MuslimKidsMatter | Exciting Announcement – Ramadan Competition

Summer vacation is here for many of you around the world.  I hope you’re enjoying these long, summer days!  With the tension of final exams and the excitement of the school year’s end, you may have forgotten about the quickly approaching, wonderful month of Ramadan.  Guess what.  Ramadan is less than a month away!  Have you begun to prepare for it?  Have you created Ramadan goals and mentally prepared yourself for the blessed month?  Ramadan is the best month of the year and deserves to be prepared for!

And now, here is an exciting announcement that will take away the boredom of your carefree, lazy days.  MKM is having a Ramadan competition for YOU!  You’ll have the opportunity to get creative, have fun, and even earn prizes.  Continue reading to find out more information about the contest.

What is the Competition All About? 

MKM’s Ramadan 1434 competition is about following the example of our Prophet Muhammad (S).  By participating in the contest, you will get to learn more about our prophet and find out how to relate sunnah in your own lives.  Depending on your age division and category, you will complete a project that shows how you can follow a certain hadith in your own life.

What Do I Have to Do?

There is one category to enter from each of three age groups.

Ages 4-7

Make a Poster: Create a poster that shows how you follow your favorite hadith in your daily life.  The picture should be on an 8 ½ “ by 11” paper using any drawing/coloring materials of your choice (coloring pencils, markers, crayons, watercolors, paints, pastels, etc.)  You must scan your picture and send it to muslimkidsmatter@muslimmatters.org.  In the body of your email, write the title of your poster, a one-sentence caption for your poster, your full name, your age, your date of birth, your complete mailing address, and your parents’ names.  Also write the English translation of the hadith you are drawing about, taking care to include the source of the hadith.  The subject of the email must say “Ramadan 1434 Competition Category 1 Submission.”

Ages 8-11

Write an Essay or Short Story: Write an essay or short story following the theme “How I Use the Prophet’s Sunnah in My Daily Life.”  Your writing should be related to one specific hadith.   The format of your essay or short story is your choice, but you can use the following ideas to help you get started:

• Write an essay about specific ways you use your favorite hadith in your life, mentioning how it has helped you.
• Write a short story about a character who comes to learn how to use a specific hadith in his/her life.
• Take the role of a fictional character and write a series of journal entries about your experiences with following a hadith in your life.
• Pretend you are a journalist, reporting news about a community of Muslims who find peace and harmony by following a specific hadith in their daily lives.

Your writing should be in a Microsoft Word document in 12-point Times New Roman font and double-spaced.  Your title should be bolded at the top center of the first page.  Do not include your name or other personal information in the document.  The length of your writing should be above 200 words and should not be more than 600 words.

To submit your entry, attach your document in an email to muslimkidsmatter@muslimmatters.org.  In the body of your email, write the title of your essay, your full name, your age, your date of birth, your complete mailing address, and your parents’ names.  Also write the English translation of the hadith you are writing about, taking care to include the source of the hadith.  The subject of the email must say “Ramadan 1434 Competition Category 2 Submission.”

Ages 12-15

Write an Essay or Short Story: Write an essay or short story following the theme “How I Use the Prophet’s Sunnah in My Daily Life.”  Your writing should be related to one specific hadith.   The format of your essay or short story is your choice, but you can use the following ideas to help you get started:

• Write an essay about specific ways you use your favorite hadith in your life, mentioning how it has helped you.
• Write a short story about a character who comes to learn how to use a specific hadith in his/her life.
• Take the role of a fictional character and write a series of journal entries about your experiences with following a hadith in your life.
• Pretend you are a journalist, reporting news about a community of Muslims who find peace and harmony by following a specific hadith in their daily lives.

Your writing should be in a Microsoft Word document in 12-point Times New Roman font and double-spaced.  Your title should be bolded at the top center of the first page.  Do not include your name or other personal information in the document.  The length of your writing should be above 300 words and should not be more than 750 words.

To submit your entry, attach your document in an email to muslimkidsmatter@muslimmatters.org.  In the body of your email, write the title of your essay, your full name, your age, your date of birth, your complete mailing address, and your parents’ names.  Also write the English translation of the hadith you are writing about, taking care to include the source of the hadith.   The subject of the email must say “Ramadan 1434 Competition Category 3 Submission.”

What are the Prizes?

Here is the part you’ve been waiting for!  Find out what you can win below:

Ages 4-7

1st Place: You will earn recognition on MuslimKidsMatter, with your name and poster displayed in an MKM post.  You will also get the awesome Islamic Match Game by Share the Deen (See below for a description of this game) and a set of delightful character stickers by Flowers of Islam.

2nd Place: You will earn recognition on MuslimKidsMatter, with your name and poster displayed in an MKM post.  You will also get a set of delightful character stickers by Flowers of Islam.

Ages 8-11

1st Place: You will earn recognition on MuslimKidsMatter, with your name and writing displayed in an MKM post.  You will also get the awesome Islamic Match Game by Share the Deen (See below for a description of this game) and a set of delightful character stickers by Flowers of Islam.

2nd Place: You will earn recognition on MuslimKidsMatter, with your name and writing displayed in an MKM post.  You will also get the awesome Islamic Match Game by Share the Deen (See below for a description of this game).

Ages 12-15

1st Place: You will earn recognition on MuslimKidsMatter, with your name and writing displayed in an MKM post.  You will also get the awesome Islamic Match Game by Share the Deen (See below for a description of this game) and a set of delightful character stickers by Flowers of Islam.

2nd Place: You will earn recognition on MuslimKidsMatter, with your name and writing displayed in an MKM post.  You will also get the awesome Islamic Match Game by Share the Deen (See below for a description of this game).

What Else is Important to Know?

How will entries be judged?

Entries will be judged based on creativity and individuality.  Grammar, punctuation, and spelling will also be important factors in judging your essays.  Posters should be neat.

How many entries can a participant submit?

Each participant in the competition may submit only one entry.  Additional entries by a participant will be disqualified.

When can I submit my entry?

You can begin submitting entries on July 1st.  The deadline to submit entries is August 1, 2013.  Entries must be emailed by 11:59pm USA Eastern time on August 1st.

When will I find out if I won?

The winners will be announced on MKM on August 11th.

What are the prizes like?

Islamic Match Game

The game is played like a traditional memory game, but instead of matching pictures, players match questions and answers related to Islam. This edition has Q&A about Allāh’s Prophets. It is designed for ages 8 and over. It has the added advantage of a ‘cheat sheet’ so that those who don’t know the answers can take a peek. Then they only have to remember where they saw the answer that matches the upturned question card. So it’s good for your Deen and sharpens your memory too!

The game artwork was done by Make Me Believe, a really creative group of designers based in London. The quality of the game itself is also excellent. People who have played the game enjoy the fact that it is easy to play, doesn’t take long and that players learn about the Deen while having lots of fun.

Character Stickers

SPECIAL: The first two kids who submit their entries in the competition will get a free copy of a book from the STAIRS series, signed by the author.

I hope this has gotten you all excited to enter MKM’s Ramadan competition.  If you have any questions, please comment below or email muslimkidsmatter@muslimmatters.org.  Have fun!

 (Attention, writers!  Muslim Kids Matter is a regular feature at Muslim Matters.  New articles for kids are posted every other Sunday.  You’re welcome to send in your entries to muslimkidsmatter@muslimmatters.org.)