Opening the ayah…
فَأَهْلَكْنَآ أَشَدَّ مِنْهُم بَطْشًۭا وَمَضَىٰ مَثَلُ ٱلْأَوَّلِينَ
Fa'ah'lak'nā 'ashadda min'hum baṭ'shan wamaḍā mathalu l-'awwalīna
So We destroyed (them)- stronger in power than these;- and (thus) has passed on the Parable of the peoples of old.
Translation: Abdullah Yusuf Ali
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Opening the guide…
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4-I guide
So We destroyed people mightier than these, and the example of the earlier peoples has gone before.
Start with bismillah.
Ask: "What happened to the great civilisations of long ago?"
Watch the Media Pixelogy video Ancient Civilizations for Kids.
Now listen to the ayah together in the app, with the translation. Ask: "Were the earlier peoples weaker or stronger?"
Each child keeps one wonder question, for example: "If they were so strong, why did they fall?" Younger children can draw theirs.
Find it in the mushaf: Surah Az-Zukhruf is surah 43. Find ayah 8. The key word mathal means an example. Some ancient peoples built huge cities and had great armies, yet they disappeared. The Quran says those who rejected Allah's messengers fell even though they were stronger than the people of Makkah. Their story is an example for all of us.
Fact: Name one ancient civilisation that disappeared.
Ages 5–8: Then and now. Draw an ancient city and the ruins left today.
Ages 9–12: Lesson card. Write the lesson one fallen civilisation teaches us.
Finish with: "I found that ___ was a civilisation that disappeared."
Talk together:
Make a small plan: "This week, I will learn one lesson from a story of the past."
Action: Learn one lesson from a story of the past.
