Muharram- Level 1- 1st Year

Topic Overview: The Historical Account of the Journey of Imam Hussain (PBUH) from Medina to Mecca and then to Karbala upon the Invitation of the People of Kufa-Avoiding Satan’s Temptations-The Bad Features of Jealousy

  • Objective(s):

    1.Since the kids arrive at different times, it is suggested that before the start of the official program, any sort of craft that is associated with the occasion is planned for those kids who come earlier to the program.

    2.Becoming familiar with the culture and the custom of wearing black attire and putting up black banners for the martyrdom of the Master of the Martyrs.

    Procedures-Supplies Needed:

    1.Color printer or construction paper

    2.Scissors

    3.Glue

    Duration:

    25 Minutes

    Cut out the names provided and place them in the correct spot in the given tree diagram.

    The Supplies Needed for the Collage of “The Caravan of Karbala”:

    1. Construction paper (black, green, brown, light green, and white)
    2. Glue and scissor

    Instructions:

    First, printing the original colored image is enough for this collage. The components of this collage should be cut out separately or if printed on a white construction paper then it should be colored by the kids.

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    The mountains behind the scene with dark brown

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    1. The trees in the given image
    2. The sun in the sky
    3. lady Zainab and the women of the caravan

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    The tents of Imam Hussain and Hazrat Abbas (PBUT)

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  • Objective(s):

    1.The importance of giving Salaam.

    2.Seeking means to the Holy Qur’an to illuminate our hearts that is means to salvation.

    3.Becoming familiar with Surah al-Nas and its application to seek refuge in God, against evil and especially against Satan’s temptations.

    4.The importance of knowing the meaning’s of Quranic verses.

    Duration:

    10 Minutes

    Beginning:

    Salaam to all of you my dears!

    I hope that you all enjoyed the craft portion of today’s program.

    Now…Who can tell me, for what occasion have we all gathered here?

    Yes, today’s program is to remember the martyrdom of Imam Hussain (PBHU). Today, we have all gathered here to learn about our dear Imam.

    Imam Hussain (PBUH) is our 3rd Imam. His father was Imam Ali (PBHU and mother was lady Fatimah al-Zahra (PBHU), the daughter of our dear Prophet may peace and blessings be upon him and his dear family. Imam Hussain’s brother was our 2nd Imam, Imam Hassan al-Mujtaba. I am sure that by the craft you made earlier, you know the Ahlul-bayt, meaning the dear family of our Prophet pretty well.

    We love Imam Hussain from the bottom of our hearts. Why? Well because he was the child of our Prophet and our Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (Recite a Salawat) told everyone about his dear family, and ordered everyone to love his Ahlul-bayt. And he himself loved Imam Hussain (PBUH) very much. That is why to show our sadness for his martyrdom, these days we wear black clothes, and show our sadness by holding majalis [programs] to remember his martyrdom.

    Now, let us all together recite a surah, because the goal of our Imam was to make people become more familiar with Quran. What to do guys think of Surah al-Nas? Let’s start then:

    بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِیم

    قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ النَّاسِ ﴿١﴾  مَلِکِ النَّاس ِ﴿٢﴾ إلَهِ النَّاسِ ﴿٣﴾ مِنْ شَرِّ الْوَسْوَاسِ الْخَنَّاسِ ﴿٤﴾ الَّذِی یُوَسْوِسُ فِی صُدُورِ النَّاسِ ﴿٥﴾ مِنَ الْجِنَّةِ وَ النَّاسِ ﴿٦﴾

    Proclaim (O dear Prophet Muhammad – peace and blessings be upon him), “I take refuge of the One Who is the Lord of all mankind.” (1) “The King of all mankind.”(2) “The God of all mankind.” (3) “From the evil of the one who instils evil thoughts in the hearts – and stays hidden.” (4) “Those who instill evil thoughts into the hearts of men.” (5) “Among the jinn’s and men.” (6)

     (***Note: The translation above is only given for the mentor’s use)

    My dear kids!!!! In this surah, we ask for God’s help from the devil’s temptations. My dears, the devil is a very bad guy, and he likes for us to follow the wrong direction and tempt us to do bad things. Like what???

    Yes, great Job! Like he tells us to not listen to our parents. To touch things that we should not. And yell, scream and frown if we are told to do something that we may not like to do. Don’t share our toys with others, don’t help others and …. other things.

    We sometimes cannot resist against the devil and might all the sudden forget and do the bad thing that he tells us do to. But of course, our dear God has not left us alone, and has taught us all, what to do, to stand against the devil and not listen to what he says. One these ways, is to say this sentence “اعوذ بالله من الشیطان الرجیم” —which means that I seek God’s protection from the devil. Which means that we are asking God to help us to not be tricked by the devil. Another way that God has taught us is to participate in programs that mourn for the martyrdom of Imam Hussain (PBHU). Who knows why?

