Activity: Nature walk documentary

Your mission: 

• Step one: Grab your camera!
• Step two: Take a nature walk or hike. Pay careful attention to what you are seeing and experiencing – perhaps take a friend or family member with you to make it even more fun!
• Step three: Before or during your walk/hike, read the following extract from the Qur’an:

  "And among His signs is the creation

  Of the heavens and the earth,

  And the diversity of your languages and colours.

  Truly in this are signs for those who know

  And among His signs is that He shows you the lightning

  for fear and for hope, and sends down water from the sky, and with it brings to life the

  earth after it is dead.

  Truly in this are signs for those who understand."

  (30:21)

• Step four: Capture all the beautiful signs of spring – you can do this through photo or video

  Need some ideas for this one?
  Look for leaves budding and flowers blooming, bugs swimming in puddles or flying around, grass turning greener, birds singing, sun shining on your face, wind blowing on your face, or rain dropping on your face. Be spontaneous and alert. Be as present as you can in the moment, taking in your surroundings and appreciating them for what they are.
   
• Step Five: Make a collage or slideshow and/or edit and watch the video. Share your photo or video documentary with your family and friends!

Dinner Time Discussion:

1. In the Qur’anic ayat, what is meant by “for those who know/understand”?
2. There are many signs of Allah in nature. Make a list of what you saw and try to describe how it makes you feel connected to the divine.
3. How can you show your love and appreciation to Allah’s creation? What is our responsibility as trustees of the earth?

Resources

• http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/cbc-ideas-is-islam-the-green-religion-1.2810850
• http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/2016/03/11/aga-khan-ismaili-muslims/26534/#
• https://www.emirates.com/english/open-skies/3280373/ismaili-centre-dubai
• http://www.hikecanada.org/en/
• https://www.verizonwireless.com/archive/mobile-living/tech-smarts/smartphone-photography-tips/

Bonus activity: Find another verse from the Qur’an, a hadith, a saying of Hazrat Ali, or a line from a ginan or qasida that resonates with what you photographed or what you felt. Overlay it on top one of the photos to make a lasting memento.