Opening the ayah…
أَلَمْ يَرَوْا۟ كَمْ أَهْلَكْنَا قَبْلَهُم مِّنَ ٱلْقُرُونِ أَنَّهُمْ إِلَيْهِمْ لَا يَرْجِعُونَ
'Alam' yaraw' kam' 'ah'lak'nā qab'lahum mmina l-qurūni 'annahum' 'ilay'him' lā yar'jiʻūna
See they not how many generations before them we destroyed? Not to them will they return:
Translation: Abdullah Yusuf Ali
Looking for reflections…
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Opening the guide…
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4-I guide
Do they not see how many earlier nations Allah brought to an end for their wrongdoing, never to return to this world?
Start with bismillah.
Ask: "Have you ever visited ruins of an old town or castle?"
Watch the Omni-Islam video about the Thamud of Mada'in Salih. Play the first few minutes.
Now listen to the ayah together in the app, with the translation. Ask: "What can people learn from past nations?"
Each child keeps one wonder question, for example: "What happened to the people who lived in old ruins?" Younger children can draw theirs.
Find it in the mushaf: Surah Ya-Sin is surah 36. Find ayah 31. The key word qurun means generations or nations. Old ruins remind us that every nation has its time. Some were destroyed because they refused their messengers. Looking at history is like reading a big book of lessons, and the people of the past do not come back to warn us themselves.
Fact: In which present-day country are the rock-cut homes of Mada'in Salih?
Ages 5–8: Time line of me. Line up photos of yourself from baby to now and talk about how time passes.
Ages 9–12: Ruin research. Find one ancient city that is now ruins and write one lesson it could teach.
Finish with: "I found that Mada'in Salih is in ___."
Talk together:
Make a small plan: "This week, I will learn one lesson from history and share it."
Action: Learn one lesson from history and share it.
