Arabic 4 Kids

Concentrate when do do your Salat

2011-02-09T05:15:00.000-08:00

I thought I was going mad and it was just me. I felt a sigh of relief when another brother jokingly brought this to the open, so I thought I ought to share this with you.

Have you ever started thinking whether you locked the car after "Hayya Ala Assalat" or that you need to email Jo about xyz after "Bismillah". I cracked up when this brother said it and were talking about ways in which one could focus when conducting the salat.

What about this kind of distraction?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTwh6p1kyRQ

This is an interesting extract from a book by Nick Herbert
""It could be said that the working memory staging areas are where the brain makes order out of chaos. Estimates of how many bits of information our brains process each second vary. In his book Elemental Mind, Nick Herbert estimates that our brain receives 100 million bits of information per second from each eye, 10 million bits of information per second from the skin, and 30,000 bits of information per second from the ears. When all this external information is combined with the billions of bits of internal information our mind is processing, Herbert estimates that our brain is dealing with an incredible 10 trillion bits of information each second. Working memory can be looked at like the editor of a book or a movie deciding which bits of information are relevant and should be retained for later use and which are irrelevant and should be discarded."

So, now, I do not feel so bad, but still need to do something about it, as now, stop and start again 4 or 5 times before I am totally focussed on the salat.

So, here are a few tips that I would like to share, but would welcome more:

.Know the meaning of Allah Akbar. Know the value of that.

2.Know Allah is watching you. Worship as if you’re seeing him and if u don’t have that level remember that he’s watching you.

3.Fold your hands and always look down.

4.Slow the speed of your recitation. Think about how long an imam will take to pray his fajr prayer and how much you will take.

5.Du3a and adthkar before u start recitation in salah.

6.Know what the meaning of what you’re reciting. If you don’t know Arabic atleast focus on the words. Recite slowly.

7.Beautify your recitations.

8.Remember that allah divided this salah between him and you.

The Prophet (SAW) said that Allah the Exalted had said: ' I have divided the prayer into two halves between Me and My servant, and My servant will receive what he asks for. When the servant says: Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the universe, Allah the Most High says: My servant has praised Me. And when he (the servant) says: The Most Compassionate, the Merciful, Allah the Most High says: My servant has lauded Me. When he (the servant) says: Master of the Day of Judgment, He remarks: My servant has glorified Me, and sometimes He will say: My servant entrusted (his affairs) to Me. When he (the worshipper) says: Thee do we worship and of Thee do we ask help, He (Allah) says: This is between Me and My servant, and My servant will receive what he asks for. Then, when he (the worshipper) says: Guide us to the straight path, the path of those to whom Thou hast been Gracious -- not of those who have incurred Thy displeasure, nor of those who have gone astray, He (Allah) says: This is for My servant, and My servant will receive what he asks for. [Muslim 4: 395]

9.Look at one place. Focus on the spot.

10.Athkhaar al salah. In sujood or ruku’.

11.Never look up when you go back from ruk3i. Prophet forbids us from doing that.

12.Don’t get distracted by things around you.

13.Du3a (supplication) the closest servant to Allah is in his sujood so Increase your du3a.

I would love to hear about any other tips on how to better focus when doing your salat.

Insha Allah, next time I would like to share with you my discussions on making up for missed prayers v.s the non obligatory prayers

How quick can I read the Qur'an

2011-01-27T13:41:00.000-08:00

I get this asked of me by so many parents of new children with the expectations that I could actually give them a definitive answer.

In reality, it all depends on how much work you do with your child at home, and, most importantly, at what age they are starting.

There seems to be this expectation that a child of 4 or 5 years should be able to read the Qur'an independently in a year or two. In some case, I agree. I have personally come across a 6 year old who has read the entire Qur'an masha Allah. However, this is a very bright child who is home taught and reads with his parents for a couple of hours a day, without fail, even at the cost of any other school work.

The majority of kids come to a Saturday Islamic Club to memorize Sura's as well as learn how to read the Qur'an. Baring in mind that, on average, a child does an hour's homework/practicing what they were taught at school during the week gives you an average of 2 hours a week dedicated to learning how to read.

Simple mathematics tells me that, using the above benchmark, it would take a child two years to be able to read three letter words independently, with all the vowel symbols, and then at least a further three years to be able to apply the most common tajweed rules and read the calligraphy of the Qur'an (depending on the style that you chose).

