Islam Guide – Science and the Qur’an

I’ve always wanted to write like history of the world/universe with really scientific slant with sources from the Qur’an and hadith, that’d be one cool book. So far here’s another cool book, not mine no, it’s online,and now in my to read list:

Islam Guide: A Brief Illustrated Guide to Understanding Islam, Muslims, & the Quran

Qur’aan Lego People & Free Online Early Reader Arabic Books Online

Added new links:

Qur’aan Lego People – Really cool site, just check it out

http://omarmariam.irsyad.sg/web/index2.asp – Online Arabic Flip books from Singapore

 

Ramadhan Story Book, Moon Phases

we read Fatima’s First Fast tonight: http://ad-duha.org/digital_library/Mini_Mumin/DS_FF_Flip/DS_FF_Flip.html

didn’t finish it, just read it halfway.

and explored the meaning of taqwa, from wiki(!):

According to Tafsir ibn Kathir, the root meaning of taqwa is to avoid what one dislikes. It was reported that Umar bin Khattab asked Ubay ibn Kaab about Taqwa. Ubay said, “Have you ever walked on a path that has thorns on it?” Umar said, “Yes.” Ubay asked, “What did you do then?” to which Umar replied, “I rolled up my sleeves and struggled.” Ubay said, “That is taqwa, to protect oneself from sin through life’s dangerous journey so that one can successfully complete the journey unscathed by sin.”

Ibn Abbas said about verse 2:5 in the Quran, “guidance for the Muttaqin”, that it means, “They are the believers who avoid shirk with Allah (swt) and who work in His obedience.” He also said that Al-Muttaqin means, “Those who fear Allah’s (swt) Punishment, which would result if they abandoned the true guidance that they recognize and know. They also hope in Allah’s (swt) Mercy by believing in what He revealed.”

and also looked at the moon (it’s 5th of Shaaban, 7th July) it’s a waxing crescent, but as I’m writing, it now says the moon has entered the first quarter and here’s is one of the best visual explanations of moon phases I’ve seen, unfortunately it’s not public domain, so no cut&pasting here

here’s a similar diagram:

from this page, with more explanations on seasons, eclipses,solstice,equinox etc.

and a moon calendar for one’s own locality.

Months in Islam

What we did today, learning months in Islam (I look I see album). Follow up was supposed to be writing down the day in Hijri & Masihi, but wasn’t done successfully.

These are the months in Islam
(I look, I see – Yusuf Islam and friends)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUtl721X8PU
Muharram
Safar
Rabi’ul Awwal
Rabi’u Thani
These are the months in Islam

Jumadal Uula
Jumaadal Ukhra
Rejab and
Sha’baan

Ramadhan 2x and
Shawwaal
Zhul Qa’idah and
Zhul Hijjah
These are the months in Islam..

We did some du’a, then H and H2 just played and sang the months song from time to time, even H2. So something stuck.

Offered Waldorfy writing, H did some, should have sat have sat down with her, still not perfect circles, infinities, eights, more work.

Played some skipping, then later badminton with a bean ball, and that rhyming clapping hands thingy on their own.

Only M sat down for some time and continued with her bird unit. We decided to do: types of feet, eggs, beaks, flightless birds and ref of birds in the Qur’an Sunnah. I did prepare question and answers on the above subjects based on the adventist wikibook I mentioned earlier. I would upload it here, as I think it’s useful for elementary and could give some ideas for 3-6 yo, but I think it might violate copyright. Is the Wikibook site copyrighted? Sometimes you only have to refer to the page, I haven’t had the time to burrow through the terms. I did cut and paste quite a bit,added some more bird facts and the Qur’an bit at the end, so no uploading here for now.

Birds in Our Garden

So, M wants to do something on birds in our garden. I’ve managed to capture 3 species on camera within our house compound.

