Spring Knowledge Competition Resources & Sign Up

Asalamu Alaikum Brothers and Sisters,

Jazakum Allah Kheir to all of you for prioritizing your childrens Islamic education and helping them develop strong identities as Muslims that they will carry with them for the rest of their lives. This knowledge goes beyond any contest and is foundational for Muslims of all ages.

We have attached the following resources that your children will be tested on in the Spring Knowledge Competition. The competition is open for ages 5-18. Even if you are unable to participate in the contest, please share these materials with your children as they are of great benefit. You have about 2 months to prepare for the competition, and the exact date will be announced in a later email.

Please use this form to sign up for the competition: 
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScfVjyt_XXYwvB8o731W_uOPqnLcaRFz0E0uO0C-zpMV7YPUw/viewform?usp=sf_link
 

Introduction

Allah has instructed believers to enter into Islam with the entirety of their lives. As Muslims, we should place our deen at the center of our lives, and it should be the driving force in everything we do. When we engage with others in school, in business, and personal relationships we do so with the best of character; we are always honest and trustworthy, and we never intentionally seek to harm anyone. As Muslims, we are always diligent about our prayers, our fasting, our zakat, and all other acts of ibadah, and we also realize that our Islam should be reflected in our character and every aspect of our lives. Please help your children understand the following verse of the Quran.  

Allah says in Surat Al-Baqara:

 

O believers! Enter into Islam wholeheartedly (with all aspects of your life) and do not follow Satans footsteps. Surely he is your sworn enemy.

 

The following set of resources is intended for children between the ages of 5 and 8. However, if you have younger children that would like to participate, they are welcome.

• Competitors should understand the tafseer of Surat Al Ikhlas and memorize the surah:

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5nLnbTBHnc 

• Competitors should memorize everything said in each step of salah, including the tahiyat and salatul ibrahimiyah, whats said during rukoo and sujood, when you stand, and between sajdas:

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZdmj9aoJQ8 

• Here is the Tahiyat and salatul ibrahimiyah:

At-tahiyyatu Lillahi wa-salawatu wat-tayyibat, as-salamu alayka ayyuhan-Nabiyyu wa rahmat-Allahi wa barakatuhu. As-salamu alayna wa alaa ibad-Illah is-saliheen. ashhadu alla ilaha illallah wa ashhadu anna muhammadan abduhu wa rasuluhu

 

Allhumma alli al Muammadin wa al li Muammad(in), kam allayta al Ibrhma wa al li Ibrhm(a), innaka amdun Majd. Allhumma brik al Muammadin wa al li Muammad(in), kam brakta al Ibrhma wa al li Ibrhm(a), innaka amdun Majd.

 

• Parents should explain to competitors the meaning of this hadith and make sure they understand the four traits of a hypocrite:

The Prophet () said, "Whoever has the following four (characteristics) will be a pure hypocrite and whoever has one of the following four characteristics will have one characteristic of hypocrisy unless and until he gives it up.

1. Whenever he is entrusted, he betrays.

2. Whenever he speaks, he tells a lie.

3. Whenever he makes a promise, he breaks it.

4. Whenever he has problems with someone, he becomes very evil toward the person.

 

• We should teach our children the importance of Ramadan and how to make the most of this blessed month. In order to help your children understand the significance of Ramadan, please have them watch the following videos. 

 

Episode 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwGfVf4s5_s

 

Episode 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLkanWk4gGI

 

Episode 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aanG28F1-JA

 

• We should teach our children to associate Ramadan with developing Taqwa. Please have your children watch the following video to learn more about the concept of Taqwa:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkhstBO43u8 

 

• It is also extremely important that our children understand the importance of not being selfish and caring for others and their well-being. Help your children understand the following hadith about what brotherhood and sisterhood truly means in Islam. 

 

Anas ibn Malik reported: The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, None of you will have faith until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself.

 

• We also want to convey lessons from the life of the Prophet Muhammad   who our children should see as the ultimate role model in their lives. Please have them watch the first 20 episodes of this series on the life of our beloved messenger so they can begin to understand his life story and the lessons that we can all take from it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYibnBoD6fk&list=PLs6YIr-PdysCGsvQj4BwHa81qYE_XMnWp

 

We must teach our children the importance of respecting elders. Please teach them the following Hadith which contains valuable morals:

 

 

Ibn Abbas reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, He is not one of us who is not merciful to our young, nor respects the rights of our elders, nor enjoins good, nor forbids evil.