So, now that I have said four years, I am certain that I will be challenged in both directions. On the one hand, I will get the "my cousin's son managed to read it in two years" and an the other, I will see parents slacking with the expectation that we do not have to do anything and just let the school teach them an hour a week and "hey presto" my son can read the Qur'an.

Now this brings on another question - how important is tajweed? Granted, your son can read Qur'an after a year, but can he read it with tajweed? Does it matter to you?

What is more important - a younger child who can read the Qur'an with wrong pronunciations or an older child who can read with tajweed AS WELL as has a key understanding of what s/he is reading?

I know where I would vote, but what do you think?

A childs funeral is the saddest of all funerals

2011-01-13T12:31:00.000-08:00

A 3 year old boy passed away in the early hours on Monday morning (Alla Yirhamo) and his funeral was yesterday. Although I have never seen the boy, it was still so heart breaking to burry such a small child, innocent of all the bad that the world has to offer.

It may be consolig to say that he is guaranteed Janna, and that he is of no sin, but it still does not make it any easier.

The image is still in my head now, more than 24 hours after the funeral and it makes me think all the time about how I would feel losing one of my two children. Perhaps this has drawn me closer to them and has made me less strick (or softer, as my wife would say), but, from now, I always want to treasure every moment I have with them as if it is the last. All this bickering must stop, especially over pathetic subjects. It is just not worth it.

Imagine you bickered with your child in the evening an you wake up in the morning to see that they are not waking up, imagine the guilt. Would s/he ever forgive you for that shouting.

I don't know. I am just sad that God has taken the life of another innocent little toddler.

Welcome to the new term

2011-01-08T16:49:00.000-08:00

A new term is upon us with new challenges ahead of us. It did feel like a very long break this time, perhaps because of the snow and that so many were down with flue towards the end of the term.

We have recruited a floating teacher. Other than slotting into a class when a teacher is off ill, his prime role is to focus on small groups in from each class and work with them on ensuring that they are on track with the rest of the class. He will also work with the more advanced children to help them progress to the next level and avoid them getting board with what seems basic to them.

Today, I had an insight as to what they teach in South Africa and was quite impressed, given that they have classes five days a week. They seem to have a similar approach to us in the Qur'an reading and recitation, but differ in Islamic Studies. They seem focus on memorising Du'as whilst we aim to give the children an all rounded knowledge about their religion and encourage them to proudly embrace it.

On a personal level, I have put on over 12 Kg since October and need to shed it quickly. Therefore, I have embarked on two challenges, through which I ought to lose these Kg's and more.

Challenge 1: - Cycle from London to Brighton with my son in June. I will be training with him every week and will update his blog on our progress and the pains we encounter.

Challenge 2: - Run the London Marathon in Spring 2012, assuming that it will still take place. Sunday is my first jog in over 12 months, so am not looking forward to stiff legs in the evening.

That's all for now. I will write a new post about our experiences cycling and running tomorrow.

Let's go for a ride

2010-10-25T00:30:00.000-07:00

Any one up for getting together towards the end of November? The last bike ride was a success, with a wonderful turnout.

All we need is a dry sunny day. We can always wrap up worm, don't you think?

Alternatively, we can just meet up and go for a stroll by the river (not sure which one yet). Perhaps Cassiobury Park again? or Richmond Park? or even in one of the parks in Harrow?

Come to thinkg of it, a park in Harrow where the kids can play in the play area where the parents chew the fat and solve he worlds problems is not a bad idea?

Oh, this is just a social - no fund raising required.

Anyway, if you are interested, just let me know at the school, leave me feedback here of email me.

I will update this blog next week when I have some feedback.

Take care and have a lovely week

Hassan

Only for a Sadka Jaria?

2010-06-10T06:06:00.000-07:00

The reward in the after life, I mean? The number of times I have heard this term on the past few weeks make me wonder whether people do good because they actually care or are they selfishly collecting "points" to give them sufficient credit in the after life?

Perhaps I am reading too much into it and human beings are naturally good caring people, and the sadka jaria is just a "bonus"?

Does it really matter what the intention is? Surely, as long as that person is doing good is all that matters?

Having said that, what if I was not capable of helping someone out? I want to do good, but my circumstances are preventing me from doing so. Will I be punished for it?

We actually did 11K last Sunday!

2010-06-04T08:47:00.000-07:00

We had a great turnout! Seven kids and two other dads cycled with us. If I could post some pictures, you would be impressed. Wait to see them on the screen in the school.

