[12] اَلْخَالِقُ (Al-Khaaliq): The Creator
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-Khaaliq: Touch index finger to one temple then point outwards.
Today’s focus is on the name Al-Khaaliq which means The Creator.
Story relating to today's name (7min)
Play the song "Allah Made Everything" by Zain Bhikha and/or sing through the book.
Ask children what they already know about Allah creating everything. Let them lead a short discussion while trying to probe their depth of understanding (e.g. What was there before Allah made the world? How long did it take Him to make it? Was anything on the Earth before humans were? Are dinosaurs real? Who was the first man? etc.)
Read a short story to the children, e.g. Chapter 1 from My First Quran Storybook, which is about the creation of the world. Talk about how Allah made everything from nothing, none of which was by accident, and everything has a design to it.
Ask children what they already know about Allah creating everything. Let them lead a short discussion while trying to probe their depth of understanding (e.g. What was there before Allah made the world? How long did it take Him to make it? Was anything on the Earth before humans were? Are dinosaurs real? Who was the first man? etc.)
Read a short story to the children, e.g. Chapter 1 from My First Quran Storybook, which is about the creation of the world. Talk about how Allah made everything from nothing, none of which was by accident, and everything has a design to it.
Discuss meaning, apply to children's lives (15min)
Al-Khaaliq means The Creator.
What does create mean? To make something new, to make something from nothing. The action we did during the PowerPoint is British Sign Language for "invent".
Give children e.g. Lego or wooden blocks and ask them to create a building. Limit them to 5 minutes then talk about what they've created - why did they put this here and why not make it taller here, etc. Ask, "Who created this building?" which hopefully they should answer with their names!
People can create things: art or objects, etc. But we can never make something out of nothing - we can only change something into something else: change paint into a picture, or bricks into a house, etc... Can the children think of any other examples? Did they really "create" the Lego buildings just now?
When we draw a picture we say we created the picture, but did we really? Even when we have an idea, for example create a story or invent a new game... Who gave us the ability to think? Allah did! So even the stories we create and the ideas we have are only by Allah's permission.
But the things Allah creates are from nothing but Him. He just needs to say "Be" and they become real. Allah is Al-Khaaliq, the one true creator.
Give children e.g. Lego or wooden blocks and ask them to create a building. Limit them to 5 minutes then talk about what they've created - why did they put this here and why not make it taller here, etc. Ask, "Who created this building?" which hopefully they should answer with their names!
People can create things: art or objects, etc. But we can never make something out of nothing - we can only change something into something else: change paint into a picture, or bricks into a house, etc... Can the children think of any other examples? Did they really "create" the Lego buildings just now?
When we draw a picture we say we created the picture, but did we really? Even when we have an idea, for example create a story or invent a new game... Who gave us the ability to think? Allah did! So even the stories we create and the ideas we have are only by Allah's permission.
But the things Allah creates are from nothing but Him. He just needs to say "Be" and they become real. Allah is Al-Khaaliq, the one true creator.
Craft activity (20min)
Complete the page for the book.
Colour the picture of the world and stick in the centre of the page. Around it, draw and colour pictures of some of your favourite of Allah's creations as a reminder that Allah created everything.
When to use this name (8min)
When you want to reflect upon Allah's creations - look around at all the things in nature and how amazing they are - stars, trees, flowers, animals. Think about how Allah is the one who made them and how he made us. SubhanAllah! How fortunate we are to be able to worship Him as Muslims!
We should remember to thank Allah for creating so many wonderful things for us in this world.
We should remember to thank Allah for creating so many wonderful things for us in this world.
On the back of their page, help the children write a few thoughts about the name Al-Khaaliq 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.
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Other activities:
- Look at books/videos about space. Discuss how infinitely large the universe is and how there used to be nothing until Allah created it. Imagining the emptiness of space is the closest we can get to imagining the nothingness of before Allah's creation. Children could create some artwork to reflect this - e.g. using black card as a background and white paint splatters for stars, then painting the Earth in the centre.
- Research about plants and animals around the world, e.g. continent by continent. Talk about the different climates and the variety of life Allah created. Children could choose one topic (e.g. a particular continent or climate or category i.e. mammal, bird, etc.) and create a poster collage of images, either drawing their own or finding, printing and sticking pictures from online. Reflect on the different creations of Allah, how many there are and how different they are; consider how some species are extinct and others are still being discovered, e.g. in the oceans. SubhanAllah! It's hard to understand just how numerous and great Allah's creation is!
- Look at examples of famous inventors, e.g. Thomas Edison, Marie Curie or Ibn Sina, etc. Research their work and what they are famed with creating. Talk about their ideas but how Al-Khaaliq is the only true creator - without Allah's will, they would not have been able to come up with their ideas!
- Look for ayaat in the Quran relating to Allah creating everything (e.g. using this website). Is the verb "khalaqa" used? Can the children see how it is similar to the word Al-Khaaliq? Look for ayaat which mention how the world was created in 6 "days" and how the mountains were placed on as pegs, etc.
- If children are mature enough, discuss the Big Bang Theory and how scientists think the universe originated from one point which then expanded into what we see today (and is still expanding now) - but this does not contradict Islam because if the theory is correct then Allah is the one who made the Big Bang happen... And the Quran mentions the universe expanding in Surah Adh-Dhaariyaat (51:47). The part which contradicts is where non-Muslims think the universe was made by chance. We know that Allah planned and created everything on purpose.
Please leave a comment if you know of any other related activities to this name!
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