[18] اَلْفَتَّاحُ (Al-Fattaah): The Opener
Sing 99 Names (5min)
Play Google Slides Presentation of the first 33 names, 2-3 times. Sing together and do the actions so far plus:
Action for Al-Fattaah: Hold hands in front of face to block your view, then open them apart so you can see again (like sliding doors).
Today’s focus is on the name Al-Fattaah which means The Opener.
Story relating to today's name (8min)
Read the part of the story of Prophet Musa (AS) where Firawn's army is chasing the believers but Allah helps them escape by parting the sea.
Read from a book such as My First Quran Storybook.
Read from a book such as My First Quran Storybook.
Discuss meaning, apply to children's lives (10min)
Al-Fattaah means The Opener.
This can mean several different things, but we're going to focus on the meaning that Allah opens the way for us when we're stuck.
Which part of the story we read showed Allah as Al-Fattaah? Where the believers were stuck with Firawn's army behind them and the sea in front of them - they had nowhere safe to go! How did Allah open the way for them? He opened the way itself by parting the sea and making a path for them; he opened the way by showing them the answer to their problem. So this name doesn't just mean physically opening a way, it also means giving you the answer to a problem when you're stuck.
Show children the maze in the resources file. Ask them to help the children find the way to the park. Watch them try independently until they tell you it's impossible! All the paths to the park are blocked! But what does Al-Fattaah mean? Allah can open the way for you when you're stuck. Cut out the picture of the door at the bottom of the page and tell the children to put it where they need it in the maze. Talk about how Allah can do anything, even if it seems impossible to us. Al-Fattaah can open things for us and show us the answer to our problems.
In this example, we put one door to get to the exit. But do you think, if He wanted, Allah could just get rid of the maze altogether? If we ask Him to, Allah can make things which we thought were complicated really easy! Use a thick felt tip and draw a straight line from the children through to the park, going through all the walls as if they weren't there. Allah can open the way to what we want - all we have to do is ask Him. Like Allah opened the way in this maze to the park, He can open the way for us to the best place we can imagine. Jannah!
Did you notice what Musa (AS) had to do before Allah parted the water? Allah told him to strike his staff on the ground. Why do you think that was? Did Allah need Musa (AS) to hit the floor to be able to part the seas? Of course not! Allah could do it without Musa (AS) doing anything! So what does this teach us? Musa (AS) had to do something and then Allah did something for them. Do you remember when we learnt about Ar-Razzaaq? Allah will always provide for us, but this doesn't mean we can just sit around doing nothing. We always have to do our part too, even though Allah doesn't need us to. Allah likes us to put effort in.
Show children the maze in the resources file. Ask them to help the children find the way to the park. Watch them try independently until they tell you it's impossible! All the paths to the park are blocked! But what does Al-Fattaah mean? Allah can open the way for you when you're stuck. Cut out the picture of the door at the bottom of the page and tell the children to put it where they need it in the maze. Talk about how Allah can do anything, even if it seems impossible to us. Al-Fattaah can open things for us and show us the answer to our problems.
In this example, we put one door to get to the exit. But do you think, if He wanted, Allah could just get rid of the maze altogether? If we ask Him to, Allah can make things which we thought were complicated really easy! Use a thick felt tip and draw a straight line from the children through to the park, going through all the walls as if they weren't there. Allah can open the way to what we want - all we have to do is ask Him. Like Allah opened the way in this maze to the park, He can open the way for us to the best place we can imagine. Jannah!
Did you notice what Musa (AS) had to do before Allah parted the water? Allah told him to strike his staff on the ground. Why do you think that was? Did Allah need Musa (AS) to hit the floor to be able to part the seas? Of course not! Allah could do it without Musa (AS) doing anything! So what does this teach us? Musa (AS) had to do something and then Allah did something for them. Do you remember when we learnt about Ar-Razzaaq? Allah will always provide for us, but this doesn't mean we can just sit around doing nothing. We always have to do our part too, even though Allah doesn't need us to. Allah likes us to put effort in.
Craft activity (20min)
Complete the page for the book.
Use the templates to design your own doors. Cut out and stick onto the page using the tabs so the doors can be opened like a flap. Remember that Allah is Al-Fattaah and opens the way for us when we get stuck.
If they wish, the children can draw a positive image behind the door, e.g. a happy person.
If they wish, the children can draw a positive image behind the door, e.g. a happy person.