Eurasian Tree Sparrow
Passer montanus
Ciak Eurasia/Pipit rumah

The Encyclopedia of Malaysia Vol. 3, Prof. Dr.Yong Hoi Sen, pg. 99
 Mari Mengenal Nama Burung, FEP International Sdn.Bhd. (pipit), pg.27

Olive-backed Sunbird / Yellow-breasted Sunbird
Nectarinia jugularis
Kelichap Bukit

The Encyclopedia of Malaysia Vol. 3, Prof. Dr.Yong Hoi Sen, pg.8
 Mari Mengenal Nama Burung, FEP International Sdn.Bhd.only has kelicap pisang, pg.22

*pic to upload*

The third species is peaceful dove

Geopelia striata

(merbuk)
 The Encyclopedia of Malaysia Vol. 3, Prof. Dr.Yong Hoi Sen,pg.53

Initially I thought of a nature journal, but it was hot and the birds would not get close enough for us to have a good look. Anyway, my mum kept this book, a book I had as a child. It’s published in 1980 and there’s a whole series, of which I can only see ‘Mari Mengenal Alat Musik’ on the book shelf. Both are really good, and I have not been able to find anything similar on common Malaysian birds for kids except for a MNS publication, also an old book I used to check out from PJ Playcentre.

So M drew a pipit from the book,and I drew for H with lines pointing to various parts for her to label in Malay. M labeled hers in English based on this and this. But now I’ve come across this, which looks better:

I feel guilty not including H2 in the activity, he could have done mock feather cutting or something. He just watched in earnest as the sisters drew on.

So later, if M is up to it maybe more info collecting:

http://www.montessorimaterials.org/Science/BirdInfoLabels.pdf
http://www.naturia.per.sg/buloh/birds/Nectarina_jugularis.htm
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/punctuated-equilibrium/2011/apr/16/1

I’ll probably dictate notable facts of the birds and have her write them down.

Then we’ll probably discuss characteristics of a bird, pre-classification. MontessoriMaterials have some freebies for studying birds. The 6-9 yo printout includes listing the bird families. We haven’t started animal classification formally yet, and will probably skip that until later.

Update: we did some eggsperiments floating eggs in salt the next day (today). Then H asked if it would work with sugar.Thankfully I obliged, and guess what, the egg floats! What’s funny is when I asked where the sugar/salt went, H said it went up, like turned into air (gas)..he..I thought that was cute. Some more prompts and simple explanations. I refrained from saying the egg floated because the water is heavier, yes it’s heavier now within the same volume, i.e it’s denser. I just said there’s so much ‘stuff’, i.e salt/sugar dissolved in the water that it now can support the egg, making it float.

For more ideas on birds/eggsperiments: http://thehomeschoolden.blogspot.com/search/label/Bird%20Unit

3-6yo:

http://www.montessorimaterials.org/Science/BirdOutline-Primary.pdf

http://www.montessoriforeveryone.com/Parts-of-a-Bird-Nomenclature-Cards_p_171.html
http://thehomeschoolden.blogspot.com/2010/08/bird-unit-activities.html

6-9:

http://www.montessorimaterials.org/Science/BirdOutline.pdf

Bird Song:
Pipit
Kelicap Bukit
a list of bird songs recorded in Malaysia

Pictures of Malaysian birds:
more Malaysian bird pics online here (not my pics): http://www.flickr.com/photos/cepiau/sets/72157624758152732/

Although I’m no adventis, but these Youth Honours (Birds) info available online are impressive, similar in concept to earning scout badges I think:http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Adventist_Youth_Honors_Answer_Book/Nature/Birds

Classification of Birds is discussed, as is parts of the birds are detailed in the Advanced Honours. I think they provide a good basis to work on. So all I need to do now is to put more Malaysian birds in, and put in Qur’an verses.

Al-Mulk (Dominion)

(أَوَلَمْ يَرَوْا إِلَى الطَّيْرِ فَوْقَهُمْ صَافَّاتٍ وَيَقْبِضْنَ مَا يُمْسِكُهُنَّ إِلَّا الرَّحْمَنُ إِنَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ بَصِيرٌ (67:19

# 67:19 (Asad) Have they, then, never beheld the birds above them, spreading their wings and drawing them in? None but the Most Gracious upholds them: for, verily, He keeps all things in His sight.

I think Syed Qutb intrepreted the longer (mad) in صَافَّاتٍ  to represent the way a bird spends more time spreading their wings and the وَيَقْبِضْنَ read shorter to represent the shorter flap of the wings while drawing them in. Have to check that, but I don’t have tafsir Syed Qutb on hand atm. Wallahua’lam.

