Teacher's Book Surah Al-'Adiyat

ILQ | Teachers’ Book al-ʿĀdiyāt SURAH 100: AL-ʿĀDIYĀT ‫سورة العاديات‬ THE RACERS Learning Objectives: At the end of this Surah, the students will be able to: 1. Understand the metaphor of the horses that are related to human behaviour. 2. Understand greed and worldly-mindedness as the behaviour referred to in this surah. 3. Understand the extent of Allah’s knowledge that encompasses even the contents of the heart. SURAH OVERVIEW Surah al-ʿĀdiyāt was revealed in Makkah when there was a war, in which the Prophet has sent a group of horsed men. However, after a month, there was still no news about the men sent into the war. So, the Prophet was worried. As a result, Allah sent down this surah to inform him about their condition that they are fighting for Islam bravely. Aside from visualizing the bravery of the army, this surah also describes one of the blameworthy behaviours of man. This description is about man’s greed and recklessness. And this description is then followed by a reminder that man will be resurrected, and that the contents of their hearts will be exposed. SUMMARY Surah al-ʿĀdiyāt talks about man’s negligence in his behaviours, the heedlessness of man towards God and his own fate in the Hereafter. His fierce love towards worldly possessions and his ungratefulness towards Allah. On the Day of Judgment, every deed and true human nature will be made known to Allah as He is All-Aware. 1

ILQ | Teachers’ Book al-ʿĀdiyāt TAFSIR CORNER 1. An Army of Horsed Men.  “By the battle horses that run panting.” Allah starts the surah by mentioning a group of horsed men that are in action. This surah starts with the middle part of a story, a shocking beginning without any introductory background, and without wasting any time, it immerses the audience in the story. This is to conjure suspense and tension.  This Surah starts with a scene of battle horses on which Allah takes an oath. Imagine a group of horses that are panting furiously, while sprinting towards the enemies. What else can you see? 2. Sparks of Fire Everywhere.   “Striking sparks of fire.” In the midst of the tension, sparks of fire appeared here and there because of the hoofs striking the stones and the rocks under the horses’ feet. It also shows that these horses were pacing at a very high speed. They must be sprinting very fast without hesitation to attack their enemies. They are so focused. 2

ILQ | Teachers’ Book al-ʿĀdiyāt LESSON 1: EGG HORSE Introduction: Among the aspects that will be explored are the horses themselves, their biology, and their value for humans. Lesson 1 explores the anatomy of the head of a horse. This anatomy allows the students to understand what makes a horse such a strong and amazing creature. Set Induction: Horses are one of the most fascinating animals that live on the surface of the Earth. They are very fascinating because of their beautiful body and the speed that they can achieve when running. They are so fast that even the power of our car engines is measured by “horsepower”. How do horses achieve such speed? Let us take a look at the anatomy of the head of a horse. Lesson Outcome: At the end of the lesson, students will be able to: 1. Identify the parts of a horse head correctly. 2. Explain how the features of a horse’s head enable it to run at a tremendous speed correctly. Materials: 1. Egg. 2. Assorted vegetables. 3. Scissors. Procedure: 1. Boil an egg. 2. Decorate the egg with the vegetables to look like a horse. Lessons: 1. Horses are always understood to be a symbol of power. Because horses can travel a great distance within a very short span of time. in other words, horses are very fast. 2. But, aside from the speed, they are also praised because of their undying loyalty towards their masters. Therefore, we should be like horses in that we obey our Master, which is Allah. Lesson Assessment: Formative Assessment: 1. Ask the students to create the head of a horse with every organ available: a) Eyes. b) Mouth. c) Nostrils. d) Ears. e) Mane. f) The shape of the head. Summative Assessment: 1. Ask the students how all of these organs help the horse to be a speedy animal. 3

ILQ | Teachers’ Book al-ʿĀdiyāt a) Non-bulging eyes shape the aerodynamic head. b) Big mouth helps in breathing in a large amount of oxygen needed. c) Huge forward-facing nostrils help in the easy breathing process. d) Ears facing backwards to reduce drag. e) Mane helps the head to keep cool.  f) The pointy-head shape helps reduce drag. 4

