Teachers Book Al-Fajr

ILQ | Teacher’s Book Al-Fajr Surah 89: Al-Fajr ‫سورة الفجر‬ Learning Outcomes: At the end of this Surah, the students will learn: 1. The importance of being thankful and grateful to Allah, and the good deeds when being thankful. 2. That Allah is always aware of what we do. So, we must always remember Him in everything that we do. 3. People who do not obey Allah and do mischief on earth will received grave punishment in the world and in the Hereafter. 4. Allah invites everyone to His Mercy and to His Paradise. Overview Surah al-Fajr is a Meccan surah. The themes that portray the oppression faced by the early Muslims show that this surah was revealed during the early phase of the prophetic mission. “al-Fajr” means the dawn break. It is a metaphor that refers to the beginning of Islam as a new religion that will one day conquer the world. Therefore, this is a surah that warns the disbelievers about the upcoming defeat. Firstly, Allah begins the surah with some oaths on the natural phenomena that pertain to the cycle of day and night – the dawn break, the ten nights, the odd and even nights, and the passing of the nighttime. All of this invites man to reflect on the meanings of the phenomena. Hence, the oaths indicate two types of natural law that Allah has enforced on His creation. The laws are the natural law of physics and the law of morality. The first arranges the universe in an orderly and regular manner. Meanwhile, the second orders the behavior of mankind so that it, too, will be orderly. The moral law that Allah has enforced is simple – that good deeds will be rewarded, and bad deeds will be punished. Then, He outlines some examples for the point He is making – the people of ‘Ad, Thamud, and the Pharaoh. All of these peoples have wreaked havoc on Earth. And then prophets were sent to them. The prophets were disobeyed and, finally, these peoples

ILQ | Teacher’s Book Al-Fajr were destroyed. This is the law that Allah has never diverted from. This is the proof of the order that is arranged by Allah the Wisest. After that, Allah turns to the Meccan Quraysh and criticizes their behavior of clinging too dearly to worldly wealth. If they are rewarded with wealth and status, they would think that Allah loves them. However, when are tested with poverty, they are quick to blame Allah for their fate. Consequently, Allah scolds them. How can they expect to be treated with honor when they themselves do not want to honor the orphans and feed the poor? On top of that, they also consume others’ wealth unlawfully and love wealth very much regardless of its status. Because of their mischief, therefore, the existence of the Hereafter is necessary, in order that the bad deeds will not escape from retribution and the oppressions occurred in this world will not be left unavenged. During that time, they will be in utter regret for not preparing themselves for this day. Meanwhile, the oppressed among the believers will be rewarded with Paradise, and they will be totally satisfied with what they will get.

ILQ | Teacher’s Book Al-Fajr LESSON PLAN WEEK 1: In this week, the focus will be given to verse 1-10. These ten verses can be divided into two parts. The first part lists some examples of natural phenomena that are related to time that need to reflect by man. Meanwhile, the second part lists down the past people that once roamed the Earth and are extinct due to their disbelief. Day 1 conducts an activity to understand the concept of time and its role as a proof of the existence of God and the hereafter. Day 2 conducts an activity to understand the history of the people of the past and the consequences of failing to understand the proof brought by God. TAFSIR CORNER: 1. Allah Takes an Oath by the Dawn. “By the daybreak.” Allah begins the surah with an oath by the dawn. “Fajr” means “to split”. It is a time when the first morning light splits the darkness of the night. This is metaphorical to the light of Islam that splits the darkness of ignorance. 2. The Noble Nights. “And ten nights.” The ten nights refer to the moon cycle every month. In the first ten nights, only a crescent can be seen. In the second ten nights, the moon is starting to show itself fully and finally becomes the full moon. And in the last ten nights, it returns to become a crescent. Such is the cycle of the moon every month. 3. The Odds and the Evens. “And the even and the odd.” The even nights refer to the months in which the number of the days are even, and the odd months are in which its number of days are odds. Every month, the number of days will alternate between odd and even. Furthermore, the meaning of the odds and evens can also refer to the creations. This is because some creations are created in pairs, while others singularly.

