Art Is Not a Distraction from Faith (Iman). It Can Deepen It.

By Heba Attia, founder of ‘Made by Me’

For generations, religious education has often been measured by what children know. Can they recite? Can they memorize? Can they answer questions correctly?

Knowledge matters. Sound teaching matters. Discipline matters. But after more than ten years of teaching the Quran, I have come to believe that something even more fundamental must come first: a child’s relationship with Allah (swt).

Before children learn how to worship, they need to discover whom they worship. This does not mean lowering standards or removing structure from religious education. It means asking whether information alone is enough to create a lifelong relationship with faith (Iman).

I believe it is not.

Ten years ago, after earning my Ijazah in Quran recitation and teaching, I began a journey that was never simply about education. My dream was never simply to produce children who could beautifully recite scripture or correctly answer religious questions only. My hope was that Allah (swt) would use me to help people find Him.

When my family moved to the United States, that mission became even more meaningful. I began asking a different question: How can children growing up in today’s world experience faith (Iman) as something they genuinely love rather than something they simply inherit?

From Teaching Information to Creating Experiences

As both an architect and an educator, I have always been fascinated by foundations. Every lasting structure depends on what lies beneath it. Human character is no different. A child’s relationship with Allah (swt) becomes the unseen foundation upon which worship, resilience, gratitude, compassion and purpose are built.

Children learn by participating, touching, asking questions, experimenting, and creating. Creativity became part of my educational philosophy not because art is entertaining, but because it is a language. Art is not the goal. It is a bridge to conceptualize abstract ideas.

Instead of asking a child only to memorize a concept such as gratitude, we can give that concept a form they can see and experience.

Imagine asking a child to create a “Blessings Map.” They draw themselves in the center and build outward, adding family, food, friendships, abilities, nature, opportunities and other blessings in their lives.

The important part is not the finished drawing. It is the conversation that follows: Which blessings do we notice every day? Which ones do we forget? What happens when we stop and recognize what we have? How does gratitude change the way we see our relationship with Allah (swt)?

Faith-based art does not always need to depict a Masjid, a crescent or another recognizable religious symbol. Give a child the word “mercy” and ask: What does mercy look like to you?

Perhaps it becomes a soft colour, a shape, a collage, a drawing or something entirely unexpected.

Then ask: Why did you choose this? Where could you practice mercy this week? The child has moved from hearing about a value to interpreting it and connecting it to daily life.

That is education with a purpose.

Nurturing Wonder Before Providing Answers

One of the simplest ways to build a child’s sense of wonder requires almost no materials.

Take a child outside with a small sketchbook and ask him to find three things in nature that make him curious. It could be the pattern of a leaf, the structure of a flower, the colours of the sky or the movement of an insect.

Let him sketch it. Photograph it. Collect an appropriate natural material. Build something inspired by it. Then resist the temptation to immediately explain everything.

Ask instead: What surprised you? What do you notice? Why do you think it was created this way? What does this make you wonder about the Creator?

Wonder creates attention, attention creates reflection, and reflection can create a deeper desire to understand.

What Parents Can Do at Home

This philosophy does not require parents to be artists, educators or purchasers of expensive supplies.

Small changes can transform how children experience faith (Iman). Instead of always asking, “What did you learn today?” sometimes ask, “What made you wonder?”

Create a family Blessings Map and allow it to grow throughout the year. Give your child a small “Wonder Sketchbook” for observations about nature, people and the world around them.

After a lesson about faith (Iman), invite them to create something rather than immediately testing what they remember. Ask them to represent patience, kindness, forgiveness, or courage through colour, texture, shape, clay, collage or another medium.

Choosing Environments That Help Faith Grow

Parents also have an important role in choosing educational environments. They can ask simple but meaningful questions.

• Does my child feel safe and welcomed here?
• Are questions and curiosity encouraged?
• Is the teaching appropriate for the child’s developmental stage?
• Are children active participants or passive recipients?
• Are different personalities, strengths, and learning styles respected?
• Does the programme combine sound religious knowledge with thoughtful educational practice?

And perhaps the most revealing question of all: Does my child want to come back?

These questions matter because children remember how learning made them feel long before they remember every lesson. Some of the most meaningful moments in my journey have been messages from parents saying, ‘For the first time, my child is excited to attend an Islamic class,’ or ‘My son came home talking about something he learned without anyone asking.’

Building a Different Future for Faith Education

My background as an architect, artist, educator, mother, entrepreneur and Quran teacher has shaped the way I approach this work. I no longer see these as separate identities.

I have been working to bring that philosophy into the United States by combining structured learning with creativity, sensory experiences, discussion, and emotional connection.

What I am building is not an argument against traditional religious education. It is an invitation to expand our understanding of what education can be.

If creativity can help a child notice blessings, explore creation, understand mercy, practice gratitude, and ask deeper questions about Allah (swt), then art is not pulling that child away from faith (Iman). It may be helping the child see it for the first time.

Allah knows best.

(Disclaimer: Images that do not have complete facial features are allowed to be drawn in Islam, for e.g. a face without a nose or eyes, etc. Reason being that they do not imitate Allah’s (swt) creation. Aisha (rta) narrated that the Prophet Muhammad (sa) said: “The people who will be most severely punished on the Day of Resurrection will be those who imitate the creation of Allah.” (Bukhari and Muslim). Hence this can be a new found learning for a Muslim child as he or she is trained to wonder, appreciate and draw the beautiful creation respecting Allah’s (swt) boundaries for which he/she will be rewarded.