ILQ | Teachers’ Book al-ʿĀdiyāt LESSON 2: SPARKS CANDLE Introduction: Lesson 2 explores the feats that a horse can do with its biological stature. Set Induction: Have you seen a fast car? If the car goes extremely fast, what will happen? The tires are set on fire. Similarly, when horses run extremely fast, their hoofs strike the rocks under their feet and produce sparks of fire. What is it like when that happens? Let’s make an experiment. Lesson Outcome: At the end of the lesson, students will be able to: 1. Explain one of the ways a fire can be produced. 2. Visualize the imagery of verse 2. Materials: 1. Matches. 2. Candle. 3. Scissors. Procedure: 1. Cut the heads of the matchsticks and crush them to dust. You will have the match powder.  2. Light up the candle.  3. Carefully sprinkle some match powders on the candle fire. Lessons: 1. There will be flashes of sparks produced by the powder hitting the candle fire. 2. In the Quran, the sparks are mentioned in verse 2. Lesson Assessment: Formative Assessment: 1. Ask the students to conduct the experiment properly. Summative Assessment: 1. Ask the students to explain how fires are produced: 1. By violent friction. 2. By chemical reactions. 2. Ask the student to describe the scene of verse 2. Some important items to include are horses, hoofs, ground, speed, and sparks of fire. 5

ILQ | Teachers’ Book al-ʿĀdiyāt LESSON 3: HORSE RACE Introduction: Lesson 3 touches on the kinds of excitement that these feats can produce and why humans are so attracted to horses. Set Induction: In verse 1-5, Allah uses the metaphor of horses to describe the behaviour of man. What is this behaviour that Allah is referring to? Let’s find out! Lesson Outcome: At the end of the lesson, students will be able to describe the behaviour of humans in the horse metaphor precisely. Materials: 1. A pencil. 2. A paper. Procedure: 1. This is a multiple player game. 2. Draw a racetrack according to your own imagination. 3. Mark the starting point and the endpoint. Determine turns. 4. Start the game. Using a pencil, hold its non-lead end with the index finger. 5. Push forward your finger to draw your horse’s path. Race until the end. Lessons: 1. The horse is a fascinating animal. 2. Its speed and beauty are some of the characteristics that make horses fascinating. 3. Ironically, it is the qualities that humans like in them are the very qualities that Allah ascribes to humans. 4. Humans are like horses when it comes to the beauty of this world. They become blinded from the hereafter and hasten towards worldly benefits. 5. Through the game and the desire to win, students can discover their inner competitiveness. 6. Competitiveness in itself is not bad. However, when directed towards the world, then it becomes blameworthy. Lesson Assessment: Summative Assessment: 1. Ask the students to point out the behaviour of humans that are referred to in the metaphor: 1. Love of wealth. 2. Greedy. 3. Hasty towards worldly riches and benefits. 6

ILQ | Teachers’ Book al-ʿĀdiyāt TAFSIR CORNER 3. They Charge at Dawn.  “Launching raids at dawn,”  They travel at night. By dawn, they reach the enemies and are ready to attack. But this is a challenging time to attack, because the enemies are the most prepared at dawn. Also, this is the time where the sunlight starts to shine on the world, making everything visible. This shows that the horses are not concerned about danger. They charge through anyway. 4. Flying Dust.  “Raising clouds of dust.”  And because the number of horses that are raiding was many, and in an incredible speed, and they were in the middle of the desert, sands and dust flew everywhere, obscuring everyone’s vision. Both them and the enemies have clouded vision. They cannot see each other. Yet, they throw themselves towards danger without thinking twice. 5. Behind Enemy Lines.  “Storming into the midst of the enemies!”  When the sands and dust settle, the horsed men suddenly found themselves surrounded by their enemies. Initially, the enemies were in front of them. But when the dust obscured everything, they were uncertain about their own whereabouts. But when they finally found themselves out, the situation was much more intensified.  They are surrounded from all directions. They are already cornered by the enemies and there is no way back. 7