ILQ | Teacher’s Book Al-Fajr 4. The Passing of Night. “And the night as it passes. “ “Yasr” means to pass quickly. It refers to the passing of the night time. Although night time has the same duration as the day, its passing is felt to be very swift. Humans are not aware of its passing because everyone is deep in their sleep. 5. True Oath. “Is there in this oath a reflection for a rational person?” All of the examples indicate one thing: that this world is in order and its orderliness is a product of God’s incontestable wisdom. Then, Allah asks whether there are other better examples to present for those who are intelligent enough to reflect on its meanings. For those who can think properly, they should realize that this world is not random. Instead, it is arranged with wisdom. Similarly, the human life is ordered in its own system – that good deeds will be rewarded and bad deeds will be punished. ------------------------------------------------------- VERSE 1-5: TIME AND LIFE In verse 1-4, Allah gives some examples for natural phenomena that are related to time. Let us learn the relationship between the phenomena and the knowledge of time as a proof of the existence of God. At the end of this lesson, students will be able to: 1. Understand natural phenomena and its relationship with time. 2. The influence of time on human life. 3. The phenomena of time as a proof of God’s power. VIDEO TIME: TIME AND LIFE Materials: Videos from the internet. Refer: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8ZXOfWUbms) Refer: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9eFkmjIIWA) Refer: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQ5vty8f9Xc)

ILQ | Teacher’s Book Al-Fajr Procedure: 1. Show the videos to the students. 2. Discussion session based on the spirit of reflecting nature in verse 5. Lesson: 1. With the dawn time, the ten nights, the odd and the even nights, and the quick lapse of the night time, we are able to record the time. 2. Besides that, our life is influenced by these phenomena whether we realize it or not. 3. And these phenomena are all arranged by Allah. 4. Therefore, for someone to assume that he has power over himself and does not need to obey Allah. Assessment: 1. How do humans measure time? A: by observing the changes that occur in nature. 2. What are the phenomena that are mentioned in verse 1-5 that help human to measure time? Ans: verse 1-5. 3. Who arranges the changes that occur in nature? Ans: Allah. 4. Therefore, who has the ultimate right in arranging the human life? Ans: Allah. Therefore, humans should not feel he has power over himself. TAFSIR CORNER: 6. The People of ‘Ad. “Have you not seen how your Lord dealt with Aad?” To strengthen His argument, Allah points out the peoples of the past as examples – that His sunnah is already enforced on those peoples. The first example was the people of ‘Ad. 7. A People with Tall and Mighty Buildings. “Iram of the pillars” The people of ‘Ad is also known as the people of Iram. The people of Iram was the first generation of ‘Ad people. This people were known to have gigantic figures. They can build big and tall buildings, reflecting their power and capability. 8. The Great People of ‘Ad. “The like of which was never created in the land?”

ILQ | Teacher’s Book Al-Fajr The might of this people has never existed before nor after, up until the time of Prophet Muhammad and even until now. 9. The People of Thamud. “And Thamud—those who carved the rocks in the valley?” Then, Allah gives another people as an example – the people of Thamud. These were people who can make giant holes in mountain rocks easily. The rocks are not mere pebbles and averagely sized stones. Instead, these are rocks that even modern technologies cannot penetrate. These people did not possess any advanced technologies. Instead, their strength and might that enabled them to benefit from the large stones. Compared to the people of ‘Ad who can only carved stones, the people of Thamud were even capable of poking holes. Which means that the people of Thamud were far mightier than the ‘Ad. 10. The Pharaoh. “And Pharaoh of the Stakes?” The third example is the Pharaoh, who owned giant pegs. What is meant by these pegs are the buildings that the Pharaoh built which were many and strong, reflecting the breadth of his kingdom and power. 11. They Wreaked Havoc on Earth. “Those who committed excesses in the lands.” All of them brought destruction and corruption wherever they went. They transgressed in all sorts of ways. 12. Incalculable Destruction. “And spread much corruption therein.” As a result of their actions, there emerged many types of corruption. “Fasad” means human corruption. Wherever they went, they brought corruption. But the more dangerous corruptions are the ones that they did to themselves – inner corruptions such as bribery, breach of trust, etc. -------------------------------------------------------

