Surah

Ar-Rahman Lesson Plan

By: Tasniya Sultana

Introduction
Read Surah Ar Rahman until ayah 23. If there is a child who can read the Quran
fluently, ask her to read it to the group. Once she is done reading the Arabic Quran,
the teacher will read the meaning using Yahya Emericks Quran for Children book or
any other good Quran translation.

In order to be able to follow this presentation here are some helpful guides.
What I SAY to the child is NOT indented in the presentation.
What I do is INDENTED in the presentation.

Materials: Fresh water/ Salt water chart


3 glasses: fill each of the 3 glass with 1 cup of water


Two contrasting food colors (blue and yellow)


2 teaspoon of salt


Spoon


Paper labels
Ages:
6 years old

Presentation
In surah Ar Rahman, Allah gives us various examples of how He takes care of us
without us even knowing about it or thinking about it. Lets take a look at verse 19-
20. Can somebody read it for me?

Teacher reads Arabic verse

Child reads the English translation of the verse 19-20
So Allah says that he has made two seas and he has created a barrier or a separation
between them so the two dont mix. Hmm, lets think about that. I want to show you
something.
Gather the children to help you prepare for the demonstration. Have
three clear cups/glasses filled with the same amount of water (1 cup).
Ask the child to fill each of the glasses with 1 cup of water. Using
paper labels, write salt water in one label. Write fresh water in
another label. And write fresh water in another label. Put the labels
below each of the glasses.
Ask one child to put 2 teaspoons of salt in the glass that has the salt
water label and stir it until it dissolves. Put 2 drops of yellow food
coloring and mix.
Ask another child to put 2 drops yellow food coloring in one of
the glasses that says fresh water and stir until the color mixes.
Ask another child to put 2 drops of blue food coloring in the last
remaining glass that has the label fresh water and stir until the
color mixes.

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Illustration 1:








Salt Water
Fresh Water
Fresh Water


Say: Now I am going to try something. Watch carefully as I do this. I am going to take
this spoon and take some of the BLUE fresh water.
Using a spoon, take a spoon of some blue fresh water out of the glass and
pour it in yellow SALT water on the side of the glass. Do this 2-3 times
until you see the blue fresh water forming a line on top of the yellow
salt water.
Illustration 2:

Pour blue fresh water on

the side of the glass

Salt Water

Now carefully watch what happens to the blue colored fresh water in the salt water.
See if you notice anything out of the ordinary! Yes, I see something happening.
Look!! The blue fresh water is NOT dissolving in the yellow salt water. It seems like
the blue fresh water is creating a line, or a barrier of some sort around the yellow
fresh water. That is so interesting!

Now, watch what I am going to do next.
Using a spoon, take some blue fresh water out of the glass and pour it in
the yellow FRESH water. Make sure to pour it on the side of the glass. Do
this 2-3 times and carefully observe with the children.

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Now carefully watch what happens to the blue colored fresh water in the yellow
fresh water. Do you see anything happening? No, nothing is happening. The blue
fresh water is just dissolving in the yellow fresh water.
Elicit responses and have a conversation with the child about the differences
in the yellow fresh water and the yellow salt water glasses.

Now lets write some labels to make sure we dont get confused.

Write: Yellow salt water + blue fresh water on a label

Write: Yellow fresh water + blue fresh water on a label

Write: Blue fresh water on a label

Illustration 3:

The blue
Blue Fresh

Fresh Water
Water

dissolves in

the yellow

fresh water







Blue Fresh
Yellow Salt Water + Yellow fresh water
+ blue fresh water
Water
blue fresh water


So from this demonstration, we see that when fresh water meets salt water, it forms
a layer of separation or barrier. We see that happening in our demonstration. But
when fresh water meets fresh water, they dissolve with each other. There is no
barrier because they are the same! Isnt that fascinating? And thats exactly what the
Quran says. The Quran talks about two seas and how Allah SWT has created a
barrier between them. Most scholars say that Allah SWT is referring to the fresh
water and salt water when they meet. We see that happening here in this chart.
Show fresh water and salt water chart:

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When you go to the beach, the water of the oceans has salt in them so they have salt
water. Many times, these beaches will meet a river of fresh water that is inward in
the land. Most of the time, the river does not have any salt in them. So just like how
we saw in our demonstration, the fresh water of the river and the salt water of the
ocean do not mix. And there are pictures in books and on the internet where you can
clearly see this separation of the salt water and fresh water with your own eyes. We
see that in our chart here, dont we?

Ask children to think about this question: I wonder why the salt water does
not make the fresh water of the rivers completely salty when they meet.
Maybe you can find that out for me!

SubhanAllah, as you can see, we see that Allah SWT has shown us through this
demonstration and through nature a verse of His ayah come alive! Maybe you guys
can read the rest of surah Ar Rahman or even read another surah and see if you can
find examples in nature or in your life that Allah SWT has talked about that shows
Allahs Rahma. Then with the materials you can draw a picture, write a story, do a
diorama, make a chart. Its up to you!

References for parents and teacher:
For your reference, here is a picture of what the experiment should look like once it
is completed. As you can see on the glass to the left, the fresh blue water does not
mix with the yellow salt water so it creates the line of fresh water around salt water.
On the other hand, the yellow fresh water and blue fresh water dissolve easily and
there is NO line or barrier(the middle glass). Isnt that amazing subhanAllah?

Bibliography
Emerick, Yahya. "Surah Ar Rahman." The Meaning of the Holy Quran for School
Children. N.p.: CreateSpace Independent Platform, 2011. 679-80. Print.
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