Ramadan is a time for renewal.
...renewal of our intentions, renewal of our relationship with Allah's beautiful words. In this 5th annual Ramadan Quran Club, we invite students 8 and up and women to take a journey together as we make a fresh start with Allah's words. We will learn practical techniques for reading and relating to the Quran, hear stories of hearts transformed, learn to do deep reflections, and practice responding to Allah's words.
- Four weekly live zoom meetings
- Interactive discussions
- Handouts and resources
- Recordings provided
Our 4-Week Journey Starts Here:
Week 1: First Steps on the Journey: Tools & Techniques to Connect to the Quran.
First stop: vibe check. Are we hyped up enough to connect with the Quran this month? If not, let's get in the mood with some inspiring insights on the Quran. How can we become people who have the Quran as their lifelong companion?
Next, we'll grab a Quran translation that has Arabic and English side-by-side and learn about parallel reading and annotation. Bring a beautiful journal that you can keep through the years and we will start a Quran journal. Or, if you already have one, learn some intriguing ways to interact with the Quran through the medium of a journal. Themed pages, mind maps, creative notetaking, reflections, and Arabic connections are some of the journaling techniques we will examine. We'll also take a tour of Sr. Merium's own Quran journal and annotated mus'haf.
Week 2: The ART of Quranic Reflection (Alternative Random Tadabbur)
There's an amazing experience that we all can have with the Quran and that is tadabbur, or reflection. The term "ART" was coined by Abu Eesa Nimatullah, who models and teaches students how to reflect on the Quran using everyday events in their lives, leading to fascinating random insights, or Alternative Random Tadabbur. We'll take a look at some examples of ART in action and do our own reflections. We'll also address some basic principles of reflecting on the Quran and how we can be careful with Allah's words and not overstep our bounds, while still allowing our hearts to ponder and our minds to reflect.
Week 3: The Time Has Come: When One Verse Shakes Your Soul
Did you know that the famous scholar Fudayl ibn Iyyad used to be a highway robber, until overhearing a verse of Quran that struck him so deeply that he made tawbah and turned to a life of piety? Or how the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ wept for hours over one single verse of the Quran? We'll examine famous incidents of one verse touching someone so deeply that it shakes them. We'll practice allowing a verse to touch our heart by using visualization and relaxation techniques to deeply ponder and evoke emotion from a verse.
Week 4: The Quran is the Speech of Allah: Are You Part of the Conversation?
Allah ﷻ speaks to us through his divine speech, the Quran. The question is, are we responding? We'll explore different ways that we respond to the Quran whether that be emotionally, physically, or by replying to Allah ﷻ as we read. What if we feel our hearts not responding? Are there techniques that can help us soften and respond to the Quran?
Live session dates. New! The very first women's section of the Quran Club is now available:
Ages 8-12:
Saturday, March 25 at 12 pm EDT (4 pm GMT, 9 pm Karachi)
Saturday April 1, at 12 pm EDT (4 pm GMT, 9 pm Karachi) (England will be in BST from this week forward, so 6 pm BST)
Saturday, April 8 at 12 pm EDT (4 pm GMT, 9 pm Karachi)
Saturday, April 15 at 12 pm EDT (4 pm GMT, 9 pm Karachi)
Ages 13 and up boys and girls:
Saturday, March 25 at 1 pm EDT (5 pm GMT, 10 pm Karachi)
Saturday April 1, at 1 pm EDT (5 pm GMT, 10 pm Karachi) (England will be in BST from this week forward, so 6 pm BST)
Saturday, April 8 at 1 pm EDT (5 pm GMT, 10 pm Karachi)
Saturday, April 15 at 1 pm EDT (5 pm GMT, 10 pm Karachi)
Mixed age session (boys and girls)
Saturday, March 25 at 2:30 pm EDT (6:30 pm GMT)
Saturday April 1 at 2:30 pm EDT (6:30 pm GMT)
Saturday, April 8 at 2:30 pm EDT (6:30 pm GMT)
Saturday, April 15 at 2:30 pm EDT (6:30 pm GMT)
Women's Section:
Sunday, March 26 at 1 pm EDT (5 pm GMT, 10 pm Karachi) England will be in BST from this week forward, so 6 pm BST in London
Sunday, April 2 at 1 pm EDT (5 pm GMT, 10 pm Karachi)
Sunday, April 9 at 1 pm EDT (5 pm GMT, 10 pm Karachi)
Sunday, April 16 at at 1 pm EDT (5 pm GMT, 10 pm Karachi)
If you cannot make a live session, you can register and then view the recordings. You will choose that option in the form linked after registration.
Imagine not only reading the Quran but being able to visualize what is being discussed and feeling emotions well up as you read. This is the TME Academy approach. We want to connect and reflect, feeling our hearts affected as we learn what Allah ﷻ has to teach us.
What Can You Expect?
These are samples of notes I have taken to demonstrate to students how they can interact with the Quranic text. In this one note-taking document, they learn Arabic, tafseer, they practice reflecting on the verses, and they make connections between the verses:
Not your ordinary tafseer—here is an example of creating connections between verses. Here, we graphically illustrated the connections between concepts in the adjoining surahs Asr, Humazah, and Takathur:
Learning How to Learn
Students will receive handouts with plenty of space for note-taking. During the recorded sessions, Sr. Merium models notetaking, mind-mapping, and reflection skills. This helps students learn how to engage with the information and gives them tools for note-taking in other disciplines. The notes you see on this image were taken during the course of a class discussion from another Juz Amma course and represent a combination of the teacher's instruction and student reflections on the surah.
Frequently Asked Questions
Testimonial: "Merium gently guides children to fall in love with the Qur'an"
- by Qanita
"My children truly enjoyed the hands-on, thought-provoking sessions. Merium's teachings extended beyond the weekly classes as she empowers children with skills and motivation that they use independently even outside of class. The mind-maps and journaling are creative outlets for children to grasp and use in other subject areas. Merium gently guides children to fall in love with the Qur'an, ponder over Allah SWT's words, and most importantly, she taught my children to actively engage with every ayah in the Qur'an."
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Your Instructor
Merium Khan is the founder of The Muslim Educator Academy. She has a bachelor's degree in Social Sciences and has studied Arabic in the US and Jordan. She has been teaching for the last 25 years in Islamic full-time schools, weekend schools, private tutoring, halaqahs, and online classes for children and adults. She has authored a book on Seerah that is used in Islamic schools and has also worked as a curriculum developer and consultant. The one word that students and parents use to describe her teaching is “passionate.” She loves to bring concepts to life in thought-provoking ways while tapping into her students’ innate intelligence and knowledge. Through TME Academy, she hopes to bring her relationship-based, enthusiastic and interactive brand of teaching to a new generation of Muslim students. Sr. Merium lives in the southeast United States with her husband Siraj Sohail and their three kids.