Lesson video

Hello there, my young scholars of religion.

My name is Ms. Marx and I'm going to be your religious education teacher today.

Today we're going to be doing all about the Five Pillars, which are super important key practises within Islam, and they're particularly understood in this way within Sunni Islam.

And so we're going to be theologians as well as a little bit social scientists.

So when you're ready, let's go.

So by the end of the lesson today, you'll be able to explain what the Five Pillars are and give reasons for why each of them might be seen as the most important.

So let's start with our key terms then.

Hajj: pilgrimage to Makkah with certain steps and actions.

Salah: five daily prayers as an act of worship.

Sawm: fasting during daylight hours in the month of Ramadan.

Shahadah: the statement of faith in Islam.

And zakah: to purify; a charity tax where Muslims give 2.

5% of their yearly wealth as alms. So watch out for those in today's lesson.

So our lesson today will have two sections, The Five Pillars and Evaluating the Five Pillars.

So let's start with our first section, The Five Pillars.

So the Five Pillars are the Shahadah, salah, zakah, sawm, and Hajj, and you can see what they are here as an image showing them as pillars.

The Five Pillars are of most importance to Sunni Muslims. They are also important within Shi'a Islam, but these five known as the Five Pillars is particular within Sunni Islam.

Four of them are also part of the Ten Obligatory Acts of Shi'a Islam.

So four of them are in those Ten Obligatory Acts.

One of them is still very important within Shi'a Islam, but they're known in this sort of set as these five within Sunni Islam.

So let's have a look at a source of authority which can tell us about this then.

We've got the Qur'an as the ultimate source of authority within Islam.

We also have the Hadith, which is the sayings and the actions of the Prophet Muhammad.

So what did he say about the Five Pillars then? And so in this Hadith it says, "Islam is raised on five pillars, testifying the fact that there's no God but Allah, that Muhammad is His messenger, and the establishment of prayer, payment of Zakat, Pilgrimage to the House of Ka'aba, and the fast of Ramadan." So let's have a look at this Hadith then.

How could that Hadith support the importance of the Five Pillars in total, and also, does it mention each of them? Pause the video and have a think.

You need to talk to the person next to you or talk to me.

Well, we've got here that the Five Pillars raise the faith of Islam.

Someone's faith kind of rests on these five actions.

And we've got here testifying to the fact there's no God but God, which is the Shahadah.

We've got the establishment of prayer, which is salah.

Zakat, which is zakah.

Pilgrimage to Ka'aba, which is the Hajj, and then also the fast of Ramadan, which is sawm.

So we have got here, Five Pillars are testimony, prayer, zakat, pilgrimage, and fasting.

Well done.

So Izzy's asking Tareeq, "Well, why are they called the Five Pillars then?" And Tareeq says, "Well, a pillar in a building holds up the roof and it helps the building to stay strong and secure.

In that way, doing the practises of the Five Pillars helps a Muslim them to have a secure faith, as well as help the whole Muslim community, the ummah, support each other more." So for Tareeq here, it's not just the individual person who's obviously benefiting from doing these Five Pillars and having that strong faith, but many of them connect to Islam being a community faith and that sense of the ummah or the worldwide Muslim community supporting one another too.

How could the Five Pillars support a Muslim's faith then? Tareeq said here it can help them to have a secure faith.

How come? Pause the video and have a think, and you can talk to the person next to you or talk to me.

Well, let's see what Nadia says about how the Five Pillars support her faith.

Jacob's asking her, "How do the Five Pillars support your religious beliefs, Nadia?" And Nadia says, "They remind me of the most important beliefs and help me to show daily dedication to Allah through prayers.

By performing zakah and sawm, I feel more connected to other Muslims. When I perform Hajj, I feel even more connected to the story of Ibrahim and the Ka'aba." Thank you, Nadia.

Let's do a quick check.

Shi'a Muslims do not complete any of the Five Pillars.

Is that true or false? Pause the video and have a think and we'll see what we've got in a moment.

That is false, isn't it? But why? Well, it's false because the Five Pillars as a set are set out more within Sunni Islam, but four of them are also in the Ten Obligatory Acts of Shi'a Islam.

Well done.

So let's have a look at the Five Pillars then.

We've got the first pillar, the Shahadah.

