eResources Prayer mat designs

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Background knowledge for the teacher

• Muslims try to follow the teachings in the Qur’an.

• Hadith are the words of the Prophet Muhammad.

• Sunnah are the actions of the Prophet Muhammad.

• Prophet Muhammad’s words and actions have been transmitted extremely carefully down the generations in order to ensure that they remain unchanged.

• Although most Muslims try to follow the Qur’an, many Muslims also use Hadith and Sunnah as forms of guidance about how they should live their lives.

By the age of 9 or 10, many pupils know that the Qur’an is the holy book of Islam and holy books can be sources of guidance for the followers of religions. This unit takes pupils further to look at other very important sources of guidance and wisdom in Islam: Hadith and Sunnah. Pupils begin by looking at a range of Hadith to analyse their messages.

The unit moves on to focusing on both the subjects of women and education in Islam through exploring Hadith linked to them. The area of people’s appearance is briefly covered. How people dress is not a primary concern of the RE curriculum; however, it can be an important area to broach, especially if children have encountered any stereotypical views.

Pupils have the opportunity to explore Hadith related to both women and education and find out about the lives of certain Muslim women. Finally, pupils reflect upon the importance of education in their own lives in preparation for a thinking skills activity linking what they have learnt about Hadith and Sunnah to the life of educational activist Malala Yousafzai.

Please be aware that although there is a large focus on Hadith and Sunnah within this unit, there may also be opportunities for wider discussions on Islam if appropriate. Discerning pupils might also see a number of instances where diversity occurs within this one religious tradition.

Essential knowledge for the pupil

Pupils will know:

• Hadith and Sunnah are the words and actions of Prophet Muhammad

• Hadith and Sunnah are used for guidance by many Muslims

• the messages in the range of Hadith

eResourcesGo to www.natre.org.uk/resources/termly-mailing/inspiring-re/muslims to access the resources below.

• Malala Fund website.

• A clip from the BBC's My Life, My Religion: Islam on the hijab.

Members are able to download extra resources to support this unit:

• Mystery cards from pp. 30–31.

• Hadith from p. 32.

• A PowerPoint presentation to support the teaching of this unit.

How do Hadith guide Muslims through the journey of life?Ages 9–11

Assessment for 9–11s

These statements suggest ‘emerging’, ‘expected’ and ‘exceeding’ outcomes from this unit for 11-year-olds. Adapt them for the age of pupils you are teaching. If necessary, adapt the ‘e’ words to the assessment language of your school.

Emerging• Identify some guidance offered

in Hadith.

• Make links between some Hadith and how Muslims live.

Expected• Give meanings for Hadith studied and

explain how each affects Muslim beliefs.

• Describe ways in which Hadith guide Muslim living.

Exceeding• Explain the importance of

individual Hadith, and Hadith in general, for Muslims.

• Explain how and why Muslims use guidance from Hadith in their lives.

This unit helps pupils in Scotland to achieve RME 2–05a, 2–05b and 2–06c.

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Hadith and appearance

Ask pupils for examples of times when what they are wearing shows that they belong to a group, e.g. a sports team kit, religious symbols or a uniform. Show several pictures of Muslim women from a range of ethnicities, some wearing traditional dress and others not. Ask pupils to discuss what the link might be between the pictures, other than all of the people being female. Take pupils’ answers, and if religion is not one of them, introduce the fact that all of these women are from the same religion – whilst they might look and dress differently, they are all Muslim.

Look at this Hadith:

Allah does not look at your bodies or your appearance, but, rather, at your hearts and your actions. (Based on Sahih Muslim, Book 45, Hadith 42.)

• Discuss its meaning with pupils.

Watch a film clip from My Life, My Religion (see ‘eResources’) of Sara, who has chosen to wear a hijab. Ask pupils to spot her reasons for wearing it and what she says about men’s clothing too. Where do pupils’ see links with the Hadith on appearance? If appropriate, explain to pupils that Sara and many Muslim women in this country make the decision to wear a hijab. In some other countries, Muslim women are expected to dress in a certain way and have less choice.

Show a picture of a religion other than Islam where women traditionally cover their heads, e.g. females in an Orthodox church with their heads covered. Ask pupils which religion they think the women in the image belong to, before revealing that they are not Muslim.

Put the words ‘Yes’, ‘No’ and ‘Sometimes’ up in different corners of the classroom. Pose the question ‘Can you tell what religion someone belongs to by looking at them?’ Ask pupils to stand by the answer they agree with and discuss their responses.