ILQ | Teacher’s Book Al-Fajr AYAT 6-10: THE MIGHTY PYRAMID In verse 6-10, Allah gives some examples of the people who have built many magnificent buildings that are incomparable to any buildings. How are these buldings built? Let us do a craft activity to understand how these buildings are made. At the end of this lesson, students will be able to: 1. Understand the specialties that the people of the past have compared to us now. 2. Draw some lessons from the histories of the people of the past. 3. Understand some basic geometrical principles. PAPER PYRAMID CRAFT Materials: 1. A4 Paper Procedure: Refer: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfL_KwJQr5k) Lessons: 1. The past civilizations are very mighty civilizations. 2. They can build megastructures using only their hands. 3. However, they refused to believe in Allah. Hence, they were destroyed and became extinct. 4. Therefore, we should not exemplify them in their disobedience. 5. The past civilizations are much stronger than us. But their strength cannot defend them from God’s punishments. 6. Therefore, we should realize our weakness. If they were destroyed without any problems, what are the chances that we have against God? Assessment: 1. Based on verse 6-10, what are the people of the past civilization mentioned? 2. What are the advantages of the people in verse 6-10? 3. Were the people of the past stronger than us? 4. Why were the people of the past destroyed? 5. What lessons should we take from this?

ILQ | Teacher’s Book Al-Fajr WEEK 2 This week focuses on verse 12-14. Verse 12-13 describes the types of punishments that Allah imposed on the disbelievers, who denied the proofs of His majesty based on verse 1-5. Meanwhile, verse 14 threatens the communities that still exist, which is the ummah of Prophet Muhammad. The threat emphasizes that Allah is not negligent to the actions of humans. Therefore, there will be no bad deeds that will be left unpunished. Day 1 simulates the natural disasters that are the means by which God destroyed the people of the past. Meanwhile, Day 2 explores the concept of “mirṣād” that are based on His names, al-Ḥāsib dan al-Muḥṣī. TAFSIR CORNER: 13. Allah Destroyed These Peoples. “So your Lord poured down upon them a scourge of punishment.” With the intergenerational destruction that they have brought about, Allah destroyed them. “Sabba” means to pound on something with a bigger instrument. This means that Allah sent to them a punishment that was very great, they could not bear it. And they cannot escape from it. The people of ‘Ad was struck by typhoons, cyclones, and hurricanes for eight days and seven nights, making their bodies to be thrown here and there (al-Haqqah: 8- 9). The people of Thamud was surprised by a thunderous noise from the sky that left them levelled, as if they have never existed and resided there (Hud 64-68). Meanwhile, the Pharaoh was drowned in a splitting sea (Yunus: 90). All of these punishments encompassed them overwhelmingly. 14. Allah the Supervisor. “Your Lord is on the lookout.” Such is God’s reckoning, very swift. This is because God is always supervising His servants’ actions. “al-Mirsad” means to spy on and is ready to ambush. This means that Allah does not turn a blind eye at all towards the wrongdoings of His servants. However, God is also quick to answer a servant’s prayer. -------------------------------------------------------

ILQ | Teacher’s Book Al-Fajr VERSE 12-13: HEAVY PUNISHMENTS In verse 12 and 13, Allah describes the punishments on the people of ʿĀd, Thamūd and Firʿawn. Let us conduct an experiment to understand how natural disasters become the punishments for the disbelievers. At the end of the lesson, students will be able to: 1. Understand how natural disasters occur. 2. Understand the role of disasters as punishments for disbelievers. EXPERIMENT TIME Materials: The people of ʿĀd: 1. Water. 2. Rounded glass bowl. 3. Food coloring. 4. Spoon The people of Thamūd: 1. Balloon. Firʿawn: 1. Pudding cup. 2. Water. 3. Ruler. 4. Plastics. 5. Screwdriver. Procedure: The people of ʿĀd: typhoon (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRlpLenOcTg) 1. Pour some water into a glass bowl. 2. Use a spoon to stir the water, making a vortex. 3. Drip some drops of food colouring and observe what happens. 4. Conduct a discussion together with the students how typhoons occur. The people of Thamūd: thunder

