The Brothers of Prophet Yusuf: Choices and Consequences

Lesson Objective:
- To know that the Quran recounts the best of stories and each hold lessons for us to apply.

- To become familiar with the story of Prophet Yusuf and his brothers through the words of the Quran. 

- To understand that all our choices and actions have consequences.

Quran Verse:

In Yusuf and his brothers there are certainly signs for the seekers. Surah Yusuf 12:7

Lesson Introduction:

Allah has narrated the story of Prophet Yusuf in great detail in the Qur’an in Surah Yusuf, telling us in 12:3 that this is 'ahsanul qasas, the best of stories', with many lessons for us to learn. It is the only story in the Quran which is narrated entirely in one surah. 

The surah begins with a dream that Yusuf as a child narrates to his father Yaqub of 11 stars, the sun and the moon prostrating. His father tells him not to tell it to his brothers who are extremely jealous of him. The elder brothers plot to get rid of him and put him in a well. He is rescued by a caravan and sold as a slave to an Egyptian high-ranking minister.

Activity: Yusuf and his brothers: Quranic comprehension

Read the following verses in your Quran and and go through the discussion points in pairs.

12:4-5:

What is Prophet Yusuf telling his father?

Who do you think the eleven stars, moon and sun represent? 

What were they objects doing? 

What did Prophet Ya'qub tell his son Yusuf and why do you think he said this?

From the conversation, what can you tell about the relationship between Prophet Ya'qub and his son? 

12:8-10

What is the plan the brothers are discussing? 

How do the brothers justify their attitude towards Yusuf?

What do the brothers tell themselves they will do after they have done the evil deed? Is this possible?

What alternative does another brother suggest to the plan?  Is this a better idea? 

What would you suggest if you were one of Yusuf's brothers?

12:18

After the brothers show their father the shirt with blood, telling him what had happened, what reason does Prophet Yaq'ub give for them committing such an act? 

What does this tell you about how our soul reacts when we do wrong? 

Activity: Four Choices for Making Choices

Watch the video clip Making Tough Choices by Kid President

Recap the four choices and think about them in content of the choices made by the brothers of Prophet Yusuf.

1. Impulsive

What does impulsive mean? 

Were the brothers impulsive and how do we know?

Which decisions are we sometimes impulsive with and with what consequences? 

2. Do Nothing

Should Yusuf's brothers have done nothing? Should emotions just be ignored? 

Are there times when it is better to do nothing? Give examples

Sometimes people hesitate to take sides. Is doing nothing always a safe choice? When can it be wrong/harmful to do nothing?

3. Be a Follower

Were all of Yusuf's brothers followers?  Did anyone stand up to disagree? What does this tell us about the brother who speaks up?

How were the brothers able to silence the voice of conscience? 

What is the danger of being a follower? If you don't stand for something, you fall for anything

How can you decide when its right to be a follower? 

Who are our ultimate role models to follow and not follow?

“focus on being someone worth following.” What does that look like?

4. Be Thoughtful: 

What does it mean to be thoughtful? 

What is the consequence we are always thinking about? 

Visual Sweet Choices: Life is full of choices. Some choices will give you short term pleasure and others long term benefit. Always remember; You are free to choose but your choice is not free from consequences.

Activity: Nafs Lawwamah

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Surah Al Qiyama 75

Lesson: 

Surah Al Qiyama outline by Academy For Learning Islam

- Nafs al lawwamah 75:2

Our soul is in a constant struggle between doing good and bad. In Surah al Qiyama 75, Allah emphasises the importance of nafs al lawwamah, an inner voice of conscience which makes us feel guilty when we do wrong. It is a blessing that acts like an alarm to stop us from committing sins and warn us that there will be consequences for our actions.

If we ignore nafs al lawwama which is trying to guide us to do right, then we become slaves of nafs al ammara which invites us to do what is wrong. If we keep ignoring nafs lawwama then eventually the voice of inner conscience will stop. Our hearts will become sealed and we will stop feeling guilty even when we commit sins.

When we listen to nafs al lawwama, we strengthen our taqwa, resist sin and move towards doing that which pleases Allah. It helps us to achieve a soul with is at peace, nafs al Mutmainna.

Nafs al lawwama helps to keep us on the right track and allows us to judge ourselves while in this world before we are judged by Allah on the day of Qiyama.

- Purpose of life 75:20

Our belief regarding the Day of Judgement and our life in the Hereafter, gives meaning to our current life in this world. We understand that this world is a test for us from Allāh (SWT) and that we have to use our short time in this world to prepare for our true life in the Hereafter.  We know that our future life is dependent on our deeds and it help us stay focused.

