Letters of the Week

Written by: Abu Sulaimaan

An American educator, author, and lifelong learner. He currently resides in Nouakchott, Mauritania with his family.

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May 22, 2011

I typed Hijri Calendar in the search engine and all of the results read Islamic Calendar.

Is·lam·ic | ɪˈslɑmɪk |
adjective
relating to Islam: the Islamic world | Islamic law

I would like to add that this name, Islamic Calendar, is a proper noun (a special name for a person, place, or thing). It is a special Calendar for a special way of life, Islam.

Then I felt a bit disturbed when I read

It is used to determine the proper days of Islamic holidays and rituals, such as the annual fasting and the annual season for the great pilgrimage.

The information is true, but does it suggest that in the absence of Islamic holidays and rituals, it isn’t used. Do we only know the names of three or four of the 12 months of the year? How would I look if I only knew three or four months of the non-islamic calendar?

Allâh says in the Quran: “Indeed, the number of months with Allah is twelve [lunar] months in the register of Allah [from] the day He created the heavens and the earth; of these, four are sacred…” [Quran 9:36]

How to make this special calendar special in our lives?

A good way to start is by learning the months by heart, you and your loved ones. This Months in Islam nasheed by Zain Bhikha helps you easily recall the months.

You can also add the Islamic Calendar to your currently used calendars if you haven’t done so already. It’s quite easy to set up.

For Samsung users: Go to Calendar -> Click on Menu -> Go to Settings -> Tap on Alternate calendar -> Choose Hijri

For Mac users: Go to Calendar -> Click on Settings -> Go to General -> Select on Show Alternate calendar -> Choose Islamic

For Windows users: Go to Calendar -> Click on Settings -> Enable Alternate calendars -> Choose Hijri

Order The Productive Muslim Company Hijri-first calendar and post the Islamic Calendar in your home, shop or office. You can order them as gift for friends. Click here >

The Darul Arqam Islamic Calendar Cards

Here is another easy and fun way to make the Islamic Calendar part of our special way of life. Children love to help cut out the cards and prepare them for hanging. There are four (4) sets to choose from: Arabic/English (black&white), English/Arabic (black&white), Arabic/English (color), English/Arabic (color).

Download cards and print black text onto color paper:

Arabic/Eng (b/w)Eng/Arabic (b/w)

Or download colored cards and print onto white paper:

Arabic/Eng (clr)Eng/Arabic (clr)

May Allâh put barakah in our lives, ameen.

Al hamdu lillaah, the children really love this part of the week. Everyday the children receive a new letter to study until the they’ve acquired four to five letters. This group of letters is correctly pronounced, written (firstly using a book with dotted letters, secondly on small individual chalkboards), read and reinforced using several different games and activities associated with each letter.

Once we are sure that the class, as a whole, has firmly grasped it new letters we have a fun and exciting cut and paste exercise that the children just love so much. Thier حروف الأسبوع (Letters of the Week) sheets are energetically taken home to display to their parents not only what they have made with the little hands but also what they’ve learned.

Next: On the Road →

On the Road

Al hamdu lillaah, today a young brother from Brooklyn and I headed out to the countryside (baadiya). It...

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