Opening the ayah…
رَّبُّ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا وَرَبُّ ٱلْمَشَٰرِقِ
Rrabbu ssamāwāti wal-'ar'ḍi wamā bay'nahumā warabbu l-mashāriqi
Lord of the heavens and of the earth and all between them, and Lord of every point at the rising of the sun!
Translation: Abdullah Yusuf Ali
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Opening the guide…
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4-I guide
Lord of the skies, the land and all in between, and Lord of every place where the sun rises.
Start with bismillah.
Ask: "Have you noticed the sunrise moving along the horizon during the year?"
Watch the Mrs. Hrycan video Science Lesson: Sunrise and Sunset.
Now listen to the ayah together in the app, with the translation. Ask: "Why does the ayah say sunrises, not just sunrise?"
Each child keeps one wonder question, for example: "Why does the sunrise move?" Younger children can draw theirs.
Find it in the mushaf: Surah As-Saffat is surah 37. Find ayah 5. The key word al-mashariq means the places of sunrise, in the plural. The sun rises at a slightly different point on the horizon each day, moving north and south through the year as the Earth tilts on its journey. Allah is Lord of every one of those sunrises. It is a sign to ponder.
Fact: On which two days of the year does the sun rise almost exactly in the east?
Ages 5–8: Sunrise marker. Mark where the sun rises from your window and check again in two weeks.
Ages 9–12: Sun path diary. Record sunrise times for a week and see how they change.
Finish with: "I found that the days are called the ___."
Talk together:
Make a small plan: "This week, I will watch one sunrise and thank Allah for the new day."
Action: Watch one sunrise and thank Allah for the new day.