    Yes, Great job. Because in these programs that mourn for Imam Hussain’s martyrdom, we become sad for our Imam, we become closer to him, and know our Imam better; and this helps us to distance ourselves from the devil. When we have the love for our Imam in our hearts, the devil cannot easily enter in our hearts, and trick us in doing wrong things.

    My dears, the people who fought with Imam Hussain (PBUH), harmed and martyred him and his dear family, were people who allowed the devil to enter their hearts. What do I mean by that? I mean that, they would listen to whatever the devil would say, and so they were not able to see the truth and the right!

    Whatever, Imam Hussain (PBHU) explained to them, who he is, and told them that he likes to see them all, to do the right things, and not go and do the wrong things because God will become mad and….but it seemed as if they could not hear what Imam Hussain (PBUH) was telling them to do, and their hearts was not encouraged. That is why it’s important for us to become closer to our dear Imams so we can distance the devil from ourselves. Especially become closer with the Imam of our Time who to us is like our father and mother, and he is alive. So, whenever you see that the devil has come to trick you, think of the Imam of Our Time, and ask our kind father to pray for you and help you to become stronger against the devil. We are soooo lucky, to have such a kind father, who always thinks of us, and helps us. We thank God for having such a kind father, and pray that he may come back soon.

    Now, a nice thing for you all to do is that when you go home, try to memorize this surah, and recite it many times so God can protect you from any evil.  So, until next time we see each other you can recite this Surah for me and tell me what you remember about the meaning of this surah; this way you not only make the Imam of Our Time very happy but also make me very, and very happy!!!!

  • Objective(s):

    1.Understand the reasons as to why the event of Ashura happened, and the journey of Imam Hussain (PBHU) towards Karbala.

    2.Being alert of Satan’s temptations and the importance of seeking refuge in God and the Imam of Our Time (PBHU) from Satan.

    Procedures-Supplies Needed:

    1.Becoming familiar with the skills necessary for storytelling to appeal to the children, and convey the message and goal of the story.

    2.The contribution of three mentors in storytelling along with the narrator of the story.

    Duration:

    10 Minutes

    Story: The Evil King and the Kind Man

    Someone was there, someone was not. Dear God, was there while others were not! There existed a country that had a very evil king. My dears, this evil king would always force people to do things, and used their money for his own good to build castles. This king would do many wrong actions, and so people were tired of all the things he was doing to them. People were desperately looking to find a way to escape from him.

    One day, when they all gathered to talk with each other, a few of the known people, who everyone trusted, told the people: O People, do you all remember a few years ago, when a very kind man who no one saw him do any wrong actions wanted to become our king?

    Everyone thought for a bit and they all said: Yes, indeed he is right (other mentors should play this part of the story. One mentor should say: Yes, you are right; the other should say: Yes, I remember now; and another person should say: Good old days! Those were the days!!)

    Then the elders continued by saying: Do you all remember that none of you accepted, and were tricked by the father of this evil king? Do you all remember that none of you thought that a kind, righteous, and smart king is better than an evil and mean one??? And now his evil son has become our king??? (Look at the kids one by one, as if you are talking to the people. Other mentors should show a state of shame and disgrace)

    My dear ones, everyone thought of those old days and that kind man. They shook their heads to show that yes indeed we remember those days. They all wanted to do something in return of the wrong decision they made. They all wanted to see that kind man to come back and listen to what he had to say. That is why they told the elders of the city (other mentors): Yes, we have indeed done the wrong thing, but what can we do now?

    Those elders thought for a bit, and consulted with each other (The narrator acts as if he is thinking) when all the sudden, an old man among them said: well, I think that we only have one way. I know for a fact, that kind man is still living in another city. I know that since he loves people, if we kindly ask him to come back and help us he will come back.

    My dears, when that old man said such a thing he put a smile on everyone’s face and everyone became hopeful. They all said with enthusiasm and excitement (other mentors): Oh, that is wonderful!!! Now let us all together go and ask him to please come back and help us.

    Then that old man said: Let us all together write a letter, and give it to a postman to deliver it for us. (act out as if writing a letter, put this letter in an envelope or bag, and send it with horse)

    Well my dears, finally a few people accepted to go and deliver the letter to that kind man. They rode their horses and went, and went and went until they found that kind man and delivered the people’s letter and explained what was going on.

    When that kind man read the letter, he became heartbroken and cried. He wanted to do something for the people, and help them out. That is why he accepted the people’s invitation and started his journey towards that city along with a few of his friends and family.

    My dears, there was long way to that city, knowing that during that time there were no cars or airplanes. That kind man and his family instead, had to ride their horses and camels through a desert to get to that city. Along their way, there were no trees, water or anything and the weather was hot. But even with all the hardships along the way, the people of this caravan were happy that they are going to help the people that city. (Who knows what I mean when I say caravan? Ask this question as if you are the king. By asking this question it may lead to a side talk, hence its better if the narrator doesn’t ask this question but instead answer it himself or only allow two of the kids to answer.)

