Story Time –
With Lessons from Qur’an and Sunnah
Dr. Seuss Books
INTRODUCTION
(General reminder of the importance of having good morals)
The Prophet was asked: Which Muslim has the perfect faith ?” He answered: “He who has the best moral character.” (Tibrani)
Abdullah bin' Amar has reported: “I have heard the Prophet as saying: 'Should I not tell you who amongst you is the most likeable person to me, and who will be the nearest to me on the Day of the Judgment?' He repeated this question twice or thrice. The people requested him to tell them about such a person. He said 'He who amongst you has the best moral character.' “
Allah says: “By the soul, and the proportion and the order given to it; and its enlightenment as to its wrong and its right; truly he succeeds who purifies it, and he fails who corrupts it.”
-(Shams: 7-10)
Yertle the Turtle
Value address: Greed and Oppression
Relevant verses:
Allah Almighty says, "But as for him who is stingy and self-satisfied, and denies the Good, We will pave his way to Difficulty." (92:8-11)
“Truly man was created very impatient; fretful when evil touches him; and niggardly when good reaches him ; not so those devoted to prayer, those who remain steadfast to their prayer; and those in whose wealth is recognised right for ( the needy) who asks and him who is prevented ( for some reason from asking) ; and those who hold to the Truth of the Day of Judgment; and those who fear the displeasure of their Lord ,for the Lord's displeasure is the opposite of peace and tranquillity; and those who guard their chastity.”-( .41-Ma'arij.. 19-29)
Relevant ahadith:
Jabir reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Beware of injustice. Injustice will be darkness on the Day of Rising. Beware of avarice. Avarice destroyed those before you and prompted them to shed each other's blood and to make lawful what Allah had made unlawful for them."
“If the son of Adam is given a valley of gold, he will desire to have another one. And if the other is also given, he will be greedy to have the third one. The hunger of Adam's son will not be satisfied except when his remains are mixed with the dust. And the one who turns to Allah, Allah accepts his repentance.”( Bukhari )
Ka’ab ibn Maalik (Radhiallaahu Anhu) narrates from his father that Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) said, “Two hungry wolves sent to a flock of sheep is not more harmful (to the flock) than (a religious harm) to a person greedy for wealth and position.” (Mishkaat pg.441; Qadeemi)
The Big Brag
Value addressed: BOASTING, SHOWING OFF, ARROGANCE
Relevant verses:
Allah (S.W.T.) told us the story of Iblees so that we may learn lessons from it, when he ordered him to prostrate to Adam and he rejected because of his Arrogance and Envy towards Adam, claiming that he is better than him. Allah said in surat Al-A’raaf, Verse (12), what can be translated as, "…I am better than him (Adam), you created me from fire, and you created him from clay."
Allah (S.W.T.) says in surat Luqman, (Verse 18), what can be translated as, "And do not turn your face away from men with arrogance, nor walk in insolence through the earth. Verily, Allah does not like each arrogant boaster."
the Almighty says, "Do not strut arrogantly about the earth." (17:37)
The Almighty says, "O mankind! We created you from a male and female, and made you into peoples and tribes so that you might come to know each other. The noblest among you in Allah's sight is the most godfearing." (49:13)
Relevant ahadith:
'Iyad ibn Himar reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Allah Almighty has revealed to me that you should be humble in such a way that no one is either overbearing or boastful towards another person." [Muslim]
what is arrogance? The prophet (S.A.W.) defined it for us in an authentic hadith reported by Imams Muslim and At-Tirmithi, "One will not enter Paradise, if one has an atom’s weight of arrogance in his/her heart." a man then asked, "One may love his clothes to look good and his shoes to look good?!" The prophet replied, "Allah is beautiful and loves beauty, arrogance is: rejecting the truth and looking down on people."
the prophet (S.A.W.) said, "....And no one has humbled himself for the sake of Allah, but Allah has elevated him."
Gertrude McFuzz
Value addressed: Jealousy
Relevant verses:
"It is not wise covet those things in which Allah has bestowed His gifts more freely on some of you than on others, to men is allotted what they earn. And to women what they earn; but ask Allah of His bounty; for Allah has full knowledge of all things." (Nissa.. 32)
Relevant ahadith:
"Every Monday and Thursday men's acts are placed before Allah. On these days Allah forgives the sins of everybody, except the polytheists. However, if there is a person who has spite and rancor against his brother, He says about them: “Leave these two alone in their condition till they come to a settlement." (Muslim)
“In the night of the 15th of Sha'ban, Allah acquaints himself of the conditions of His slaves. So He forgives those who seek His pardon, bestows mercy on those seeking mercy, and leaves the spiteful people alone." (Baihaqui)
From Muslim Character: Islam has declared jealousy as haram (forbidden). Allah has commanded his Messenger to seek shelter from the mischief of jealous people, because jealousy is a spark that burns inside the bosom and hurts the jealous person as well as others.
