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Have you ever thought to yourself about what you can do to familiarize your kids with the Quran? What are some ways that we can increase our children’s knowledge of the Quran? One of the best ways of teaching the Quran to kids and making them fond of it is to teach them some fun facts about the Quran. In this article, we will go over some of those facts.
Where Do We Start?
It is quite obvious that when stating facts about the Quran, we have to be careful that they are not complicated and the verses we choose must be short and easy to learn. The short surahs of the Quran that are in the last juz’ are one of the best places to start because the verses and surahs are short and easy to learn. Surah Fatiha, which is the first surah in the Quran, is also a wonderful surah that contains many Quranic facts. What should we say about these surahs and verses? By looking at the translation of the verses and surahs and their commentary, we can state some facts about each surah.
If you want to teach the Quran to your kids and have them learn some basic facts about the Quran, you might want to enroll them in the Quran Kids course. By downloading its app and signing up, your kids will love the Quran while learning interesting facts about it.
Some Interesting Facts About a Few Surahs
One of the first things we can teach our kids is the Bismillah at the beginning of each surah. Allah says:
بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
In the Name of God, the All-Compassionate, the All-Merciful.
We can say for example, “Hey Muhammad! Did you know that all the surahs of the Quran begin with Bismillah except one surah? That means 113 surahs begin with Bismillah.”
Then we can explain to them when we say Bismillah at other times by saying, “Zahra sweetie, did you know that we should do our best to say Bismillah before starting any activity? Can you name before which activities we say Bismillah?” Some of them are:
- after waking up
- before brushing our teeth
- before eating breakfast
- before going to school
- before writing homework
- before driving
- before sleeping
Do you want to learn some other facts about Bismillah? You can find that and a lot more in the Quran Kids course. Download the app and enjoy!
Surah Fatiha
Surah Fatiha, meaning the opening, or al-Hamd, meaning the praise, is the very first surah in the Quran. Almost all kids learn and memorize this surah by the time they are five or six years old. We recite this surah at least ten times every day in our salat. There are many fun facts that we can learn from this surah. We already learned a little about Bismillah, the first verse of Surah Fatiha, which is also at the beginning of all but one surah, meaning Surah Tawbah. Allah says in this verse that He is All-Compassionate and All-Merciful. Compassionate here means that Allah is kind and merciful to all of His creation no matter who they are. He has given everyone, whether they are Muslim or not, things such as food, water, clothes, and shelter.
All-Merciful here means that Allah is especially kind and merciful to His special servants. For example, He is more merciful to us Muslims and has promised to take us to heaven if we are righteous.
Facts About the Second Verse
The second verse of Surah Fatiha reads:
ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ ٱلْعَٰلَمِينَ
All praise be to God, Lord of all the worlds.
What does this verse mean? All praise belongs to God. In fact, it is a way of saying thank you to Allah. It is like saying: Allah deserves all praise because He is the Lord of the worlds and has created us. What facts do we know about this verse? When do we say Alhamdulillah? The second verse of Surah Fatiha, similar to the first one, is something we regularly say in our day-to-day lives. Whenever we want to thank Allah and show our gratitude to Him, we say Alhamdulillah. After drinking water, eating food, finishing homework, coming home from school or work, and every time we feel that we must thank Allah, we say Alhamdulillah, praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds.
Facts About the Third Verse
The third verse of Surah Fatiha reads:
ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
The All-Compassionate, the All-Merciful.
Why should we thank Allah who deserves all praise? He is the All-Compassionate and the All-Merciful. Does not someone who is so kind and merciful deserve our praise? Absolutely. This verse, which is similar to the first verse and a continuation of the previous verse states that Allah deserves all praise because He is the All-Compassionate, the All-Merciful. Why should we not praise Allah when He is exceedingly kind and merciful to every single person in the world? Additionally, He is especially kind to those who believe in Him and worship Him.
Facts About the Fourth Verse
مَٰلِكِ يَوْمِ ٱلدِّينِ
Master of the Day of Judgment.
