Do you want to teach your kids about the Prophets of Islam but are not sure exactly HOW? You are in the right place! It can be hard to know how to approach this important topic when many resources only focus on a few of the Prophets of Islam. It’s important that lessons and activities are engaging to kids and at the right level. Plus ideally, you want to be able to incorporate the Prophets into other subjects too. This really reinforces what they have learnt. Let’s launch into some of the ways you can help kids connect with this important topic.
Read the stories of the Prophets of Islam aloud
Kids love to be read aloud to (even if the older ones sometimes hesitate to admit it). I do not know of a book that includes all the stories of the Prophets, based on authentic sources AND designed especially for kids. However, I used Stories of the Prophets by Ibn Kathir and retold it at a level my kids would understand. Some points to include in each story are:
💡Who were they sent to?
💡What did the people do that they were advised about?
💡What did the prophet call to?
💡What did he warn against?
💡Did everyone listen to him?
💡What happened “in the end”?
💡What trials did the prophet face?
💡What good qualities did Allah bless him with?
💡Was he a Messenger or a prophet? Do we know the name of a book he was given?
💡Was he related to any other prophets?
You will find that after a while kids will notice similarities between the prophets inshaAllah. For example, they observe that they all called to tawheed and warned against shirk. They may notice that all the prophets were rejected by some of their people, they faced many trials and all remained patient.
Reading the story aloud enables you to see from their faces whether they are really understanding. You can then adjust your story accordingly. If they are finding it too long, you can just include the main points. If they are having difficulty understanding you can simplify your language or repeat points.
Re-tell the stories in their own words
Re-telling the stories of the Prophets of Islam in their own words is hugely beneficial for lots of reasons. Firstly you can see if they have truly understood. Secondly you can see if they have picked up all the main points (if they skip and important part you can gently remind them). Thirdly it really helps develop their oral language skills. They have to prioritise the most important parts of the story and choose appropriate language to communicate. It also helps them to learn how to avoid ‘umms’ and ‘errs’ in their speech. Fourthly, it helps develop public speaking confidence.
💡Try recording them as they retell the story and playing it back to them. Kids often like to listen to their own voices and often want to re-record the story to improve it once they feel it is ‘on record’. If you record them each time, by the end you will have a library of stories you can playback anytime (perhaps to younger children who would enjoy hearing their older sibling.)
Fun worksheets about the Prophets of Islam
Worksheets can be fun and engaging! They just need to be the right level and include a variety of activities. I’ve used two sets of worksheets with my kids. The first set invites students to colour the prophets’ names, identify the Arabic letters in their names and answer some simple true or false questions. These are perfect for kids who are not fluent readers yet. You can read the true or false statements aloud or help them attempt to read the simple sentences. The second set invites kids to reflect on the stories and note the main events and lessons. You can download a free set of worksheets all about the Prophet Adam (alayhi salaam) from the free resource library. Sign up here to gain access. If you would like to purchase a complete set, you can purchase them affordably from Etsy or TeachersPayTeachers.
Qur’anic copy work
As the Prophets of Islam feature heavily in the Qur’an, many beautiful ayat relate to them. Copy work has lots of benefits including, improved handwriting, short-term memory and focus. Qur’anic copy work has the added benefit of reflection on the ayat. In this set, there are shorter verses and longer verses for when kids build their writing stamina. It makes great independent work and is perfect for homeschooling.
Spiral Review
Spiral review is when you review throughout the year instead of at the end of units or the year. You can read all about it this dedicated blog post and download the Prophets of Islam spiral review sheets from the free resource library.
Geography lessons that include the Prophets of Islam
We don’t know where all the Prophets lived but we do know that Ismail lived in Makkah for example and Sulayman lived in Al-Quds (peace be upon them). You excite kids’ interest by exploring these locations in geography lessons. For example, in lesson 3 of the Arabian Peninsula Unit Study, students read information sheets about Ibrahim, Salih, Hud, Sulayman and Bilqis. They identify the places associated with them on a map and complete other activities.
Games
Games are a great way to make learning effortless and fun. The whole family can join in and it provides an excellent opportunity to give advice about manners when siblings get a bit too competitive! It’s easy to adapt to different ages by teaming younger players with older ones and reading question cards aloud for pre-readers. You can get the Prophets of Islam Board Game featured above from Etsy or Teachers Pay Teachers.
Other games ideas include online quizzes, family quiz questions and Taboo. In Taboo, you have to describe the prophet on your game card to the rest of the team without mentioning any of the words on the card before your time is up. You can grab your free PDF copy in this blog post.
Download Free Resources
I hope you have found this post about ways to teach kids about the Prophets of Islam helpful. If you would like to get any of the free resources mentioned in this post then join the mailing list here to download a biography pack about one of the Noble Companions promised paradise, Abu Ubaidah bin Jarrah (may Allah be pleased with him) and gain access to the free resource library.