Activity:

Time on Earth is Short
Sweet Choices
The Day of Judgement

Watch Quranic Highlights

Download PDF Slides

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Soul Protection

Lesson Objectives:

- To understand the need to protect the soul

- To know what the soul needs protection from

Activity: 
Scatter some small stones on the floor and have the children walk over them barefoot. Point to the bottom of your foot and identify how your sole hurts and needs to be protected from dirt, stones, sharp objects by wearing shoes. Just like our SOLES need protecting, so do our SOULS!

Having taqwa is a way of protecting our soul from the harmful things that take us away from Allah and His remembrance.

Download Complete Lesson Plan: Taqwa: Protecting Your Soul

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The Soul

Lesson Objectives:

- To understand that we are a soul and have a body

- To understand how every action impacts our soul

- To know Allah has given us instructions how to look after our soul

- To understand that our aim is to return to Allah with a clean soul

Quran Verse:

Man amila saalihan, falinafsi
Whoever does good, it is for his own soul 45:15

Key Learning Point:

Each of us is a soul. It is the soul which gives life to the body. Allah put the soul inside the body, so that we could come to Earth and do as many good deeds as we can.

Allah out of His love and Kindness has given us instructions on how to look after the soul. Everything we do, has an affect on the soul. You can keep it clean and become close to Allah, by following Allah’s rules. When we obey what Allah has said, it doesn’t affect Allah, but rather it benefits our own soul. 

Our body will die and be buried in the ground, but the real us, our soul will return to Allah. Allah tells us that those who choose to do good and purify their souls are successful.

Activities:

Allah is Al-Muhyi, The Giver Of Life

Who Am I?

The Soul Gives Life To The Body

Is It Good For My Soul?

Feed the Soul

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Feed the Soul

Lesson Objective:

- To see clearly and understand that both the body and the soul are separate and have different needs

- To understand what we can do to take care of our soul 

Qur'an Verse:

Man amila saalihan, falinafsi

Whoever does good, it is for his own soul 45:15

We know how to look after our body and keep it healthy, but what about our soul? Since it is our soul which will return to Allah, we must spend time to look after it.

Every single action we do, has an affect on our soul. When we do what makes Allah happy, it is good for the soul and helps to keep it clean and healthy.

Activity: Feed the Soul

Label the body and soul with actions we can do to look after it.

Activity: Is It Good For My Soul?

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Is It Good For My Soul?

Lesson Objective:

- To know that Allah has given us instructions on how to look after our soul

- To understand how every action impacts our soul

- To understand that our aim is to return to Allah with a clean soul.

Quran Verse:

Man amila saalihan, falinafsi

Whoever does good, it is for his own soul 45:15

Key Learning Point:

We must focus on doing what Allah loves, and keep away from what He tells us is wrong, so that we can return to Allah with a clean soul.

Lesson Introduction:

Allah is Al-Quddus, He is the most Pure, the Perfect. To reach close to Him and become what He wants us to be, we have to make sure we keep our souls clean and spotless and away from anything that will mark it. In sura shams, Allah tells us that those who purify their souls are successful.

Allah out of His love and Kindness has taught us how to keep our souls pure, so that we can become close to Him. He has made certain actions wajib, because they are good for our soul and keep it clean. And He has made some actions haram, because they are harmful to our soul. 

Sometimes we might not understand why something is good or bad for us, because we can’t see what it does to our soul. But Allah the Creator of our soul knows what things benefit/harm our soul. He loves us 70x more than our mothers! He is our Rabb, He knows what we need. 

When we obey what Allah has said, it doesn’t affect Allah, but it benefits our own soul.

When we lie, we might think its ok because no one found out. But by doing something that Allah has told us not to do, think about what damage and affect it had on your soul.

Activity: Is it good for my soul?
Give each child a different coloured glass, label with their names 

'Allah created us all with different bodies, we all look different on the outside. But inside each of us, Allah placed a perfect pure soul.' 

Fill each cup with water.

Write corresponding numbers or label up a dice with the terms 'Wajib', 'Haram', 'Makrooh' and 'Mustahab', reminding what each one means. Alternativelty, you could also write actions to represent these terms. 

Have the children take turns to roll the dice once each. Depending on what the dice lands on, ask 'If you did something that was __________, would it make Allah happy? If yes, then it is good for our soul and keeps it clean and pure. If it is a negative action, then it harms our soul and puts a mark on it. If that is the case, have the child place a drop of food colouring into their cup.