    But, but but, my dears (with sadness and surprise) can you all guess what happened?

    Before the caravan even arrived in the city, one of the people of that city told the evil king the news of what people of this city have planned and how they no longer want him to be the king of this city!!! They told him, that the people have invited that kind man to come and become their king. Oh, nooo what’s going to happen now??? (with sadness)

    Upon hearing this news, the king became very mad and wanted to stop this from happening. My kids, the king became very scared that his castle will be taken away from him and that kind man will return all his wealth and money to the poor people. That evil king wanted only to force people, and steal their money.

    Well in short, he kept thinking what he should do, and not do? He then thought of his minister and bad friends. He gathered all of them and told them the story. He asked his friends and minister to come up with a plan to stop what people had planned for him and not allow that kind man to come to the city. So, they all gathered around and thought and thought and came up with bad plans (act as if thinking). Indeed, the devil was helping them.

    When they came up with their plan, they called the king and told him that the only way out of this is to kill that kind man. But…, but since everyone likes him, supports him and want him to come back, it’s hard to do anything right now. So they suggested that, the best thing to do is to first trick the people. Then continue with the plan by making people to leave that kind man alone so we they would be able to fight with him and kill him! Ughhh (with sorrow and sadness).

    Now my dears, can you all guess what those bad people did? Oh, oh, oh my dears they went and tricked the people by different means.

    (Other mentors should whisper things in the kid’s ear, while everyone can hear them at the same time, act as if you are tricking them)

    1st mentor: Come here I will give you lots of money so do not support that kind man.

    2nd mentor: come I will make you the king of that city if you…

    3rd mentor: Do you know that if you support that kind, and righteous man, the king will kill you!!! So, do not do it…so you can stay alive!

    My dears, those bad people tricked everyone in that city expect few people here and there. And can you all believe, they all broke their promises and no longer were waiting for that kind man. They all went hid in their homes and were scared. My dears, those people were so weak that they were easily tricked by the devil and those bad people, and soon forgot everything!

    While, that kind man, his dear family, his young children, and friends were on their way, enduring the hardships of this long road only in hopes of helping those people whom now were tricked by the devil (sight in expressing sadness)

    On the other hand, the king was sure that the people will no longer go to welcome that kind man’s arrival and they have been tricked. That is why he planned to kill that kind man, his dear family and his friends so he could be sure he will be at peace from their hands, and even if people wanted him, that kind man would no longer be alive to help them.

    So then, he gathered a lot of bad people along with tricking the weak people of the city to come to fight against that man. He gave everyone swords and spears. People got on their horses and rode towards that man with their ugly, rough and evil faces. Can you all imagine this!!!!! Like you ask someone for their help and invite them to come from a long way, and then try to go trap and kill the same man and his family!!!! How can this be possible???

    Yes, my kids, when that man and his family arrived just near the city, the bad people of the city, surrounded and blockade them. What I mean by blockading is that they surrounded them so they could no longer go somewhere else so they can attack them.

    Yes, they blockade them, and did not even allow them to get water from the rivers nearby. They did everything they could, so the people of that caravan and even the little children would not be able have access to water, and they kept them thirsty. By doing this, they wanted that man to surrender and accept the evil king to continue being evil and brutal. But that kind man was the teacher of all kindness, if he had surrendered to them, then the rest of the people would have not learned that one must show kindness in every situation.

    Well my dears, the army of the king attacked and brutally killed that kind man, and his kind family. A family that was well known for their kindness and a family that had never done any harm to anyone. Even they killed some of the small kids and took the rest of the children along with their mothers as captives. My dears who knows what the word captive means? Captive means, that when a war ends, those that win the war, they arrest those that lost and take them to work for them. But in that war, those bad people, killed all the friends, men, and the family of that kind man. They even took the women and the children of that kind man as captives!

    Those cold-hearted and bad people, with what they did, they made God very angry. Because not only did they oppress, which is a very wrong thing to do and is a sin, but God really, really liked those kind people. For sure, the devil was able to do a good job in tricking those bad people.

    My kids, because of the all oppressions that those people did towards that family and its friends, God punished them all. And not to mention, the king never even kept the promises he made to the people, and soon the people became aware that this was a trick. Many of them died and all of them went to hell.

    My dears, I want to say that today’s story was a true one. Who knows what the name of that kind man was? Yes, it was Imam Hussain peace be upon him. All of us love Imam Hussain (peace be upon him) and are sad and cry because of his martyrdom. Imam Hussain was the grandson of the Prophet of Islam, Hazrat Muhammad (A loud salawat: Allahumma salli ‘ala Muhammad wa Ali Muhammad wa ajjal farajahum), he was also very well known for his kindness and all the good people loved him very much.

