Lesson Title: God is Just and Merciful Lesson Objectives: - To introduce the concept of Adalat - Understand Allah is Al Adl, Fair and Just - Understand that fairness does not always mean everyone getting the same - Understand how to act fairly - Understand the importance of speaking up when others are treated unfairly - Understand the greatness of Allah’s Mercy Quran Verse: Be Just And Act Fairly (5:8) Lesson Introduction: Adala is believing that Allah is Al-Adl. - He is always fair to everyone - He never does anything wrong - He will never punish you for something you didn’t do - He will always reward you for the good you do. When you act fairly, it is called being just. Allah tells us in the Qur’an, u’diluw, be just and always act fairly. Allah tells us to treat everyone fairly. He teaches us that we should treat fairly even those people who we might not like. It doesn’t matter how someone looks, what language they speak or even whether or not they are Muslim, we must still treat everyone fairly.

U’ diluw Recap last lesson: Tawheed, Al-Ahad Are people always fair? Activity: Story “Miss, that’s not fair!” People may not always be fair to you, but you must always be fair to them. Examples from life of Ahlulbayt Brainstorm ‘what does it mean to be fair’

Being fair does not always mean giving everyone the same. Do you get same amount of homework in Year 1 as the kids in year 5? Do you do the same amount of cleaning and cooking around the house as your mum?! Fairness is giving people what they need when they need it.

Activity: Pennies for All All kids different heights want to see over fence – give all same height box to look over or give taller box to shorter child?

Allah tells us in the Qur’an that if we see someone being treated unfairly, we must speak up for them. Think about a policeman. If a policeman saw someone steal something or hurt someone else and he did nothing about it, would you say that is a good policeman? No! To be a good Muslim, we must speak up when we see wrong being done.

To be fair: - take turns - tell the truth - Play by the rules - give everyone an equal chance - treat people how you want to be treated

Younger sibling need more time/explaining Activity: Injury and bandage analogy

Activity: Fairness worksheet When you are just, you don’t take sides with the people you like. You take the side and stand up for the person who is right.

Football – Referee does not favour a side

Can you imagine how it would be to live in a world where everyone is fair to each other?!

Imam Mahdi will bring justice to the world!

Before we moan and complain about something not being fair, we must stop and think of all the blessings Allah has given us, and instead be thankful.

Don’t let the things you want make you forget the things you already have!

Sometimes things may happen to us that we might feel is not fair. But remember Allah sees, hears and knows everything. He never does anything wrong. He is always Fair!

When you do something wrong that Allah has told us not to do, it would be fair for Him to punish you. But Allah is Ar Rahman, the super Kind! He loves you 70x more than mummy – He doesn’t want to punish you. Allah only wants good things for you. He is waiting to reward you for your good deeds. His Mercy is so great, if you are sorry, He will forgive you quicker than He will punish you. How amazing is Allah!

Child breaks mummys special vase because he didn’t listen and was playing football indoors. It would be fair for mummy to be angry and punish, but Mummy may accept apology and decides to forgive child. She shows mercy to her and asks her to be more careful next time. Why did mummy do that? Because she loves the child!

God is Just, but at the same time He is also incredibly Kind and Merciful. He could be Just and punish us every time we do wrong, but instead He shows us His Mercy and Kindness, which is greater. Allah always gives us another chance. When someone treats us in a way we feel is unfair, we must try to show mercy by forgiving them. But when we see others being treated unfairly, we must be just and stand up for them. Key Learning Point: Allah is Al-Adl, He is fair to everyone and always rewards us when we do good. Allah teaches us in the Qur’an that we must ‘be just and act fairly’ with everyone, even if we don’t like them. We must also speak up when someone is being treated unfairly. Allah is so Merciful, he always gives us another chance. Activity: Pennies for All Give each child a differing amount of pennies to start with. Then give the group more pennies to share out. Discuss how they decided. Did they give each the same amount or did it depend on how much they already had? Activity: Injury and Bandage Analogy Tell each child to imagine an injury and show you where they are hurt. Put a plaster on each in the exact same spot. ‘I want to treat you all fairly! Or should I put it where you NEED it?" Activity: Be Just Worksheet Draw/write how you can show fairness Role Play Scenarios Discuss which behaviour to react with - Boy at school forgets lunch money. - Not enough sweets so some kids don’t get - You make a Lego model but little sister breaks it - In a queue and behind is a mum with a crying baby - Boy being picked on in the playground Pray Together O Allah, thank you for being so Merciful and giving me another chance when I do something wrong. Help me to be fair with everyone and to treat people the way I would like to be treated. When I feel angry, help me to show mercy and forgive. Extended Home Activity Talk about the moments in your day where you acted with fairness or mercy. Did anything happen that you thought was not fair? Did you speak up for anyone being treated unfairly? Did you moan and say ‘its not fair’? Think about all the blessing Allah has given you and the things you already have.

Treat people how you want to be treated Discuss scenarios

Fair does not always mean getting the same, but giving people what they need.

Discuss "What is fair? Everyone getting the same size plaster on their hand, or getting the treatment that fits the need?"

“Miss, That’s not fair!” Teacher walks into class of kids. “Right, I’m going to be back in 5 mins. I want you all to work quietly. If anyone messes about, you will all go to detention and miss break time! While the teacher is gone, Muhammad starts to make paper aeroplanes and throws them around the classroom. Amena tells him to stop and reminds him what the teacher had said. Muhammad doesn’t listen and carries on. Teacher walks in to see chaos, as the aeroplane lands on her head! “That’s it! You’re all in detention! No break time for the whole class!” “Miss, that’s not fair!” 1) Is it fair for all the children to have detention and miss break time? Yes, they broke the rules. No, it’s not fair to punish the children who didn’t mess about. The teacher wasn’t in the classroom so she didn’t see which children were messing around and which children were behaving. Allah is everywhere. He sees and knows everything. He knows it wasn’t all the children who were messing around. Allah is Al-Adl, He is always Fair and Just. He will never punish you for something you didn’t do “But Miss”, says Amena “Can I go out for break time? I listened to you and was doing my work. I even told Muhammad to stop messing around.” “No”, said the teacher. 2) Is it fair that Amena should miss break time even though she listened? Yes because she couldn’t make Muhammad stop No, she did her work and tried to make him listen too. Allah is Al-Adl, He is always Fair and Just. Allah always rewards those who do good! Allah even rewards you for trying to help others to be good! The teacher thinks about it and eventually decides only to punish Muhammad. “The boys can have 5 minutes break time and the girls can have 10 minutes” 3) Is it fair for the girls to have a longer break time? Yes, girls are better than boys! No, they were all being good. Allah is Al-Adl, He is always Fair and Just. It doesn’t matter if you’re a boy or a girl. Allah is fair to everyone. He rewards everyone who does good. Muhammad starts to feel bad. “I’m so sorry Miss, I won’t mess around again.” The teacher is really angry. “Go to detention!” 4) Is it fair for the teacher to still punish Muhammad? Yes he did something wrong. No, at least he admitted it and said sorry. Maybe his teacher could give him another chance? Allah loves it when we say sorry. Allah is Ar-Rahman. Even if we’ve done something wrong, He is so Merciful that instead of punishing us everytime like he should, He forgives and gives you another chance. Allah is Al-Adl. He is always Fair and Just, but His Love and Mercy are so great He always wants to forgive us and give us another chance.