We were a bit evil by taking them up two steep hills, but it was worth it because the down hill ride was great fun. Two additional families turn up to cheer us on, so th atmosphere was electric. If only it was a bit hotter, the kids could have gone into the paddling pools - well, four did not care for the wind and just jumped in.

I am not sure about the other children, but my two, for the first time, asked to go to bet at 9:00 - so definitely worth it for me.

In terms of fund raising, we have pledges of £410, al-hamdulla. Still over £300 away from our target, but, I can't complain. Two more laptops is better than what we have now.

Take care
Hassan

Less than a week before the Junior Bikeathon

2010-05-24T04:35:00.000-07:00

We have had one practice run, and, I, the grown up, had more pain in my legs than the kids! Gosh, I am getting old!

Well, the park is beautiful. It has a great paddling pool area, fantastic climbing frames and, if you are lucky, a couple of bouncy castles, lest not forget the famous ice cream van. I am hoping that we have great weather so that we can have a relaxing picnic afer the event.

The plan is to meet up at 2:00 next Sunday, at the paddling pool area. The kids and I, and any other keen rider, will then do our treck while the other parents will huddle in either a picnic area or on the benches baking in the sun, sipping their cola/juice drinks.

I am hoping that the cycle round the park will be completed in two hours, but, who is in a rush when the weather is beaufiful? The kids are desperate to jump into the paddling pool straight afterwards, so, you may as well plan to be there for the rest of Sunday. I know I am.

Just to avoid embarrassment, I will be practcing again this week, so that I can, at least, go ahead of the kids and stop to take photos as they approach interesting spots, such as the water falls, the canal boats, and, probably a few dogs following us.

And, don't forget to either sponsor us or get a sponsorship form, as the class rooms urgently need laptops to help them with their teaching. The school currently shares two laptops between four classrooms as we are discovering that kids learn more from the interactivity that the computer can provide instead of the old fashioned black board.

Hassan

The parents were more nervous than the kids.

2010-05-12T04:21:00.000-07:00

It is good to see how many parents preparing their kids for our assesment tests. Masha Allah, you will be proud of the results that were attained.

I could not help but smile when I saw the parents asking questions and telling me about what they do and do not know, as if they were being tested themselves.

The kids, on the other hand, did not even blink. They actually enjoyed the competitive atmosphere that I created in the classroom, especially with the recitation.

Two children stood out from the crowd, one boy and one girl, who were reciting with tajweed and tarteel, which encouraged me to get a competition going.

Now, I need to honour my promise and give out two special certificates.

Well, we have one more test next Saturday, in Islamic Studies. I will then collate all the results and give the children their personal certificates to laminate and stick up on the wall.

I was told by one of the mums that, in India, weekly tests are the norm, so children grow up used to the idea, which strikes me as a better way than an end of term/end of year exam, when you cram everyting into an hour. What do you think?

For us, we tend mark the children on an on-going basis, but, still wanted to give them an overall test to assess how muc they remember.

Until next time, when Level 2 will be tested

Oh dear, poor kids have a test

2010-05-04T05:38:00.000-07:00

Well, the kids are too care free about the tests, as they just see it as a game, which is how it should be.

We tested the children in Beginners before the Easter break, with results that make us proud to teach these angels. It is so cute hearing them recite the sura's with a hint of tajweed. They are also so so eager to answer questions in Islamic Studies.

Now, it is time to do the same for Level 1. I will be listening the the children reciting all the suras that we learnt in the past two terms, to see how much they can re-call.

The only writting paper will be the Arabic subject, as they have had a lot of practice on joining the letters, so, I pray to Allah that they do well.

We are blessed with the commitment of our teachers. Eventhough one is stuck in Saudi following the volcano eruptions, we have still manged to get the rest of the teachers to fill in and continue teaching. This is the beauty of having an electronic lesson/term plan that any teacher can just pick up.

Raising funds...

2010-04-19T09:28:00.001-07:00

Well, I finally managed to find a venue and a date. I will be cycling a mini-bikeation with 4 kids round Cassiobury Park, in Watford.

The aim is to raise funds to buy the school three laptops, and, if possible, start a school library of books, CD's and DVD's that the children can borrow to use during the week.

I did the route myself yesterday and the scenary was so beautiful. You can come an watch, while enjoying a cuppa tea in the cafe.

You are even welcome to lend a hand and set up a BBQ for us, so that we can make a day out of it.