    My dears, which one you know the names of his family members? Yes, his sister was lady Zeinab, his brother was Hazrat Abbas, his son was Hazrat Ali-Akbar, his daughter was lady Sukinah and lady Roghayah, and his 6 months old baby, was Hazrat Ali-asghar.

    Well my dears, all of us love Imam Hussain and love his child Imam Mahdi whom is the Imam of our Time. We love them from the bottom of our hearts, because we love kindness and goodness, and want to be like them so the bad devil and the enemies of God never trick us.

    Let us all ask God, to make the Imam of Our Time to come back sooner so he can come and make this world full of kindness and goodness. But at the same time, we must promise that we will always be one of his followers and friends and will never be tricked by the devil. It is good that we use this time, from today on, and try to be good kids and fulfill our promises.

  • Objective(s):

    1.Accustom the kids to the culture practiced in Muharram such as installing black banners, chest-beating and wearing black attire in remembrance of the sacrifices of Imam Hussain (PBUH).

    Procedures-Supplies Needed:

    1.Projector, speakers and a projector screen.

    2.Internet access.

    Duration:

    2 Minutes And 6 Minutes

  • Objective(s):

    1.Becoming familiar with Satan’s temptations and the ways to overcome the temptations of the devil.

    Procedures-Supplies Needed:

    1.One person designated as narrator

    2.A small place as a room

    3.Book

    4.Chair

    5.Rug

    6.Dolls or cars

    7.Actors; First scene: Mother, and daughter or son

    8.Table and chairs

    9.Paper and a glass of water

    10.The actors for the 2nd scene: Teacher, and a few kids as students

    Duration:

    15 Minutes

    Play: Staying Away from the Devil’s Temptations

    (Note: This play can take place between a mother and her son, and instead of using a doll one may use a car toy and the actors may be changed)

    1st Scene: Home

    (Mother is sitting on a chair and is busy reading a book. Sarah is busy playing with her doll)

    Narrator: Little Sarah is 5 years old, and goes to pre-school. She really likes drawing and can draw beautifully.

    Sarah: Oh mom, did you know that tomorrow in my pre-school there is going to be a drawing contest? My teacher has told us that whoever is able to draw the best will get a prize!

    Mother: Well that is great my dear! And your drawings are always great, I hope that you are able to draw like you have always been able to! Whether you win or lose! Winning is not important! However, it is important that you try your best!

    Sarah (pauses for a second): Yes, but I really like to win and get a prize… you know mom, my friend Zahra also draws well, maybe she will win!

    Mother (closes her book and turns toward Sarah): Remember my dear, winning is not important. What is important is that you enjoy your time drawing along with your friends, and even learn from each other. This means winning. As long, as you have fun and learn from your friends. Do you understand my dear?

    Sarah (thinks for a bit and says quietly): Well yes. (Stops talking and starts playing again with her doll.)

    2nd scene: Pre-school classroom

    (2 to 3 students are sitting on chairs behind their table and art supplies are placed on the table in front of them. A teacher is standing beside them)

    Narrator: Today is the day of the art contest! The kids have prepared their art supplies. Sarah and her friend Zahra are sitting next to each other.

    Teacher: Well my dears, are you all ready??

    Children: Yesssssss (all said together)

    Teacher: Well that is great, now you may all start drawing in the name of God. You have 30 minutes to draw, and then when you are done, come up and give your drawings to me.

    (Kids start drawing)

    Narrator: Just like her other friends, Sarah starts drawing. But, she was worried if her drawing is good enough to win the contest! Few minutes passed by, when she glanced over to her friend, Zahra’s drawing. (Sarah looks at Zahra’s drawing, while frowning). When Sarah saw her drawing, she was like Oh woooow…. how beautiful her drawing is…. she kept thinking to herself, what if Zahra wins the contest…when suddenly, she thought of something…. she said to herself: what if I suddenly move Zahra’s hand so her drawing becomes ruined, and water-color can’t be easily fixed, so … that way I will win. So without even thinking any bit longer, she forcefully hit Zahra’s arm with her hand…(Sarah does this action at the same time the narrator is telling this part.)

    Zahra: Oh my!!!Sarah!!! What did you do??? You ruined my drawing!!! (starts crying)

    (Sarah becomes sad when she sees Zahra crying, she wants to get up when suddenly, her hand hits the glass of water on her table, and water gets all over her drawing.)

    Sarah: Oh God, look what happened…my drawing got ruined as well; what should I do now???? (starts crying as well)

    Teacher (comes towards them): What happened kids??? Why are you two crying???

    Zahra and Sarah (together): See our drawing got ruined!!!!

    Zahra: It was all Sarah’s fault!

    (Sarah lowers her head and just cries)

    Teacher: How unfortunate my dears!!! Both of your drawings were great, maybe both of you would have won, but now there is not enough time left to re-draw. Now please stop crying, it’s not a big problem, hopefully in the next contest you both can win.