ILQ | Teacher’s Book Al-Fajr (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOx2PZ2KF24) 1. Blow a balloon until it becomes fat. Then, poke it with a needle. 2. Conduct a discussion with the students about how thunder occurs: a. How does a balloon produce a loud noise? b. Why does thunder occur only a while after lightning? Firʿawn: sinking in water (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhWQ-r1LYXY) 1. Poke a hole at the bottom of a pudding with a screwdriver. 2. Pour water into the pudding cup and let it flow through the hole. 3. Rub a plastic ruler on something fury (sofa, carpet, or even your hair). 4. Then, place the ruler close to the water flow. Observe what happens. Lessons: Typhoon: 1. Typhoons occur because the sun heats up the air at a cold area. 2. Warm air rises up, and cold air goes downward. 3. The sudden movement of the air creates a fast flowing vortex, and therefore creates a typhoon. Thunder: 1. Storm clouds alternate the electrical charges between positive and negative rapidly. 2. This results in the charges trying to get back to its initial positions to balance things out. 3. The rapid movement of the charges burns the surrounding air and creates the light we know as lightning. 4. Also, the rapid movement vibrates the air violently. And the vibration produces a loud boom. This boom is thunder. Bending water: 1. Water is constituted from charged molecules.

ILQ | Teacher’s Book Al-Fajr 2. When the plastic ruler is charged, the same phenomena takes place when a thunder occurs. Different charges attract each other. Therefore, water is attracted to the ruler because of the different charges. Assessment: 1. How do the natural disasters occur? 2. Why does Allah create natural disasters? Ans: one of its roles is as a means of punishment for the disbelievers. TAFSIR CORNER: 15. Man is Arrogant with His Wealth. “As for man, whenever his Lord tests him, and honors him, and prospers him, he says, “My Lord has honored me!\" Even so, man always feels like the criticism is not directed to him. Instead, he always looks for a strawman to shift the blame. Therefore, Allah criticizes man individually. When he is tested with abundant blessings, he forgets his purpose of existence and thinks that Allah loves him exclusively, such that he thinks that Allah’s bounties are only for him. Therefore, it makes him stingy, hands tightly tied. He does not want to share his wealth and he monopolizes God’s love. 16. Man Blames God for His Misfortune. “But whenever He tests him, and restricts his livelihood for him, he says, “My Lord has insulted me!\" However, when Allah tests him with a limited provision, he thinks that Allah is being unjust to him and is being selective. So, he thinks that Allah is trying to make him worse and abase him. He does not realize the fact that both poverty and wealth are tests for mankind. In fact, his entire life is a test (al-Mulk: 2). The word “ibtalahu” means to test with a heavy test, to the extent that it could potentially bring him death.

ILQ | Teacher’s Book Al-Fajr It is strange that even blessings are described as a test that threatens one’s life. This is because abundant blessings often make him forget his place. And it is difficult for him to realize his heedlessness. The consequence will be on his fate in the hereafter and he will end up being at loss. 17. Mistreating the Orphans. “Not at all. But you do not honor the orphan.” So, Allah retorted them for pointing fingers towards Him. How can he expect to be dignified when he himself refuses to treat the orphans respectfully? True nobles are those who treat the misfortunates with respect. They honor the oppressed and treat them like proper humans. 18. Refuse to Feed the Poor. “And you do not urge the feeding of the poor” They also refuse to feed the poor. Not only that, they also do not trigger the society to be concerned with the poor. In fact, they even prevent others from feeding the poor (al-Ma’un: 3). 19. Love of Wealth. “And you devour inheritance with all greed.” Besides that, they are also always dissatisfied with the wealth that they already have, so they try to hoard the wealth of others. “Turath” means wealth that is acquired without effort. Their behavior, therefore, is that they like to spy for opportunities to clinch their dirty hands on other people’s properties. 20. Extreme Greed. “And you love wealth with immense love!” All of the behaviours that they demonstrate point to the one underlying problem with their hearts – greed. They love wealth so much that nothing is more loved to them than wealth. Even when they lose a family member, the effects are not as bad as when they lose their wealth. -------------------------------------------------------

