Muslim attitudes towards punishment
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can explain Muslim and non-religious beliefs about punishment.
Key learning points
- Punishment includes prison, fines, community service, corporal punishment and the death penalty.
- Non-religious views focus on reducing harm, protecting society and reforming offenders.
- Muslims believe punishment should follow Allah’s guidance and balance justice with mercy.
- Shari’ah law includes hudud, qisas and taʿzir as three types of punishment.
- Today, taʿzir is most common, while hudud are rarely used due to strict conditions and focus on reform.
Keywords
Forgiveness - to stop feeling angry or resentful towards a person for a wrongdoing
Justice - what is right and fair
Punishment - the imposition of a penalty for wrongdoing
Common misconception
All Muslims support harsh punishments.
While these punishments are mentioned in the Qur’an as part of hudud, most Muslims believe they can only be applied under very strict conditions by proper Islamic authorities. Mercy, forgiveness and reform are key values in Islamic justice.
Teacher tip
Use real-life case studies from Muslim-majority countries to show how different punishments are applied today.
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.Muslims believe crime causes by harming others and breaking Allah’s laws.
Q2.What are Muslims encouraged to do to reduce theft?
Q3.What is Tawbah in Islam?
Q4.Islam teaches that is a sign of strength and is encouraged by Allah.
Q5.Under Islamic law, punishment must be fair and aim to guide criminals toward .
Assessment exit quiz
5 Questions
Q1.Punishment can take many forms, including prison, fines, and punishment.
Q2.Which of the following is least aligned with non-religious views on punishment?
Q3.Muslims aim to balance justice with when punishing wrongdoers.
Q4.What type of punishment involves “eye for an eye” justice?
Q5.What is one reason hudud punishments are rarely used?
To help you plan your 11 religious education lesson on: Muslim attitudes towards punishment, 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 punishment, 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.