One hundred twenty-five children aged six years and above from various parts of Japan attended the first ever one-day camp held for children at Babul Islam Masjid, Oyama, Tochigi Ken, Japan on July 26 under the aegis of Islamic Circle of Japan (ICOJ). Various Tarbiyah programmes, classes, group discussions, speaker forum, Qirat competition, Hadith and essay writing competitions were held during the camp. Workshop on Salat and wadhu were among the important highlights of the camp.
Sheikh Abdullah Miyazawa, Ustad Abu Hakeem Maeno and members of ICOJ Shoora tried to impart basic Islamic teachings to children throughout the day.
Looking at the need to make the growing children understand Islam, Islamic Circle of Japan has been working seriously on the Tarbiyah of children, and future of Islam in Japan. Evening Schools in mosques, summer camps during vacations and programmes for children during major events where families also participate are part of the programmes of ICOJ.
This one-day Tarbiyah camp was one of the rare programmes exclusively arranged for Tarbiyah of children on a large scale, where children from different parts of Japan including Tokyo, Nagano, Gumma, Tochigi, Isasaki, Khanuma, Kanagawa and other prefectures of Japan participated.
From most of the places ICOJ had made arrangements of the transportation of children in groups, which ensured the arrival of children well in time and the programme started as per schedule at 10.15 am. While the registration of the children was done upon arrival, separate groups of children as per age were formed. Four groups named after the companions of Prophet Muhammad (may Allah bless and greet him) viz. Hassan, Hussain and Usama (may Allah be pleased with them) were formed for the age groups of 6~9 years, 9~13 years and 13+. A separate group for girls above the age of 10, named after Fatima (may Allah be pleased with her) was also formed.
The programme commenced with the recitation of Holy Qur’ān by a young child, Mohsin from Tochigi Ken. Mohsin recited verses of Qur’ān in his beautiful innocent voice. This was followed by the narration of Hadith by another child from Hira Evening School, Hira Jamil who narrated the Hadith of Prophet Muhammad (may Allah bless and greet him) with translation in Japanese. A group of children then presented a beautiful Nasheed in Japanese language. Sheikh Abdullah Miyazawa, who has just returned from Syria after completion of his degree in Fiqah from Islamic University in Damascus, requested Ameer-e-Circle, Ishrat Ali Hashmi to come to the stage and greet the children and encourage them to learn and attain the benefits of the camp. Later Ustad Abu Hakeem Ahmad Maeno, a renowned Japanese Muslim scholar and head of Dawah and Tarbiyah Wing of ICOJ, explained to the participants of the camp the objectives of arranging the Tarbiyah Camp. The response of the children was very positive and children looked enthusiastic.
The second session started with a class from Ustad Ahmad Maeno on “Who is Muslim ”. Sheikh Maeno explained to children the basic definition and character of a Muslim in a very interactive style as well as with the help of slides. It was amazing to see small children replying to the questions of Sheikh Maeno who while trying to explain about Iman and essentials to be a Muslim asked frequent questions to children. After the class an essay writing competition on the same topic, Who is Muslim was held.
This was followed by break for Salat uz Zuhr. Children were taken in groups by members of ICOJ and practically taught how to make Wadhu. Immediately after Salat uz Zuhr and lunch the third session started with the Group discussion among the children. Six groups of children discussed the daily routine of a Muslim child from waking up till sleep. Each group was joined by one elder member of ICOJ who during the group discussion taught how a Muslim child should spend his day. With the group discussion children had not only the opportunity to discuss among themselves but during this time in a friendly atmosphere they were also taught that a Muslim child should pray five times a day, various Duas during different daily activities and etiquette of a Muslim child.
After the group discussion a workshop on how to perform Salat was conducted. While teaching children how to offer Salat, children were asked to offer Salat in congregation led by few children in rotation.
Later the children, who had three long sessions since morning, were then taken to a nearby park for sports.
After sports activity the last session was conducted during which various competitions were held among children. In the Speaker Forum, the participant children delivered speeches on various topics while in Qirat Competition children recited Surah Asr. During the Hadith competition children who participated were asked to narrate as many Ahadith as they remembered. At the end prizes were given to the children for various positions in the competitions. Lastly Ameer-e-Circle Ishrat Ali Hashmi presented a brief talk.The programme concluded with Dua by Hafiz Zulfikhar.