    (Zahra and Sarah continue crying)

    3rd Scene: Home

    (Mother is again busy reading, Sarah enters the scene expressing sadness and sorrow)

    Mother: Salaam my darling, did you have fun today?? (Pauses for a bit) what happened??? Why are so sad??? Is it because you didn’t win the competition, is that why you are sad???

    Mother (puts away her book): Alright my dear, please tell me what has happened?????

    Sarah (expressing sadness): I don’t know mom, I just don’t know why this happened https://ed-danmark.com/koeb-…ra-online/???? I glanced over to Zahra’s drawing, and it was fabulous. I was scared that she was going to win. Then suddenly, I just thought of hitting on her arm so that way her drawing would get ruined…. You were not there so see how angry Zahra became…Oh and afterwards I was trying to move and the glass of water tipped over and got all over my drawing…my drawing got ruined as well…none of us won the contest…I just don’t how this bad idea popped in my mind?????

    Mother (expressing kindness along with being upset): I see what happened my darling I will explain it to you…the devil has tricked you!!!!

    Sarah (surprised): Devil?????but how could this be possible???

    Mother: You see my dear; the devil is the enemy of all. He wants all humans to do bad things so they will not be good people, and make this world ugly. That is why he keeps tempting humans, meaning that he will make bad ideas pop in their heads and persuades them to do horrible things. Things that do not have good endings and only brings trouble and lots of regretting. Just like what you did today. Not only did you make your friend sad and ruin her drawing but you also ruined your own drawing.

    Sarah: WOW, so that was the devil which made that bad idea to suddenly pop in my head!..I wish I was not tricked by him! I wish I did not listen to him. I wish I had thought for a bit beforehand. Oh mom! If this happens again what should I do so I am not tricked by the devil???

    Mother: I am glad that you are thinking ahead about the future and have learnt your lesson. Now I will teach you something, so you can defeat the devil whenever he comes to trick you!!!!

    Sarah: Really mom?? How???

    Mother: Whenever the devil comes to you to persuade you in doing bad things just say: I seek God’s protection from the devil. This way, dear God will distance the devil from you and will not let you get tricked by him. I mean there are other things that you may do as well. Like you can recite the Quran, for example recite surah al-Nas and Falagh which makes the devil distance itself from us. Say the phrase “b-ismi-llāhi r-raḥmāni r-raḥīmi (ie: n the name of God, the Most Gracious, and the Most Merciful). But there is also another thing that will help you a lot.

    Sarah: What is that mom???

    Mother: Ask the Imam of our Time for his help. Ask him to help you do everything the right way. Even just thinking of him, makes the devil far from you. Let alone, asking for his help as well. Our dear kind Imam always thinks of us, and will help us so the devil is not able to trick us that easily.

    Sarah: WOwwww!!! That is great. I will keep that in mind and will do this. It’s great to know that there is someone else other than God that thinks of us. I feel at peace, with what you have told me mom. Mom, but what about my friend Zahra??? I did a very bad thing!!!! I am sure she is upset with me….

    Mother: Do not worry my dear. Tomorrow you will give her a small gift and just apologize to her. Zahra is a good girl, and I am sure she will accept your apology.

    Sarah: All right mom, thank you for helping me. (Sarah hugs her mom happily). I felt bad but now I feel so much better. I thank God for blessing me with a kind mother like you.

  • Objective(s):

    1.Becoming familiar with the meaning behind being “envious” and a Quranic story about the bad features of jealousy.

    2.Explaining the story of Habil and Qabil, Qabil’s jealousy towards Habil and the consequences it brought.

    3.Becoming familiar with Surah al-Falagh, seeking God’s refuge from envious people and the badness of jealousy.

    4.Becoming familiar with ways to avoid jealousy by remembering Allah’s boundless blessings in our lives, seeking God’s refuge and asking for the help of the Imam of Our Time (PBUH).

    Procedures-Supplies Needed:

    1.Projector and a device to show the Prezi slides.

    Duration:

    15 Minutes

    Prezi: Lessons from the Quran about Jealousy

    https://prezi.com/ol1q_adrw8h4/jealousy/

    Slide 2:

    My dear ones, as you all know, one of the ways which the devil can trick us is through jealousy. A jealous person is said to someone who gets upset over the good things that others might have and only wants the good for themselves.

    Slide 3:

    Now I want to tell you guys a qur’anic story. As you all know, what I mean when I say Quranic stories, are events that have happened in the past, but for us to learn lessons from them, God has explained them in the Quran.

    For example, there are stories about people who have done nice things, which had good results. Or even it’s the opposite; there have been people who have done wrongdoings which had bad consequences. By reading these stories, we learn lessons of what things are good for us to do and what things are bad, so we never try it out and get hurt.

