LEARNING ACTIVITY SHEET

Subject: Introduction to World Religion and Belief System

LEARNING CONTENT: Islam

Reference(s):

LEARNING TARGET

1. Read the opening lines of the Qur’an preferably from English Version
2. Retell the life and times of Prophet Muhammad
3. Explain the core teaching of Islam- there is only one God and Mu-hammad is His final and
greatest messenger

LEARNING CONCEPT

I. Islam at a Glance

 The Arabic word ‘Islam’ means peace, submission and obedience.

 The religion of Islam is the complete acceptance of the teachings and guidance of God as
revealed to his Prophet, Muhammad.
 A Muslim is defined by Islamic scholars as one who believes in God and strives for the
complete transformation of his life according to God’s revealed guidance and the
teachings of His Prophet.
 The message which was revealed to Prophet Muhammad, according to them, is Islam in
its comprehensive, complete and final form.

II. The Qu’ran

 The Qu’ran is believed as the last revealed word of God.

 It is primary source of every Muslim’s faith and practice.
 It deals with all subjects which concerns human beings: wisdom, doctrine, worship,
transactions, laws, etc.
 It provides guidelines and detailed teachings for a just society, proper human conduct,
and an equitable economic system.

III. Sura Al-Fatiha- ‘The Opening

 Sura Al-Fatiha is the first chapter of the Qu’ran, the sacred book of Islam.
 Its verses are a prayer for God’s guidance and stress the lordship and mercy of God
(Allah in Arabic)
IV. The Life of Muhammad

 Muhammad is the founder and chief prophet of Islam and the source of the Qu’ran
 Muhammad, whose name means ‘highly praised”, was born in Mecca in 570 C.E.
 His father died shortly before his birth, and he lost his mother at the age of six.
Muhammad was then raised primarily by his uncle.
 As a young man, Muhammad worked as a camel driver between Syria and Arabia.
 Muhammad came into contact with people of many nationalities and faiths, including
Jews, Christians and pagans.
 At the age 25, Muhammad was employed by Khadija, a wealthy Meccan widow 15 years
his senior. The two were married.

V. Divine Revelation

 In his late 30’s, Muhammad took to regularly visiting a cave in Mount Hira, on the
outskirts of Mecca, to seek solitude and contemplation.
 In 610, at the age of 40, Muhammad returned from one such visit telling his wife he had
either gone mad or become a prophet, for he had been visited by an angel.
 This initially startled Khadija, became his first convert.
 After receiving Khadija’s support, and additional angelic visits, Muhammad became
confident he had indeed been chosen as the messenger of Allah.
 Muhammad message to his countrymen was to convert from pagan polytheism,
immorality and materialism, repent from evil and worship Allah, the only true God.
 He was not an angel, he did not know the mind of God, and he did not work miracles. He
simply preached what he has received.
  In the first three years of his ministry, Muhammad only gained 40 followers.
 As his teachings threatened the Meccan way of life, both moral and economic, he and his
followers experienced heavy persecution.
 Members of the small movement were stoned, covered in dirt as they prayed, beaten with
sticks, thrown into prison and refused service by merchants.

VI. The Hejira

 Persecution continued to increase until Muhammad received some welcome news: He

had gained followers in the city of Yathrib, 280 miles north of Mecca.
 The City was in need of a strong leader, and a delegation from Yathrib proposed that
Muhammad take the job.
 In return, they pledged to worship Allah only, obey Muhammad and defend him and his
followers to death.
 Muhammad made plans to escape to Yathrib.
 The leaders in Mecca heard of the planned escape, and attempted to prevent it.
 Muhammad and his close friend Abu Bakr managed to make a narrow escape north out
of the city, evading a Meccan search party and arriving safely in Yathrib.
 This event is celebrated by Muslims as the Hejira.
 The year in which it occurred, 622, is the date at which the Muslim calendar begins.
 Yathrib was named Medina al-Nabi, “City of the Prophet”, and is now known simply as
Medina, “the City”.

VII. Muhammad in Medina

 Muhammad proved himself as an able politician and statesman as well as prophet.

 Exercising superb statescraft, he welded the five heterogenous and conflicting tribes of
the city, three of which were Jewish, into an orderly confederation.
 His reputation spread and people began to flock from every part of Arabia to see the man
who had wrought this miracle.

