character education involving critical thinking
Here are some facts about Islam.
Write an informational paragraph about this widespread religion.
Muhammad, the founder and most important prophet of Islam, was born in 570 C.E. in the town of Mecca on the Arabian Peninsula.
His father died a few days before Muhammad was born. When he was six, his mother died, and he was given into his grandfather’s care. When Muhammad was eight, his grandfather also died. His uncle then took over raising Muhammad.
How might life experiences like these affect someone?
Stories say that when Muhammad’s mother was pregnant, a voice said to her, “You are pregnant with the lord of this people. When he is born, say, ‘I put him in the care of the One from the evil of every envier.’; then call him Muhammad.”
The name Muhammad means “highly praised.” Muhammad did, indeed, grow up to be highly praised. When his name is spoken or written, it is customary for Muslims, followers of Islam, to utter the blessing “peace be upon him.”
Today, more boys in the world are given the name “Muhammad” than any other name.
Why do you think the name “Muhammad” is so popular today?
Muhammad, Islam’s founder, had many roles in life: husband, father, shepherd, merchant, hermit, exile, leader, prophet, soldier.
Think about the kinds of personal traits a person would need to succeed in all these different roles. List as many of them as you can.
The world into which Muhammad, the founder of Islam, was born was chaotic. The Arabian Peninsula was an important trading centre.
The cities of Arabia acted independently. Different cities often raided trading caravans bringing goods to another city. Even within one city, different tribes carried on blood feuds.
To rise in society, a man needed the protection of a powerful tribe. Women had no rights; they were little more than possessions of their fathers and husbands.
Muhammad was a deeply moral man, who thought a great deal about ethical issues. How do you think an ethical person might have looked at the society of the day?
The life of a shepherd is often quiet and lonely. A shepherd could spend days alone with his thoughts, not seeing or talking to any other people.
As a boy and young man, Muhammad worked as a shepherd. He watched flocks of sheep in the hills outside Mecca, protecting them from attackers, both human and animal.
Later Muhammad became a successful merchant. But he was also a deeply moral man who thought about the ills of society. In his forties, Muhammad began to spend time alone in a cave in the mountains thinking. On one of his visits to the cave he had a vision. An angel appeared and told Muhammad that he was the appointed prophet of Allah, or God.
How do you think Muhammad’s early days as a shepherd contributed to his ability to spend time alone thinking?
When Islam’s founder, Muhammad, was a young man, he became a merchant. He worked for a wealthy businesswoman named Khadijah. Khadijah was impressed with Muhammad’s honesty, generosity, and gentleness. She and Muhammad were married.
Muhammad and Khadijah had four daughters and two sons. After fifteen years of marriage, Muhammad became aware that something was missing in his life, and he began to retreat to a mountain cave.
Have you ever felt something was missing in your life or felt the need to spend time alone? Describe the experience.
Muhammad believed that there was only one God, Allah. When he began preaching the message of Allah, he met with opposition.
The society in which Muhammad lived was polytheistic – that is, it believed in many gods. Mecca, where he lived, was a religious centre. There were 360 shrines to different gods in Mecca; the city received considerable income from pilgrims to these shrines.
Write of some other time when a new idea was not accepted at first. It could be an event in your own life or something from history or current events.
Muhammad, Islam’s most important prophet, became an outcast in his home city, because people in Mecca disapproved of Muhammad’s messages and religion. People in another city, Yathrib, asked Muhammad to leave Mecca and become their leader.
Knowing the opposition he faced in Mecca, Muhammad accepted their invitation. Threatened with violence in Mecca, Muhammad and his followers made their way secretly to Yathrib. This emigration is known as the Hegira. The Islamic calendar begins with the Hegira, which was July 16, 622, in the Western calendar.
In Yathrib, Muhammad became a successful politician. Yathrib became known as Medinat al-Nabi, or City of the Prophet, then simply Medina.
Within ten years of his flight to Medina, Mecca surrendered to Muhammad. By the time he died, in June 632 C.E., Muhammad had united the disparate peoples of the Arabian Peninsula into one nation.
Describe what it must be like to be forced to flee your home, like Muhammad.
