Class Senior Level Term & Month 2016 Term 2 / Jan

Holy Qur’an ü Arabic Pronunciation – long and super long vowels

(Revision)

Islamic Studies ü Patience ü Islamic Prayers (Salat)

Contemporary Studies ü Existence of God

Homework

Jan 24 Feb 14

Holy Qur’an Homework Question # 1 p. 5 Homework Questions # 2-3 p. 5

Islamic Studies Research Homework p. 8 Memorize Concluding Prayer 1 with Translation p. 10

Memorize Concluding Prayer 2 with Translation p. 10

Contemporary Studies Page 13 Page 18

1 TAD_SL_JAN_2016

1 Rules of Recitation and Foundation

1.1 Long Vowels

The letters Alif ( ا), waw (و) and ya (ي), when used with short vowels, can lengthen these vowels, thus forming “long vowels” as follows

without sukoon, preceded by fat’hah - َ◌ - lengthens the sound of fat’hah ا •

with sukoon, preceded by dhammah – ُ◌ - lengthens the sound of the dhammah و •

with sukoon, preceded by kasrah – ِ◌ - lengthens the sound of kasrah ي •

The letters are prolonged by 2 Harakaat.

1 harakah (singular of Harakaat) is the amount of time it takes for 1 finger to open from an enclosed fist.

1.2 Exercise – Single consonants

TAD_SL_JAN_2016 2

1.3 Exercise – Multi consonants

TAD_SL_JAN_2016 3

1.4 Representative Marks for Long Vowels

1.5

1.6 Additional Exercises

1.7

TAD_SL_JAN_2016 4

1.8 Super Long Vowels (Maddāt)

In certain situations, the long vowels get extra lengthening. These are called Super Long Vowels. There are two basis causes for Super Long Vowels.

Situation 1:

Voice of hamzah occurs after a long vowel or its representative mark. There are two cases in this situation as follows.

Madd Al- Munfasil or Separable Madd

In this situation, a word has a long vowel in its end and the following word begins with the voice of hamzah (ء). In this case, the reciter can elongate it for 4 or 5 harakaat.

Madd Al-Muttasil or Contiguous Madd

Madd Al-Muttasil takes place when there appears a Hamza AFTER the letter of Madd (that is preceeded by the correct vowelling) in the SAME word. When this occurs the reciter is obliged to elongate the madd for 4 or 5 Harakaat

TAD_SL_JAN_2016 5

1.9 Homework

1. I have practiced the above examples three times at home with my parent(s)

Signed (Student) Signed (Parent)

2. How will you incorporate this lesson into your daily Holy Quran Recitation?

3. In the following Surah, mark long vowels and super long vowels you can find on each line

Teacher Evaluation Comments:

TAD_SL_JAN_2016 6

2 Patience

2.1 Teachings of the Holy Qur’an

And if you will remain patient, then know that this is better for those who remain patient (16:127)

1. Remember that you should show patience, and Allah tells you that those who show patience are more successful than others. It is better for those who show patience, in religious contests, they should not take revenge but should keep overlooking mistakes of others and remain tolerant.

2. Islam is facing a lot of difficulty today and is seen by a few in a bad light. Muslims should be patient and should continue focusing on bettering their own faith. Allah has promised that through patience success can be achieved. In patience what we are really doing is leaving the resolution of a difficult matter to the best of solvers: Allah

3. Why do teenagers have to wait until 16 to drive? Or 18 to vote? Why do you think you should be patient in this matter?

Some ideas: Safety, Maturity, Knowledge (understanding the rules)

“O ye who believe! Seek help with patience and prayer; surely, Allah is with the steadast.” (2:154)

1. We have seen in the history of religion that all the Prophets and their followers have gone through hardships. No Prophet is dearer to Allah than the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) and he and his followers also went through these trials and tribulations, but they did not complain and remained steadfast in their faith.

2. It is human nature that if we go through a prolong period of trials that we get tired and we say that when will that time come when we will be victorious and our enemies will be defeated. Allah reassures His believers that I am with those that remain patient and steadfast. To achieve this closeness to Allah, we must be vigilant in our prayers and remain steadfast.

And be patient in poverty and afflictions and the steadfast in time of war (2:178)

1. Courage is a value that should only be used at the appropriate time and occasion. In fact, sometimes the exercise of patience works with courage. For example, if you are being bullied by someone, it is not necessary that courage dictates a physical response. Sometimes, the best route is to have patience. The Quran has stated that in times of poverty when one has very little to provide for himself, he should not give in to despair, but should remain steadfast and patient since a believer has trust in Allah.