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Hadith for guidanceDiscuss pupils’ prior knowledge about holy books and how they guide believers. Explain that in Islam, there is guidance in the Qur’an, but many Muslims use Hadith and Sunnah for guidance too (see ‘Background knowledge for teachers’).

In groups, pupils take the cards from p. 32, which each contain a Hadith. For each, pupils should pick out the key words from the Hadith and use these to help them work out what the Prophet Muhammad was supporting or opposing.

Once finished, pupils should reflect on which of the Hadith they think have value in today’s world and why. Allow time for pupils to focus on who or what they themselves turn to for guidance.

What did the Prophet say about women?

Pupils should look carefully at the following two Hadith and then sum up their main messages:

The Messenger of Allah said: ‘Whoever has three daughters, or three sisters, or two daughters, or two sisters and he keeps good company with them and fears Allah regarding them, then Paradise is for him.’ (Jami` at-Tirmidhi, Book 27, Hadith 22.)

‘Oh Muhammad, who is the most deserving of my fine treatment?’ Muhammad replied ‘Your mother.’ The man asked: ‘Then who?’ Muhammad answered: ‘Your mother.’ The man again asked: ‘Then who?’ Prophet Muhammad said: ‘Your mother.’ ‘Then who?’ the man asked. ‘Your father,’ replied the Prophet. (Based on Sahih Muslim, Book 45, Hadith 1.)

Ask pupils to explain from these Hadith what they think Muhammad was trying to teach people about women.

Allow pupils to research the life journey of a famous Muslim woman. The journey could be from a woman living at the time of Muhammad such as Khadijah – the Prophet’s first wife and a businesswoman who was the first person to turn to Islam after Muhammad – or Aishah, who was instrumental in the recording of many Hadith that are still used by Muslims today. The focus could be on a contemporary figure such as Ibtihaj Muhammad, the first American Olympian to wear a hijab whilst competing; Anousheh Ansari, the first Muslim woman to travel to outer space or Nadiya Hussain, The Great British Bake Off winner.

• Are pupils able to make any links between the life journey that they studied and any of the Hadith that they have seen?

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Hadith and educationShare two or more of the Hadith and Sunnah below with pupils. Ask them to read the texts and decide in groups:

• Do these pieces of guidance show that education is important in Islam?

• After reading these pieces of guidance, who do you think Muhammad wanted to have an education?

It is necessary that all Muslims, both men and women, gain knowledge. (Based on Sunan Ibn Majah, Vol. 1, Book 1, Hadith 224.)

Allah makes the path to paradise easier for those who seek knowledge. (Based on Jami` at-Tirmidhi, Book 41, Hadith 2.)

Some women said to Prophet Muhammad: ‘Men have started to gain more knowledge than us. So choose a special day when we can gain knowledge as well.’ Prophet Muhammad chose a day for the women. He would meet them on that day to teach them about Allah’s commandments and give them advice. (Based on Sahih Al-Bukhari.)

Mystery solvingPrepare a set of clue cards from pp. 30–31 for each group of up to four pupils. Show an image of Malala Yousafzai, tell pupils her name and explain that they are going to find out some information about the journey of her life so far. Explain that they are going to use a range of clues to work out the answer to the following question:

How do Malala’s actions link to teachings in the Hadith?

Pupils should read the information on each clue card and decide whether or not it helps them to answer the question. They may find it helpful to see whether they can categorise the cards into groups of similar facts. Hold a number of mini plenaries for pupils to share how they are sorting the cards and where they are in their thinking. This will allow groups to edit and refine their work accordingly.

Groups should each share their answer with the whole class. Answers should be as full as possible and reasoning should be justified, so pupils might need some time beforehand to prepare what they are going to say, and how they are going to say it.

Our educationAsk pupils to quickly sketch a timeline showing the journey of their own life, from the time they were born until they are 50 years old (some predictions will need to be made about their adult lives!). Discuss which pupils recorded something to do with education, e.g. ‘first day at school’ or ‘made best friends with Jake in Mrs Brown’s class’.

Now ask children to cross off any reference to education.

• What are pupils’ initial responses about having no education?

• If education had never happened, would this change things?

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• Find out what Hadith and Sunnah are. Use four of the Hadith from p. 32 in more child-friendly language. Discuss the meaning of each Hadith.

• In groups, pupils should take one of the Hadith and role-play its meaning in a modern-day setting. Other groups should try to guess which of the Hadith is having its meaning role-played.

• Explain that the Hadith were said by Muhammad around 1,400 years ago. Do pupils think their meanings are still important in the modern day?