When to use this name (12min)
Tell the children you're going to give them something (e.g. a Smartie, a jellybean, a chocolate coin, etc.). All they have to do is touch their forehead against you while they hold their hands together behind their back! Stand in the middle of the room and let them touch you one at a time, then give them their reward.
Say you're going to do it again, but this time stand on the other side of a door and close it. Tell them they can only try one at a time, just like before. Have them try to get to you for half a minute or so - give them encouraging words, make a point of them being so close they can hear you and you can hear them. Ask them why they can't do it this time? Because the door's in the way and they can't open it with their hands behind their back!
Open the door and tell them sometimes even when we know what we need to do to solve our problem, we find we need help to be able to do it. Al-Fattaah can help us in these situations too by opening the way and making things easier for us! For example, maybe we need to catch the bus but we're running late - we know we need to run and try our best to go faster - Al-Fattaah could make the bus late too so we don't miss it! Or for example, I want to be a teacher so I need to pass a maths exam - I study my hardest but I'm still not confident - Al-Fattaah could help me remember the things I've learnt while I'm doing the test so I pass and can become a teacher.
So Al-Fattaah opens the way for us when we're stuck or have a problem. Can you think of any other times you might want to make duaa to Al-Fattaah? And, of course, we should always remember Al-Fattaah as the one who opens the way to Jannah for us, too!
Say you're going to do it again, but this time stand on the other side of a door and close it. Tell them they can only try one at a time, just like before. Have them try to get to you for half a minute or so - give them encouraging words, make a point of them being so close they can hear you and you can hear them. Ask them why they can't do it this time? Because the door's in the way and they can't open it with their hands behind their back!
Open the door and tell them sometimes even when we know what we need to do to solve our problem, we find we need help to be able to do it. Al-Fattaah can help us in these situations too by opening the way and making things easier for us! For example, maybe we need to catch the bus but we're running late - we know we need to run and try our best to go faster - Al-Fattaah could make the bus late too so we don't miss it! Or for example, I want to be a teacher so I need to pass a maths exam - I study my hardest but I'm still not confident - Al-Fattaah could help me remember the things I've learnt while I'm doing the test so I pass and can become a teacher.
So Al-Fattaah opens the way for us when we're stuck or have a problem. Can you think of any other times you might want to make duaa to Al-Fattaah? And, of course, we should always remember Al-Fattaah as the one who opens the way to Jannah for us, too!
On the back of their page, help the children write a few thoughts about the name Al-Fattaah 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:
- If children are familiar with Molly and Mack (CBeebies channel), link to the part in the episode where one of the characters has a problem they don't know how to solve. Sing the song together then talk about how Al-Fattaah can help in these kinds of situations.
- This name is also to do with victory/winning against someone or something. Think about surah An-Nasr. What is the last word in the first ayah? Do you know the story behind this surah? Look it up together and discuss (e.g. My First Quran with Pictures)
- This name is also to do with victory/winning against someone or something. Think about surah An-Nasr. What is the last word in the first ayah? Do you know the story behind this surah? Look it up together and discuss (e.g. My First Quran with Pictures)
- How do you say "key" in Arabic? "Miftaahun". It has the same root letters: faa, taa, haa. Another meaning for this name is that Allah is Al-Fattaah in that He holds all the keys for both this world and the next, for the things we can see and for the ghayb (the unseen). Allah is in charge of them all and can open and close the doors as He wishes. You could do a craft e.g. make a set of keys on a keyring out of tinfoil/card etc. as a reminder of this discussion.
- Talk about how Allah can open doors to anything as He wishes. Some people will have the door to lots of wealth open, some will have their door to lots of children open, some will have their door to bring able to learn a lot open, some might have all the of those doors open, etc. But just because a door is open to us, it doesn't always mean it's a good thing. It might be a test. If the door to lots of money is opened to us, we should remember to stay humble and not arrogant, to pay our zakat and to give charity. If we don't, it might have been better if that door was closed to us! Remember the story of Salaba and how having too much wealth ended up with him not praying anymore. So when a door is opened to us, we should always remember Allah, thank Him and make duaa that He keeps guiding us to be good Muslims. You could create a poster with many different sized doors on it as flaps and underneath each one write something Allah could bless us with as Al-Fattaah.
Please leave a comment if you know any other related activities for this name!
No comments:
Post a Comment