Before I had children, I don't think I really appreciated the significance and the importance of the first ten days of Dhul Hijjah (for any non-muslim readers, Dhul Hijjah is the month in the Islamic [lunar] calendar in which the sacred pilgrimage of Haj is performed).
My children have been a blessing in all sorts of ways but most of all I am grateful for the fact that they have brought me closer to my Creator. I feel that part of my responsibility as a parent towards my children is to teach them about the wonders of our Lord and our world.I find it hard to teach without first learning myself and so having children has caused me to seek more knowledge about my faith.
The first 10 days of Dhul Hijjah are the best days in the entire year and these are the best days to perform righteous deeds (for more information, see here). My children are quite young and I wanted to create an atmosphere of excitement for them and inculcate in them a love for these days. There is so much going on in our lives though and I am generally so busy that I needed to do this in a way that I could manage easily and at a level my kids can understand, so below are what we have done/are doing this year and hopefully you will be able to find some easy ideas to incorporate in your own home:
1. Dhul Hijjah countdown calendars
We are using this good deed calendar from Parenthood: Muslim Style to countdown to Eid. It is so easy because Sara has provided you with everything, all you need to do is print the calendar, cut the cards out and put up a card every day. She even has information on what hadith the good deed is taken from and ideas on what activities you can do with your child pertaining to each good deed. (Our aim is slightly lower than that; while I will attempt to actually perform the deed with my children, I figure that even if all we do is learn about what constitutes a good deed in Islam then that is good enough for us at the moment).
2. Decorations
I'm going simple on this too. We put up the good deed calendar and a little bunting with it (the bunting promptly fell down so I've given up on it). I've also told the kids we can blow up a balloon for every good deed/day, so we should have a little garland of balloons up by the time Eid comes along.
If you have time and the inclination, there are quite a few hajj bunting ideas available online that you could use as well.
3. Nasheeds
I'm still busy compiling a playlist of nasheeds related to hajj and Eid ul Adha but so far we love this kid's nasheed, Dawud Wharnsby's "Here we come" and Zain Bhika's "Labbaik". Hamza Yusuf mentions that in the early years of childhood a child's ability to rote memorise is amazing and just by playing the talbiya a few times my kids have already picked it up.
4. Stories
My kids love hearing stories of the prophets and at this time of the year we read the story of Ibrahim (Abraham) and Ismail (peace be upon them) over and over. In particular we read the Hajj book below and we've just purchased Migo & Ali: Love for the Prophets from Suhayla Kids which we're thoroughly enjoying.
5. Hajj Party
This one is an activity for those who have time and energy. We did it as a group and were hosted by Suhayla Kids which made it so easy for us (may Allah reward you Suhayla Kids!). They organised hajj themed cupcakes, popcorn sheep, zam zam, a puppet story and did a reading of their various books with the kids and a craft (check out their instagram for full details). I did a sunnat platter and a friend made some date balls. Two other friends organised a sheep craft with cut out sheep and cotton wool.
6. Hajj in the garden
We did this activity last year and we had so much fun doing it that we're looking forward to doing it again. It requires a bit of time and effort but I made it as easy as possible and included some counting skills for the kids when we picked up stones and pretended to pelt the jamaraat.
We invited some friends over for a hajj lesson and asked them to dress in ihraam or kurtas/abayas etc. We first read the story of Ibrahim (a.s.). Then, while reciting talbiya, we approached our makeshift kaba (a square table with a black tablecloth over). We made tawaaf, reciting the relevant duas and then had a break to drink some zam zam. We then moved to another corner of the garden where I had placed a pop-up tent. This was our "Mina" and we all took a break here and pretended to sleep in the tent. Then we moved off to our pretend "Arafat" where we stood and prayed. Next we went to a shady area of the garden where I had set up mats and pillows and we pretended to spend the night under the stars in "Muzdalifa". I gave each child a little ziplock bag and everyone gathered stones to throw at the jamaraat. We then moved off to pelt the jamaraat (I had used chalk to draw three "pillars" on a wall in the garden) and then back to "Mina". Then we used plastic knives to perform "qurbani" on some stuffed toy animals.
(Edit: Join me on instagram @pureblogza where I shared some pics of this year's "Garden Hajj")
Comments
Post a Comment