Aim: The students will InshaAllah have a deeper understanding on what and why they are asking Allah (s.w.t) through His Hujjat (atf).

Inculcating the ardency to connect with the Imam Mahdi (atf) at all times is the objective of the Areeza station.

Give the students a novel sound and vision introduction (linked below) to understand the meaning and purpose of an Areeza. Then request the students to get in groups and present on the following four topics:

1. “Why should we write an Areeza?”

2. “How can we use Areezas to self-progress?”

3. “Who was Hussein Bin Rooh and why is he mentioned in the Areeza du’a?”

4. “Different ways of communicating with our Imam (atf)”

When the Areezas are penned on the 15th Sha’ban, distribute an Areeze with an English translation for your students (available here).

Aim: Students can familiarise themselves with the various signs of the reappearance of the Awaited Imam (atf).

Hide six signs in the car park of your centre, or a nice wide space/room with many walls and corners (to hide these signs). Then use the clues (available here) to find the signs and answer the questions placed at each sign. Once the student answers the questions correctly, the 'manager' at the station can reveal that station's secret letter.

Once the student has collected all six letters, they must unscramble them to form the title of the Imam (atf) – Al Qaim. Give the winning team a small token of appreciation (we gave ice lollies!)

Aim: Teach the students about some of the words of our Imam (atf) through a method that would allow them to relate to the Hadith.

View the Hadith used in this station by clicking here | PowerPoint Version

At this station, display some of the Hadith of our Imam (atf) (please click here) around the classrooms.

Put the students into groups and assign them to one Hadith per group. After reading the Hadith, ask them to either; engage in discussion or an activity or presentation to explain the particular Hadith to the rest of their classmates.

There are several different Hadiths available, covering a variety of topics including, the Imam’s (atf) connection with us; our duty towards the Imam (atf), things we should be doing during Ghaybat as taught by the Imam (atf) etc.

Ideas for presentation include a range of role plays, freeze frames, poster making, speech bubbles etc. Through these practical learning methods, the students will hopefully remember these Hadiths and apply in their lives to keep this bond with the Imam (atf) which was after all the main purpose of the Al- Mahdi (atf) day.

Aim: Aside from teaching our students about the particular events mentioned above, was to also demonstrate the wealth of resources available online in video format.

At this station, provide all the students with all the amenities of a modern cinema, such as popcorn and soft drinks Then present a short film on some of the events preceding the reappearance of our Imam (atf) as well as the events post the reappearance of our Imam (atf).

All too often the negative aspects of the Internet are spoken about and discussed, and very little attention is given to some of the excellent material available online, particularly about our Imam (atf).

Once the film is finished, have the students answer a series of questions (available here) about the clip they watched to gauge their understanding of the content of the film.

However, the real value of this session is spending time with the students in small groups and discussing the questions in detail with them, and thereby enriching the understanding of the children relating to the above events.

The project was intended to educate the students of the Madressa to appreciate the plight of 1 billion human beings of lack access to clean water and who walk great distances of up to 10 km every day to fetch water.

The children were invited to reflect on the central role water plays in Allah's creation, as a purifier of najasat, and in its use to prepare for ibaadat at least 3 times a day.

But whilst we are blessed with water in abundance here in the West, and we typically use up to 150 litres a day, the equivalent in number of Hujjat Jamaat's membership (approx. 6,000) die each and every day due to diseases related to unclean water.

The reality of what the needy go through on a daily basis quickly dawned on the participants who appreciated the value of their load and how it would wear them down having to carry it daily for longer distances. By the end as the students sat to drink some of the water that they had carried, they reflected on how they could conserve their own use of water.

As we splash out less on our water bills at home and at the mosque and bring water closer to those that need it, it must be a win, win situation for all.

The campaign continues during Ramadhan, InshaAllah and we request you all to donate at:  www.justgiving.com/teams/simwow or alternatively text SIMC72 £10 to 70070 to donate £12.50 (with GiftAid) to the appeal.

In summary, the eagerness of our students to learn about the Imam (atf) was an eye opener. Our students are all thirsty for knowledge, and if quenched and nurtured in the right way by those around them, then these children will truly grow to be great leaders of a future generation with the true love and preparation to serve His representative on earth.

Students answered questions after their WoW Appeal Experience that can be found by clicking here.

Having younger children in the Madressa, you can set up various fun activities to teach them about our living Imam (atf) through fun and play. 

Some ideas for activities are: face painting, beat the teacher in the goal, dart board and fishing games. 

In all these activities have the children answer simple questions about our Imam (atf) prior to being granted the opportunity to play. 

Have these young talented minds writing an Areeza to the Imam in picture format!  

You can then end the day with the classes presenting Qur’an recitation, kasida, munajat and a short play on the appearance of the Imam (atf), to make it like a Milad.