Muslim attitudes towards justice
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can explain Islamic views on justice and compare different responses to them
Key learning points
- Justice means fairness, equal treatment and giving support to those who have been harmed.
- People's views on justice are shaped by religion, personal experience, upbringing and society.
- In Islam, justice is a command from Allah and must be applied fairly, without bias or emotion.
- The Qur’an teaches personal responsibility, mercy and that justice includes the chance to change.
- Restorative justice helps offenders take responsibility and can reflect Islamic values like repentance and forgiveness.
Keywords
Justice - what is right and fair
Mercy - compassion or forgiveness shown towards a person
Restorative justice - an approach to justice that focuses on repairing the harm caused by wrongdoing through dialogue and understanding
Common misconception
In Islam, justice is always focused on punishment.
Islam teaches justice must be fair and include mercy. Offenders who repent can be forgiven. It's about responsibility and change, not just punishment.
Teacher tip
Use a range of case studies alongside Jacob Dunne, such as restorative justice in knife crime or youth offending, to show that outcomes vary.
Content guidance
Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
5 Questions
Q1.The holy book of Islam is the
Q2.What is the declaration of faith in Islam called?
Q3.Which pillar involves giving a set proportion of wealth to charity?
Q4.Why did Muhammad and his followers leave Makkah and travel to Medina?
Q5.What do Muslims believe happens after death?
Assessment exit quiz
5 Questions
Q1.What is restorative justice?
Q2.Why is justice important in Islam?
Q3.One of Allah’s names in Islam is al-ʿAdl, which means ‘the .’
Q4.What does the Qur’an say about judging others?
Q5.Justice in Islam is only about punishment.
To help you plan your 11 religious education lesson on: Muslim attitudes towards justice, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 11 religious education lesson on: Muslim attitudes towards justice, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 4 religious education lessons from the Crime and punishment unit, dive into the full secondary religious education curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.