The following set of resources is intended for Ages 9-13 and Ages 14-18:

Students from these two age groups will be studying and learning much of the same material. However, only participants in the 14-18 age group are required to memorize the following verses; participants in the 9-13 age group only need to understand the verses meanings. 

 

• Students are to memorize and understand the following verses from surat Luqman. These are verses 13-19. 

 

And remember when Luqmn said to his son, while advising him, O my dear son! Never associate anything with Allah in worship, for associating others with Him is truly the worst of all wrongs.

 

And We have commanded people to honour their parents. Their mothers bore them through hardship upon hardship, and their weaning takes two years. So be grateful to Me and your parents. To Me is the final return.

 

But if they pressure you to associate with Me what you have no knowledge of,1 do not obey them. Still keep their company in this world courteously, and follow the way of those who turn to Me in devotion. Then to Me you will all return, and then I will inform you of what you used to do.

 

Luqmn  added, O my dear son! Even if a deed were the weight of a mustard seedbe it hidden in a rock or in the heavens or the earthAllah will bring it forth. Surely Allah is Most Subtle, All-Aware.

 

O my dear son! Establish prayer, encourage what is good and forbid what is evil, and endure patiently whatever befalls you. Surely this is a resolve to aspire to.

 

And do not turn your nose up to people, nor walk pridefully upon the earth. Surely Allah does not like whoever is arrogant, boastful.

 

Be moderate in your pace. And lower your voice, for the ugliest of all voices is certainly the braying of donkeys.

 

These verses also must be memorized by participants between ages 14-18 and simply understood by participants between ages 9-13.
 

                                                                 Allah is the Sustainer

These are verses that remind us that Allah is the Ultimate Sustainer who ensures that all of our needs are met. We must place our trust in Allahs ability to provide for us at all times and not lose hope or try to seek our Rizq (sustenance) through means that are Haram. Memorize and understand the following verses to learn more about Allah as Ar-Razzaq. 

 

Surat Adh-Dhariyat 

 

   In heaven is your sustenance and whatever you are promised.

 

Then by the Lord of heaven and earth! All this is certainly as true as the fact that you can speak!

 

I did not create jinn and humans except to worship Me.

 

I seek no provision from them, nor do I need them to feed Me.

 

Indeed, Allah alone is the Supreme ProviderLord of all Power, Ever Mighty.

 

Surah Hud

 

 

There is no moving creature on earth whose provision is not guaranteed by Allah. And He knows where it lives and where it is laid to rest. All is written in a perfect Record.1

 

Surah Al-Hijr 

 

There is not any means of sustenance whose reserves We do not hold, only bringing it forth in precise measure.

 

Taqwa

This is defined as being conscious and aware of Allah at all times. This prevents you from falling into disobedience and engaging in acts that are displeasing to your Creator. Please memorize and understand the following verses to gain a better appreciation for the concept of Taqwa. 

 

Surat At-Talaq

 

And whoever is mindful of Allah, He will make a way out for them,

 

and provide for them from sources they could never imagine. And whoever puts their trust in Allah, then He alone is sufficient for them. Certainly Allah achieves His Will. Allah has already set a destiny for everything.

 

Surat An-Nahl 

 

Surely Allah is with those who shun evil and who do good deeds.

Surat Aal-Imraan

 

O believers! Be mindful of Allah in the way He deserves, and do not die except in a state of full submission to Him

 

The Importance of Fasting 

 

The point of fasting and why Allah has made it obligatory upon us is so we can achieve this Taqwa; by fasting, we train ourselves to always be mindful of Him and aware that He knows about all of our actions. 

 

O believers! Fasting is prescribed for youas it was for those before you1so perhaps you will become mindful of Allah

 

Love of the Prophet Muhammad

 

We can increase our love and appreciation for our beloved Messenger by viewing him through the lens of those who lived with him and understanding the affection they had toward him. Read about some examples of the Sahabahs love for our beloved Messenger:

3. when the Ansar said: In the hour of distress it is we who are called (for help). but the spoils are given to other people besides us. This remark reached the Prophet (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) and he gathered them in a tent and said: What is this news that has reached me on your behalf? They kept silence. Upon this he said: O people of Ansar, do you not like that people should go away with worldly riches, and you go away with Muhammad taking him to your houses? They said: Yes, happy we are, Messenger of Allah! The Prophet (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said: If the people were to tread a valley, and the Ansar were to tread a narrow path, I would take the narrow path of the Ansar. [Sahih Muslim 1059]

