ABOUT US
In the Name of God, Compassionate to all, Merciful to each
Salaamun Alaykum,
Today’s modern, technology-filled world poses many new challenges and concerns for practicing Muslim parents, teachers, and most humans beings in general! The truth is that everything we consume – from food, to TV, to books — has an impact on us. TV is a form of education, and so are the books that we read. We are what we consume through our mouths, eyes, and ears. Everyday, our thinking and the thinking of our children, our values and the values of our children– are shaped by these many influences and these many forms of education.
So, how do we navigate this new complicated world in a way that is in line with Islamic values and the worldview that Allah wants us to implement in our lives? What do we do? How do we educate our children in the best of ways? How do we filter the millions of resources out there?
This is where playPURE comes in.
We know that it’s difficult to sift through these options. But we also know that, Alhamdulillah, there are hundreds of resources out there, and efforts by many across the globe to produce healthy material for healthy minds and souls. We want to ensure that our children play PURE, or tayyib, which means wholesome and healthy and the way in which Allah swt wants us to live our lives:
فَكُلُوا مِمَّا رَزَقَكُمُ اللَّـهُ حَلَالًا طَيِّبًا وَاشْكُرُوا نِعْمَتَ اللَّـهِ إِن كُنتُمْ إِيَّاهُ تَعْبُدُونَ
So consume what Allah has provided you as lawful and wholesome, and give thanks for Allah’s blessing, if it is Him that you worship. [16:114]
What we have done here is only the beginning of what we hope becomes a much larger project. On our website, you will find a comprehensive list of resources along with guidelines on some of our recommended practices to raise wholesome children. Here’s a glimpse of what we have on the website:
- A 40-day Challenge: Habits don’t change overnight and we know how difficult it is to build these habits into our schedule. For this reason, we suggest starting off with our 40-day challenge and hope that you will notice the difference in your families. There are three tiers for this challenge and they may be easier or harder depending on your families current relationship with all of the media above. The challenge includes free downloadable trackers, guidelines, a point system for alternative activities, and more.
- Books Database: A searchable database of book lists compiled and filtered with recommendations from notable organizations and the community.. This list can be searched by category as well as rating. We also have a list of e-books, that can be downloaded online for free. We haven’t yet had the opportunity to read every single book page-by-page and we do not claim that they are 100% tayyib. However, we have only included books that come with recommendations and have some positive aspects to them.
- Watch: TV, Movies, Netflix, and YouTube: Although we do not recommend this as default healthy entertainment, we understand and recognize that many families will choose to engage in these forms of entertainment. Moreover, there are some positive resources out there! As such, we have provided a list of recommended videos and detailed guidelines. If you do decide to allow your kids to watch something beyond this list, we encourage you to research them in detail. We have also provided a list of helpful resources when making these decisions to help you become as informed as possible. We also encourage time-limits and monitoring and have provided a list of guidelines as to how this can be done if you do choose to engage in TV and movies responsibly.
- Video Games & Apps: Although we do not suggest video games & apps as default entertainment, if families do choose to engage it (hopefully in a limited fashion), we have a list of our top picks for apps and non-violent video games appropriate for children and Muslim audiences. We also have guidelines available for responsible usage of video games and what parents should try to avoid.
- Social Media/ Internet Usage: When our children use the internet and social media, we are sometimes at a loss of what to do. We understand this reality and have included some guidance on filters, parental controls, and ways to engage your tween with social media.
- Alternative Activities: This is a fun list of many things to do that don’t involved a screen! We’ve also tried to list activities that families can take part in together.
Please let us know how your experience with the challenge and materials has been and make sure to follow us on Instagram and Facebook.
For any questions, concerns, or suggestions, please do not hesitate to get in touch by e-mailing us at info@playpure.org
Jazakallahu Khayran,the playPURE team