    Slide 4:

    The story that I am going to tell you all right now is the story of the children of the first prophet of God. Who knows the name of the first prophet of God? Yes, it was Prophet Adam. God gave Adam and Hawwa’ (Eve) 2 daughters and sons.

    Today’s story is about their 2 sons, Habil (Abel) and Qabil (Cain). Habil was the younger of the two, he was very kind, believed in God, believed in his father Adam who was a prophet, listened to him and would not do any wrong doings. For sure, his father was very proud of him. On the other hand, Qabil was the oldest.

    He would always do bad things, he never listened to his father even though he knew that he was the prophet of God and was disobedient.

    Slide 5:

    One-day Prophet Adam introduced Habil before his family as his successor. Therefore, Qabil became upset and jealous of Habil and disagreed with him. To solve this problem, Prophet Adam called his sons and told them to make a gift in a way of God. and the one whose gift is accepted by God, would be his next successor.

    Slide 6:

    Habil and Qabil, each presented their individual sacrifice to God. Since Habil was a shepherd, he brought the best of his flock as a gift to God.

    Qabil on the other had was a farmer, and so he brought some dried up and spoilt ears of corn. However, God accepted Habil’s gift and Qabil’s gift was rejected.

    Slide 7:

    Knowing this, Qabil became very jealous of his brother and he began to hate him. So, he decided to kill his brother. But Habil told him: Why do you want to kill me? I haven’t done anything wrong, why do you want to revenge and not show any compassion and love? Why are so jealous? However, Qabil was still envious of looking for a way to take revenge and kill Habil, rather than learn from him and make himself good and be like his brother.

    Slide 8:

    Finally, my dears, Qabil listened to the devil and could not wait any longer. So, one day, he killed Habil by hitting him with a rock. After killing his brother though, he was very scared and didn’t know what to do with the body of his brother. Can you all tell me why???? Because, they were the first people on this earth and Habil was the first person to be sacrificed and be killed on this earth. That is why Qabil had no clue what to do in that situation?

    Slide 9:

    It was at that moment, that God sent a crow to dig a hole in the ground and bury what he has in his beak. Qabil realized that this was what he had to do, and got upset about the fact that he didn’t know any better than a crow. So, he dug a hole, buried his dead brother and poured dirt on him.

     Slide 10:

    Now my dears, since you all heard the story you know how bad jealousy can be. It is good to know that one of the small surah’s in the Quran has an ayah (verse) about jealousy and has introduced this characteristic as a very bad one. Someone of you might be familiar with surah al-Falagh.

    بِسْمِ اللَّـهِ الرَّحْمَـٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

    قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ الْفَلَقِ ﴿١ مِن شَرِّ مَا خَلَقَ ﴿٢ وَمِن شَرِّ غَاسِقٍ إِذَا وَقَبَ ﴿٣ وَمِن شَرِّ النَّفَّاثَاتِ فِي الْعُقَدِ ﴿٤ وَمِن شَرِّ حَاسِدٍ إِذَا حَسَدَ ﴿٥

    Slide 11&12:

    In this surah, God has shown us that in some situations we should seek His protection, so He can protect us from the evils of it.

    For example, to protect us from harmful animals, from people who harm others, as well as those who are envious and with their envy they wish the blessings of others to be taken way from them. My dears we can recite this surah whenever we feel scared of something and by doing so we are asking dear God to protect us.

    Slide 13:

    My dears, do you all think that jealousy is a good characteristic or no, it is a bad one to have? Tell me your reasons so I can understand if I should have this characteristic or not? Yes, you are all right.

    Jealousy has bad effects, both on ourselves and on the people around us. A person who is envious and jealous, is not happy of the blessings given by God to them. They are always looking to have what everyone else has.

    They are always worried about what everyone else might have, that might not have. They are never looking to make themselves better, but are rather looking for others to not have good things and good things to be taken away from them and only, and only be given to themselves.

    So, as we can see, jealousy not only doesn’t allow one to succeed but doesn’t allow others to succeed as well. Let us all learn from these Quranic stories to not be jealous, and train our hearts to be able to be filled with happiness when we see the success of others and try our best to be like them and make progress and improve.

    Slide 14:

    To reach such a state, there are two solutions. One way, is that when we see that others have the things we do not; immediately think of all the blessings God has given us. And for sure among these blessings, there are some that others don’t have. And thank, God for the blessings He has given us. But also ask God to increase His blessings upon us and others.

    Slide 15:

    The second way is that we should always try to seek God’s protection from the temptations of devil. We can talk daily to the Imam of Our Time and ask him to please pray for us to not be easily tricked by the devil, and even pray so the devil comes to us less often, and just pray for us to become good kids, and be able to please God. God accepts the prayers of our beloved Imam and this is a big help for us. So, do not forgot to talk and ask for the help of the Imam of Our Time!!!!