4. when Rabia ibn Kab said: I was with Allahs Messenger at night, and when I brought him his water for ablution and what he required, he told me to make a request. I said, I ask to accompany you in paradise. He asked if I had any other request to make, and when I replied that that was all, he said, Then help me to accomplish this for you by devoting yourself often to prostration. [Sahih Muslim 489]

5. It was narrated by Anas bin Malik (radhi Allahu anh): Abu Bakr and al-Abbas passed by one of the gatherings of the Ansar who were weeping then. He asked, Why are you weeping? They replied, We are weeping because we remember the gathering of the Prophet (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) with us. So Abu Bakr went to the Prophet (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) and told him of that. The Prophet (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) came out, tying his head with a piece of the hem of a sheet. He ascended the pulpit which he never ascended after that day. He glorified and praised Allah and then said, I request you to take care of the Ansar as they are my near companions to whom I confided my private secrets. They have fulfilled their obligations and rights which were enjoined on them but there remains what is for them. So, accept the good of the good-doers amongst them and excuse the wrongdoers amongst them. [Sahih al-Bukhari 3799]

In another hadith, Anas (radhi Allahu anh) reported that after the death of the Messenger of Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam), Abu Bakr said to Umar: Let us visit Umm Ayman as the Messenger of Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) used to visit her. As we came to her, she wept. They (Abu Bakr and Umar) said to her: What makes you weep? What is in store (in the next world) for the Messenger of Allah () is better than (this worldly life). She said: I weep not because I am ignorant of the fact that what is in store for the Messenger of Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) is better, but I weep because the revelation which came from the Heaven has ceased to come. This moved both of them to tears and they began to weep along with her. [Sahih Muslim 2454]
 

What it means to enjoin good and forbid evil:

One of our most important tasks as believers is to enjoin that which is good and forbid the evil; in other words, we guide others to the truth of the deen and what Allah has commanded and guide people away from the haram and that which Allah has forbidden. The following Hadith is not for memorization, but it is to help you understand the danger of seeing something wrong in a society and not trying to do something about it through a beautiful analogy given to us by our Prophet :

 

 

The parable of those who respect the limits of Allah and those who violate them is that of people who board a ship after casting lots, some of them residing in its upper deck and others in its lower deck. When those in the lower deck want water, they pass by the upper deck and say: If we tear a hole in the bottom of the ship, we will not bother those above us. If those in the upper deck let them do what they want, they will all be destroyed together. If they restrain them, they will all be saved together.

 

It is also important to remember that although we are not in control of results, Allah expects righteous actions and efforts on our part; we should never think that our good deeds are meaningless no matter how small they are, because Allah will reward all the good that is done sincerely for His sake. Allah tells us in Surat At-Tawba:

 

Tell them, O  Prophet, Do as you will. Your deeds will be observed by Allah, His Messenger, and the believers. And you will be returned to the Knower of the seen and unseen, then He will inform you of what you used to do.

 

The Importance of Dawah in Islam

As Muslims, we believe that we must not keep our religion to ourselves. Allah expects us to share the light of our deen with all of humanity and invite people to Islam. The Muslim must not be selfish and should be someone who genuinely cares about the well-being of those around him. 

Allah says in Surat Aal-Imraan:

 

AND LET THERE ARISE FROM AMONGST YOU, A NATION THAT CALLS UPON PEOPLE TO DO WHAT IS GOOD AND RIGHT

Therefore, calling people to the truth of Islam and guiding them away from evil is an essential part of our religion. When we present Islam to people, we must remind them that Allah has only ever sent down one religion to humankind; people may have developed different beliefs about God throughout history but the message of Tawheed has always remained constant. Therefore, especially when we are in dialogue with Christians and Jews, we should never present Islam as a third religion sent to humanity; instead, we should make clear that Islam is the religion of Ibraheem, Musa, Isa, and all the prophets. They all had the same message of worshiping Allah alone; the Christians may think that we are rejecting Jesus, but our message to them is that we embrace the true message of Isa: that he was a prophet who called to worship Allah alone, and not a son of God who asked people to worship him. We do not reject anything that Isa Alayhi As-Salam said about himself; we only reject the lies that have been said about him. 

 

Understanding Zakat

Zakat Ul-Maal:

Muslims pay 2.5% of the money that they had saved for an entire year. In order for Zakat to become obligatory upon a Muslim, he/she must have had the minimum amount required (known as the nisaab in Arabic) for an entire year (twelve lunar months), what we call the hawl in Arabic. 