ILQ | Teacher’s Book Al-Fajr VERSE 14: SPYING In verse 14, Allah describes Himself as constantly spying on humans and be prepared to judge their deeds. How does Allah spy on humans? Let us play a game to understand its meaning. At the end of the lesson, students will be able to: Understand the names of Allah: al-Ḥāsib dan al-Muḥṣī. GAME Materials: 1. 10 different stickers. 2. Students. Procedure: 1. Equip the students with 10 different stickers. 2. Throughout the class, the students have to paste the stickers on the back of their friends without them realizing. 3. Students who succeeds in pasting all the stickers to other students win. Refer: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6sTItXr-mA&t=6s) Lessons: 1. We must always be aware of our deeds. Because Allah is always aware of our deeds. 2. And not even one deed will be dropped out from our deed records. Assessment: 1. What is the meaning of Allah’s names al-Ḥāsib dan al-Muḥṣī? J: The Accounter and The Reckoner.

ILQ | Teacher’s Book Al-Fajr WEEK 3 Week 3 explores the remaining themes of surah al-Fajr. Verse 15-20 describe the human mentality in thinking that he can claim to monopolize the love of God. Instead, God loves only those who believe and obey His commands. Therefore, verse 21 describes the type of soul that is loved by God. Day 1 touches on the levels of soul and its attributes. Meanwhile, Day 2 conducts an activity that describes the situation of the hereafter. TAFSIR CORNER: 21. The Earth Will be Levelled. “No—when the earth is leveled, pounded, and crushed,” Because of their stubbornness to remain in their erred way, Allah gives them a warning. There will come the time when the Earth will be destroyed many times until it is levelled. Their bodies, their wealth, everything will become unidentifiable dusts. Everything will be futile and will not offer them any help. 22. Angels Lining Up. “And your Lord comes, with the angels, row after row,” Then, Allah will no longer use any intermediaries to get His will done. He will take all matters into His own hands. He will be the Judge for all of mankind. If before God always sent angels to do His biddings, on the Day, all matters belong to Him. And the angels will be there, ready to execute anything that He commands. 23. Useless Regret. “And on that Day, Hell is brought forward. On that Day, man will remember, but how will remembrance avail him?” Then, all forms of punishments will be presented to the people who behaved in the manners mentioned in the previous verses. When they witness the punishments with their own eyes, then only regret starts to crawl into their hearts. Then only they will start to think of doing good deeds. However, there is no benefit to their regret. 24. Man Complains Out of Regret. “He will say, “If only I had forwarded some deeds for my life!\"

ILQ | Teacher’s Book Al-Fajr When they realize the futility of their regret, their already profound regret will be compounded with yet another regret. Hence, they will start to complain about their heedlessness. Their complaint is not directed to anyone or for any purpose, but just out of sheer inescapable regret. 25. No Punishment is Equal to Allah’s Punishments. “On that Day, none will punish as He punishes.” The punishments that will be allocated for them are uncontestable. No one has ever come up with greater and more dangerous punishments than Allah. 26. Man Will be Tied and Chained. “And none will shackle as He shackles.” And they will be chained at their necks, hands, and legs. Nobody will have any say nor power to change their fate except for Allah. ------------------------------------------------------- VERSE 21-23 & 30: THE SITUATION OF THE HEREAFTER In verse 21-23 dan verse 30, Allah describes two groups that will emerge on the Day of Judgment. The first are those who will enter Hell. And the second are those who will enter Heaven. Students will be able to: Describes the situation of the hereafter based on surah al-Fajr. STORY TELLING Materials: A group of students. Procedure: 1. Gather the students. 2. Begin the storytelling. When the story comes at a dramatic point, continue with the phrase “and then…”. 3. This is a signal for the students to continue the story. 4. And then the next person, continuing where the previous person left. 5. If there are students who are too young to be creative, stimulate them with some helping questions.

