Download The Five Pillars of Islam

Lesson # 4
Subject: History
Class: Form 3
Date:
Time and Duration: 8:10 – 8: 50 am
(40 minutes)
Topic: The Five Pillars of Islam
Rationale: Being a society where Islam is one of the dominant religions, the youth need
to know how Muslims practice their faith. This will enable students to understand and
tolerate Muslims as well as accommodate them in the school, community and the
workplace.
Prior Knowledge: Students know beliefs of Islam from the previous lesson. They also
have basic knowledge of some practices of Islam like fasting and prayer.
Objectives: SWBAT:
o analyze each of the pillars of Islam in order to understand what it means to be a
Muslim.
o acknowledge the importance of the Five Pillars of Islam to a Muslim.
o appreciate the influence of the Five Pillars of Islam in shaping the lifestyle of
Muslims.
Teaching Materials
o Pictures of Muslim pilgrims, Muslims praying and poor people.
o Handouts of each of the Five Pillars of Islam.
o A model poem, “I am a Muslim”.
o An illustration of a worksheet on the board.
Lesson Presentation
1. Anticipatory Set/introduction
I will distribute pictures of Muslims pilgrims, Muslims praying and of the poor and ask
students to study them and share with the whole class what each picture is all about. Then
I will ask students to predict the topic of the lesson and I will write it on the board (10
minutes).
2. Development
Step Teacher Activity
1.
a) Ask students to form
groups of 5 and distribute
handouts of a pillar of Islam
to each group to read and
discuss answers to the
questions on the handout.
b) Ask each student to give
him or herself a number 1 – 5
in each group.
c) Draw the worksheet on the
board and ask students to
copy it in their notebooks and
jot down points under
Student Activity
A)
Reading
and
discussing answers to
questions in groups.
b) Assigning numbers to
each other in their
groups.
c)
Copying
the
worksheet and jotting
down points in the
appropriate column.
Materials
Time
7
Handouts
Minutes
An
illustration
of
a
worksheet
2.
3.
discussion in an appropriate
column.
d)
Supervising
group
discussions
a) Ask students to form new
groups, those with the same
number to form the same
groups and share with one
another what they learnt in
the original groups.
b) Ask students to continue
completing the worksheets as
they share in the groups.
a) Read out a poem to the
class, “ I am a Muslim”
b) Ask students to write their
own poems individually.
c) Ask students to share their
poems with the whole class
by reading them out.
a) Sharing in new groups Worksheets
what they learnt in the
original groups.
b)
Completing
the
worksheets
as
they
discuss.
10
minutes
a) Listening attentively Poem
to the poem.
b)
Writing
poems
individually.
c) Sharing poems with
whole class by reading
them out.
15
minutes
3. Conclusion
Through the following oral questions
o Explain five things you would be required to do if you were a Muslim.
o Why would you do such things?
Consolidation/assessment
Draw a graphic organizer of the Five Pillars of Islam for your homework assignment.
Evaluation
Teaching resources /materials for the lesson
1. The Five Pillars of Islam
Confession of Faith
According to the Shahada or confession of faith, a Muslim must testify: “there is no God
except Allah, and Muhammad is the apostle of God.” It is widely agreed that anyone who
utters the Shahada may be regarded as a Muslim. The creed is repeated on every occasion
by the believer and during the time of trouble. It is taught to infants and whispered in the
ears of the dying. It is also repeated five times a day when Muslims make their routine
prayers. When anyone is converted to Islam, he or she is required to repeat this creed.
Prayer
The foundation of Muslim devotion is the ritual prayer service known as salat. Muslims
are required to perform the salat five times daily: early morning, noon, mid- afternoon,
sunset and evening. Muslims are also required to gather for congregational worship on
Friday noon. In addition, special prayer is obligatory at an eclipse of the sun or moon and
on the two Muslim festivals. In Islam, the requirement for worship takes precedence over
everything else.
To prepare for worship the Muslim must do two things; put him or
herself in the proper state of mind and spirit to pray and perform ablutions in accordance
with the command of the Quran; washing the face, hands up to the elbows, wiping heads
and washing feet up to the ankles. Water is the favored agent for purification. The
worshipers face towards Mecca when praying. The Muslims recite the shahada and
prostrate during prayer.
Almsgiving/Zakat
The Muslims are obliged to give alms to the poor. The giving of alms rests on the
repeated warnings of the Quran that the possession of personal property can be justified
only if the owner gives it away freely and generously. Ownership of wealth is not
absolute; it is a trust from God, to be used for god’s purposes. The amount, which the
Muslim should pay, was fixed at one fortieth of his revenue for the year in cash or kind.
The objective of giving alms is two-fold, to purify or legitimize the gaining of private
property and as a manifestation of the believers sense of social responsibility.
Ramadan/Fasting
The Muslim is required to observe the 9th month of the lunar year, Ramadan, as a period
of fasting in which he abstains from eating, drinking, smoking and sexual relations during
daylight hours. The purpose is to subjugate the body to the spirit and to fortify the will
through discipline to enable the believer to come closer to God. Traditionally only the
sick, the aged, travelers, pregnant women and nursing mothers are permitted to defer
observing Ramadan until circumstances permit them to fast.
The Hajj/Pilgrimage
The Quran urges every Muslim, man or woman, whose health and circumstances permit,
to make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in ones lifetime. The hajj takes place in the
12th month of the year and it is an annual event. Before entering Mecca, the pilgrims
remove their ordinary clothes and put on white sheets, symbolizing their abandonment of
ordinary life and their will to submit themselves before God. Then the pilgrims walk 7
times around the central sanctuary in the great mosque of Mecca, run 7 times from Mecca
towards Marwa and back, recalling Hagar’s desperate search for water for her son
Ishmael. They also go and stand on the plain of Arafat outside Mecca in remembrance of
the standing of Abraham against idolatry, stone the pillars at Mina in remembrance of
Abraham, Hagar and Ishmael’s rejection of the temptation of Satan, and finally sacrifice
animals and shave their heads. Besides a mere pillar of Islam, the pilgrimage fosters the
solidarity of the Muslim community.
Question
According to this pillar, what is a Muslim required to do?
Sources
Christopher, J.B. (1972). The Islamic tradition. New York: Harper & Row Publishers.
Robinson, F. (1982). Atlas of the Islamic world since 1500. New York: Facts on File Inc.
2. Poem: I am a Muslim
I am Muslim,
Oh yes, I am a Muslim.
I submit totally to the will of God,
Allah, the Only God.
Truly, I am a Muslim,
I confess the creed everyday,
There is only One God, Allah,
And Muhammad is His messenger.
Indeed I am a Muslim
I pray five times a day,
At daybreak, noon, mid-afternoon, sunset and evening.
Every Friday noon I congregate with brethren for worship,
Every time I pray, I confess the creed.
No doubt, I am a Muslim,
I give alms to the poor.
One-fortieth of my annual earnings,
I give to the poor.
It is my obligation.
Really, I am a Muslim,
I observe the Ramadan,
Indeed I fast for 30 days.
It is a requirement.
I am a Muslim,
I desire to go on a hajj one day.
It is requirement for a Muslim
For sure, one day I will go,
For, I am a Muslim.
An illustration of a worksheet
Almsgiving
Prayer
Faith
Pilgrimage
Fasting