After years of being harassed, Muhammad and his followers went to a town called Yathrib. According to Islam, two tribes from Yathrib, the Auws and Khazraj, approached Muhammad and invited him to govern their town, which was prone to civil war. Muhammad needed a place where his followers could live in peace, without fear of persecution, so he agreed. The city was soon called Medina. Muhammad wrote a charter for its citizens and established a peace.
What does this tell us about Muhammad?
After eleven years outside Mecca, Muhammad, Islam’s founder, experienced an Ascension, in which he journeyed to heaven.
After praying, Muhammad was approached by the angel Gabriel. They mounted a winged steed called the buraq and traveled to Jerusalem, where the spirits of many prophets appeared. Muhammad led them in prayer. Then he remounted the buraq and ascended with Gabriel to heaven.
Muhammad said that heaven was difficult to describe. He said it was a combination of lights and sounds and flowing energy.
What does the word heaven mean to you? What do you imagine heaven looks like?
During Muhammad’s Night Journey to heaven, he was led into the presence of Allah. Allah said that Muslims were to pray fifty times each day.
On Muhammad’s way back to Earth, he met with Moses, who asked, “What has Allah told your followers to do?”
Muhammad answered that Allah wanted the faithful to pray fifty times a day. Moses urged Muhammad to return to Allah and ask Him to reduce the number of prayers, as Muhammad’s followers would not be able to pray that many times.
So Muhammad went back to Allah, and Allah reduced the number of prayers to forty each day. Moses insisted that this was still too much, and sent Muhammad back to Allah.
This happened several times; each time, Allah reduced the number of prayers, until the requirement stood at five prayers a day. Moses insisted that this was still too much, as he had tried to get people to pray in the past, and they could not accomplish this.
Muhammad replied, “I have already returned to my Lord till I am ashamed. I am satisfied, and I submit.”
What do these events tell you about the prophets and their followers?
The word Islam means “surrender to the will of God.”
The word Muslim means “one who has surrendered.”
How do you think a deep sense of religious conviction can be seen as surrender?
The Islamic holy book is known as the Qur’an, or Koran. The word Qur’an means “recitation.” It records Muhammad’s revelations from Allah.
Until about 650 C.E., the Qur’an existed only in oral form. Muhammad shared his revelations with his followers, who memorized his words. Then about twenty years after Muhammad’s death, all the revelations ere gathered together in written form.
Some Muslims objected to writing down Muhammad’s revelations. They said that if Muhammad had wanted these revelations committed to writing, he would have asked his followers to do this during his lifetime. Other leaders felt that it was essential. Their view prevailed, and the written Qur’an was prepared.
What reasons can you think of for writing down the revelations of Muhammad? List as many reasons as you can.
Devout Muslims dedicate themselves to cultivating certain virtues and avoiding vices. Muslims are prohibited from doing many things.
They include spiritual prohibitions: Muslims should not deny the revelation of God to his prophets, swear falsely in the name of God, or lose hope in the mercy of God.
They also include behavioural prohibitions: Muslims should not deliberately kill another human being, lie, steal, cheat, betray their country, commit adultery, gamble, drink alcohol, oppress the people or aid an oppressor, or deliberately hinder a good cause.
Choose one of these prohibitions. Explain why you think it is important.
In Islam, life is considered a gift from Allah. Accepting this gift leaves us with two obligations.
First, we must show our gratitude for this gift.
Second, in return for this gift, we must give ourselves to Allah by surrendering ourselves to his wishes.
Do you believe that life is a “gift?’ Explain why or why not.
Islam includes five major principles known as the Five Pillars of Islam. These pillars are Shahadah, declaring one’s faith in Allah; salat, daily prayer; zakat, giving to charity; saum, fasting during the holy month of Ramadan; and Hajj, making a pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca
Many different cultures and religions have pillars or underlying principles that set them apart. Think of a group, religion, or other organization that has specific pillars. Explain these pillars and show how they make the group unique.
The first Pillar of Islam, the Shahadah, is to say, “There is no god except Allah, and I declare that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.”
This declaration of faith asserts that Allah is all, and Allah alone is worthy of our total attention.
What are the benefits of declaring a belief aloud?
The second Pillar of Islam, salat, is the ritual of praying five times a day.
