Quranic Stories: An Opportunity for Children to Get Acquainted with Real Heroes
Stories and narratives are considered one of the most prominent and engaging forms of art for children. They live in the world of stories, learn from them, and draw lessons.
Storytelling has been a crucial tool in heavenly books for preaching and admonition.
Undoubtedly, human nature has a strong inclination toward hearing and reading about lives and stories. In fact, the creation of stories answers one of the spiritual needs of humans, and as long as humans continue to exist, the art of storytelling will also thrive and, like a life-giving river, will continue to flow in the stream of human life.
The role of stories in the upbringing of humans is so significant that heavenly books have presented stories in a special way for remembrance, guidance, and instruction. The Torah, the Bible, and the Quran are filled with stories of prophets, nations, and civilizations that have come and gone, and their lives have become guiding beacons for other people.
The Quran, the miraculous book of the Prophet of Islam, is the last and most complete heavenly book that has used the narration of real stories and the lives of past people for the purpose of education and guidance, capitalizing on this natural inclination.
A significant portion of divine verses is dedicated to stories, a clear sign of the importance that the Lord of the Worlds attributes to stories, considering them a divine gift in which information about the past is intertwined, providing knowledge to humans.
From a Quranic perspective, stories possess the following characteristics and criteria:
- Relying on the narration of past events, incidents, and occurrences.
- Truthful, authentic content.
- Clear messages emphasizing central goals, moral lessons, and provoking thought.
“We narrate to you the best of stories with the truth…” (Quran 7:35)
“Indeed, this is the true narrative…” (Quran 3:62)
Among various age groups, children, due to their closeness to the pure divine nature, derive greater enjoyment from hearing stories, indirectly shaping the essence of their being. Since the Quran contains “the best of stories,” when its stories are appropriately presented to children, it will foster their interest in the Quran, as these stories contain fragments of real human life in specific historical moments.
Stories have always been effective in conveying values and educational concepts to children and adolescents because stories are timeless and not bound by time.
More than other educational tools, stories have a significant impact on children’s behavior, provided they are chosen correctly and precisely.
Stories can address many of the moral and ethical values that children need. Perseverance, courage, kindness, hope, freedom, bravery, advocating for justice and truth, and resilience against oppression are values that form the central theme in many stories.
Children actively engage with the characters and the hero of the story, making decisions, striving alongside the story’s protagonist, and participating in the scenes. They immerse themselves in the story, storing all the experiences in their mental treasure trove.
They later draw upon this mental repository at appropriate times, and this is where the magic of storytelling takes effect.
Therefore, the fundamental role of storytelling in indirect education becomes apparent.
Storytelling is not only a means of entertainment and amusement but also a method of teaching and learning for children.
The educational values of storytelling can be summarized as follows:
- Entertainment and nurturing artistic taste
- Expansion of experiences and knowledge
- Nurturing self-esteem, courage, and bravery
- Cultural transmission: Stories help children identify and understand their own culture and transfer cultural values.
- Fostering a spirit of friendship
An experienced instructor plays a vital role in telling stories to kids. They ensure accuracy, age-appropriate content, and moral lessons, and address children’s questions effectively.
By leveraging storytelling techniques, storytelling can be used as a powerful tool to transmit values and principles to children. It helps them gain a deeper understanding of the world around them.
In Quranic stories, the real heroes are the divine prophets.
One of the most important reasons for developing special courses on Quranic stories for children is to familiarize them with real role models. Today, with fictional and fantasy characters living in the imaginary and fantasy world of children’s stories and animations, expanding the number of such characters day by day, it is essential to introduce children to real models and heroes and convey the stories of the divine prophets to help our children build an Islamic identity.
Given the above points and the fundamental role of storytelling in the upbringing and growth of children, DarulQuran Academy has dedicated two courses to develop a Quranic Stories program for children.
We are pleased to announce that the first course of Quranic Stories for Kids has been well-received by learners, and coordination for course delivery has been completed, and the classes have started in October.
Considering the importance of quality content and attention to detail, a survey was conducted among the participants and their parents with the start of the classes.
The DarulQuran aims to provide the best materials and content for children.
For more information and registration, click here .
We hope that children will benefit from the delightful stories of the Quran and find their guidance and inspiration.