  • Objective(s):

    1.Group activities are essential in making kids happier and make these sorts of programs more appealing.

    2.Explaining the effects of doing bad deeds such as breaking someone’s heart, oppressing, bullying…. which is done through devil’s temptations.

    3.Utilizing the term “Competition” is only for creating a sense of excitement in the kids and does not involve any prize.

    Procedures-Supplies Needed:

    1.Peas and beans as needed.

    2.Have a bit of grain and rice handy so those who may not know what you are talking about can understand.

    Duration:

    10-20 Minutes

    Group Activity: A Good and Bad Deed

    Mentor: We Muslim children, must learn to work in groups well. That is why; right now, we will do a group activity. All the group members must partake, and I will be paying attention to you all.

    Divide kids into groups, and ask them to sit down. Give all the groups a bit of peas and two different kinds of beans. Ask them to mix the peas and the beans. Then allow them to work as a team to separate the beans and the peas. Whichever group is able to separate first, with the participation of all the group members wins, and is applauded.

    At the end, ask them if it was easier to separate or mix the beans? Likely, the kids will say that separating was the hardest. Then explain to them: That some of the things we do in life is like this. Sometimes, we might say something to our friend but it might make him sad but doing something in return to make him happy might not be that easy.

    Then ask the kids: would this task become harder if we also had rice, and grain? Or if we mixed water with syrup would it be easy to separate these two? This goes the same with our actions. Sometimes it’s hard to go back and fix the mistakes we made and some of our bad actions that Insha’Allah none of us will do, are often irreversible. Unfortunately, the people of the Kufa at that time were tricked by the temptations of the devil, which resulted in the martyrdom of the best people on this earth. Those people, had done so many bad things, they distanced themselves away from God, and they easily listened to whatever the devil would tell them. So, they were tricked by the devil, and forgot about our dear Imam Hussain for the fear of losing their lives and money. Later they regretted, but it was too late, and they couldn’t do anything about it. So, let’s all be careful, and not easily surrender to the devil, and try to learn from the prophets sent by God.

  • Objective(s):

    1.Introducing the kids with the bad features of jealousy.

    Procedures-Supplies Needed:

    1.Projector, Laptop, and a projector screen.

    Animation : Jealousy

    https://youtube/hQGYqZUJNJI (1 :44)

    or

    https://youtube/N9geR1ZpLEM (1:46)

  • Objective(s):

    1.Accustom the kids with the culture of poetry and reciting religious poems.

    2.Becoming familiar with Imam Hussain (PBUH) and mourning for his eminence in form of poetry.

    3. Accustom the kids with the ritual of chest beating (Ask kids to slowly beat upon their chests while the poems are being recited.)

    Procedures-Supplies Needed:

    1.The mentor should practice beforehand in reciting the poem eloquently. If possible, try to memorize the poem.

    2.Ask the kids to recite along with you the parts of the poem that seems easier.

    Duration:

    5 Minutes

    Hussein’s a candle of light

    Hussein, Hussein O Hussein
    Hussein, Hussein O Hussein

    ***

    Hussein’s a candle of light,
    Who glows both in day and night,
    Guiding us all to the right,
    To Karbala we want to fly.

    ***

    Hussein is the savior,
    He is sinless he’s the pure,
    He will guide me he’s the cure,
    I’ll knock always at your door.

    ***

    You are the ark of salvation,
    You are the beacon of Guidance,
    You are so close to my heart,
    From it you will never depart.

    ***

    I will hold onto your rope,
    For you are my only hope,
    Without you I’ll never cope,
    Guide me to the narrow road.

    ***

    Let us board Hussein’s ship,
    Let us head for the best trip,
    Guaranteed, you’ll never slip,
    Those left behind, will never win.

    Beating upon our chest, how beautiful it is

    Last night my father,

    Put upon my forehead, a green band

    Which was written on it

    My master is O’Hussain

    My father took me with him

    To a majlis for Imam al-Hussain

    When he was given a date

    He eat it while saying O’hussain

    At the majlis I saw

    Everyone was crying

    They were all saying O’Hussain, O Hussain

    With a sound of murmur

    We did all stood up

    To beat upon our chests

    After the mourning was ended

    They gave us all food for the remembrance of Hussain

    From then till now

    I keep reciting to myself

    O my Master Hussain, O my Master Hussain

    My master O my Imam!

  • Objective(s):

    1.Maximizing kids’ ability in learning and memorization by doing related work at home.

    Procedures-Supplies Needed:

    1.Print the script of the story given at the end of this document per number of participants.

    Take-Home Activity: A Story about Jealousy

    Please print off the script of the story given at the end of this file per number of participants and give it to their parents otherwise to the kids. Ask them to read the story for their kids and talk about the story. Then the parents should ask their kids to talk about the things they have learned during this program.