On the Day of Judgment, Allah is the only one who says what will happen and who goes to heaven and who goes to hell based on divine justice. One of the things about Surah Fatiha is that we are speaking to Allah. It is as though Allah is showing us how we should speak to Him. The fourth verse of Surah Fatiha is the continuation of the two previous verses. In other words, Allah is telling us to praise Him as the All-Compassionate, All-Merciful God who is the master of the Day of Judgment.
Now let us go over some facts about the Day of Judgment that are suitable for kids. No one knows when the Day of Judgment is except Allah. The Day of Judgment, as the name indicates, is a day on which Allah will judge everyone based on their deeds. If they have believed in Allah and have done good deeds, they will enter paradise. However, if they did both good deeds and bad deeds, they will first go to hell for some time until their bad deeds are cleansed, and then they will go to heaven. Those who have not believed in Allah and have committed sins will go to hell, according to the Quran.
Facts About the Fifth Verse
Allah states in the fifth verse of Surah Fatiha:
إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ
We worship only you and ask only you for help.
What a beautiful verse. Once again, Allah is telling us how we should speak and pray to Him. We should only worship Allah and only ask Him for help. But wait a minute. Does that mean we cannot ask anyone else for help like our parents, friends, colleagues, teachers, and classmates? Of course we can. If we remember that they have been created by Allah and that they are a means for fulfilling our needs, it is like we have asked Allah for help. We have to make sure to say Alhamdulillah and thank them too when they help us, which is itself a way of worshipping Allah.
Sometimes, worshipping something has a different meaning. It can also mean to be so obsessed with something that we totally forget Allah. Money is one example. If we are always looking for more ways to make money and it becomes our only object, it is as though we worship money instead of Allah. So we have to make sure that we only worship Allah and thank Him for all the blessings He has given us.
Facts About the Sixth Verse
Allah says in the next verse:
ٱهْدِنَا ٱلصِّرَٰطَ ٱلْمُسْتَقِيمَ
Guide us to the straight path,
There is only one path that leads us to Allah. It is straight and not full of twists and turns, and it is the shortest and best path to Allah. In this verse, we are asking Allah to guide us to this path so that we would prosper in this world and the next. Knowing the straight path is not too difficult. The straight path is the true teachings of Islam that are mentioned in the Quran and narrations from the Noble Prophet (s) and his progeny. If we follow the Quran, the Sunnah, and the Ahlul Bait (a), we would be on the straight path. So, if we do not do things such as lying, backbiting, stealing, cheating, and killing others while also believing in Allah and worshipping Him only, we would be on the straight path.
Facts About the Seventh Verse
Allah says in the seventh and last verse of Surah Fatiha:
صِرَٰطَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ غَيْرِ ٱلْمَغْضُوبِ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا ٱلضَّآلِّينَ
The path of those You blessed, not the path of those at whom You are wrathful, nor the path of those who have gone astray.
This verse is a continuation of the previous verse. Which straight path? How many straight paths do we even have? There is only one straight path: the path of those whom Allah has blessed, meaning the Muslims, not the path of those whom Allah is angry at, meaning the Jews, nor the path of those who have gone astray, meaning the Christians. This is what most commentaries of the Quran say.
The truth is, Islam is the straight path. True Islam that is. Not all of those made-up religions that have nothing to do with Islam and give a bad image to it. By following all of the laws of our religion, we will certainly be on the straight path.
What About Other Quranic Facts?
These were only some facts from the Quran about Surah Fatiha. If you want to learn more facts about other short surahs of the Quran, make sure you sign up for the Quran Kids course by downloading the app. You can learn the facts about eight other surahs including:
1. Surah Kawthar
2. Surah Kafirun
3. Surah Fil
4. Surah Quraysh
5. Surah Qadr
And three other surahs.
Conclusion
Stating fun Quranic facts and telling Quranic stories are one of the best ways of teaching the Quran to kids. If kids learn facts and stories of the short surahs especially, they will learn and memorize them quicker and better. Here on Islam4u, we recommend the Quran Kids course to all parents who wish to familiarize their children with the Quran.