2. The point of being Patient is that one trusts that Allah, the best of providers, will bestow security and provision for you. A believer does not imagine that anything he does is by his own effort and is grateful for whatever good Allah provides. Furthermore, trials such as poverty and war are also things to be grateful for as Allah only tries true believers.

TAD_SL_JAN_2016 7

2.2 Lessons from History:

BattleofUhudandtheimportanceofobedienceandpatience.

Although Muslims were winning, the 50 archers on the mountain should not have left and should have been patient until the battle was over. Their lack of patience and the fact that they gave in to excitement of success led to their disobedience of their command. This led to the ultimate defeat of the Muslims in this battle.

2.3 From the Friday Sermon

(5th Khalifa) 11/12/2010 – Patience & Steadfastness

• Another meaning of patience is to stay away from all evil and follow all the commandments of Allah

• Patience is not a bad thing even when one is being persecuted. There are others who have distributed pamphlets saying that Ahmadis are lying because they have been persecuted for more than 100 years and Allah is not helping them.

• The Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) explained to his companions the golden principle of a righteous community that there will be trials and tribulations, but if you pray and are patient and remain steadfast then you will overcome this.

• Allah has promised that those who are steadfast will be blessed with unimaginable bounties

TAD_SL_JAN_2016 8

2.4 Homework:

Conduct some research on Prophet Jonah (AS) on alislam.org. Write down three interesting points you learned. Be ready to share with the class

a.

b.

c.

TeacherEvaluationComments

TAD_SL_JAN_2016 9

2.5 Lessons from History

Story of Jonah – Was patient and steadfast waiting in the belly of the whale to be saved by Allah:

One of the greatest prophets during the time of Jeroboam II was Jonah the son of Amitai, who, as a prophet disciple, had anointed Jehu and who, therefore, enjoyed the king's benevolence. Once God commanded Jonah to go to Nineveh, one of the largest cities of that time and foretell its destruction, because the evil of its inhabitants had reached the limit. The mission, however, was not to Jonah's liking. Nineveh was a bitter enemy of Israel, and Jonah would have liked to see its destruction. If he should succeed in his mission and Nineveh would be spared, it would remain a constant threat to Israel. Jonah therefore decided to seek escape. He boarded a ship that sailed for Tarshish, hoping to forget about his mission. Once the prophet was on the high seas, God caused a storm to break that threatened to tear the ship asunder. The sailors were frightened and each one prayed to his god. Jonah, however, lay down to sleep. The captain of the ship, seeing the sleeping man, went over to him and reprimanded him for sleeping in that fateful hour, instead of praying to God. Meanwhile the sailors drew lots to find out whose fault it was that this misfortune had been brought upon them. The lot fell upon Jonah. When the sailors questioned him as to who he was, whence he had come, and what his business was, he told them that he was a Jew and a servant of God, the Creator of heaven and earth. Then the sailors asked what they should do in order to quiet the raging sea and save their ship with all aboard. Jonah replied that all they had to do was to throw him overboard, and the storm would immediately die down, since it had been caused by his refusal to obey God's command. At first the sailors did not want to do as Jonah asked. But the storm grew fiercer and the end was seemingly unavoidable. Very reluctantly, the sailors threw Jonah into the water and the storm ceased at once.

As soon as Jonah was in the water, God sent a large fish to swallow Jonah alive. Three days and three nights Jonah stayed within the fish. In distress, he prayed to God to save him, and God ordered the fish to eject Jonah and set him on dry land.

Question: What do you seek help from Allah for? Does Allah always respond immediately?

Prophet Muhammad (saw) had to wait 13 years until he could return to his homeland.

TAD_SL_JAN_2016 10

3 Islamic Prayers (continued)

3.1 Homework

Study the above prayers with meaning.

TeacherEvaluationComments

TAD_SL_JAN_2016 11

4 Belief in Allah

4.1 If God exists, why can we not see him?

4.1.1 Firstweinvestigatethesenses:

Intellectual Senses: There are non-physical things we believe in based on our intellectual ability to understand them. E.g. magnetism, electricity, love, gravity, Time etc. All these things are believed to exist in some form, but cannot be physically sensed. All we witness are the manifestations of their powers and we understand them only based on these manifestations.

Conclusion:Itisproventhatknowledgeofathingcanbegainedthroughvariousmeansandtherefore,itisnotvalidtoassumeGoddoesnotexistsimplybecauseGod’sexistencecannotbevalidatedthroughaparticularsense(inthiscase,sight).