ILQ | Teacher’s Book Al-Fajr 6. “What blessings can be found in Heaven? What are the specific rewards that are provided for some specific deeds?” 7. And continue until the story is completed. Lessons: 1. The Paradise is an unimaginably beautiful place. 2. On the other hand, the torments of Hell are also unthinkable. 3. Trying to imagine Heaven and Hell can be a motivation to do good things more, and to leave the bad things. Assessment 1. Give attention to the answers given by the students. 2. Compare the answers with the contents told in surah al-Fajr. TAFSIR CORNER: 27. Believers Will be Called with Honor by Allah. \"But as for you, O tranquil soul!” Finally, Allah turns back to the believers, the intelligent people who are able to reflect on the meanings of the oaths that Allah made earlier. These people are the people who accepts the truth and its entailing responsibilities. They accept the fact that they have to worship Allah and submit themselves to Him. 28. Allah is Satisfied with the Believers. \"Return to your Lord, pleased and accepted!” After they are resurrected, they will be celebrated like someone who has not been home for a long time. They return to Allah in the state of being satisfied with their rewards, and Allah is also satisfied with their deeds in their worldly life. 29. The Believers are Happy. \"Enter among My servants.” And they will be gathered with other happy servants of Allah. 30. The Believers Reside in the Paradise.

ILQ | Teacher’s Book Al-Fajr \"Enter My Paradise!” And their reward is the Paradise and everything that is in it. Also, not even a single desire will be held back from them. ------------------------------------------------------- VERSE 27: THE TRANQUIL SOUL In verse 27, Allah invites His servants with a tranquil soul to enter Paradise. Do you know who are those nafs al-muṭmaiʾnnah? To understand this, let us conduct an experiment. Students will be able to: 1. Understand the levels of the soul. 2. Understand the attributes that enable a soul to enter Paradise. Refer: http://ididityoudoit.blogspot.com/2015/06/naaman-in-jordan- river.html?spref=pi&m=1 EXPERIMENT TIME Materials: 1. Sponge. 2. Scissors. 3. Dark-coloured paint. 4. A bowl. 5. Water. 6. Paint brush. Procedure: 1. Cut a sponge to make a human. 2. Dot the man with a dark-coloured paint. This represents the nafs al-ammārah. 3. Then, pour some water into a bowl. 4. Soak the man in the water until it becomes clean. 5. The cleaned man represents the nafs al-muṭmaiʾnnah. 6. Discuss with the students the concepts of nafs al-ammārah, nafs al-lawwāmah dan nafs al-muṭmaiʾnnah. Lessons: 1. Nafs al-muṭmaiʾnnah is one of the states of the soul that are free from the diseases of the heart. 2. In a hadith, the Prophet once reported about a heart disease that will haunt this

ILQ | Teacher’s Book Al-Fajr ummah. 3. This disease is the love of wealth and scared of death. 4. In verse 15-20, Allah describes the said disease. These people claim that when Allah gives him wealth, they thought Allah loves them. 5. And in verse 27, Allah describes the rewards for those who purify their hearts. 6. And they become a nafs that is al-muṭmaiʾnnah. Assessment 1. What determines whether a person enters Hell or Heaven? J: the state of his soul. 2. How many levels of soul are there? J: 3. 3. How do we purify our hearts? J: by increasing and improving our ibadah. WEEK 4 KEYWORDS ANAGRAM Procedure: 1. Scramble the words into jumbles of letters. 2. However, keep the first and the last letters in place. For example: najm → njam. New words: 1. Fajr. 2. Shaf’i. 3. Watr. 4. Qasam. 5. ‘Ad. 6. Thamud. 7. Firaun. 8. Fasad. 9. Azab. 10. Mirsad. 11. Ibtala. 12. Akraman. 13. Ahanan. 14. Turath. 15. Malak. 16. Nafs al-Mutmainnah. SURAH JOURNAL Let us write a journal to record everything that we have learned about .

ILQ | Teacher’s Book Al-Fajr NEW TEACHERS’ BOOK FEEDBACK Dear teachers, This is the new template for the teacher's book. Therefore, your feedback is much appreciated to improvise our teacher’s book to fulfil your needs as teachers. Feedback link: https://forms.gle/dfUEG9d1JfshFu2s7 Thank you.