ILQ | Teachers’ Book al-ʿĀdiyāt LESSON 4: LAVA LAMP Introduction: In verse 3 Allah shifts the perspective in describing the environment in which the situation takes place. This lesson describes the time of the horse raid, which is during the dawn. Set Induction: Previously we have looked into the first part of the first five verses. Verses 1-2 describe the condition of the horses. Here, in the second part of the metaphor, Allah describes the time of the attack. The horsed men attack their enemies at dawn, further substantiating Allah’s description of their greed and recklessness. Lesson Outcome: At the end of the lesson, students will be able to: 1. Explain the meaning of the metaphor that Allah uses in verse 3. 2. Describe the behaviour of light in different mediums. Materials: 1. Clear jar with lid 2. Water 3. Food colouring 4. Glitter 5. Vegetable oil 6. Salt 7. Flashlight Procedure: 1. Fill the jar three-quarters full of water. Add drops of food colouring until you like the colour you see. A few drops go a long way! Sprinkle in glitter for extra sparkle. 2. Fill the jar almost to the top with the oil and let the mixture separate. 3. Pour salt into the jar until you see the cool lava lamp effect. When the bubbles stop, add more salt to see it again. 4. Shine a flashlight behind the jar to watch your lava lamp really glow! HOW DOES IT WORK? ● The secret behind the lamp’s “lava” is science. Oil is lighter, or less dense than water, so it rises to the surface. Salt is heavier, or denser, than water, and sinks to the bottom. ● When you add the salt, blobs of oil attach to the grains and sink. Then the salt dissolves, and the oil returns to the top. The result? A liquid show for the eyes. Lessons: 1. Allah mentioned from Surah Al-ʿĀdiyāt from verse 3 that “Raiding at dawn”. 2. They attack their enemies at dawn. 3. The troop is attacking its enemies at dawn. In a battle, dawn time is the least suitable time to launch an attack. 4. This is because it is the time where the enemy is at their most prepared state. 8

ILQ | Teachers’ Book al-ʿĀdiyāt 5. Also, it is because it is the time where light is entering the world, therefore everything is visible. 6. For an ambush to be launched in a bright situation is, of course, not a very bright idea. Lesson Assessment: 1. Ask the students to explain the meaning of the metaphor that Allah uses in verse 3. 2. Ask the students to describe what happens to light when it travels through different mediums. 3. Light travels faster in less dense mediums and moves slower in denser mediums.  4. For example, light travels faster in water than in oil, but even faster in the air than in water. 5. Ask them to describe how the nature of light affects the colour of the sky at different times of the day and the night. Suggestions:  1. What is the meaning behind the metaphor that Allah uses in verse 3? 2. What happens to the light when we put it in water? Why is the behaviour of light different when we put it in water and in oil? 3. Why the colour of the sky is from the day is different than during the night? 9

ILQ | Teachers’ Book al-ʿĀdiyāt LESSON 5: THROW IT! Introduction: This activity describes the condition of the horse raid in relation to its enemies. The horsed armies raid their enemies relentlessly and suddenly find themselves behind enemy lines. Set Induction: In the last verse, we have looked at the behaviour of humans who love wealth so much and are reckless in chasing it. Why is this behaviour so disliked by Allah? And what will be the consequences of committing one’s self to this kind of behaviour? This is the aspect that will be explored in this activity based on verse 5. Let’s find out! Lesson Outcome: At the end of the lesson, students will be able to explain the meaning of the metaphor in verse 5: the consequences of recklessly chasing worldly success. Materials: 1. Rubber band. 2. Marker pen or tape. Procedure: 1. Give 3 rubber bands to each student. 2. Draw a line and a circle. The gap between these two is 2m-3m. 3. Put 10 rubber bands in the circle. 4. Ask students to stand behind the line and face the circle. 5. Vote to get a turn between students. 6.  The 1st student throws his rubber band into the circle. 7. If the rubber band touches or intersects with others, those rubber bands become his. 8. If it didn’t, the 1st person wastes his turn and will have to wait for another turn. Lessons: 1. Based on verse 5; ‘and plunging into the midst of the enemy’, this activity is to reflect the horse jumping into the centre, as how the students throw the rubber band into the centre of the circle. 2. In relation to the whole metaphor, it reflects the behaviour of humans who do many things in a reckless manner without thinking of its consequences. 3. For all they know, suddenly they are in the middle of a problem. 4. Therefore, just like the students need to be careful in throwing the rubber bands, we, too, need to be careful in managing our lives so as not to chase the wrong things. Lesson Assessment: 1. Ask the students to explain the consequences of recklessly chasing the wealth of this world. Suggestion: 1. Do you love wealth? 2. What will you do to collect wealth? 3. What will happen if you recklessly chase the wealth of this world? 10