4.1.2 Second,wecanassumetherequirementthatGodcanbeseen:

1) IfGodcanbeseen,thenitrequiresheisascorporealasthematerialthingswecansensewithour5basicsenses.

2) UnlessGodbecamecorporeal,wewouldnotbeabletoseehim.3) ThismeansGodwouldbenegatingmanyofhisotherattributesincludinghisattributes

ofbeinginfiniteandincorporeal.4) Thus,ifGodwasabletobeseen,hewouldnegatehisownexistence-meaningifwe

couldseeGod,itwouldbeanargumentforhisnon-existenceratherthanhisexistence.

4.1.3 HumanNatureasanargumentfortheexistenceofGod

BeliefinGodisapartofHumanNature(Fitra).Thisiswhyasaforceofhabitmanypeopleatheistortheist,oftencallouttoGodintimesofgreatdistress(e.g.OhGod!).Inthebrain,theexerciseoffaithactivatesthosepartsofthebrainthatallowforself-lesscognition.

4.1.4 HolyQuran’sarguments:

'Verily,inthecreationoftheheavensandtheearthandinthealternationofnightandday,andintheshipswhichsailintheseawiththatwhichprofitsmen,andinthewaterwhichAllahsendsdownfromtheskyandquickenstherewiththeearthafteritsdeathandscattersthereinallkindsofbeasts,andinthechangeofthewindsandthecloudspressedintoservicebetweentheheavenandtheearthareindeedSignsforthepeoplewhousetheirunderstanding.'(Surahal-Baqarah2:165)

4.1.5 Cause/Effect,Creator/CreationArgument

1) Byvirtueofhavingbeencreated,theexistenceofacreatorisrequired.a. Mancreatedthingsliketoolsandshelterandhasevolvedsincetocreate

increasinglycomplextools.

TAD_SL_JAN_2016 12

b. Nothinginexistencehascomeintoexistenceonitsownc. Allthingscreatedrequireafashionerorcreator.d. Inthatcreationisaneffect,theremustalwaysbeacause.e. Thecauseofcreationisthedefinitionofacreator.

2) ItisGodthatisthecreatorofallthingsknownandunknown.a. Nootherhaslaidclaimtothispowerorauthoritytorequireanyotherdiscussion

astoanyelsethatcanlayclaimtothis.b. AllHolybooksandtheentiretyofreligioushistoryclearlydemonstratethis

assertion.3) Thecreatorexistsindependentofthecreationandmustbeahigheranddifferent

existence.a. Forthesakeofunderstanding,considersomethingman-madesuchasan

automobile.Anautomobileiscomposedofalessermaterialthatcannothealitselfsuchasthatofthecellularstructureofahuman(itscreator).

b. Anautomobile’sentirecompositionisfocusedonenhancingasingleobjective:movement.Althoughitisfasterthanahuman,ithasnumerousflawsasitcannottraverseinmostplacesandspecialpathshavetobecreatedforitsmovementtoevenoccur(roads).

c. Thecreated,althoughitcarriestraitsofitscreator,isacompletelydifferenttypeofexistence.Manisundoubtedlythemostprolificinventoramongstallcreationknownyetmancannotcreatesomethingfromnothing.Thisisacleardistinctionbetweenmananditscreator(God).

d. Godisindependentofallthatheiscreatede. SinceGodcreatedtheuniverseandeverythinginit,Godisofadifferent

existenceincomprehensibletoman

TAD_SL_JAN_2016 13

4.2 Homework

Whichoftheabovereasoningmadethemostsenseorspoketoyouthemost?Why?

Bereadytosharewiththeclass.

TAD_SL_JAN_2016 14

4.3 Book Reading

Excerpts from the book Revelation, Rationality, Knowledge & Truth by Hazrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad (RA)

Chapter - The Holy Quran and Cosmology

At the time the Holy Quran was revealed, the human understanding of the nature of the cosmos and the movement or the stillness of the heavenly bodies was extremely primitive and obscure. This is no longer the case, as our knowledge of the universe has considerably advanced and expanded by the present age.