Explain how the colour of the glass on the outside didn’t change. From the outside, you still look the same. The body doesn't change, but your soul inside has blackened.

The winner is the child whose water at the end of the round remains clean and pure!

We must focus on doing what Allah loves, and keep away from what He tells us is wrong, so that we can return to Allah with a clean soul.

Activity: Feed the Soul

Extension:
The game can also be incorporated when learning about tawba and seeking Allah's forgiveness. The term tawba could be added onto the dice, which upon landing on, the child could be given fresh clean water. This dimension could be used to emphasize the necessity and importance of astaghfar daily, as a means of keeping our soul clean.

Extension:

Blow a trumpet sound and announce that it is the Day of Judgement. 

Have the children place their cups in a line before a clear glass. 

Explain how our soul will return to Allah who can see what it looks like.

Role play and say to the 'cups', oh but you look so lovely, you must be a good person.' Then empty the coloured water into a clear glass for all to see. 'Oh no, even though your outside looked so good, your soul is not!' With another cup say 'oh you're so bad at sports, you always wear mismatched clothes and aren't really good at anything'. Pour the cup with the clear water into the clear glass. Oh but your soul is so pure and clean! Discuss and emphasise how the body is just a covering for the soul, the "real" person inside. In this world, Allah has hidden our deeds from the people around us, but Allah can see our soul and who we really are. 

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Death

Lesson Objective:

- To understand that the soul gives life to the body.

- To understand that when we die, our body is left behind and our soul returns to Allah

Quran verse:

Inna lillahi, wa inna ilayhi raajioon 2:156

To Allah We belong, and to Him is our return

Activity:

Show a balloon that hasn’t been blown.

Allah created our body out of clay. Then He blew into it our soul.

Blow up the balloon.
Even though we can’t see the air inside the balloon, we can see that it is the air that gives ‘life’ and form to the balloon, which otherwise would still be limp and useless, like one of the balloons that is still empty.

People only see the outside of the balloon or the outside of people, and they tend to think that’s the important part. What’s really important, however, is what is on the inside, because what’s on the inside creates the outside.


Just like the air gives shape to the balloon,

It is our soul, that gives life to the body.

What would happen if I release the air from the balloon? The balloon will ‘die’ but the air will simply  rejoin the air outside the balloon, which is where it came from in the first place!

When we die, our soul leaves the body and the body dies. Without the soul, the body is just an empty shell which we bury it into the ground. The soul lives on and returns back to Allah, where it came from.


Extension:
- To understand how our inner good qualities, make up who we are.

Just as it is important to look after our bodies, we must also take care of our soul which is the ‘real’ person. It is the soul which makes you a caring, kind, good person and not your outside appearance. We must focus on developing these good characteristics more than just caring about how we look on the outside. It is our soul that will return to Allah.

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Who am I?

Lesson Objective:

- To understand that we are a soul and have a body
- To understand the purpose of the body

Qur'an Verse:

Man amila saalihan, falinafsi

Whoever does good, it is for his own soul 45:15

Activity: Who am I?

Ask the child to point to himself. 

Label the body part being pointed at, stating, 'No that's your arm, that's not You. If you didn't have an arm or lost a leg, you would still be you, because the real you, is your soul inside your body.'

When Allah created Insaan, human beings, He created a soul. Our soul is who we are. It is the part of us that laughs, loves, feels happy or sad. We can’t see or touch our soul, it is inside and covered by our physical body.  

The body is just the temporary clothing of the soul.  Like an astronaut, who needs to wear a spacesuit in order to be in space, our soul needs a body to live on the Earth. Allah created our soul and put it inside a body so that we could come to this world and do as many good deeds as we can.

When our time on Earth comes to an end, we will no longer need our body. The body will die and be buried in the ground and the real you, the soul, will return to Allah, to show Him what you have done with your life.

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Allah is Al Muhyi, The Giver of Life

Lesson Objective:

- To understand that it is our soul that gives life to the body.

Give each child some playdoh and ask them to make a model of themselves.

Allah tells us in the Qur'an that He created insaan, human beings, from clay.

What's the difference between our clay model and the one Allah made?!

Can you make it come alive? What does it need to be alive?

Allah is the best and most perfect designer, He moulded the body perfectly from clay and then He breathed life into it by giving the body a soul. 

It is our soul which gives life to the body. It is our soul which keeps the body alive.

Allah is Al Muhyi, only He can give life.  

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