So this is a statement of faith, and Shahadah means to witness or to testify to something.

And it goes like this.

"There's no God but God and Muhammad is the Messenger of God." So within the Shahadah here we've got statements about the nature of God or tawhid and that God is one and there's only one God, and then also this part about Muhammad being the Messenger of God.

So to do with prophecy, and the Messenger and the message the Prophet was given was the Qur'an.

This is said when someone wants to revert to Islam.

So within Islam, if someone changes to become Muslim from something else, they're not converting to Islam, they're reverting back to being Muslim in Islam.

So they're called a revert.

And if someone wants to revert, then this is what they say, and it's kind of bearing witness to these really important things within Islam.

It's also said as part of prayers and part of worship.

So it's part of a Muslim's daily life to have this statement being said.

And it's often said when a baby is born.

It's the first thing they might hear in their ear.

So it's the idea that this statement really permeates through the whole of a Muslim's life.

Then we've got the second pillar, which is salah, which is prayer.

Now, this is the five obligatory daily prayers which have set movements and recitations.

Before the prayer happens, there's wudu or ritual washing which happens before the prayer to ensure that someone's in the right state to perform these prayers.

And they're said in the direction of the Ka'aba.

So all Muslims, like we said earlier, this is for, like, personal faith, but also this helps Muslims to feel connected, to feel connected to the story of Islam and one another if everyone is praying facing in the same direction, doesn't it? And then there are also included in salah the Friday midday prayers, which are communal prayers known as Jummah, which would happen at the mosque or the masjid.

Men are obligated to go to those prayers, but women can choose to.

So the whole community can go and pray there on a Friday together.

Then we have the third pillar, zakah, which is charity.

So this is a yearly charity tax paid on assets above a baseline amount.

So above a kind of an amount, which is kind of around 4 or 5,000 pounds.

If people have got money savings and assets above that, then a tax is paid on that each year.

And it is a 40th, according a Hadith from the Prophet Muhammad where he says you need to give a 40th.

So that works out as 2.

5%.

I've done the maths for you.

And then that zakah is used to support different people in need around the world.

So whoever is in need, and there's different categories for it, then they can be supported by the zakah, along with the zakah collectors.

The collectors of zakah can also be supported to ensure that this kind of massive administrative task is done properly.

Those who can be receivers of the zakah are those living in poverty, those in great debt, someone who's travelling, those who are supporting the path of God.

They could all be recipients of the zakah money.

The fourth pillar is sawm, which is fasting in Ramadan.

So this is fasting during the month of Ramadan from sunrise to sunset.

No eating, drinking, sexual activity happens during those daylight hours for someone who's partaking in this fast.

So during daylight hours those things can't happen.

So people might have a big meal before the sun comes up in the morning and then another big meal after the sun's gone down in the evening.

It's a month of great spiritual discipline, because not only are Muslims necessarily fasting from eating and drinking, but also there may be other actions that they want to stop, things they might wanna give up, ways that they wanna focus their energy and time into their faith.

So many Muslims say this is a month of great spiritual discipline and kind of growth and learning a lot about their faith.

Why during this month? Well, the Qur'an was first revealed on the Night of Power during Ramadan.

Ramadan already existed as a month at the time of the Prophet Muhammad and people were in the Ka'aba worshipping many gods because they were polytheistic.

He did not want to do that and was meditating in the cave of Hira, and that is when the Qur'an was first revealed from the angel Jibril appearing to him with the Night of Power that happened.

So that's during the month of Ramadan, and it really shows the importance and significance of this month.

That month then ends with a festival, Id ul-Fitr.

So this is the end of the month of Ramadan.

There's a big festival to celebrate.

It's the festival of breaking of the fast.

And then finally we have Hajj, which is pilgrimage to Makkah.

So pilgrimage is a special sort of journey that you take for religious reasons, perhaps to a site of religious significance, where there are certain actions you might take part in while you're there.

And pilgrimage to Makkah is taken and many different things are performed at different sites, which were set out firstly in the Qur'an from the example of Ibrahim and his son Ismail, but also with the actions of the Prophet Muhammad.

And so Muslims are reenacting those actions and literally walking the footsteps of those prophets before when they do Hajj pilgrimage.

It includes circling the Ka'aba, stoning the devil at Mina, holding a vigil on Mount Arafat, spending the night under the sky at Muzdalifah.

