prophet, Ibrahim, made it a special place for people who want to pray to Allah.

17. Introduce the concept that people do certain activities on Hajj and introduce the basic story of the Prophet Ibrahim.

18. Introduce 'Eid ul Adha and what its lessons are, based on the example of giving up things you love the most out of even more love for Allah. Make this Eid festive also.

19. Muslims have a duty to tell other people about Allah.

Du'a & Ahadith

1. The following Adiyat and ahadith should be learnt by the children in Arabic and English:

A. Before eating we say, "Bismillahi wa 'alaa barakatillah." "In the name of Allah and on the Blessing of Allah."

B. "La Tanaafaru" "Don't fight with each other."

C. "Rabbana ateena fid Dunya hasantin, wa fil akhirati hasanatin, wa qeena athzabin narr." "Our Lord, give us the good in this world and the good in the next and protect us from the painful fire." (2:201)

D. When we say the Prophet's name, or hear someone else say it, we should say, "Sallallahu 'alayhee wa selem." "Allah's prayer and peace be on him." We say it to show how much we love our dear Prophet.

E. "Miftahul Jannati as Salah."  "The key to Jennah is the Salah."  (Ahmad, Ibn Majah)

F. "Af shoo Salama baiynakoom." "Greet each other with Peace."

G. "Bismillahi wa kool bee yameneka." "Start eating with Bismillah and eat with your right hand."

Akhlaq & Adab

1. Muslims eat with the right hand. We shake hands with the right hand. We use our left hand for the bathroom. Teach the basic cleanliness of using the bathroom (instinja) and the importance of cleaning with water. ("So the evil germs don't get us and make us stinky!")

2. Muslims greet older people first with the Salam and the young people offer their hand to the older ones first.

3. Children must share their toys with others and always be patient if they don't get what they want right away.

4. A Muslim doesn't call another Muslim a bad name or tease them. Allah said in the Qur'an that the mean person who teases is the one who really deserves the teasing. (49:11-12) No one should talk about someone in a bad way if they are not there. This is called backbiting. It is called that because you are like an animal eating their body from behind their back.

5. Muslims must follow the directions of their teachers and parents. We never call an adult by their first name without adding brother or sister first. i.e. Sister Zainab, or Brother Hameed. It is a good and wonderful thing for students to use the terms brother and sister when they talk to each other. Muslims are, after all, one big family in the world. The terms and concept of the Ummah can start to be introduced in this grade.

6. A Muslim does not insult food, even if it tastes bad. Just don't take or accept any more or the food you don't like.

7. If you love your friend, you should tell them that you love them for the sake of Allah.

8. Muslims don't put the Qur'an on the floor. We treat the book with great respect.

9. A Muslim doesn't waste food. Whatever we don't eat, we either give away or take back home.

10. When we stand in line, we keep the lines straight.

11. If someone comes and tells us a story about someone else we know, we don't believe it automatically and we don't repeat the story. We try to find out the truth about it ourselves first. (49:6)

12. If we see someone doing a bad thing, we tell them to stop because Allah doesn't like bad deeds. If the person doesn't stop, we tell the teacher or our parents.

13 . Allah loves the Muslim who tries his or her best in anything.

14.  When we first wake up we say: "Asbahna wa asbahal mulku lillahi rabbil 'alameen."  "We wake up and the kingdom wakes up to Allah, the Lord of all the worlds."

Sirah

1. In this grade, more concepts of the Sirah can be introduced. Building on what was mentioned in KG, we can now add a sense of continuity of Prophethood. Reiterate the concept that Allah sends His messages to people and then tie this in with the flow of Prophethood beginning with Adam and then going to Nuh, Ibrahim, Musa and up to Prophet Muhammad.

2. Introduce the incident with Abdel Muttalib and the vow to sacrifice one of ten sons if he found the well of Zam Zam. Describe the results. Follow through to the baby Muhammad being an orphan.

3. Add more details to the Prophets childhood. Describe Arabian pagan society afresh.

4. Talk about the caravan trip to Syria and the incident with Bahira, the Monk.

5. The visit from Angel Jibra'il to cleanse his soul while Muhammad was tending sheep.

6. Muhammad's employment with Khadijah in simple terms and their marriage.

7. The children born to them.

8. The beginning of Prophethood and the teachings of Islam. Actually go over what the Prophet was teaching people (in a simplified way) so the students can see they were good teachings. Introduce the term Wahy (revelation or inspiration.)

