Success with My Salah Mat
A comprehensive guide on how parents can use My Salah Mat to develop their children’s understanding of Prayer.
The My Salat Mat has been designed so parents can be the first people in their children’s lives to introduce them to the Muslim prayer (salah) - a pillar of Islam.
The My Salat Mat is intended to be a fun learning tool for parents to use to guide their children. The way that children use it will vary according to their age and their ability, and the main thing is to encourage them and to praise and reward them for attempting to do their salah.
My Salah Mat comes with an activity book that further helps in introducing salah in a fun, easy and interactive way, and the points below are guidelines and suggestions on how to make the most out of the My Salat Mat with your child.
The following are suggestions for how to use the My Salat Mat according to your child’s age, while bearing in mind their individual abilities and personality.
Age 3-4 Years
Be very playful, and make the salah something that is interesting, fun and easy.
Try the following:
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Show them where to stand and in which direction
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Show them how to place their hands
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Show them how to do ruku, but don't worry if they do it too many times or in the wrong order
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Guide them towards the right position for sujood, in particular with the head and hands on the floor
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Show by example -- Let them mimic your actions
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Remember, at this age they may only have 5 to 10 minutes of 10 minutes of concentration.
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Get the My Salah Mat out only at certain times so that it doesn't become boring, such as on Jumah or on the weekend because if they play with it all of the time they are likely to get bored and become fed up of being told.
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Let them press the different buttons and listen to the adhan and the different surahs. They will probably imitate what they hear
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Praise them for the little things they try to do even if they are not carried out perfectly
Age 4-6 Years
Get the My Salat Mat out at more regular intervals and give plenty of praise when your child has a go. Try the following:
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Show your child how to sit correctly in the julus position, but don’t be too strict about it
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Show them how to do sujood in the proper position
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Encourage your child to practice and memorise the surahs, especially Surah Fatihah
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Show them how to do the positions of the prayer in order by letting them imitate you. At this age you should be able to place the My Salat Mat next to you so that they can copy without disturbing your own salah
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Introduce your child to the adhan before the salah and show them some videos of minarets and the adhan on Youtube
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Start teaching your child wudhu by letting them see you do it from time to time
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Get the My Salat Mat out more often and tell them how grown up they are 4-5 year olds. At this ages the children should be able to memorise surahs, be able to clearly follow the positions.
Age 7-9 Years
This is the age at which it is recommended to start teaching your child how to do salah in earnest. If you bought the My Salat Mat for them several months or years ago, they should be familiar with it by now; if not, start with the basics set out above. Try the following:
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Teach your child to go through the process of 2 Rak’ah salah by both using the My Salat Mat, and by following you sometimes. Once they have done so a few times, depending on the child, they should be able to pray independently using the automated touch sensitive prayer mat
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Ensure they have memorised surah Fatihah for the prayer, as well as some shorter surahs
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Go through the keys on the prayer mat and discuss them
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Encourage them to memorise some duas
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Get them to recite the adhan out loud
Age 10+ Years
Again, if you gave your child the My Salat Mat at a younger age, your child should be well on their way to doing salah correctly. Alternatively, if it is a recent purchase, they should be able to use it with minimum guidance and it is important to tell them about the importance of salah and the reward from Allah. Stick to the positives and do not frighten your child by talking about hell fire.
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Encourage your child to pray alongside you and alone
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Encourage them to learn every surah and dua contained in My Salat Mat and reward them once they have done so
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Gift them a ‘grown up’ normal prayer mat to use as well
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Explain why we pray and how the revelation to pray was sent down to Prophet Muhammed (SAWS)
General Advice
Always make salah something children want to do. Try not to force the children to perform salah, especially at a young age
Give younger children small treats like stickers, sweets, watching a cartoon, or a trip to the park for performing salah
For older children, create a chart for them, so they can tick off when they have completed certain parts and gain a slightly larger reward or praise
Please note that the prayer mat has been designed so it can be used by anyone from any Madhab. Our aim is not to teach complex Fiqh (Islamic Rulings) to a 3 year old or even to a 10 year old. When Fiqh is introduced it should be done in stages. Where you would like to introduce some actions related to specific Madhab, please feel free to do so.
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