So there are different set actions that happen that take part in this very special pilgrimage.

And every able Muslim must do it once in their lifetime.

So it's like a once-in-a-lifetime thing that Muslims will aim to do.

And when Muslims go on the pilgrimage, they enter a state of purity to be able to complete those actions.

So they have to be in the right, a bit like would do before prayer, we have to be in the right frame of mind and be prepared.

Similarly, in order to do the pilgrimage, somebody needs to be prepared in that state of purity.

So that is a very quick overview of the Five Pillars of Islam.

Let's do a quick check.

Here are the Five Pillars, but what Arabic term is used for fasting during Ramadan? 'Cause here we've got the kind of Arabic along the bottom, English along the top.

What is missing? Pause the video and have a think and we'll see what you've done in a moment.

Well done, it is sawm.

Fantastic.

Let's do a practise task to see what we've learnt then.

First of all, you're going to match the correct definition with the Arabic term for each of the Five Pillars.

We've got the Shahadah, salah, zakah, sawm, and Hajj.

And then here we've got pilgrimage to Makkah, a yearly tax of 2.

5%, five daily obligatory prayers, statement of faith, and fasting during the month of Ramadan.

Which goes with which? Pause the video and have a go and we'll see what you've done in a moment.

Well done.

Your table should look like this.

The Shahadah is the statement of faith.

Salah is five daily obligatory prayers.

Zakah is the yearly charity tax of 2.

5%.

Sawm is fasting during the month of Ramadan.

And Hajj is pilgrimage to Makkah.

Well done.

Onto part two.

Now you're going to complete the table with two different ways that each of the Five Pillars may be performed, and we can just bullet point this.

So what are two ways or two times or two things that might happen when somebody's performing these Five Pillars then? And a reminder of the Arabic terms. We've got the Shahadah, salah, zakah, sawm, and Hajj.

One way it's performed and a different way it's performed.

Pause the video and have a go and we'll see what you've got in a moment.

Well done, some great thinking.

So I asked you to come up with two different ways that each of the Five Pillars could be performed and your table might not like this.

The Shahadah could be said when someone reverts to Islam.

It could also be said into the ear of a newborn baby.

Salah is five times a day prayer, but also you could say that praying towards Ka'aba is another way this is performed.

Zakah is donated to the collectors of zakah and it's also donated to those living in poverty.

Sawm is fasting from food during daylight hours and also is fasting from water during daylight hours.

Hajj involves circling the Ka'aba and it involves stoning the devil at Mina.

Well done.

So on to our second section then, Evaluating the Five Pillars.

So each of the Five Pillars could be argued to be the most important practise.

So when you're thinking about evaluation in your writing, you need to think about the reasons why.

Why does this convince you or why do you think it's strongest or not? And so some of the reasons for why one of the Five Pillars might be the most important could include how often it's performed.

If it's performed every single day, does that make it more important or not? Is it more important when it's only once in a lifetime because of how special and significant it is? Who can be exempt from performing it? Is it more important if everyone can and does do it, or is it more important if only some people do it but they make that choice to do it? What about the rewards a Muslim can have from performing it? Are there some actions which can give greater rewards for the person than others? Would that make it more important? What about how difficult it is to perform? So the effort that it takes to do that pillar, does that show how important it is, if it's seen as harder than the others? So these are all points you can use when you're evaluating which of these could be the most important pillar.

So let's have a think about this then.

Izzy's asking Sarah, "Why might the Shahadah be seen as the most important of the Five Pillars, Sarah?" So here's Sarah gonna give us a reason why the Shahadah could be the most important.

And Sarah says, "I think the Shahadah is the most important.

It's the first of the Five Pillars and it states the two most important beliefs for a Muslim, tawhid, the oneness of God, and prophecy.

When I reverted, I said the Shahadah in front of witnesses and this was a very special moment as the start of my journey as a Muslim." So for Sarah here, the Shahadah is the most important because it's the first one and it's the first thing she sort of said in order to start her journey as a Muslim.

What could a counter argument to this be? Could you think of someone who could argue back why a different one is more important or why is it the most important one? Pause the video and have a think, and you can talk to the person next to you or talk to me.

Well, let's see with the other pillars then.