Someofthetheoriesrelatingtothecreationoftheuniversehavebeenverifiedasfacts,whereassomeothersarestillbeingexplored.Theconceptoftheexpandinguniversebelongstotheformercategory,andhasbeenuniversallyacceptedbythescientificcommunityas'fact'.ThisdiscoverywasfirstmadebyEdwinHubbleinthe1920s.Yetsomethirteencenturiesbeforethis,itwasclearlymentionedintheQuran:

AndtheheavenWebuiltwithOurownpowers(aydin)andindeedWegoonexpandingit(musi'un)

ItshouldberememberedthattheconceptofthecontinuousexpansionoftheuniverseisexclusivetotheQuran.NootherDivinescripturesevenremotelyhintatit.Thediscoverythattheuniverseisconstantlyexpandingisofprimesignificancetoscientists,becauseithelpscreateabetterunderstandingofhowtheuniversewasinitiallycreated.Itclearlyexplainsthestagebystageprocessofcreation,inamannerwhichperfectlyfallsintostepwiththetheoryoftheBigBang.TheQurangoesfurtheranddescribestheentirecycleofthebeginning,theendandthereturnagaintoasimilarbeginning.ThefirststepofcreationasrelatedintheQuranaccuratelydescribestheeventoftheBigBanginthefollowingwords:

Donottheunbelieversseethattheheavensandtheearthwereaclosed-upmass(ratqan),thenWeclovethemasunder(fataqna)?AndWemadefromwatereverylivingthing.Willtheynotthenbelieve?

Itissignificantthatthisverseisspecificallyaddressedtonon-believers,implyingperhaps,thattheunveilingofthesecretmentionedinthisversewouldbemadebythenon-believers,asignforthemofthetruthoftheQuran.

TAD_SL_JAN_2016 15

Inthisversethewordsratqan(closed-upmass),andfataqna(Weclovethemasunder),carrythebasicmessageofthewholeverse.AuthenticArabiclexicons3givetwomeaningsofratqan,thathavegreatrelevancetothetopicunderdiscussion.Onemeaningis'thecomingtogetherofsomethingandtheconsequentinfusionintoasingleentity'andthesecondmeaningis'totaldarkness'.Boththesemeaningsaresignificantlyapplicable.Takentogether,theyofferanaptdescriptionofthesingularityofablackhole.

ABLACKHOLEisagravitationallycollapsedmassofcolossalsize.Itbeginswiththecollapseofsuchmassivestarsasare15ormoretimesthesizeofthesun.Theimmensityoftheirinwardgravitationalpullcausesthestarstocollapseintoamuchsmallersize.Thegravitationalpullisfurtherconcentratedandresultsinthefurthercollapseoftheentiremassintoasupernova.Atthisstagethebasicbricksofmattersuchasmolecules,atomsetc.begintobecrushedintoanondescriptmassofenergy.Thusthatmomentinspace-timeiscreatedwhichiscalledeventhorizon.Theinwardgravitationalpullofthatsomethingbecomessopowerfulthatallformsofradiationarepulledbacksothatevenlightcannotescape.Aresultanttotaldarknessensueswhichearnsitthenameblackhole,remindingoneofthewordratqanusedbytheQuranindicatingtotaldarkness.Thisiscalledsingularitywhichliesbeyondtheeventhorizon.

Whilstspeakingofthefirstcreationoftheuniverse,theQuranclearlydescribesitsendingintoyetanotherblackhole,connectingtheendtothebeginning,thuscompletingthefullcircleofthestoryofcosmos.TheQurandeclares:

RememberthedaywhenWeshallrolluptheheavensliketherollingupofwrittenscrolls

Theclearmessageofthisverseisthattheuniverseisnoteternal.Itspeaksofafuturewhentheheavenswillberolledup,inamannersimilartotherollingupofascroll.Scientificdescriptionsillustratingthemakingofablackhole,verycloselyresemblewhattheQurandescribesintheaboveverse.

Amassofaccretionfromspacefallingintoablackhole,asdescribedabove,wouldbepressedintoasheetundertheenormouspressurecreatedbythegravitationalandelectromagneticforces.Asthecenteroftheblackholeisconstantlyrevolvingarounditself,thissheet—asitapproaches—willbegintobewrappedaroundit,beforedisappearingintotherealmoftheunknownatlast.

ThisQur’anicconceptofthebeginningandtheendofthecreationisundoubtedlyextraordinary.Itwouldnothavebeenlessamazingifithadbeenrevealedtoahighlyeducatedpersonofourcontemporaryage,butoneiswonder-struckbythefactthatthismostadvancedknowledge,regardingtheperpetuallyrepeatingphenomenonofcreation,wasrevealedmorethanfourteenhundredyearsagotoanunlettereddwelleroftheArabiandesert.