    Dear Parents,

    Salaam-Aleikum

    The content that was taught to the kids in today’s program is as follows: a historical debate about the journey of Imam Hussain (PBUH) from the city of Medina to the Holy city of Karbala upon the invitation of the people of Kufa, how to resist the temptations of Satan and the bad features of jealousy. To maximize the kid’s ability in learning you may ask them to explain to you the content that was taught to them during this program. In addition, we have provided you with a script, which discusses the bad features of jealousy. Upon reading the script, you may talk about the content of the story as well as mentioning your points.

    The Story of a Jealous Balloon:

    Kids bought two balloons. One was white, and the other was pink. They blew the balloons and by the help of their father; hung them to the ceiling. But, the white balloon was bigger and chubbier. That is why the pink balloon became angry.

    The pink balloon started nagging and said: The kids made me smaller on purpose and made you bigger. The kids treat us differently. I am way bigger than you, if I was blown a bit more I would have been two times the size of you.

    The white balloon said: Oh no, they blew into us as much as they could. They like us both the same way. Didn’t you see how happy they were to see us? The pink balloon frowned and said: Don’t you talk to me anymore; I will find a way to make myself bigger and show everyone that I am bigger than you are.

    It was nighttime, and the kids went to asleep. As the pink balloon was looking around, he saw the balloon pump on the dresser. The balloon asked the pump to inflate him a bit more. The pump happily accepted the balloon’s request. However, when he saw the balloon up closer he said: If I inflate you more, you might burst.

    The pink balloon became very angry when he heard this and said: You are as selfish as the white balloon! The pump became upset of what the pink balloon said to him. The balloon stopped talking to all of them and frowned. When he frowned, he noticed that he became bigger and bigger. The pink balloon became happy of this. He kept frowning, and frowning and continued doing so, and he became bigger and bigger. He became so big that all the sudden …. poppppppp……..he bursted and its pieces were all over the room. Poor guy, he was no longer alive to see that everyone must know their limit. I wish that he would have not became angry and would have still been hanging on the ceiling, moving and making the kids happy.

  • Objective(s):

    1.Concluding and reiterating the overall concepts mentioned in this file.

    2.Creating a heartfelt bond with Imam of Our Age and Time and praying for his reappearance.

    3.Reminding of the Holy presence of the Imam of our Time (May God hasten his return) as our teacher and as the Imam of our age.

    Procedures-Supplies Needed:

    1.It is important for this segment of the program to be done in a quiet and calm environment while paying utmost attention the prayers.

    2.Starting the dua, after reminding the kids about the importance of praying for the Imam of Our Time (PBUH).

    3.It is suggested that that while the dua is being recited, the Arabic version of the dua along with the translation in the local language to be projected simultaneously.

    Duration:

    5 Minutes

    End/Concluding and Reciting Dua al-Faraj

    My dears, I hope you all enjoyed today’s program, and at the same time have learned many new things!

    Today we talked about the oppressions of Imam Hussain Peace be upon him, and about bad people who were evil and did not like to see the light of guidance. They had done so many bad things that they could easily be tricked by the devil. We also learned that we should be careful to not be tricked easily by the devil and should never listen to him. We taught you all a few ways that can protect us from the temptations of the devil. Well yes, now we want to teach you another way.

    My dears, God has sent prophets for guiding and leading people to the right path. The last of these prophets was Hazrat Muhammad al-Mustafa (PBUH & HP). But after he passed away, we people needed someone to guide us to the right path and could distinguish the right path from the path of the devil, and not follow the wrong doings of the devil. Once again, God did not leave us alone, and chose for us great people to be our Imam. So, we can ask for their help, and be under their protection from doing any wrong doings.

    Right now, we are living during the time of our last Imam. Meaning, the last Imam who is the descendant of the Prophet. This Imam is alive, can see us and hear us. The devil fears the power that this Imam has. Whoever gets closer to this Imam, the devil is even scared to get any close to them. Yes, this kind Imam is none other than Imam Mahdi. Now, since today we all have participated in a program for Imam Hussain, have become pure, and the devil has become very angry with us, let us all pray for the return and reappearance of our dear Imam. So, we all can live long under the protection of the strong castle of the Imam of Our Time. And remember to follow all the things we learned today and try to fulfill the promises we made, and never forget them.

    Now, to end our program lets all stand up, by facing the Qibla and recite together Dua al-Faraj.

     Reciting Dua al-Faraj while standing up and facing the Qibla, out of love and respect for his Eminence

    or

    Translation of Dua’ al-Faraj

    {In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful

    O’ God, send your blessing upon Muhammad and the Household

    of Muhammad

    O’ God, at this moment and every moment

    Be a guardian, a protector, a leader, a helper

    a proof, and an eye for Your representative &; proof, Mahdi son of Al-

    Hassan,

    Your blessings be upon him and his ancestors

    guard him as long as he lives on this earth as a ruler

    benefit him and bless him with everything You and this earth has to offer}