VIII. Battle for Mecca

 In 624, the Muslims won their first battle against the Meccans.
 However, a subsequent battle was not victorious, and Muhammad himself was wounded.
 In 627, the Meccans attacked Medina, and Medina came out on top.
 In 630, Muhammad and his forces marched to Mecca and defeated it.
 The Prophet re-dedicated the Kaaba temple to Allah, witnessed the conversion to Islam of
nearly the entire Meccan population, then returned to Medina.
 Muhammad died in 632, having conquered nearly all Arabia for Islam.
IX. Kaaba

 The Kaaba also referred as Al Kaaba Al Musharrafah, is a building at the center of

Islam’s most sacred mosque, Al-Masjid al-Haram, in Mecca, al-Hejaz, Saudi Arabia.
 It is the most sacred site in Islam.

X. The Five Pillars of Islamic Faith

 They are the five obligations that every Muslim must satisfy in order to live a good and
responsible life according to Islam.
1. Shahadah: Sincerely reciting the Muslim profession of Faith.
“Nothing deserves worship except God (Allah) and Muhammad is the Messenger of
God.’
2. Salat: Performing ritual prayers in the proper way five times a day.
3. Zakat: Paying (or giving) of alms (or charity) tax to benefit the poor and the needy.
4. Sawm: Fasting during the month of Ramadan.
“Ramadan is the Muslim Holy month marked by daily fasting from dawn to sunset.
For 30 days, the followers of Islam pray and refrain from smoking and bad behavior”
5. Hajj: Pilgrimage to Mecca
“The Hajj is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, the most holy city of the
Muslims, and a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried out at least
one in their lifetime by all adult Muslims who are physically and financially capable
of undertaking the journey.”

XI. Concept of Worship

 Islam does not teach or accept mere ritualism.

 It emphasizes intention and action.
 To worship God is to know Him and love Him; act upon His law in every aspect of life;
to enjoin goodness and forbid wrongdoings and oppression; to practice charity and justice
and to serve God by serving mankind.

XII. Different Islamic Sects

1. Sunni Muslims
 Include 84%-90% of all Muslims.
 Sunni means “tradition” and Sunnis regard themselves as those who emphasize
following the traditions of Muhammad and of the first two generations of the
community of Muslims that followed Muhammad.
2. Shi’ite Muslims
 Comprise 10%-16% of all Muslims.
  Shi’ites are the “party of Ali” who believed that Muhammad’s son-in-law was his
designated successor.
 Muslim community should be headed by a designated descendant of Muhammad.
3. Sufis or Islamic Mystics
 Sufis go beyond external requirements of Islamic religion to seek a personal
experience of God through forms of meditation and spiritual growth.
4. Baha’is and Ahmadiyyas
 These are 19th century offshoots of Shi’ite and Sunni respectively.

LEARNING ACTIVITY

General Direction: Answer the following questions respectively.

I. Provide the needed information about the life of Prophet Muhammad on the space
provided before each item below:

WORTHY OF PRAISE Meaning of the name “Muhammad”

MECCA, SAUDI ARABIA
Khadija bint Khuwaylid 595–619
Place of birth
Sawda bint Zamʿa 619–632
APRIL 22, 571AD Year of
Aisha bint Abi Bakr c. 623–632 birth

Hafsa bint Umar 624–632 ABU TALIB His uncle

Zaynab bint Khuzayma 625–627 whom he worked as a

shepherd
Hind bint Abi Umayya 625–632

Zaynab bint Jahsh 627–632

His wife

Juwayriyya bint al-Harith 628–632

Ramla bint Abi Sufyan 628–632

Rayhana bint Zayd 629–631

Safiyya bint Huyayy 629–632

Maymunah bint al- 630–632

Harith

Maria al-Qibtiyya 630–632

ANGEL GABRIEL The angel who appeared to him
HEGIRA/HIJRAH The term applied to his escape from Mecca
to Medina
YATHRIB The Old name for Medina
ABU BAKR Muhammad’s close friend who joined him in his
escape
8 JUNE 632 ADMuhammad’s year of death
II. Briefly explain the Profession of Faith of Islam which
states: There is only one God and Muhammad is his final
and greatest messenger”
THE MOST COMMON IS ‘’THERE IS NO GOD AND MUHAMMAD AND
HIS PROPHET’’ MEANING TO SAY MUHAMMAD IS THE ONLY WAY TO
ACHIEVE FAITH. HE IS THE MESSENGER TO ALLAH AND HE WAS
BELIEVE TO BE CALLED AS A GOD.
NAME: JOEY BOY M. MATEO
11- SOCRATES
IWRBS
SIR. PADULLO