The Five Pillars of Islam Z

1. The first pillar of Islam is called Shahadah. This means               Belief. The words of the Shahadah are: ‘I witness that there is no other god but Allah, and Muhammad is the prophet of Allah.’ These words are spoken into the ear of a                new-born baby. When a Muslim is             dying, they are the last words which he or she will say.

2. The second pillar of Islam is Salat. This means              Prayer. Muslims pray                five times a day. The prayers have to be said in a special way, with bowing, kneeling, prostrating (lying down) and other movements. This act of prayer is called               rakat. Before praying, a muslim must              wash in a special way. This is called wudu. A Muslim can pray anywhere, but it must be at the right time, facing towards                     Mecca, and in a clean place. On              Friday, the Muslim Holy Day, Muslims gather together in the              Mosque for their prayers.

3. The third pillar of Islam is Zakat. This means              Almsgiving, which is giving money to the poor. All Muslims (unless they are very poor themselves) must give at least              2½% of their income to the poor. They can give more, if they want. Sometimes the money is collected at the Mosque.

4. The fourth pillar of Islam is Sawm. This means              Fasting. All Muslims over the age of 10 have to fast during the ninth month of the Muslim year, which is called              Ramadan. The Fast means doing without food, drink, smoking and even toothpaste. The fast is only during              daylight, so when it is dark, a Muslim may eat again. During Ramadan, Muslims try especially hard to lead good lives. Ramadan is the time of year when Mohammed received the first words of the               Quran from Allah.

5. The fifth pillar of Islam is Hajj. This means              Pilgrimage. All Muslims should make a pilgrimage to Mecca              once during their lifetime. When they are in Mecca, all pilgrims have to wear the same simple white clothes. For Muslims, Mecca is the most holy place of all. Muslims face towards Mecca when they pray.

Puzzle

Answer the questions, filling in the correct words, and the centre will spell something Muslims try to do at some time in their lives.

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1 Hajj is the fifth one.

2 This word means ‘Submission’ and ‘Peace’.

3 The name Muslims use for God.

4 Zakat. Helping the poor.

5 The actions of praying.

6 Shahadah.

7 A place where Muslims come together to pray every Friday.

8 The Prophet.

9 Sawm. Muslims do this during the month of Ramadan.

10 Salat.

Drawing

Draw five pillars across the page: put the name of pillar at the top and bottom. The first one is done for you.

Shahadah

 

 

 

 

 

 

Belief

Z

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