Zil Hajj is fast approaching! Millions are going for Hajj, while those who are at home pray that we are able to travel to the Holy Kabah soon. May Allah bless us all with the opportunity!
While we are at home, however, I want to make sure to talk about Makkah, Hajj, and this Eid as much as possible. I feel like this Eid does not receive as much attention and excitement as Eid-ul-Fitr – and my goal is to change that! I have come up with activities to discuss all of these aspects in the 9 days leading up to Eid-ul-Adha.
To build up the anticipation, I have created my “Zil Hajj” display on the wall in advance, and on some yarn under the name of the month, I clipped envelopes numbered 1 through 9 using mini-clothespins. For each envelope, there are strips of paper that have different activities that relate to these days. Of course, you can vary the ideas as you’d like, but these are the activities that I came up with to put in my envelopes. I also decided to make a big envelope for Eid, which instead of an activity, I filled with confetti and wrote “Celebrate!”
Zil Hajj 1: Mountains of Makkah
When I was in Makkah a few years ago, seeing the mountains and the streets and the mosques, I kept thinking of this nasheed by Zain Bhikha.
In this nasheed, Zain Bhikha talks about how the mountains of Makkah have been around to witness so much history. We hear so many stories about the events that happened in Makkah, from the time of Prophet Ibrahim (AS), from the time of the Prophet (SAW), throughout history. We know about Prophet Ibrahim (AS) building the Kabah, we know about the birth of Imam Ali (AS), we know about the army of Abraha and how Allah protected the Holy Kabah. The mountains have been a witness to all of this.
Activity:
Materials:
- Blank paper
- Scissors
Directions:
- Discuss what the kids know about Makkah. We have heard many stories from the time of the Prophets, of the Imams. Talk about what they know.
- Create a list of events that they know. Include the events that are in the Nasheed.
- Cut the list apart, separating each event.
- Try to arrange a rough timeline of all the events. (We don’t necessarily have the exact years of all the events, but we can guesstimate on them.)
Zil Hajj 2: Building the Holy Kaabah
Download story HERE. For older kids, have them read it. For younger kids, have a discussion, based on their knowledge level.
Activity: Build your own mini Kaabah
A classic activity that is found everywhere, but honestly, I’ve never made a mini-Kaabah before. I felt like this was the perfect time.
Materials:
- Template of a cube — a simple Google search led me here
- Black paper
- Gold ribbon
- Gold marker
- Glue or tape
- Scissors
Directions:
- Cut and fold the black paper using the cube template to make a cube shape.
- Decorate the Kabah using the ribbon and the marker.
[EDIT: As we made our mini-Kaabah, I realized it was a lot easier to use cereal box cardboard for the 4 walls, and then drape it with black. I’m sure black construction paper would probably be easiest to glue/tape, but sadly I couldn’t find any at our local grocery store. I used black plastic tablecloth instead- I definitely don’t recommend that, but when that’s all I had available… we made it work.]
Zil Hajj 3: Mount Safa and Mount Marwah
Download story HERE. For older kids, have them read it. For younger kids, have a discussion, based on their knowledge level.
Activity: Build your own mini-mountains
To go along the previous activity – build mountains to add to your Kabah display.
Materials:
- Template of a cone — Google led me here
- 2 brown papers
- Glue, tape, or a stapler
- Scissors
Directions:
- Cut out and fold the brown papers using the cone template to make a cone shape.
- Label one mountain Safa and one mountain Marwah and arrange the mountains with the Kabah.
Activity: Drink Zam Zam water!
If you have some, drink Zam Zam water.
When you drink it, read this Dua:
O Allah! grant me knowledge which is beneficial, great sustenance and relief from pains and illnesses. [from duas.org]
Zil Hajj 4: Sacrifice
Download story HERE. For older kids, have them read it. For younger kids, have a discussion, based on their knowledge level.
Activity: Make a sheep
Eid Mu-baaa-rak!
Materials:
- Download SHEEP here
- Cotton balls
- Glue
- Googly eyes (optional — my daughter is completely obsessed nowadays)
Directions:
- Print out the sheep.
- Fill in the fluffy part of the sheep by gluing cotton balls.
- Once the sheep dies, color in the surrounding areas. Decorate the page to make an Eid sign.
Zil Hajj 5: Sacrifice, continued
Revisit the story from yesterday. Have a discussion about the animals that we sacrifice on Eid-ul-Adha. When we sacrifice the animal, we should give a portion to our relatives and neighbors and a portion to people who are less fortunate. Living in western countries, we often cannot participate in this tradition. Because of this, people often give money so that people in need can sacrifice an animal.
Activity: Color-by-number cow
Eid Moo-barak!
Materials:
- Cow worksheet
- Coloring utensils
Directions:
- Go to the Teaching Young Muslims Resource Library to download the worksheet! Enter your name and email address here to receive the password to access this download.
[Already signed up? Enter the library HERE. Once you enter your password to enter the library, click on “Dhul Hijjah” and click on “Color-by-Number Cow.”]
2. Print out the cow.
3. Color in the areas of the cow based on the numbers. Each number corresponds to a color.
4. Decorate the rest of the page to make an Eid sign!
I hope you will enjoy these activities and find them useful! I would love to see your final products – please share them with me! Leave a comment below, or send me an email or facebook message 🙂
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