Muslim Practices: Worship & Celebrations (Edexcel GCSE Religious Studies A: Islam): Flashcards

Tawalla involves expressing love towards what is good, following the examples of the prophets.

Tabarra means staying away from evil and moving away from those who turn away from Allah.

The Ten Obligatory Acts are important because they:

• Guide how Shi’a Muslims practise their faith and live their lives

• Show commitment to Islam in words and actions

• Bring followers closer to Allah

• Unite all Shi’a Muslims as a community

• Purify the heart and ease the suffering of the poor

False.

Shi’a Muslims also see the acts as a way to achieve a good afterlife after they die.

The Shahadah is the Muslim declaration of faith and the first of the Five Pillars of Islam.

The Shahadah states that there is no God but Allah and Muhammad is his Messenger.

False.

Muslims believe Muhammad was human, not a god. He dedicated his whole life to serving Allah.

The belief in the first part of the Shahadah, that there is only one God, is Tawhid.

Muslims call the belief in prophets Risalah.

Shirk is worshipping anything other than Allah, a serious sin that the Qur’an describes as unforgivable.

Muslims believe only Allah gave humans life, provides for everyone and answers prayers.

Muhammad preached against idol worship, which was common in Makkah at the time.

Muslims believe Muhammad was the key to humanity receiving the full and unaltered message of Allah.

Muslims say "peace and blessings be upon him" after the Prophet’s name.

Muslims recite the Shahadah daily to remind them of the central importance of its beliefs.

False.

The Shahadah remains the basic statement of faith, so Muslims would say that anyone who cannot recite it is not a Muslim.

Muslims believe that everything else in Islam centres around the key beliefs of the Shahadah.

Salah is the compulsory prayer that Muslims perform five times each day.

Salah is the second of the Five Pillars of Islam and one of the Ten Obligatory Acts for Shi’a Muslims.

Muslims believe that through Salah they can communicate directly with Allah and deepen their relationship with Him.

"What is certain" means death, so the passage calls on believers to worship Allah for their entire lifetime.

False.

The Prophet Muhammad said the first question Allah will ask his followers in the akhirah (afterlife) will be about Salah.

Wudu (ablution) is ritual washing of the hands, feet and face that prepares Muslims physically and spiritually for Salah.

Muslims perform Salah just after dawn, just after midday, late afternoon, just after sunset and after dark.

Qiblah is the direction of prayer: Muslims face Makkah, where the Ka’aba stands.

A rak’ah is the set sequence of movements Muslims perform as they pray, including standing, bowing, prostrating and kneeling.

In Salah, Muslims call bowing ruku’ and prostrating sajdah.

The Hadith says "Prayer with the congregation is 27 times better than prayer performed by oneself".

The adhan is the call to prayer, which signals the start of Salah.

The mihrab is a niche in the mosque wall that shows worshippers which direction to stand to face Makkah.

False.

Sunni Muslims pray at five times each day, but Shi’a Muslims combine the five daily prayers into three sessions.

A turbah is a small block of wood or earth on which Shi’a Muslims place their head when they prostrate, so it touches something natural.

Jummah prayer is the most important prayer of the week, which takes place in the mosque each Friday.

Sawm is fasting, the fourth of the Five Pillars of Islam.

Muslims observe the main fast during Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar.

False.

Muslims also give up anything that distracts them from remembering God, such as smoking, sex and even listening to music.

Suhur is the breakfast Muslims eat before dawn, before their fast starts.

Muslims end each day’s fast with a shared meal, iftar, which starts with eating dates, as the Prophet Muhammad did.

Sawm helps Muslims to:

• Get closer to Allah and be grateful

• Learn self-discipline

• Gain greater sympathy for the poor

• Strengthen the unity of the ummah

People who do not need to fast include young children, the elderly, pregnant and breastfeeding women, those who are sick and people travelling on long journeys.

Fidyah is a donation to the poor that a Muslim makes when they do not take part in the fast.

