Author: Gemma

Topics Covered
5 pillars ( Sunni), 10 obligatory acts (Shi’a) / Shahadah / Salah / Sawm / Zakah / Hajj / Jihad / Eid ul Fitr / Eid ul Adha / Ashura

Islam

Religious Studies A—Practices

Key Quotes

11. “This is my path, leading straight, so follow it” (jihad)	12. “Woe to those who pray but are heedless to their prayer”	13. “Your Lord says ‘call on me and I will answer you’”
14. “Believers! When the call to prayer is made on the day of congregation, hurry towards the reminder of God and leave off your trading.”	15. “Read! In the name of your Lord who created. He created man from a clinging form (clot of blood). Read! Your Lord is the Most Bountiful One who taught by the pen.”	16. “The Night of Glory is better than a thousand months.”
17. “It was in the month of Ramadan that the Qur’an was revealed… so any one of you who is present that month should fast.”	18. “Whatever you give should be for parents, close relatives, orphans, the needy and travelers. God is well aware of whatever good you do.”	19. “Alms are meant only for the poor, the needy...”
20. “Pilgrimage to the House is a duty owed to God by people who are unable to undertake it.”	21. “Safa and Marwa are among the rites of God, so for those who make major or minor pilgrimage to the House it is no offence to circulate between the two.”
22. “But those who have believed, migrated, and striven for God’s cause, it is they who can look forward to God’s mercy”	23. “You who believe, when you are about to pray, wash your faces and your hands up to the elbows, wipe your heads, wash your feet up to the ankles…”

AO2 Issues
24. Is it important for prayer to be organised in a certain way?	30. Is wudu really that important?
25. Is it important for all Muslims to be praying towards Makkah?	31. Is going to mosque necessary for prayer?
26. Should some Muslims be excused from fasting?	32. Is it harder to observe Ramadan in the UK?
27. How important is Makka for Muslims?	33. Why might Muslims in the UK prefer to make the sacrifice of giving money rather than meat to the poor during Eid ul Adha?
28. How important is it for British Muslims to celebrate their festivals in the UK?	34. Which of the 5 pillars is most important?
29. Should jihad be understood in terms of holy war?	35. Is fasting necessary to focus on God during Ramadan?

Key Words
36. The Five Pillars the most important duties for all Muslims	37. The Ten Obligatory Acts: important duties for Shi’a Muslims which includes the 5 pillars	38. Shahadah: The Muslim declaration of faith
39. Salah: prayer performed under conditions set by prophet Muhammad	40. Wudu: ritual washing before prayer	41. Mihrab: a niche in a wall that indicates the direction of Makkah
42. Qiblah: the wall in a mosque that contains the mihrab	43. Rak’ah: a sequence of movements in ritual prayer	44. Recitation: repeating a passage of text from memory
45. Prostration: kneeling with the forehead nose hands knees and toes touching the floor in complete submission to God	46. Jummah prayer: a weekly communal prayer performed after midday on Friday which includes a sermon	47. Ramadan: the 9th month of the Muslim calendar during which Muslims have to fast from dusk to sunset
48. Fasting: not eating or drinking for a certain length of time usually for a religious reason	49. The Night of Power: 1) the night when the first revelation of the Qur’an was made to Muhammad 2) the festival that marks the start of God’s revelation to Muhammad	50. Zakah: purification of wealth by giving 2.5 percent of savings each year to the poor
51. Sadaqah: good actions or voluntary payments that are undertaken for charitable reasons	52. Khums: a 20 percent tax paid by Shi’a Muslims on their excess income	53. Pilgrimage: a journey by a believer to a holy site for religious reasons and an act of worship and devotion
54. Hajj: the annual pilgrimage to Makkah that every Muslim should try to make at least once in their lifetime	55. Ka’aba: the black cube shaped building in the centre of the Grand Mosque in Makkah	56. Hajji: someone who has completed Hajj
57. Jihad: a struggle against evil which may be an inward personal struggle or an outward collective struggle	58. Greater jihad: the personal inward struggle of all Muslims to live in line with the teachings of their faith	59. Lesser jihad: the outward struggle to defend one’s faith family and country from threat
60. Holy war: fighting for a religious cause or God probably controlled by a religious leader	61. Id-ul-Fitr: a Muslim festival that celebrates the end of Ramadan	62. Id-ul-Adha: a Muslim festival that celebrates the prophet Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice his son for God
63. Day of Ashura: a festival that is important for Shi’a Muslims in particular who remember the battle of Karbala and death of Husayn on this day	64. Pilgrimage: A journey made for religious reasons.	65. Mina: Place to be visited on hajj – stoning of pillars.
66. Mosque: The Muslim place of worship.	67. Muzdalifah: Place where pilgrims hold a night prayer and rest during hajj, after the Stand on Mount Arafat.	68. Ramadan: Month during which fasting from dawn to sunset is demanded (ninth month of the Islamic calendar).
69. Recitations: Acts of reciting from memory texts from the Qur’an.