Jacob is asking Iqbal why salah could be seen as the most important of the Five Pillars.

And Iqbal says, "Salah is the most important pillar for me as this is a daily act of worship to Allah.

It helps me to have stronger connection to my religion as I stop my normal activities five times every day to prostrate and pray to Allah.

Salah also reminds me of the angels recording my deeds and helps me be strong against temptation!" So here Iqbal is saying, "No, Salah is more important than Shahadah because this is every day, it's not just a one-off thing." That he's saying if he wants to become a Muslim, he's saying this every single day, five times he's stopping his life in order to do this, and that's why it's the most important.

And again, can you think of a counter argument to Iqbal? What could you argue back if you were arguing that salah is not the most important pillar? Pause the video again, and you can talk to the person next to you or talk to me.

And now Meyrem's going to talk to us about zakah.

And Izzy ask Meyrem, "Why might zakah be seen as the most important of the Five Pillars, Meyrem?" And Meyrem says, "Zakah is the most important pillar because the other pillars count towards your own life, but zakah is a really practical way to help other people too.

The money raised by zakah can literally save lives around the world.

What could be more important than that?" So here Meyrem's bringing out that it's not just about the individual person, these pillars, is it? It's about the community, the whole ummah, the worldwide Muslim community, and maybe zakah does that best about connecting everybody together.

And again, what could be a counter to Meyrem then? Pause video and have a think, and you can talk to the person next to you or talk to me.

And now Mustafa.

Izzy is asking Mustafa about sawm.

"Why might sawm be seen as the most important of the Five Pillars, Mustafa?" And Mustafa says, "Sawm is the most important pillar because it takes real dedication and effort to complete it.

And I find it really hard some years to fast from food and water all day, especially in the summer.

I do this because I know I'm building up good deeds and it helps me to focus on Allah more too." So here we've got the idea of it just taking so much effort and a real dedication, really showing that effort for Mustafa of doing sawm when he's fasting for Ramadan, and for him that makes it the most important.

And what do you think about a counter argument? What could a counter to that be? How could you argue back that sawm is not the most important pillar? Pause the video and have another think, and you can talk to the person next to you or talk to me.

And finally we have Hajj, the final of the Five Pillars.

And Jacob's asking Jamila, "Why might Hajj be seen as the most important of the Five Pillars, Jamila?" And Jamila says, "Even though Hajj may only happen once in my lifetime, I think this is the most important pillar.

To complete my Hajj pilgrimage, I had to save up a lot of money as well as be physically ready.

When I was on Hajj, was so close to the Ka'aba, I felt connected to my religion in ways I never had before." So Jamila's acknowledging here that it's only once, but maybe that can show how important it is.

What could a counter argument to Jamila's point be then? Why might Hajj not be the most important pillar? Pause the video and have a think, and you can talk to the person next to you or talk to me.

Let's do a quick check before we move on.

Which of the Five Pillars is an obligation for all who are able to complete once in their lifetime? Pause the video and have a think and we'll see what you've done in a moment.

Well done, it's Hajj.

So using the tools of social science, we can see there's a diversity in which of the Five Pillars are more likely to be completed by Muslims, which could support an evaluation for its importance.

And in 2012, Pew Research surveyed 38,000 Muslims from across 39 countries and territories asking them to state if they completed each of the Five Pillars.

Which pillar do you think had the highest percent of completion? Pause the video and have a think, and you can talk to the person next to you or talk to me.

Which pillar do you think had the lowest percent of completion? Again, pause the video, and you can talk to the person next to you or talk to me.

So here are the results.

We've got Shahadah, salah, zakah, sawm, and Hajj, the Five Pillars, and there's a diversity in how many of them have been completed by those Muslims who answered the survey.

And we've got the Shahadah as being the highest, slightly higher than sawm here, but it's definitely the highest percent of people who've completed it.

And then we have Hajj down as the lowest percent of people who have completed it.

The pillar with the highest percent of Muslims self-reporting completion was the Shahadah, and the pillar with the lowest percent of Muslims self-reporting completion was Hajj, and I wonder if you could think of a reason why.

Pause the video and have a think, and you can talk to the person next to you or talk to me.

Well, I think the fact that Hajj only happens once in somebody's lifetime means less Muslims are likely to have done it because it only happens once, whereas the Shahadah is something people might say frequently and often.