ILQ | Teachers’ Book al-ʿĀdiyāt LESSON 6: WHOSE TREASURE IS THIS? Introduction: Then, this activity resolves the horse metaphor and explores the meaning of the metaphor, which is to allude to greedy human behaviour. Set Induction: Previously, we learned about the consequences of human behaviour who recklessly chases for the wealth of the world. One of the human natures is being attracted to wealth and power. Humans are full of arrogance and claim that their wealth is attained by their own efforts. Don’t they know that all the wealth in this world belongs to Allah? Let’s do an activity to understand this. Lesson Outcome: At the end of the lesson, students will be able to describe the wealth the belong to Allah. Materials: 1. Flour. 2. Sweets.  3. Trays. 4. Straws. Procedure: 1. Put the flour onto the tray and spread out the sweets in the flour.  2. Repeat step 2 for two or three trays according to a number of students’ groups. 3. Divide the students into two or three groups. With each of them put the straw given into their mouth. That straw given is to blow the flour to find the sweets. 4. Let them be in line. 5. Then make a race among the group. Lessons: Allah mentioned from Surah Al-ʿĀdiyāt from verse 8 that “And he is excessive in his love of wealth.” From this verse, we can learn that all the wealth belongs to Allah. And Allah The Most Gracious gives the Rizq so that we will be good Muslims. Lesson Assessment: 1. What is the difference between our wealth and Allah’s wealth? 2. How can we benefit from our wealth according to the will of Allah? 11

ILQ | Teachers’ Book al-ʿĀdiyāt TAFSIR CORNER 6. Man Is Ungrateful.  “Surely man is ungrateful to his Lord.”  After a very vivid description of a situation, the focus of the surah suddenly shifts, turning its focus towards the audiences themselves. And out of the blue, suddenly man is described as being ungrateful towards God.  Suddenly, Allah changes the topic. Why? How is this related to the scenes before? Well, mankind is much like horses. They are always chasing the world without thinking twice just as the horses charge towards the enemies without thinking. 7. Man Is Witness Upon Himself.  “And he bears witness to that.”  Ironically, man knows for certain himself that is indeed ungrateful. And this is shown in his acts and speeches. Mankind is knowingly disobedient. They know that they disobey Allah. So, they are unlike the horses. Horses obey their masters, charging towards the enemies even if it could hurt them. But mankind disobey Allah even if it promises them great rewards. 8. Man Loves Wealth Excessively.  “And he is truly excessive in his love of wealth.”  Even though he realizes his own ingratitude, he still loves his wealth unconditionally. And is still hoarding and accumulating wealth without a second thought, just as the horses charged towards the enemies without even thinking about the consequences.  People disobey because they are blinded by this world such that they do not see the rewards in the Hereafter that are far better than the pleasures of this world. They are like the horses which focus on the enemies, and do not see anything else. 12

ILQ | Teachers’ Book al-ʿĀdiyāt LESSON 7: JUDGE YOURSELF BEFORE YOU ARE JUDGED! Introduction: Here, we are exploring multiple aspects of greed. Lesson 7 explores the aspect of man’s discontentment towards God’s blessings. He always has something to complain about even though God has given him many other things. Set Induction: In the last session, we have learned about an ingrained ungrateful behaviour in humans. In this session, we will look at whether we possess such a behaviour ourselves or not. For that purpose, we need to learn how to introspect ourselves before we will be judged on the Day of Judgment. Lesson Outcome: At the end of the lesson, students will be able to practice the concept of introspection (muḥāsabah). Materials: 1. A marker pen. 2. A whiteboard. Procedure: 1. Using a marker pen, divide the whiteboard into two parts. 2. On the left side, label the side “My Wishes”. 3. On the right side of the board, label “God’s gifts”. 4. Ask the students to try to fill both sides of the whiteboard as many as possible. 5. At the end of the activity, observe which side of the whiteboard is more filled. 6. Invite the students to an introspection. Lessons: 1. Surah al-ʿĀdiyāt is a psychologically thought-provoking surah. 2. It invites us to reflect on the inner behaviour of our hearts. 3. One of the things that it invites us to think about is our love of wealth and our unconscious ingratitude towards God’s gift. 4. If we are able to list out many gifts from God, it means that we do have gratitude. And we need to keep being grateful. 5. However, if we listed more of our desires, then it means that we are not yet able to really appreciate what God has given us. Therefore, we need to train ourselves more to really be grateful for what we have. Lesson Assessment: Suggestions: 1. What do you think when you know how much Allah gives you to achieve what you want? 2. How do you feel about giving up your dream even after you realize that Allah gives you a gift to go for it? 13