"in the stomach of a man, the dust flying in the path of Allah and the flames of hell cannot be together, nor can the faith and jealousy dwell together in the stomach of a man," (Baihaqui)
In another tradition it is mentioned:
"Keep away from jealousy, for jealousy eats up virtues in the same way as fire eats up wood." (Abu Daud)
Allah's Messenger has said: "Excepting two things, in no other thing jealousy is permissible: One-it is permissible to be jealous of the man who has been given wealth by Allah and who is spending it in the cause of truth unhesitatingly, and second, that man whom Allah has blessed with wisdom, in whose light he takes decisions and imparts education in it to others."
“Spite and jealousy and the diseases which were created by them have been condemned by Islam, and they have developed and progressed because man is a prisoner of the world and the desires to achieve it, and the longing to enjoy the pleasures and luxuries of life to the utmost keep him in trouble.” – Muslim Character, al-Ghazali
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Meeting Minutes: April 18, 2009
San Diego Muslim Homeschool Association
Meeting Minutes
Date: Saturday, April 18th
Time: At 10am
Sisters present: Serena, Umm Saliha, Farhat, Rebecca, Amelia
1. Introductions
We went around the circle and introduced ourselves, as well as the approach we were taking towards homeschooling our children.
In the group, there are sisters following Well-Trained Mind, Kinza, self-developed Islamic curriculum, and unstructured
2. Set goals for this group
Goals and needs that were expressed (grouped in general categories)
1. Learning and Support for Parents
a. Forum to learn about homeschooling (different approaches)
b. Share ideas for projects, books, ways to teach, etc.
c. Document activities for future use by group members and other homeschoolers
d. Organize mini-workshops to teach ourselves about different approaches and techniques for homeschooling
2. Educational and Social Opportunities for the kids
a. Use expertise within the parent group to educate children in special areas
b. Work together to plan educational play-date/sessions for children at least once a week
c. Organize educational field trips (starting monthly) for the group
d. Provide social learning opportunities for our children by planning other shared activities (such as park days, play dates, etc)
3. Outreach to local Muslim families
a. Be a resources for other Muslim families who are considering homeschooling
3. Group Accommodation.
After talking about our general needs and goals as a group, it became clear that we are all dedicated parents with very similar goals but different specific needs. For example:
-age differences in the children. It seems that most of the sisters have children in the same age range (3-6), but sister Rebecca needs to work her schedule and activities to accommodate her older son who is outside of this age group
-gender. Although the children are young, there will have to be accommodation for some minimal amount of gender separation in group activities. All moms seem to be comfortable having mixed activities, but in order to accommodate everyone, the girls and boys should be encouraged to sit groups (different sides of the table for example).
-structure. We had a great discussion about our educational goals, and how much structure should be planned for group activities and field trips. We agreed that too much structure may not fit all children in the group, and suggested that parents who want to add structure to activities can make individualized plans for their children (for example, on a zoo field trip, rather than deciding that all children would have to fill out a worksheet or focus on a certain animal group, mothers who wanted extra structure could plan accordingly for their child… that way, our activities can accommodate everyone and also work into our individual lesson plans)
4. Scheduling
A. WEEKLY EDUCATIONAL SESSIONS
We decided that we would like this group to organize bi-weekly educational sessions for the children, and monthly or bi-monthly field trips.
However, with our busy schedules, we decided to ease into things over the summer by starting with one weekly session.
The sessions will start in June and be held at Amelia’s house. They will happen every Thursday around 2pm. In the future, Rebecca’s house is available for a second session.
We discussed structuring the sessions around a monthly theme and organizing math, science and misc. activities around that theme. Of course, Islam, Qur’an and Hadith would be added in to all aspects.
We agreed that we need to have monthly meetings to plan our play dates and continue to work on scheduling and expanding to meet the above mentioned goals.
B. MEETINGS
THE NEXT MEETING IS SET FOR MAY 16th at 10am. This will be a meeting specifically for planning to activities for the month of June.