So, how much is the nisaab?

The amount of wealth that you have had for an entire year needs to reach the equivalent of at least 85 grams of gold or 595 grams of silver for Zakat to become obligatory. From this overall saved wealth that you have had for an entire year, you pay 2.5% in Zakat.

And, who can Zakat be paid to?

In the Quran, Allah gives us eight categories of people to whom zakat can be paid. For participants in the 14-18 age group, please memorize the following verse; participants in the 9-13 age group must simply understand it. 

 

Zakh expenditures are only for the poor and for the needy and for those employed for it1 and for bringing hearts together [for Islm] and for freeing captives [or slaves] and for those in debt and for the cause of Allh and for the [stranded] traveler - an obligation [imposed] by Allh. And Allh is Knowing and Wise

Here are the eight categories summarized and described:

1. The Fuqaraa: these are the people who are completely poor and are unable to meet any of their basic needs.

2. The Masakeen: these are people who are still needy but are not as poor as the fuqaraa; they are able to meet about half of their needs for the entire year.

3. Those employed for it: these are the people who collect the Zakat and are responsible for its distribution. Allah has made them eligible to receive zakat payments themselves. 

4. And for bringing hearts together: this refers to paying zakat to people (generally those in power) in order to soften their hearts toward Islam and prevent harm from befalling the Muslims 

5. Freeing captives or slaves: you can pay zakat to free someone from being enslaved or held captive 

6. Those in debt: you can pay zakat to help your brother or your sister get out of serious financial distress that could really cause them harm if not alleviated. 

7. For the cause of Allah: you can pay zakat to support those who are defending Islam and Muslims. Many modern scholars now say that this category of zakat can be used to build masajid and provide Islamic knowledge in non-Muslim countries if there is no entity responsible for providing these services.  

8. For the stranded traveler: you can pay zakat to help the person who was traveling and became stuck and needs money to be able to continue 

   Unlike sadaqah, Zakat must be paid to Muslims only, except for the category of softening peoples hearts toward Islam; that is the only category of people in which the recipients could potentially be non-Muslim. You also do not have to pay zakat within every category; you simply must choose from among these eight categories, but some scholars say it is better to pay within as many of these categories as you can. 

When do I pay zakat on the things that I own?

In general, things that you own just for your personal use (like the car that you drive or the house you live in), you do not have to pay zakat on. You must pay zakat on money, gold, silver, and things that you bought with the intention to resell.

Some scholars believe that you do not have to pay zakat on jewelry, even if its made of gold and silver, if the jewelry is solely for personal use and the owner has no intention whatsoever to sell them. These scholars say if you have the intention to eventually resell it then you pay zakat on its value. 

However, other scholars believe that although jewelry for personal use that is not made of gold and silver doesnt have Zakat paid on it, jewelry that is made of gold and silver, even if it is for personal use, must be included in ones Zakat.

In general, for anything that you buy with the intention to resell, such as real estate and stocks, you pay Zakat off of the value of the product; anything you buy in order to generate income off of, you would pay Zakat from the income generated and not the value of the product.\
 

Zakat Ul-Fitr: 

The following link will help you understand how Zakat Ul-Fitr should be paid. Please read it thoroughly to make sure that you understand it completely:

https://www.zakat.org/what-is-zakat-al-fitr-the-special-ramadan-zakat

The original opinion of the majority of scholars was that Zakat Ul-Fitr should be paid in food, because that was the original command of the Prophet ; however, even some early scholars, such as Imam Abu Hanifa and Hasan Al-Basri, believed that Zakat Ul-Fitr could be paid in money. This system of monetary payments for Zakat Ul-Fitr was embraced by the khalifah Omar ibn Abd Al-Aziz. Many modern scholars believe that Zakat Ul-Fitr could be paid in money because food is no longer widely used as a means of currency in most parts of the world and in many parts of the world people are not in desperate need of basic food products. In such cases, money would be more useful for poor individuals. Both opinions, the one that states Zakat Ul-Fitr must be paid in food and the one that states it could also be paid in money, must be respected.  

 

The Fiqh of Fasting

 https://www.islamicstudies.info/subjects/fiqh/fiqh_us_sunnah/fus3_49.html

Please use the above link to learn more about the Fiqh of fasting. Begin reading from the page entitled Fasting (As-siyam) and read until and including the page entitled Night of Qadr. It should be a total of nine pages; on the bottom of each page, there should be a button that says Next to take you to the next page. 

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