ILQ | Teachers’ Book al-ʿĀdiyāt LESSON 8: FLYING MONEY Introduction: This explores man’s tight grip and staunch love towards worldly life and the fleeting nature of worldly possessions. Set Induction: In the previous activity, we have looked into ourselves whether or not we have the bad behaviour that is mentioned by Allah. But what if we do have such a behaviour? How do we convince ourselves that it is bad? Let us play a game! Lesson Outcome: At the end of the lesson, students will be able to develop an argument for the fleeting nature of worldly wealth. Materials: 1. A piece of banknote (The higher the value, the better). 2. Students. Procedure: 1. Call forward two volunteers from among the students. 2. Ask one of them to extend one of his hands out and make a claw-like shape and raise it up to waist level. 3. The other student has to position a banknote in between the “claw”. The student needs to grip the banknote after a count to three. 4. On the count to three, release the banknote to fall. 5. The objective of the banknote student is to ensure the claw student fails to grip the banknote. 6. Gamify the activity to make things more interesting. To make things more interesting, make it into a challenge. If the student can actually catch the banknote, then it will be his/hers. Lessons: 1. The banknote represents the wealth of this world. 2. The wealth of this world is fleeting just like the banknote escaping the student’s grip. 3. It is hard to acquire them, and once acquired, it is hard to maintain. Because everybody is racing and competing for the same thing. 4. And man’s love towards this wealth is represented by the claw. 5. Because of this staunch love towards wealth, human tries to grab it even before it is opportune. And even when the wealth is not meant for him. Lesson Assessment: 1. Is it true that the worldly world has its fleeting nature? 2. If so, why do we still collect and go for worldly wealth? 14

ILQ | Teachers’ Book al-ʿĀdiyāt TAFSIR CORNER 9. Graves Will be Emptied.  “Does he not know that when the contents of the graves are spilled out?”  Nevertheless, everyone will surely meet their terminal fate. And everyone will be resurrected in the hereafter. This is the kind of situation that God pictures. Man will not be left alone, thinking that the story of his life will only end in the grave. Nay! He will be brought out from his grave whether he likes it or not.  Then, Allah scolds humans for their negligence. They should not be like the horses. Because horses are not responsible for their actions but humans are. We will be brought back from the graves and our deeds will be exposed. 10. Heart Contents Will be Exposed.  “And the secrets of the hearts will be laid bare (exposed)?”  After he is resurrected, all of his dark secrets will be made public. He will come to know about the bad deeds that he has done, although he was not even aware of it during his lifetime.  Not only the deeds done by our hands and feets, but also the intentions that are hidden in our hearts. Allah will bring out everything that is hidden there. No pretentious good deeds will be rewarded and no well-intended bad deeds will be unpunished. 11. Allah is All-Aware.  “That their Lord is All-Aware of them on that Day.”  Although they are not aware of it, Allah is ever aware of everything, never forgets anything, never misses anything. And He, out of His all-encompassing awareness, will make man aware of their own destruction.  Nothing is a secret from Allah. He knows what we do. And He also knows what we keep in our hearts. He is aware of everything that is visible and hidden. 15