Younger pupils might …

eResourcesMystery strategy cards

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Malala thinks it is important that girls are allowed to

have an education.

Allah makes the path to paradise easier for those

who seek knowledge. (Based on Jami` at-Tirmidhi,

Book 41, Hadith 2.)

When Muhammad and his friends were alive, many

women had very traditional roles and would not have gone to school every day.

Many people in Pakistan and around the rest of

the world protested when Malala was shot. Lots of

these people were Muslim.

In 2017, 130 million school-age girls around the world were not able

to attend school.

When Malala was writing her blog, a group called

the Taliban were in power in her part of Pakistan.

When she was 11, Malala started to blog for BBC

Urdu about life in her part of Pakistan.

On her 16th birthday, Malala spoke to the

United Nations about the importance of education

for every child.

The Malala Fund works to try and make sure that every

girl in the world can safely have a proper education.

Malala was born on 1 July 1997 in Pakistan.

Malala’s father (called Ziauddin) is also an educational activist.

In 2011, Malala won the National Peace Award

for Youth.

When she was young, people threatened to kill Malala and Ziauddin for what they were saying, but the pair carried on

campaigning for the right to education.

She campaigns to ensure that girls are allowed to

have an education.

On 9 October 2012, Malala was shot. She was 15.

eResource and photocopiable by purchasing institutions © Copyright RE Today Services 2017

How do Malala's actions link to teachings in the Hadith?

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eResources eResources

Many girls’ schools in the part of Pakistan where

Malala lived had been blown up.

Some women said to Prophet Muhammad: ‘Men have started to gain more knowledge than us. So choose a special day when we can gain knowledge as well.’ Prophet Muhammad chose a day for the women. He would meet them on that day to teach

them about Allah’s commandments and give them advice. (Based on Sahih Al-Bukhari.)

Some Muslims think about the times when

Muhammad and his friends lived. They would like to

live in a similar way.

Where Malala lived in Pakistan, girls had

been banned from attending school.

The people in power in Malala’s part of Pakistan did not like what she was

saying, so decided that she needed to be killed. A plan

was made to shoot her.

After she recovered from the shooting, Malala went to school in Birmingham in the United Kingdom.

It is necessary that all Muslims, both men and

women, gain knowledge.(Based on Sunan Ibn Majah, Vol. 1, Book 1, Hadith 224.)

Malala used a different name when she was writing the BBC Urdu blog. This was

to keep her safe because the people in power did not like what she was writing.

The people in power said that Malala had been shot because she had carried

on saying bad things about them and Islam even though her father had been

told that she must stop.

In 2009 a journalist from the New York Times filmed Malala for a programme about girls’ education.

Malala was 17 when she won the Nobel Peace Prize – the youngest winner ever!

eResource and photocopiable by purchasing institutions © Copyright RE Today Services 2017

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eResourcesHadith

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Prophet Muhammad said: ‘Do not hate each other, and

do not be jealous of each other, and do not abandon each other. Be brothers. If you break your friendship with another Muslim, you must repair that friendship

within three days.’(Based on Sahih Al-Bukhari,

Book 78, Hadith 104.)

Whenever a beggar or a person in need came to Prophet

Muhammad, the Prophet would say, ‘Help this person and you

will be rewarded for it.’(Based on Sahih Al-Bukhari,

Book 78, Hadith 58.)

Prophet Muhammad said, ‘The strong person is not the one

who is good at wrestling, but the one who can control his

anger.’(Based on Riyad as-Salihin,

Book 1, Hadith 45.)

Prophet Muhammad said, ‘Those who are truthful are good, those who are good are on the path to paradise. A

man keeps on telling the truth until he becomes a truthful person.’

(Based on Sahih Al-Bukhari, Book 78, Hadith 121.)

Prophet Muhammad did not use bad words or rude

words to make others laugh. He never used bad language. He used to say, ‘The best people are those

who have the best manners and character.’

(Based on Sahih Al-Bukhari, Book 78, Hadith 59.)

eResource and photocopiable by purchasing institutions © Copyright RE Today Services 2017

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Respect a good deed (no matter how small it may seem), even if it is

having a cheerful face when you meet another person.

(Based on Riyad as-Salihin, Book 2, Hadith 695.)

There is a reward for showing kindness to every living thing.

(Based on Al-Adab Al-Mufrad, Book 20, Hadith 378.)

‘The person who does not show mercy to others, will not be

shown mercy.’(Based on Sahih Muslim, Book 43, Hadith 88.)