False.

The Hadith warns that there is no point in fasting if Muslims do not become better as a result.

Laylat al-Qadr (the Night of Power) is the night when Allah gave the first revelation of the Qur’an to the Prophet Muhammad.

Muhammad was praying in Cave Hira when the Angel Jibril visited him.

The first words the Angel Jibril revealed began: "Read! In the name of the Lord your God who created".

Surah 97:3 says "Worshipping Allah in that night is better than worshipping Him a thousand months".

I’tikaf is a retreat in a private space in the mosque for study, prayer, reflection and repentance, which many Muslims make in the last nights of Ramadan.

Muhammad advised followers to seek Laylat al-Qadr on one of the odd nights towards the end of Ramadan: the 21st, 23rd, 25th, 27th or 29th.

True.

Because Muslims believe this, they use the night as a time to ask Allah for forgiveness.

Zakah is the practice of giving 2.5 per cent of a Muslim’s wealth to benefit those in need.

Zakah is the third of the Five Pillars of Islam, so it is a compulsory duty for Sunni Muslims.

Muslims pay Zakah at the end of each lunar year.

False.

Islam teaches that wealth is a gift from Allah, which Muslims must use responsibly and share with those in need.

Nisab is the minimum wealth a Muslim must have, once they have provided for their family’s basic needs, before they give Zakah.

Zakah means "purification" in Arabic: giving it purifies a Muslim’s wealth, and it blesses what remains.

In the UK, Muslims give Zakah to the mosque, which distributes it to those in need.

False.

Zakah is a confidential donation: the giver does not know the recipient, and the recipient does not know the donor.

Recipients of Zakah include those in poverty or debt, people who are travelling and ransom for prisoners of war.

Zakah can free a Muslim from greed and selfishness, helping them to be more spiritual and less materialistic.

Khums means "one fifth": the practice of paying 20 per cent of wealth to other causes, one of the Ten Obligatory Acts for Shi’a Muslims.

False.

Shi’a Muslims give Zakah and also pay Khums.

Khums supports the needy and causes that advance Islam, such as Islamic schools, education and mosques.

At the time of Muhammad, Muslims gave Khums to the Imam, who distributed it as he chose.

Sunni Muslims recognise Khums as historically important, but they do not place the same emphasis on it.

The money can lift people out of poverty, improve their quality of life and give them better access to education.

Jihad, from the Arabic juhd, means struggle: the struggle every Muslim faces to follow the teachings of Islam.

Greater jihad (jihad al-akbar) is the inner struggle to become a better Muslim by doing good deeds.

Striving with the tongue means being honest and speaking out for what is right, or spreading the faith by telling people about Islam.

Striving with the pen (jihad be al-qalam) means writing positive things in defence of Islam or studying the Qur’an.

Muslims strive with the soul by improving their inner character, for example by fasting and resisting temptation.

Lesser jihad (jihad al-asghar) is the outer struggle to defend Islam in the world, by non-violent or even violent means.

False.

Muslims may carry out lesser jihad only under strict conditions, such as extreme persecution, the removal of religious freedoms, an enemy attack on Islam, or a Muslim leader’s authorisation.

Surah 22:39 permits those who have been attacked to take up arms "because they have been wronged".

In all cases of lesser jihad:

• It must be for a just cause

• It must be a last resort

• It must cause the minimum suffering possible

• Muslims must not attack innocent civilians

• It must end as soon as the enemy surrenders

Most Muslims see greater jihad as the most important, and the Prophet Muhammad stressed it more than lesser jihad.

False.

The vast majority of Muslims reject this, saying nothing could ever justify terrorism and that it misinterprets Islam’s message of peace.

In 2005, a group of leading scholars signed the Amman Declaration, which denounced acts of terrorism.

Muhammad practised both types of jihad, so Muslims follow his example.

Muslims believe Allah blesses and will reward those who strive to improve themselves throughout their lives.