Prayer Lesson 4

Prayer Lesson 4: The Qiblah: Facing the Kaaba

This is a simple lesson about Prayer but it is very important because many kids don’t realize that their position in prayer is towards a certain direction. My daughter would start the prayer facing the qiblah and by the time we’re finished her head would be facing a completely different way.

One way to ensure that kids continue to face the Qiblah throughout prayer is using a small prayer mat. You can tell the child that this is the boundary and he or she should try and stay within that boundary throuout the prayer.

We did this lesson using TJ’s Prophet’s prayer described, lesson 1: Facing the Kaaba.

http://tjislamicstudies.blogspot.com/2010/10/salaah-lessons.html

When the Messenger of Allaah (sal-Allaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) stood for prayer, he would face the Ka'bah in both obligatory and voluntary prayers. (Prophet’s Prayer Described)

It was fun to draw the plan of the room and to draw arrows pointing to the direction of the Kaba. We also talked about compasses and how they help us know directions.

Prayer Lesson 3

Lesson 3: The Story of the Israa and Miraj

Having talked about the importance of prayer and why we pray in our last lesson, I felt it was important for the kids to understand how we were ordered to pray through a simple retelling of the story of the Israa and Miraj.

You can watch an excellent video about the story of the Israa and Miraj (and all the steps of the prayer!) from the Pray As You Have Seen Me Pray DVD film

by Islam Productions

http://www.islamicbulletin.com/services/all_ebooks_p3.aspx#link10 

I put together this simple story of the Israa and Miraj, and we began by reading through the booklet. You can download it here:

https://www.box.com/s/eb61f1420f4184dcc624

Knowing that the prayers were ordained from above the seven heavens helped stress its importance. The kids enjoyed learning about the Buraq and its also a good time to talk about the Masjid Al Aqsa and Palestine.

We decided to put together a story map of the Prophet’s journey. It helped us visualize the steps that the Prophet took and we finally completed a worksheet about the Israa and Miraj that you can find here.

https://www.box.com/s/b8c44a54425e8ab5de8c

We also found a great laptop on the Israa and Miraj if you are looking for extra and more advanced resources J

http://muslimlearninggarden.wordpress.com/2011/06/22/isra-miraj-lapbook/

Lesson 2: Why do we Pray?

Lesson 2: Why do we Pray?



I wanted to begin with this topic because it helps children visualize and understand the reasons behind why they are praying rather than just explaining to them how they do it. Elhamdulilah, I came across a great book in Arabic called 'limatha nusali' (why do we pray) and it had so many reasons all supported by the Quran and Sunnah showing the benefits as well as duties of prayer.

The hadith used in this picture is a very visual and nice one to do with your kids. Shake a branch and show the children the falling leaves. Explain to them that when they pray the five prayers their sins fall off just like those leaves. (see resource book link below)



I have chosen several of these that are the most important and easiest to communicate to kids. You can use as many as little or as many as you need but try to support them with some practical activities so that they stick in their minds :)


You can download the resource book here:

http://www.box.com/s/cd0eacc93eef9a33b393

Lesson 1: What is Prayer?

Lesson 1: What is Prayer?



Assalamo Alaikum,


This will be the first of a series of posts inshAllah that will go through all the steps of how to teach children to pray. I found that by focusing on one aspect of prayer a week, it becomes much more focused and manageable inshAllah.

The first topic is ‘What is Prayer?’


I found that a very simple manner of presenting the concept of prayer was done by
http://islaam4kids.wordpress.com/2012/02/20/the-prayer-part-1/ and we started by going through their first booklet, The Prayer part 1.

We talked about how we love Allah and that we talk to Him through prayer and duaa. We also talked about the importance of praying in the correct manner as taught to us by Prophet Mohammad SAWS. We discussed briefly that there are five prayers that must be performed at fixed times.

Teaching Children to Pray

We’ve been working on integrating Salah gradually in our daily routine. As A is almost 6, it is very important for me to ensure that she is not only familiar with the athkar and actions of the prayers but also that she is trained to consistently do her prayers.

I found this method for training her to become regular in her prayers from the book The Child in Islam by Norma Tarazi, to be extremely useful. I have quoted the passage here:

 A simple workable method for initiating salat with a young child is the following. On his fifth birthday, ask him to begin regular prayer with the family once a day. This should be treated as a special event, a significant landmark on his road to growing up. The most suitable prayer to begin with is generally maghrib, when the whole family is at home and can pray together. Then, when the child reaches five and a half, initiate the second salah, any one out of the five you choose. On the sixth birthday, the third salah is added; at six and a half, the fourth; and by the seventh birthday, he has all five prayers regularized.

 As suggested, we have started doing Maghrib prayer together. However, please note that with any child who has not reached the age of seven, it must be entirely the child's choice. Some sheikhs have even suggested that if the child is ordered to pray before seven the may be entirely put off. Therefore if the child is eager and willing and wants to pray, encourage them, otherwise its best to leave it till they are seven.

I have started our formal prayer studies. Here is the list of the resources that I will be using InshAllah.

 Resources:

1.       Talibdeen Jr, step by stepSalah instruction
http://tjislamicstudies.blogspot.com/2010/10/step-by-step-salah-instruction.html

2.       Islaam for kids, Prayer
http://islaam4kids.wordpress.com/category/very-small-kids/

3.       Resource book, Why do we Pray
http://www.box.com/s/cd0eacc93eef9a33b393

Here are the prayer topics that I want to focus on initially:

What is prayer?

Why do we Pray

The Story of the Israa and Miraj

The Qiblah: Facing the Kaaba

Wudoo

Knows that wudhu is necessary before one can pray

Knows the steps of wudhu and can perform them

Knows what breaks ones wudhu

Knows that excessive water should not be used to make wudhu

Knows the duaa to say after wudhu is made

The Sutrah

Things that Break the Prayer

Takbeer

Opening Duaa

Rukoo

Sujood

Between the Sajdahs

Straightening from Rukoo

The Tashahhud

Salaat Upon the Prophet(salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam

Seeking Refuge from 4 Things

Supplication before Tasleem

Tasleem

After Prayer Thikr

What is a Rakaah?

Positions of the Salaat

The Five Prayers

Salatul Fajr

Salatul Dhuhr

Salatul Asr

Salatul Maghrib

Salatul Ishaa