Sister Rebecca will be responsible for initiating an online discussion to start circulating ideas about the weekly session so that we will be prepared for the meeting
C. PARK PLAY DATE. In addition, we discussed the park play date.
We decided to keep the location, although to keep in mind that in the future it might be appropriate to rotate location or establish a second day and location, depending on membership.
We also decided to keep the date (Monday), but mentioned that in the future it might make more sense to do it in the middle of the week since Monday is so close to the weekend.
We also decided to expand the hours to 1pm to 4pm, and mention in the web postings that people are welcome to come any time… so that people who can’t come until after 2pm will still join in, insha’Allah.
6. Resource Loan and Exchange Program
Tabled… didn’t have time to discuss it in detail. Rebecca mentioned that she would like to invite us to her house to see the resources she has acquired.
7. San Diego Homeschool Moms Blog
Serena already set up a great blog site. We didn’t have time to discuss how we can utilize it in detail.
Serena is responsible for initiating a web discussion about how to utilize the blog insha’Allah.
NEXT MEETING SCHEDULED FOR: MAY 16th at 10:00 am - Sister Amelia's home, insha'Allah
Meeting Minutes
Date: Saturday, April 18th
Time: At 10am
Sisters present: Serena, Umm Saliha, Farhat, Rebecca, Amelia
1. Introductions
We went around the circle and introduced ourselves, as well as the approach we were taking towards homeschooling our children.
In the group, there are sisters following Well-Trained Mind, Kinza, self-developed Islamic curriculum, and unstructured
2. Set goals for this group
Goals and needs that were expressed (grouped in general categories)
1. Learning and Support for Parents
a. Forum to learn about homeschooling (different approaches)
b. Share ideas for projects, books, ways to teach, etc.
c. Document activities for future use by group members and other homeschoolers
d. Organize mini-workshops to teach ourselves about different approaches and techniques for homeschooling
2. Educational and Social Opportunities for the kids
a. Use expertise within the parent group to educate children in special areas
b. Work together to plan educational play-date/sessions for children at least once a week
c. Organize educational field trips (starting monthly) for the group
d. Provide social learning opportunities for our children by planning other shared activities (such as park days, play dates, etc)
3. Outreach to local Muslim families
a. Be a resources for other Muslim families who are considering homeschooling
3. Group Accommodation.
After talking about our general needs and goals as a group, it became clear that we are all dedicated parents with very similar goals but different specific needs. For example:
-age differences in the children. It seems that most of the sisters have children in the same age range (3-6), but sister Rebecca needs to work her schedule and activities to accommodate her older son who is outside of this age group
-gender. Although the children are young, there will have to be accommodation for some minimal amount of gender separation in group activities. All moms seem to be comfortable having mixed activities, but in order to accommodate everyone, the girls and boys should be encouraged to sit groups (different sides of the table for example).
-structure. We had a great discussion about our educational goals, and how much structure should be planned for group activities and field trips. We agreed that too much structure may not fit all children in the group, and suggested that parents who want to add structure to activities can make individualized plans for their children (for example, on a zoo field trip, rather than deciding that all children would have to fill out a worksheet or focus on a certain animal group, mothers who wanted extra structure could plan accordingly for their child… that way, our activities can accommodate everyone and also work into our individual lesson plans)
4. Scheduling
A. WEEKLY EDUCATIONAL SESSIONS
We decided that we would like this group to organize bi-weekly educational sessions for the children, and monthly or bi-monthly field trips.
However, with our busy schedules, we decided to ease into things over the summer by starting with one weekly session.
The sessions will start in June and be held at Amelia’s house. They will happen every Thursday around 2pm. In the future, Rebecca’s house is available for a second session.
We discussed structuring the sessions around a monthly theme and organizing math, science and misc. activities around that theme. Of course, Islam, Qur’an and Hadith would be added in to all aspects.
We agreed that we need to have monthly meetings to plan our play dates and continue to work on scheduling and expanding to meet the above mentioned goals.
B. MEETINGS
THE NEXT MEETING IS SET FOR MAY 16th at 10am. This will be a meeting specifically for planning to activities for the month of June.
Sister Rebecca will be responsible for initiating an online discussion to start circulating ideas about the weekly session so that we will be prepared for the meeting
C. PARK PLAY DATE. In addition, we discussed the park play date.
We decided to keep the location, although to keep in mind that in the future it might be appropriate to rotate location or establish a second day and location, depending on membership.
We also decided to keep the date (Monday), but mentioned that in the future it might make more sense to do it in the middle of the week since Monday is so close to the weekend.
We also decided to expand the hours to 1pm to 4pm, and mention in the web postings that people are welcome to come any time… so that people who can’t come until after 2pm will still join in, insha’Allah.
6. Resource Loan and Exchange Program
Tabled… didn’t have time to discuss it in detail. Rebecca mentioned that she would like to invite us to her house to see the resources she has acquired.
7. San Diego Homeschool Moms Blog
Serena already set up a great blog site. We didn’t have time to discuss how we can utilize it in detail.
Serena is responsible for initiating a web discussion about how to utilize the blog insha’Allah.
NEXT MEETING SCHEDULED FOR: MAY 16th at 10:00 am - Sister Amelia's home, insha'Allah
Saturday, April 11, 2009
San Diego Muslim Homeschool MEETING
Assalamu alaykum wa rahmatullah!
Alhamdulillah we were finally successful in confirming a date thanks to Sisters Amelia and Rebecca, Jazak'Allahu khairan!
Our meeting is scheduled for this coming Saturday:
April 17th
10:00am - 12:00pm
Sister Amelia's home in Mira Mesa
Address is only available through our Yahoo group and will not be provided here for security and privacy reasons.
Things to note:
Sisters, if you're able to have your husbands watch your children this would be best but children are welcome if not!
PLEASE BE ON TIME! This allows us all to dive right in and cover as much material as possible without having to stop/start and re-explain.
If you're unable to make it we'll post notes through our Yahoo group as well as here on the blog.
If you have suggestions for the meeting please post them!
Insha'Allah looking forward to a productive and beneficial meeting!
Alhamdulillah we were finally successful in confirming a date thanks to Sisters Amelia and Rebecca, Jazak'Allahu khairan!
Our meeting is scheduled for this coming Saturday:
April 17th
10:00am - 12:00pm
Sister Amelia's home in Mira Mesa
Address is only available through our Yahoo group and will not be provided here for security and privacy reasons.
Things to note:
Sisters, if you're able to have your husbands watch your children this would be best but children are welcome if not!
PLEASE BE ON TIME! This allows us all to dive right in and cover as much material as possible without having to stop/start and re-explain.
If you're unable to make it we'll post notes through our Yahoo group as well as here on the blog.
If you have suggestions for the meeting please post them!
Insha'Allah looking forward to a productive and beneficial meeting!
Welcome
Assalamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh!
Bismillahi arRahmani arRaheem!
This blog is a supplemental resource to our wonderful San Diego Muslim Homeschool Association Yahoo group!
We can post ideas and resources here as well in order to benefit other Muslims homeschooling moms, insha'Allah!
This blog will also facilitate easier searching for specific ideas, topics, etc... which have been discussed in our group.
Things of importance to note:
This blog is intended only for Muslim moms/women who homeschool or desire to and wish to learn more about the what/when/how and why of homeschooling
Please note, however, the blog is currently set up for everyone to view. If there is abuse I will change the settings to invite only.
You do NOT have to have a blog to follow the blog. You may follow the blog PRIVATELY if you wish to do so. However, following the blog will allow you to post comments. Otherwise you will not be able to do so. Please note: ALL comments are moderated.
You do not have to be only from San Diego nor do you have to currently be homeschooling. If you're in San Diego please consider joining our Yahoo group by clicking here!
Insha'Allah this blog will prove to be a valuable resource.
Bismillahi arRahmani arRaheem!
This blog is a supplemental resource to our wonderful San Diego Muslim Homeschool Association Yahoo group!
We can post ideas and resources here as well in order to benefit other Muslims homeschooling moms, insha'Allah!
This blog will also facilitate easier searching for specific ideas, topics, etc... which have been discussed in our group.
Things of importance to note:
This blog is intended only for Muslim moms/women who homeschool or desire to and wish to learn more about the what/when/how and why of homeschooling
Please note, however, the blog is currently set up for everyone to view. If there is abuse I will change the settings to invite only.
You do NOT have to have a blog to follow the blog. You may follow the blog PRIVATELY if you wish to do so. However, following the blog will allow you to post comments. Otherwise you will not be able to do so. Please note: ALL comments are moderated.
You do not have to be only from San Diego nor do you have to currently be homeschooling. If you're in San Diego please consider joining our Yahoo group by clicking here!
Insha'Allah this blog will prove to be a valuable resource.
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