There are two focuses one can have in prayer. The first, salat, consists of praising Allah. The second, known as du’a, or “calling on Allah,” means asking Allah for something.
What is the difference between praising Allah and asking Allah for help?
The third Pillar of Islam is called zakat. It means charity or dues-to-the-poor.
There are certain requirements to be met before one can give the zakat. One must be an adult, have savings, and have paid all of one’s regular expenses. If these things are in order, Muslims pay 2.5% of their wealth to charity or government programs.
The purpose of this Pillar is to remind Muslims that those who are in need are entitled to assistance. The zakat purifies people of attachment to wealth and reminds them of Allah’s generosity.
The material world is said to distract people from leading a good life. Does a desire for money keep people from making the right decisions in life? Explain your opinion.
The fourth Pillar of Islam is saum, or fasting. In the ninth month of the lunar calendar of Islam, the faithful fast from dawn to dusk.
During the fast, Muslims must abstain from eating, drinking, lying, and sensual contact. The fast is meant to help Muslims overcome personal gluttony and the habit of always desiring more.
According to Islam, people struggle to master their bodies and emotions. Fasting helps them with this.
When you want something, is it hard to deny it to yourself? Do you think that practice at denying ourselves things we want would be good for us? Explain.
The fifth Pillar of Islam is the hajj, or pilgrimage. This consists of a journey to mecca in Saudi Arabia and circling the Ka’bah, a small building made of bricks and covered with a heavy black cloth. The Ka’bah is believed to be the centre of monotheism. Abraham himself built the shrine in the Ka’bah, and Muhammad restored it to a place for worshipping Allah alone (no idols)
During the pilgrimage, Muslims recall the success of Hagar and Ishmael, the prophet Abraham’s concubine and their son. Hagar and Ishmael were aided by Allah after they were abandoned by Abraham in the Arabian desert. Pilgrims visit the barren Plain of Arafah to be reminded of the Day of Judgment and throw rocks at stone pillars representing Shaytan, the spirit of evil. They also pray regularly. Every year, millions of Muslims perform the hajj.
Most of us have had some experience of being part of a large group of people focused on the same thing, such as at a sporting event or a concert. Think about an experience like this that you have had. Did the energy of the group affect you in any way? Describe the experience.
Muslims do not believe that Allah or the prophets should be visually represented. According to Islam, representations are misleading and even disrespectful. If Muhammad is shown in a painting, his face is hidden by a veil. Usually a flame is shown burning around his head; this is the flame of prophethood.
Why might representations of Allah and the prophets actually lead people away from Allah?
According to the Qur’an, we are followed throughout our lives by Kiraman Katibeen, the Noble Writers. These two angels sit on our shoulders and record our good and bad actions in a book of deeds.
If you knew that everything you did would be recorded, would you act differently? In what way?
Sufis are Muslim mystics. They help people to escape worldly interests by becoming aware of spiritual things. Sufis often use stories as part of their teaching.
There was once a small boy who banged a drum all day long. His parents and neighbours were at their wits end; no matter what they said, the boy would not be quiet.
Various experts came to help. The first told the boy that he would perforate his eardrums. The second told the boy that beating a drum was a sacred activity and should only be done on special occasions. Other experts offered the neighbours earplugs, gave the boy a book to distract him, gave the neighbours books on how to control their anger, and gave the boy meditation exercises to calm him. The boy kept beating his drum.
Finally a Sufi came along. He looked at the boy and the drum, then pointed to a hammer and chisel lying nearby and said, “I wonder what is inside the drum?”
Why do the solutions of the “experts” fail? What do you think happens after the Sufi makes his comment?
Sufis are Muslim mystics. They help people to escape worldly interest by becoming aware of spiritual things. Sufis often use stories as part of their teaching.
A powerful king presented a challenge to the wise men of his kingdom.
He said, “I had a dream in which I possessed a ring. The ring helped me bring peace to my state. If I looked upon it when I was unhappy, it made me joyful. If I looked upon it when I was happy, I became sad. Can you find me such a ring?
The wise men consulted with one another. Finally they found a solution. They had a jeweler make a ring, which they presented to the king. On the ring were engraved the words, “This too will pass.”
Explain the message of this story in your own words.