Stories on birds in the Qur’an (put bird in Qur’an search):

Fellow prisoner of Prophet Yusuf a.s. pecked by a bird
Birds singing praise (tasbeeh) with Prophet Daud a.s.
Prophet Ibrahim putting bird parts on 4 hills, and Allah putting them together again into a bird.
Prophet Sulaiman and Hud-hud
Ababil in Surah Al-Fiil
Raven ( غُرَابًا) which scratched the Earth showing Qabil to bury Habil. Al-Ma’idah:31

Finally I’d recommend this Book of Life we have, I’ll come back with details. It’s really thorough starting with Prehistoric Animals, then covering Birds, Insect, Reptiles, Mammals, the Human Body..

Fellow prisoner of Prophet Yusuf a.s. pecked by a bird
Birds singing praise (tasbeeh) with Prophet Daud a.s.
Prophet Ibrahim putting bird parts on 4 hills, and Allah putting them together again into a bird.
Prophet Sulaiman and Hud-hud
Ababil in Surah Al-Fiil
Raven غُرَابًاin the story of Habil and Qabil 5:31

Prophetic Timeline

http://www.prophetictimeline.com/Prophet/Timeline
Another cool, really beautiful timeline. A bit on Prophet Ibrahim (2000 BC) until 11 Hijrah (632 CE)

History of Writing

Arabic Script

A visually pleasing, easy to read history of arabic script and khat:

http://www.sakkal.com/ArtArabicCalligraphy.html

another shorter history of arabic script:

Arabic Script ala Montessori by Yemenlinks:
http://www.yemenlinks.com/contentdisplay/displaydoc.aspx?name=alphabet_mat1
Arabic sandpaper letters

becoming a callighaper (khattat)

Islamic Studies & Arabic

Link to Islamic studies books, some written in both arabic and english side by side, good for arabic study:
http://www.english.youngmuslim.info/ceindex.html

Supplication – Akhlaaq

So this was to be tonight’s du’aa to be written by M in her du’aa book, but she managed to get a splinter in her foot while getting a pencil, so that’s now postponed, even bedtime reading is postponed, oh well, she read a lot today by herself. Both M and H managed to do some MEP math. H just looked at the pictures in the library books just borrowed, along with H2. Didn’t want to do Aulad, reading Malay aloud or anything else other than play dolls and masak-masak. Oh and M revised the caterpillar poem we did yesterday. Anybody know a good source for Malay and Arabic poetry for children?

http://www.guidedways.com/duas/prophetprayers.php?dua=36

اللَّهُمَّ أَنْتَ حَسَّنْتَ خَلْقِي فَحَسِّنْ خُلُقِي
“O Allah, just as You have made my external features beautiful, make my character beautiful as well”.

(Ibn Hibbaan)

Q&A on authenticity of du’aa: http://www.islamweb.net/emainpage/index.php?page=showfatwa&Option=FatwaId&Id=133893

Question
Salaam Alaykum Sheikh, I had read a particular supplication in a website, and it is known to be said while looking at the mirror. It reads: “ALLAH humma anta hassanta khalqi fa Hassan khuluqi” Can you provide me with any authentic hadith dealing with this supplication or at least let me know whether it is right or wrong? Jazaak ALLAHu Khair.
Answer

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) is His slave and Messenger.

This Hadeeth was reported by Ibn Hibbaan in his Saheeh and by Abu Ya’ala in his Musnad on the authority of Ibn Mas’ood may Allaah be pleased with him that the Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) said: “O Allaah, You beautified my body, so do beautify my character.” Al-Albaani may Allaah have mercy upon him said that it is a Saheeh (sound) Hadeeth.

However, this supplication is not restricted to when looking at the mirror according to the religious texts that we have come across. Nonetheless, this was mentioned in a Hadeeth that was reported by At-Tabaraani in Al-Awsat on the authority of Anas may Allaah be pleased with him who said: “When the Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) used to look in the mirror, he would say: “Praise be to Allaah Who fashioned my creation and gave it a perfect form and Who shaped my face in a good form, and made me among the Muslims.” However, this Hadeeth is Dha’eef [weak].

Allaah Knows best.

Note: I haven’t checked out Islamweb, so don’t take this as a final say. Must check out Ibn Hibban’s hadith book, whatever that’s called, and from where Sheikh Al-Albaani stated that it is saheeh. For now, here’s all I’ve found out so far.