[11] اَلْمُتَكَبِّرُ (Al-Mutakabbir): The Proud
Sing 99 Names (5min)
Play PowerPoint of the first 33 names, 2-3 times. Sing together and do the actions so far plus:
Action for Al-Mutakabbir: With two thumbs up, alternate lifting one hand higher than the other while pointing at your own chest with your thumbs.
Today’s focus is on the name Al-Mutakabbir which means The Proud / The Supremely Great
Story relating to today's name (7min)
Read a short story to the children which features a proud main character, e.g. The Emperor's New Clothes or The Gingerbread Man, where being proud is not a good quality to have.
Discuss meaning, apply to children's lives (15min)
Al-Mutakabbir means The Proud / The Supremely Great.
Why do people feel proud of themselves? When they've done something well? Think of examples... E.g. Winning a race, solving a maths problem, writing an interesting story, doing something new/you weren't able to do before... Is it a nice feeling? Is it a good feeling? When you're comparing yourself to yourself then yes, it's nice to feel accomplished and proud of ourselves!
But is being proud a good thing? If I described someone as being proud, would you think they're a nice person or not? In the story, the Emperor was proud so he ended up looking foolish and embarrassed; the Gingerbread Man was proud and ended up being eaten by the fox. Was that a good thing? What made being proud a bad thing? We just said that feeling proud of yourself is OK, so what makes it become not OK anymore? When you compare yourself to other people - when you think that because you did something, that makes you better than other people. Another word for this is arrogant. Arrogant people think they're better than others either because they're good at something or sometimes just because they've been blessed with something (money or talent) - they don't give thanks to Allah for it, but instead they're proud and arrogant and look down on other people for not having money or not being able to think quickly or run quickly or whatever it is...
So why does Allah's name mean proud? Because in the examples of the arrogant people, why were they arrogant? Because of something which wasn't in their power anyway. They didn't really have a right to be proud. Allah is the one who gave them their money (like the Emperor) or their talent (like the Gingerbread Man running fast). But what about Allah? He's the one who made everything and can do anything - does He have the right to be proud? Yes! Only Allah is able to be truly proud because He's so perfectly great. Anything He is proud about is definitely from His own doing, nobody else's. Al-Mutakabbir also means "The Supremely Great".
Everything we do is because of Allah. If we're good at something or manage to overcome a challenge it's ok to feel proud of ourselves - but not compare ourselves to other people - and we should always thank Allah for allowing us to do whatever it is we did, or for blessing us with whatever He wanted us to have.
But is being proud a good thing? If I described someone as being proud, would you think they're a nice person or not? In the story, the Emperor was proud so he ended up looking foolish and embarrassed; the Gingerbread Man was proud and ended up being eaten by the fox. Was that a good thing? What made being proud a bad thing? We just said that feeling proud of yourself is OK, so what makes it become not OK anymore? When you compare yourself to other people - when you think that because you did something, that makes you better than other people. Another word for this is arrogant. Arrogant people think they're better than others either because they're good at something or sometimes just because they've been blessed with something (money or talent) - they don't give thanks to Allah for it, but instead they're proud and arrogant and look down on other people for not having money or not being able to think quickly or run quickly or whatever it is...
So why does Allah's name mean proud? Because in the examples of the arrogant people, why were they arrogant? Because of something which wasn't in their power anyway. They didn't really have a right to be proud. Allah is the one who gave them their money (like the Emperor) or their talent (like the Gingerbread Man running fast). But what about Allah? He's the one who made everything and can do anything - does He have the right to be proud? Yes! Only Allah is able to be truly proud because He's so perfectly great. Anything He is proud about is definitely from His own doing, nobody else's. Al-Mutakabbir also means "The Supremely Great".
Everything we do is because of Allah. If we're good at something or manage to overcome a challenge it's ok to feel proud of ourselves - but not compare ourselves to other people - and we should always thank Allah for allowing us to do whatever it is we did, or for blessing us with whatever He wanted us to have.
Craft activity (20min)
Complete the page for the book.
Colour in the trophy e.g. as a collage using shiny materials or glitter glue etc.
When to use this name (8min)
When you're feeling proud of yourself remember to thank Allah for helping you achieve what you did. Use the name Al-Mutakabbir to remind yourself that He is the only truly proud one because He is the one in charge of everything that happens. Remind yourself not to be arrogant and not to compare yourself with other people - Allah has blessed us all differently.
On the back of their page, help the children write a few thoughts about the name Al-Mutakabbir and their feelings.
Sticker chart (5min)
Ask individually: Which of Allah’s names did we learn today? What does it mean? Give children a sticker each for their chart.
----------
Other activities:
- Write a fable with the moral not to be arrogant.
Please leave a comment if you know of any related activities we could do for this name!
No comments:
Post a Comment