Worship
• Five Pillars of Sunni Islam and the Ten Obligatory Acts of Shi’a Islam (students should study the Five Pillars and jihad in both Sunni and Shi’a Islam and the additional duties of Shi’a Islam). • Shahadah: declaration of faith and its place in Muslim practice. • Salah and its significance:
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Duties and festivals
• Sawm: the role and significance of fasting during the month of Ramadan including origins, duties, benefits of fasting, the exceptions and their reasons, and the Night of Power, Qur’an 96:1–5. • Zakah: the role and significance of giving alms including origins, how and why it is given, benefits of receipt, Khums in Shi’a Islam. • Hajj: the role and significance of the pilgrimage to Makkah including origins, how hajj is performed, the actions pilgrims perform at sites including the Ka’aba at Makkah, Mina, Arafat, Muzdalifah and their significance. • Jihad: different understandings of jihad: the meaning and significance of greater and lesser jihad; origins, influence and conditions for the declaration of lesser jihad. • Festivals and commemorations and their importance for Muslims in Great Britain today, including the origins and meanings of Id-ul-Adha, Id-ul-Fitr, Ashura. |