You’ve probably heard of the adventures of Tom Sawyer and Hucklebury Finn. This show brings to light their Muslim counterparts – Ali and Huda. Together they discover the stories of forgotten Muslim heroes, scientists, and innovators who brought about a golden age in the Islamic history while the rest of the world reeled in ignorant practices and superstition. These heroes discovered from Algebra, the algorithms to the very first university of the world.
In each episode, Ali and Huda start with an everyday question like “why do we need to learn Math?”. As the day progresses, they not only find the answer to this question, but also embark on a new adventure, which acquaints your little ones with their Islamic roots where they get introduced to a Muslim hero from the past.
The aim of this show is to teach about the Golden age in the Islamic history in a fun and relevant way to your child, insha’Allah.
What will your kids learn?
Here are some highlights on some of the exciting episodes which bring forward a new chapter of Islamic history:
1. The World of Al Kharizmi
The first episode begins with Ali wondering why he needs to learn math when all he wants to do is play football on a bright sunny day. He is amazed when his father tells him that math lies at the core of making even his football and video games. Intrigued, he and Huda follow their father as he takes them to the world of Al Kharizmi, the father of algebra whose work led to the transformation of the world.
2. Cameras have Eyes
How do cameras work? Do they have eyes that see the world and capture as it is? What if we tell you that there was a Muslim hero who invented the world’s first pinhole camera. Ali and Huda delve into the life of the man who started the entire photography trend with his incredible work in optics.
3. Super Scholars of Baghdad
What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of Baghdad? Cuisine or architecture? Well, there is a lot more to the magnificent city of Baghdad than this. The city has given birth to many renowned scholars that Ali and Huda are unaware of.
4. The First University
The West often perceives Muslim women as uneducated, oppressed and backwards. Little do they know that the first university of the world was established by a Muslim woman. This is surprising news even for Ali and Huda (as well as to your little kids).
5. Father of Modern Surgery
Medical procedures and surgery date back to the Islamic golden age when a forgotten Muslim superhero laid its foundations. Imagine the world without this contribution! So in this episode, Ali and Huda get to know another major Muslim scholar and how he invented surgery.
Fun activities to plan with your child
Here’s how you can make use of the show:
- Quiz them
Children love quizzes and riddles. So set up a quiz with all of the information you gather from these videos and give them a small gift once they clear it (a little incentive never hurts).
- The “Why Maths” question?
Almost every little kid hates maths. So make them understand its application in practical life and get THEM to do all the research. You could ask them to come up with a creative chart or powerpoint presentation (if you kid is tech savvy) of how maths shapes normal life. Alternatively, you could send them for grocery shopping on a limited budget and later explain how maths helped them achieve it (life skills + fun + maths)
- Scrapbook Stories
Encourage your kids to be curious to search for interesting facts about Islamic history, and let them create their own scrapbook stories.
Ali, Huda & 1001 Adventures is to inspire our young minds to revive the Islamic history, so hopefully, they will kickstart the next Golden Age of Islam, insha’Allah.