Noor Children’s Islamic School (NCIS) 

The Sunday religious education program at Noor serves children ranging in age from four to fourteen, and meets on Sunday mornings at Noor Cultural Centre.  Typically, students are grouped according to age and learn in the presence of a teacher and one or more volunteer(s).

Interweaving Qur’ān and Prophetic traditions (the Hadith traditions) into every lesson, the curriculum is anchored in four main subject areas: al-īmān (faith), al-islām (acts of worship); al-ihsān (“righteousness” or spiritually-informed living), and Islamic History.

Objective: To provide our young with a strong, academically-grounded foundation in the areas of Islamic faith, practice, ethics (including questions of social justice, gender justice, environmental responsibility, and cross-cultural and interfaith understanding, to name a few core areas), and history. The Sunday school aims to achieve this in an environment that is free of cultural bias and that allows children to develop their own unique identities as both Muslims and Canadians in a manner consistent with Noor’s guiding vision.

General Topics Covered

Qur’ān & Hadīth:

• The place of the Qur’ān in the Islamic canon
• The ‘occasions of revelation’, and the importance of context in religious interpretation
• Valuable life lessons from the stories and parables of the Qur’ān 
• Recitation and memorization of sūrahs in Arabic, with a basic comprehension of their meaning 
• The spiritual meanings of the hadīth qudsī (the sacred hadīth)  traditions
• The life of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), and his role as an exemplar 
• The history and methodology of hadīth transmission

History:

• Islamic history and its place in the unfolding story of God’s gradual revelation to humanity 
• Other prophets, their revelations, and the histories of their communities
• The history of Arabia prior to the dawning of Islam 
• The genesis of the main Islamic sects 
• The positive roles Muslims have played in world history, and Muslim contributions to human civilization 
• The histories of Muslims in North America 

Faith: Al-Īmān :

• Al-Tawheed (the Oneness of God) and God’s “most beautiful” attributes 
• God’s eternal guidance to humanity through 1)Prophets and 2)Revelations
• Angels as agents in Revelations
• Accountability in the hereafter 

Practice I: Al-Islām (acts of worship) :

• Al-shahādah (‘witnessing’ to the faith) 
• Preparation and performance of al-salat (the obligatory prayers) 
• Sawm (fasting) during Ramadan, as a physical as well as spiritual exercise 
• Al-zakat (purifying dues) 
• Hajj (pilgrimage to the Ka’bah) 

Practice II: Al-Ihsān (“righteousness” or spiritually-informed living / ethical and moral responsibility) :

• The role of all human beings as “vicegerents of God” 
• The notion of worship in all of our deeds 
• Respect for all of God’s creation

Pedagogical Approach: Our teachers will strive to create a learning atmosphere that is inclusive, mutually respectful, and promotes pride in self as Muslim.

Program Dates and Times:
–  Sundays 10:00 a.m. – 12:45 p.m. (with one snack break)
–  2019/2020 term: September 8, 2019 – June 14, 2020 (30 classes; see school calendar)
– Parents and children are asked to arrive at the regular class time (10 a.m.) on Sunday September 8 to complete registration.  There will be a short information sessions for parents that day.

Registration & Fees:
– Registration is required by September 5, 2019 (see online form)
– Fees for the school year are $400 per child, payable by cheque(s) in one or two installments

• one installment – $400 due on September 8, 2019
• two installments – $200 due on September 8 2019 & post-dated cheque for $200 payable January 12 2020
• Cheques should be made out to ‘Noor Cultural Centre’, and can be submitted on the first day of class or mailed to Noor Cultural Centre (123 Wynford Drive, Toronto, ON, M3C 1K1)
• Please note that fees are non-refundable for missed classes
• If you need to request other payment options (e.g. monthly post-dated cheques) please contact Eiman Abou-el-Alla at ncc.islamicschool@gmail.com or (416) 509-1617.

Please see:

Online Registration Form 

School Calendar