9. Describe the bad reaction of some people.

10. Describe the stories of the early converts to Islam: Abu Bakr (the best friend), 'Ali (the nephew), Zayd (the adopted son), and Khadijah and Fatimah (his wife and daughter).

11. Go over the secret plan to send some Muslims to a far off land called Abysinia to let some Muslims be safe from the evil idol-worshippers.

12. Explain what idol-worship is all about.

13. Explain how some people from a city named Medina came to accept Islam and invited the Prophet to come and live with them.. Go over introductions to the following Sahaba: Bilal the first Mu'adhan, Abu Dharr, Rumaysa bint Milhan, Sumaiyya and Asma' bint Abi Bakr.

14. Detail the incident with 'Ali in the Prophet's bed while the Prophet and Abu Bakr escaped at night.

15. The incident with the cave can be retold with more details about the bird's nest and the spider's web.

16. Celebrate the triumphant entry to Medina with the song, "Ta'ala badru 'alayna."

17. More details about the building of brotherhood in Medina. Mention there were two big groups, the Auws and Khazraj, who used to fight, but that the Prophet made them love each other.

18. Describe the battles of Badr and Uhud in simple detail.

19. Mention there were two more big battles, but don't explain them fully yet.

20. Go over the treaty of peace between the Muslims and Mecca in a simple way. Explain how the Meccans broke it.

21. The peaceful taking of Mecca.

22. The spread of Islam far and wide.

23. The death of the Prophet and the great sadness.

24. The people elected Abu Bakr to be the leader of the Muslims. The wahy was ended but leadership must remain.

History

1. The stories of the following Prophets/People should be taught in an interesting way. Make the stories come alive by reciting their history in a dramatic and entertaining way. Don't just read from a book. Make it a magical experience for them. Don't forget to bring props and visual aids. The children can even be given puppet shows with hand puppets to make the stories more real.

A. Prophet Ibrahim and how he was a boy in search of Allah. How he rejected the moon, sun and stars and also rejected the idols. Explain how he left his father and land by Allah's command. Introduce the concept of Ibrahim settling his wife and his son, Isma'il, in Arabia. Then go into Hajir's search for water, finding Zam Zam and the later building of the special Ka'bah by Isma'il and his father.

B. Introduce the story of the People of Saba (34:15-19) and how they cheated and oppressed people.

C. The story of the servant and the red cloth from Sahih Bukhari. A'ishah relates that a servant girl was accused of stealing a red cloth when, in fact, a bird had snatched it from the servant girl's hand. The servant girl protested her innocence for days but nobody believed her. One day, in front of everybody, the same bird came flying overhead and dropped the red cloth on the ground and flew away. The servant girl praised Allah and nobody doubted her word ever again. (This story may be used to emphasize that Allah always lets the truth come out sooner or later.)

D. The story of Prophet Musa up until the day the armies of Pharaoh were crushed in the water.

E. The story of Prophet Nuh in a simplified form. Use in conjunction with the coloring book of the same name.

F. The Hadith story of the man who brought baby birds to the Blessed Prophet and the Prophet made the man return them to the nest saying that the mother bird missed her babies.

G. Introduce the concept that there were four leaders who came after the Prophet Muhammad who were good and who loved Allah. There names are Abu Bakr, 'Umar, Uthman and 'Ali. "The Khulafa ar Rashideen" or "The Best Rulers." Give a few sayings from each and a few of their great achievements. Save more details for a higher grade.

Misc.

1. The following manners of eating and drinking should be taught:

A. Always share your food if you see someone with no food.

B. Don't start eating if you are in a group until everyone is ready and the Du'a was said.

C. Don't make a mess and clean up your own place.

D. Don't throw food away. Save it in a wrapper and eat it later. Refrigerate it if you need to.

E. After eating we say, "Alhumdulillahil ladhee at 'ammna wa saqana wa ja 'alnaa min al muslimeen." "Praise Allah who gave us food and drink and made us Muslims."

2. Students should be able to define the following words based upon all the syllabus requirements enumerated thus far:

A. 'Eid ul Fitr, 'Eid ul Adha

B. Tauhid, Iman, Ghafranak, Deen

C. Last Day, Shukran, Afwan, Wahy

D. 'Ibadah, Owthzubillah, Insha'llah

3. Students should be taught the following phrases and when to use them: