1 2 Introduction Level : 3 (Average Knowledge) Age Group : 11 – 12 years Prerequisite : Successful completion of Level 2 (Medium Knowledge) or demonstration of medium level of religious knowledge as per curriculum of level 2. Course Objectives: This syllabus is designed for two years of Level-3, and is based on the Ahmadiyya Children Sunday School ‘Curriculum’ Document. Therefore please be advised to always refer to the ‘Curriculum’ document provided, while implementing this package. The Level 3 class will build on concepts learned in the previous levels. This course will provide a good understanding of Islamic principles that will enable students to understand in depth and truly appreciate this wonderful religion. This course continues to deal with Holy Qur’an, General Religious Knowledge, Salat, Prayers and Ahadith. After successful completion of this level, the student will have medium level of religious knowledge and will be able to: correctly and fluently recite Holy Qur’an. memorize last fifteen chapter of Holy Qur’an with translation. comfortably translate Surah Fatiha and a number of short chapters of Holy Qur’an as well as understand their commentary. demonstrate a solid understanding of Salat including its full translation and related matters such as congregational prayers, importance of Mosque, factors that void whudu and Salat. demonstrate above average level of knowledge of basic principles of Islam-Ahmadiyyat including in depth knowledge of pillars of Islam, Articles of Faith, social and moral codes of conduct and family values. relate the life of Holy Prophet Muhammadsa from his birth to migration to Madinah. relate the life of Promised Messiahas, his prophecies and books. memorize additional prayers from the Holy Qur’an & prayers of the Holy Prophetsa along with more memorization of number of Ahadith. 3 All the exercises and assignments attached at the end of different topics are created for students to grasp the concept taught and practice them comprehensively while working on them. These exercises also allow the teachers to evaluate the students’ understanding in those areas. For some assignments parental assistance may require. For any questions and concerns, please contact: Email: [email protected] 4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS All praise belongs to Allah the Almighty who has enabled us to compile and publish this syllabus for Ahmadiyya Children Sunday School Canada. It is only through the sheer grace and blessings of Almighty Allah that the School system has reached the maturity level and has a comprehensive syllabus and teaching method. After a year of research and hard work, Sunday School has successfully published the syllabus in the form of four books - one for each Level, to better educate and train our children for tomorrow with religious and moral education of Islam-Ahmadiyyat. These books have been created by the Curriculum Team of the school’s central branch, and are basically the extended and detailed version of the Curriculum Outline provided by the National T`alim Department of Canada Jama`at for children of age group 7 to 15 years. This syllabus provides a detailed, cohesive, child friendly and consolidated resource for our children to learn and understand the Islamic education in an effective and well structured manner. Interactive worksheets, research projects and creative activities related to different religious topics for a child’s better understanding are some of the features of this resource material. The syllabus and course material have been designed by professionals in the field of education who gave due consideration to ensure age appropriateness and use of easy language for better comprehension. Ahmadiyya Children Sunday School would like to express its sincere gratitude to all those who have worked very hard and gave stimulating suggestions and contributed in various ways. The selfless effort and teamwork along with the determined dedication of the team leaders and volunteers made the publication of a very high quality material, a reality for the spiritual training of our younger generation. It should be noted that this syllabus is a working document which will be revised every year, insha’Allah! It would be a miss, if I do not mention the names of Naumana Khan and Durri Sameen Ahmed for an excellent leadership and team work and specially bearing with me and taking all the pressure and meeting my ever challenging demands without any complaints. With the request for prayers, I would also like to thank and appreciate the following persons who have put countless hours, days and nights and have sacrificed their comfort and personal commitments only for the sake of pleasure of Allah. Jazakum Allah Ahsanal Jaza! 5 Curriculum Team: Naumana Khan, Durri Sameen Ahmed Writing and Research: Naumana Khan, Hina Kausar, Qudsia Lone (Detroit), Ansa Talat, Misbah Baig, Azhar Rehan Khan(Australia), Maryam Tariq, Naima Khalil and Salim Iftikhar Baig Proof Reading: Sadaf Khursheed, Annie Siddiqi, Sheila Malik, Durri Sameen Ahmed, Naumana Khan Compilation, Design Formatting and Editing: Naumana Khan, Hina Kausar, Misbah Baig Title Pages: Naumana Khan, Shagufta Faraz, Muzaffar Ahtesham, Hammad Rana May Allah accept their humble efforts and enable our children to take the most benefit from this service and become the true custodians of our future. Ameen. Dr. Syed Muhammd Aslam Daud Ahmadiyya Children’s Sunday School April 2, 2008 References used: Basics of Religious Education by Respected Sheikh Abdul Hadi Religious Knowledge Workbook, compiled by Lajna Ima’illah USA Website: www.alislam.org 6 Table of Content Holy Qur’an 9 Introduction of Holy Qur’an 11 Surah Al-Fatiha with commentary 15 Surah Al-Baqarah (First Ten Verses) 18 Surah Al-`Adiyat 20 Surah Al-Qaari`ah 21 Surah Al-Takathur 22 Surah Al-`Asr 23 Surah Al-Humazah 24 Surah Al-Feel with commentary 25 Surah Al-Quraish with commentary 27 Surah Al-Ma`un with commentary 29 Surah Al-Kauthur with commentary 31 Surah Al-Kafiroon with commentary 33 Surah Al-Nasr with commentary 35 Surah Al-Lahab with commentary 37 Surah Al-Ikhlaas with commentary 39 Surah Al-Falaq with commentary 41 Surah Al-Naas with commentary 43 Religious Knowledge 45 Islam 47 Six Articles of Faith 48 Five Pillars of Islam 55 Prophets of Allah 63 Ismaelites and Israelites 80 Early Islamic History 84 Life of the Holy Prophet Mohammadsa 88 Life of the Promised Messiahas 109 Lunar and Solar Eclipse 129 Basic Values and Code of Conduct 134 Prayers and Ahadith 137 Salat and Related Matters 171 7 8 ` 9 10 Introduction of The Holy Qur’an The word Qur’an means that which is often read or recited. It is the collection of verbal revelations from Allah the Al- Mighty to the Holy Prophet Muhammadsa, through the angel Jibra’eel. It took 22 years and 5 months to be revealed completely (13 years in Makkah and almost 10 years in Madinah). Compilation of the Holy Qur’an The Holy Prophetsa used to memorize the revealed verses and many of his companions committed them to memory. They also used to write them down on leather, bark of trees, or stone. The Holy Prophetsa indicated the arrangement of verses and chapters according to the divine guidance. The Qur’an was compiled in one volume in the time of Hadhrat Abu Bakrra, the first Khalifa of the Holy Prophet Muhammadsa. It was during the time of the third Khalifa Hadhrat Uthmanra that the first official version (standard text) of the Holy Qur’an was issued and copies were sent to different parts of the Muslim world. The language of the Holy Qur’an is Arabic; translations have been done in almost every language now. The Qur’an consists of 30 Siparahs or parts and has 114 Surahs or chapters. The Surahs are further divided into 540 ‘Ruku’ or sections. The Surahs that were revealed in Makkah are called ‘Makki Surahs’ and the ones revealed in Madinah are called ‘Madni Surahs’. Divine Promise to Preserve the Holy Qur’an The Holy Qur’an is the only book in the world to claim that its every word is the actual word of God. It also claims that Allah Himself will protect and preserve the Qur’an where as none of the previous scriptures of other religions have their original texts preserved. [15:10] Verily, it is We Who have sent down this Exhortation/Guidance, and most surely We are its Guardians. In view of this divine promise, the text of the Qur’an has not suffered even the slightest change, whereas the other books have been altered greatly. This fact has also been confirmed by a large number of non-Muslim scholars. 11 The Holy Qur’an is the book most often recited and quoted throughout the world. Muslims should recite the Holy Qur’an daily, in addition to reciting a portion in Salat. Etiquettes of Reciting the Holy Qur’an Before reciting the Holy Qur’an, T`auz, “I seek refuge with Allah from Satan the rejected,” should be recited. The first verse of every Surah, except in Surah Al-Taubah, is Tasmi`a, “In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful.” When we recite from the middle of a chapter, we should recite only T`auz in the beginning, as Tasmi`a has already been said in the beginning of the each Surah. The Holy Qur’an should be recited with full concentration and by trying to undertand its meaning. This purifies the heart and helps in getting rid of the moral evils. The Qur’an can be recited at any convenient time, but the best time is after Fajr prayer. Allah says in the Holy Qur’an: “Verily the recitation of the Qur’an at dawn is especially acceptable to God”. (17:79) There are thousands of people all over the world who have memorized the whole Qur’an and there is a great reward for them.