Ramadan is a beautiful moment for us to slow down. It’s time to reflect on our deeds, belief, and our spiritual educational journey together with our kids.

It is the best time to practice and mold ourselves to be the best of the best in the sight of Allah. In this article, we would like to share a few of the simple acts that are beneficial and recommended for us to do with our kids, to mold the best of us.

1.Recite, learn and memorize the Quran together

Al Quran and Ramadan are two interrelated words. Ramadan is the best time to build a connection with the Quran. We should train ourselves to read, understand, memorize, and share the knowledge of the Quran with our kids and others. Do spare some time in a day, at least 15 minutes to check each others’ reading and memorization.

To start off with the Quran learning within the family members, reading the tafsir could be done once a week. Choose a surah to be taught, preferably a short one, and write your plan and target to finish learning and sharing the tafsir within the month of Ramadan. We have provide  2022 Ramadan Planner to help ourselves  and you to plan our Al Quran journey in Ramadan.

Uthman bin Affan reported that Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said, ‘The best of you are those who learn the Quran and teach it.’ [1]

2. Learn and share the knowledge of hadith about the character of Prophet Muhammad (peace & blessing be upon him) together

Abdullah ibn Amr reported that Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said, ‘Verily, among the best of you are those with the best character.’ [2] The best character is the character of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). He has given and shown us a lot of examples of the right style to be emulated.

More than 40 hadiths are mentioning about this topic. Let us take the opportunity to learn about his character. Plan your Ramadan to share the knowledge of hadith on his character at least once a week. Knowledge Dunes has prepared an activity book with the title ‘The Character of Prophet Muhammad was the Quran.’ This book is beneficial to help us to engage our kids with the said knowledge of hadith through exciting activities. Let’s get it now!

3. Do good to family members together

Some of us live abroad as a nucleus family. We only have our husbands and children around us with support from friends and community. But for most, living in a home country or near to other family members is a blessing because we are close not only to our immediate family members, but we also have the opportunity to always meet and gather with our extended family members and support each other. Do take the opportunity in this blessed month of Ramadan to do good deeds towards all of them because Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said ‘The best of you are the best to their families, and I am the best to my family.’[3]

Plan an occasion to send a gift, food, or invite them for an Iftar as an activity to involve our kids to do good to our family members.

4. Help the neighbors together

Abdullah ibn Amr reported that Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said ‘The best companion to Allah is the best to his companions, and the best neighbor to Allah is the best to his neighbors.’[4]

Due to our busy schedule, we may tend to forget about the needs and rights of our neighbors on us. Take this opportunity to start something good towards our neighbors, and involve our kids in the process.

For example, we can prepare a simple dish for an Iftar and ask our kids to send them to our neighbors (with proper social distancing and guidance, of course). Other than that, we can also offer them the herbs that we grow in our garden for free through what’s app group. Whenever they want to get the said offer, we can ask our kids to help us in getting the herbs and prepare it for the neighbor that requested it. As simple as that!

5. Feed the needy together

For many of us all around the world, we are tested by Allah with the COVID-19 outbreak, and not to forget those in poverty and difficulty. There are many ways we can reach out to people around us, whether near or far, to ease their pain and feed them. Take the opportunity of Ramadan to teach our kids about doing good deeds through feeding others. Suhaib ibn Sinan reported that Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said ‘The best of you are those who feed others.’[5]

Feeding the needy can involve giving raw food for them to prepare at home, giving home-cooked food for Iftar, sending money to those in need in faraway countries, or merely giving few dates. Plan today with our kids and consider their suggestions on how to feed others.

Start to plan for these activities with our kids today with these 5 simple acts. Make this year’s Ramadan a memorable one for our kids and ourselves. let us train ourselves to be the best of the best in the sight of Allah. Share your ideas. Do as many good deeds as possible for the sake of Allah and inspire others.

Asma bint Yazid reported that Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said, ‘Shall I tell you about the best of you?.’ They said, “Of course, O Messenger of Allah.” Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said ‘The best of you are those who, when they are seen, inspire others to remember Allah Almighty.’[6] So go on, don’t be ordinary. Don’t be common. Don’t be typical.

Be the best of the best.

Written by Dr. Fadzidah Ariffin UmmAbdullah

To read more interesting writings related to Ramadan Activities with kids by other dear Muslimah bloggers, do click:

Umm Afraz shares the review of the book Ramadan Around the World by Nada Hassan

Muslim Mommy shares a list of Fun Ramadan Activity Books for your children

Jeddah Mom shares 10 Ramadan Activities for Teens and Tweens

Hidden Pearls shares Get your Kids Ready for Ramadan

References:

1. https://abuaminaelias.com/the-best-of-you-in-islam/

Bibliography:

[1] Sahih al-Bukhari 4739

[2] Sahih al-Bukhari 3366

[3] Sahih Sunan al-Tirmidhī 3895, Reported from Aisyah

[4] Sahih Sunan al-Tirmidhī 1944

[5] Sahih Musnad Aḥmad 23408

[6] Sahih Sunan Ibn Mājah 4119