ILQ | Teachers’ Book al-ʿĀdiyāt LESSON 9: REST IN HERE Introduction: In verse 9-10, Allah mentions that man’s grave will be opened up and its contents will be scattered. How is that possible? Let’s do an activity to understand this verse. Set Induction: Previously, we learned about people who have bad behaviour. Do you know that after we die people will remember us for the way we behaved? If we have a good manner, and good behaviour, people will remember us positively. Let’s do an introspective activity to reflect our behaviour. Lesson Outcome: At the end of the lesson, students will be able to: 1. List down a few names of good people in the past. 2. Explain how they want people to remember them. Materials: 1. A piece of paper. 2. A pen. Procedure: 1. This is an introspective activity. The teacher should trigger the students to think deeply. 2. Begin by showing to them a gravestone with an engraved quote. Explain to them that this quote is a summary of a person’s life. 3. For example, a man named Abu has died. And on his gravestone, it is written: “a good man and a loyal friend”. The quote implies that Abu was a good person and that his friends loved him when he was still alive. 4. The quote engraved on the gravestone is a testimony by other people of who we were in our life. If we lived as good people, people would remember us positively. But if not, then our departure from this world will not be missed. 5. Now, ask the students to ask themselves: “how would they like people to remember them?” and ask them to type their answers in the chat area. 6. Then, share a reminder with them to be kept in mind for everyone, that if we want to be remembered as a good person, then we should live as a good person. Lessons: 1. Even among fellow humans, our deeds are known. That is why some people are remembered for being good people. And some are known for being bad. 2. For example, many people in history like Uzair, Uwais al-Qarni, Hasan al-Basri and even the prophets are remembered for being examples of good people. 3. Meanwhile, people like Firawn, Qarun, Hitler and Mussolini are remembered for their evil actions. 4. If even humans can know about our deeds, then Allah surely knows much more. Because it is He who has created us. And He is the All-Seeing and the All-Knowing. Lesson Assessment: 1. Can you give some examples of good people in the past? 2. Can you explain the way you would want people to remember you after you are gone? 16

ILQ | Teachers’ Book al-ʿĀdiyāt LESSON 10: THERE IS NO BLIND SPOT IN ALLAH’S KNOWLEDGE Introduction: In the last verse, Allah reminds us that His knowledge of us is Khabir. Al-Khabir means knowledge that is so detailed that nothing is outside of it. How do we understand this? Let’s do an activity. Set Induction: Previously, we learned about how people remember us based on our behaviour. Human’s vision is very limited where we only see what is in front of us, but it is different to Allah’s vision where he can see everything without limitation. Let’s do an activity to see how limited our vision are! Lesson Outcome: At the end of the lesson, students will be able to: 1. Explain the greatness of Allah’s vision and the difference between the human vision. 2. State two or more wisdom behind the limitation of human’s eyes. Materials: 1. Two pencils Procedure: 1. Have the students holding the two pencils in each hand. 2. Ask the students to close one eye. 3. Then, ask them to move the pencils randomly in any direction for a minute or two. 4. After that, ask them to have the two pencils’ lead touch each other with one eye closed. 5. For the second time, ask them to do the same. This time with both eyes open. Lessons: 1. Our vision needs both eyes to determine depth perception. It is how we determine either an object is far from or near to us. 2. If one of our eyes does not function, then we would have trouble seeing clearly. 3. This shows that our vision, which is one of the tools of knowledge, is limited. It has a blind spot. There are things that it is not able to know. 4. However, Allah’s knowledge is not so. He knows everything about us. His knowledge has no blind spots. 5. This is because apart from His comprehensive knowledge, all of His creations act as His witness. Including us, as mentioned in verse 7. Lesson Assessment: 1. What are the differences between the human vision and the vision of Allah? 2. What is the wisdom behind the limitedness of human vision? 17

ILQ | Teachers’ Book al-ʿĀdiyāt LESSON 11: JOURNAL OF SURAH AL- ‘ADIYAT Set Induction: Previously, we learned about how people remember us based on our behaviour. Human’s vision is very limited where we only see what is in front of us, but it is different to Allah’s vision where he can see everything without limitation. Let’s do an activity to see how limited our vision are! Lesson Outcome: At the end of the lesson, students will be able to recall all the lessons of surah Al-ʿĀdiyāt. Materials: 1. Paper 2. Colour Pencils 3. Decorations Paper Procedure: 1. Give the students a few pieces of paper printed with pictures of horses. 2. Let them stick on the plain paper. 3. They can also draw other pictures based on what they have learned about Surah Al ʿĀdiyāt throughout the month. 4. They may decorate their papers as they wish! Lessons: Repetition and self-directed learning are part of effective revision. The student easily revise what they learnt throughout the surah. 18