If someone's become a Muslim, they've reverted to Islam, they may have said it and not yet done the Hajj.

And also the Shahadah is something that can be said without having to save up the money and the kind of effort that it is to go on Hajj.

So you could perhaps use some of those points if you were writing about which is the most important pillar.

So time for another check then.

Which pillar had the second highest amount of Muslims self-reporting completion then? Pause the video and we'll see what you come up with in a moment.

Well done, it was sawm.

So Jacob Izzy are discussing what the Pew Research results could show us about the importance of the different pillars.

Jacob says, "I think the Pew Research shows the Shahadah is the most important as the most Muslims have completed that pillar." Izzy says, "I don't agree with you, maybe that one was the most completed because it's easier to do.

Sawm is much harder and has a high amount of Muslims completing it." And Jacob says, "Oh, that's a really good point, Izzy.

But I still think Shahadah is the most important as it's the reason why Muslims perform all the others, including sawm." Remember the Shahadah is the statement that there's no God but God and Muhammad is the Messenger of God.

So it kind of underpins all of the others, which is what Jacob's decided.

Whose view do you find more convincing, Jacob or Izzy's? Pause the video and have a think, and you can talk to the person next to you or talk to me.

Well, when we evaluate, it means we are weighing up the arguments for and against, and sometimes these are called support and counter arguments or for and against.

And you're kind of weighing them up and deciding which one you think is stronger.

So here we could have reasons why one of the pillars is the most important for the support, and then on the other side, the reasons why it's not the most important.

So a counter as to why it's not the most important, as we were doing earlier on in the lesson.

And so you can overall decide which one you think is stronger when you're writing an evaluation and really decide, are the reasons in support of that pillar stronger than the counters that would be against that? So you can kind of weigh it up and decide.

So let's do that together now with a practise task.

Here I've got each of the Five Pillars with a reason why it could be the most important from what we've looked at already.

So we've got here a reason why it's the most important pillar.

And what you're going to do is think of a counter argument as to why that is not the most important pillar, a reason why that pillar isn't the most important.

So you can have those two sides.

So we've got here, the Shahadah is the most important pillar because this states the most important beliefs and is said when someone reverts.

However, and you're going to put a counter argument in.

Salah is the most important pillar because it is daily action, it brings connection to Allah, helps them be strong against temptation.

However, you're going to give a counter.

Zakah is a charity donation which could save lives and support Muslims around the world.

However, you're going to put a counter.

Sawm, fasting takes real effort to complete and helps build spiritual discipline.

However, and you're going to give a counter.

And finally, Hajj.

It's a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see the Ka'aba and other important sites, and you're going to give a counter, however.

So pause the video and have a go and we'll see what you've done in a moment.

Well done, some great thinking there, and it really gets us thinking, doesn't it, when we're doing evaluation.

So you might have said, the Shahadah is the most important pillar because it states the most important beliefs and it said when someone reverts.

However, it doesn't take as much effort to perform as the other pillars.

Salah is the most important pillar because it is daily action, brings connection to Allah, helps them be strong against temptation.

However, this helps a Muslim's personal faith, but not other Muslims around the world.

Zakah.

This is the most important pillar because it's a charity donation which can save lives and support Muslims across the world.

However, you don't really need to have faith in Allah to perform this, to kind of donate money to charity, do you? Sawm.

This is the most important pillar because fasting takes real effort to complete and helps build spiritual discipline.

However, not everyone is able to fast for Ramadan, so it's not as important.

Hajj.

This is the most important pillar because it's a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see the Ka'aba and other important sites.

However, it only happens once and not everybody can afford it.

Well done for your hard work there, and I wonder which of those Five Pillars you would argue is the most important.

So let's summarise everything we've learnt then.

The Five Pillars.

The Five Pillars are core, important practises in Islam.

The Five Pillars are seen as practises which can hold up the faith of a Muslim.

The Five Pillars are Shahadah, salah, zakah, sawm, and Hajj.

And each of the pillars could be seen as the most important.

When evaluating, it's important to weigh up the arguments for against a statement.

And research from social scientists show the Shahadah is the most completed pillar and that Hajj is the least.

So well done for your hard work today and I hope to see you again soon.

Bye-bye.