TAD_SL_JAN_2016 16

TheQuranandtheHeavenlyBodies

Nowweturntoanotheraspectofthedescriptionofthecosmos,whichrelatestothemotionoftheheavenlybodies.Themoststrikingfeatureofthisdescriptionrelatestothewaythemotionoftheearthisdescribedwithoutglaringlycontradictingthepopularviewprevailinginthatage.Allthescholarsandsagesofthattimewereunanimousintheirbeliefthattheearthisstationarywhileotherheavenlybodieslikethesunandthemoonareconstantlyrevolvingaroundit.Inviewofthis,themotionoftheearthasdescribedbytheQuranmaynotbeapparenttothecasualreader,buttoacarefulstudentthemessageisloudandclear.IftheQuranhaddescribedtheearthasstationaryandtheheavenlybodiesasrevolvingaroundit,thenalthoughthepeopleofthattimemighthavebeensatisfiedwiththisdescription,thepeopleofthelaterageswouldhavetreatedthatstatementasaproofoftheignoranceoftheQuran'sauthor.Suchastatement,theywouldemphasize,couldnothavebeenmadebyanAll-Knowing,SupremeBeing.

Ratherthanliterallycomparingthemotionoftheearthtothatofotherheavenlybodies,theQuranmakesthefollowingstatement:

Themountainsthatyousee,youthinktheyarestationarywhiletheyareconstantlyfloatinglikethefloatingofclouds.SuchistheworkofAllahWhomadeeverythingfirmandstrong

Ifthemountainsaredeclaredtobeinconstantmotion,thentheonlylogicalinferencetobedrawnfromthiswouldbethattheearthisalsorotatingalongwiththem

TheHolyQuranalsopronouncesthatallheavenlybodiesareinaconstantstateofmotion;noneofthemisstationary:

everythingisglidingalongsmoothlyinitsorbit.

Thisall-embracingstatementcoverstheentireuniverse,oursolarsystembeingnoexception.Inadditiontothis,therearemanyotherverses,whichmentiontheellipticalmovementofalltheheavenlybodies.

Itclearlyspeaksofapointinspacetobethesun'sfinalrestingplace.Despitethefactthatitisonlythesun,whichismentioned,theverseswhichimmediatelyfollowbindtheentireuniversetothemovementofthesuninthesamespecificdirection:

TAD_SL_JAN_2016 17

Andthesunisconstantlymovinginthedirectionofitsultimateabodeofrest.ThisisthedecreeoftheAlmighty,theAll-Knowing.AndforthemoonWehaveregulatedstagesuntilitlookslikeathinbranchofanoldpalmtree.Nordoesitbehoveforthesuntoovertakethemoonnorforthenighttoovertaketheday.

Ifitwereonlythesunwhichwasmovinginafixeddirection,theversewhichfollowsthisstatementwouldnothaveproclaimedthatthesunandthemoonstrictlymaintaintheirmutualdistance;theywillneverbeabletogainormoveawayfromeachother,anunchangeabledestinytilltheirappointedtime.Thisclearlyshowsthatinwhateverdirectionthesunismoving,themoonisalsomoving.

Butitisnotonlythequestionofthesunandthemoon.AlltheheavenlybodiesaredescribedintheQuranassoundlesslyfloating.AgaintherearenumerousversesintheQuranwhichdescribetheheavenlybodiesboundtogetherwithinvisiblelinks.Henceifoneofthemmovesinadirectionotherthanitsorbitalandellipticalmotion,alltheotherheavenlybodiesmustalsomovealongtomaintaintheirmutualbalance.

AndHeitisWhocreatedthenightandtheday,andthesunandthemoon;everythingglidingalonginorbit.

Itisnotforthesuntoovertakethemoon,norcanthenightoutstriptheday.Allfloatinanorbit.

ThisisauniquestyleoftheQuranalsoemployedforindicatingthemovementoftheearthuponitsaxis.Thepeopleofthetimeofboththeserevelationscouldnotclearlygrasptheunderlyingidea.Ifthemountainsaremovingtheearthmustalsomovealong,butthisisnotwhatthepeopleofthatageinferred.Norcouldtheygrasptheideathatifthesunismovinginthedirectionofaspecificspace,theentireuniversemustalsobemovingalongwithittothesamedestination.

TAD_SL_JAN_2016 18

4.4 Homework

Write an essay (one page) or create a presentation based on one of the Qur’anic verses discussed above and its modern science implications.

If you chose to do a presentation it can be hard copy or electronic. The presentation must be visually appealing and include pictures along with text.

Electronic must be at least 4 slides and at least 5 points relating to your topic.

Hard copy should be on poster board of any size and should also include at least 5 points that relate to your chosen topic.

Essay should also contain 5 highlighted points aligning with your topic.

Whatever format you chose, it should be creative and include details about how the Quranic verse illuminates a scientific concept. Be ready to share it next class!