The Beautiful Actions in this Month of Blessings 

Salāmun ʿalaykum! 

Alḥamdulillāh, this is the month of Dhul Ḥijjah, the last month of the Islamic year. This is the month of Ḥajj and wilāyah. To learn about the many events that take place in this month, a Ḥajj and Wilāyah Project Booklet is available for children to make crafts while learning the importance of intention, action and God-consciousness.

Download the Ḥajj and Wilāyah Project Booklet

Going to Ḥajj

We have begun the month of Dhul Ḥijjah, and the first major event that takes place in this month is Ḥajj. Ḥajj is when we go to Mecca and do various acts of worship. It is obligatory upon every Muslim at least once in their lifetime, when certain conditions are met.

Muslims from around the world come for Ḥajj, wear the same clothes, and go through the same rituals in order to get closer to Allah (swt). This shows that we are all equal as Muslims and as humans. Even if you notice something different about others, maybe they speak a different language or eat different food, it doesn’t mean we should treat each other differently. We should all be compassionate and show kindness to others. Only taqwā and God-consciousness can make us a better human being, and Allah (swt) is the judge of a person’s actions, intentions, and God-consciousness. 

Download the Ḥajj and Wilāyah Project Booklet for children, and watch the video below to join the teacher doing the first project.

Eid al-Aḍḥā is a reminder to us

We celebrate Eid al-Aḍḥā on the 10th of Dhul Ḥijjah, in honor of Prophet Ibrāhīm’s (ʿa) sacrifice. Prophet Ibrāhīm (ʿa) had a dream that he was sacrificing his son, Prophet ʿIsmāīl (ʿa), who he loved very much. He had this dream three times and understood that Allah (swt) was ordering him to sacrifice his son. Just as Prophet Ibrāhīm (ʿa) was preparing to sacrifice his son, Allah (swt) replaced Prophet ʿIsmāīl (ʿa) with a sheep and informed Prophet Ibrāhīm (ʿa) that his sacrifice had been accepted.

Prophet Ibrāhīm’s (ʿa) faith and trust in Allah (swt) was so strong, that he was ready to sacrifice his son to obey Him. His intention to do what Allah (swt) had asked him to do was clear and for the sake of Allah (swt). Anything we do should be for the sake of Allah (swt). Ḥajj is one such act that requires us to have a clear intention.

There are three spiritual stages of Ḥajj: 

1. The first stage is to have pure intentions. When we go for Ḥajj, it is very important that our intention and motivation for going is to obey what Allah (swt) has asked us to do. 
2. The second stage is repentance, or seeking forgiveness. It is important to purify our souls from the sins we may have committed by asking for forgiveness, just as we purify our bodies with water. 
3. The third stage is detachment from what is not godly. This means we should settle our worldly problems before going on this journey toward Allah (swt). Even if we are not going for Ḥajj, we can still make good intentions, ask for forgiveness, and always return anything we may have borrowed. 
4. Today, we are going to do an activity that will help us remember these stages of Ḥajj.

Download the Ḥajj and Wilāyah Project Booklet and join the teacher doing the second project in the following video.

Check Kisa Kids YouTube next Thursday for another episode and make sure to subscribe to the channel as well as click the bell icon to get a notification when a new video is uploaded!