S16 E17: The One About GCSE RE Islam practices Zakah and Hajj

Explain two ways Muslims give alms

One way is through Zakah,which is 2.5% of wealth 

This money is given to those in need.

Another way is through khums which involves Shia Muslims giving 20% of their savings 

This is given to those in need and charitable causes 

Explain two ways Muslims give Zakah
One way is by giving 2.5% of their wealth.
This goes to people in need, particularly vulnerable members of society.
Another way is by giving Zakah during Ramadan.
This is the time that many Muslims fast so are more aware of those in need.

Explain two ways a Muslims performs Hajj
One way is by circling the Kaaba 7 times together.
This symbolises unity.
Another way is by going to Mount Arafa for the whole day.
This is where Muslims ask Allah to forgive their sins.

Explain two reasons why almsgiving is important to Muslims. Refer to sacred writings or another source of authority in your answer
One reason is because Zakhar is a pillar in Sunni Islam
It reminds Muslims that everyone in the Muslim community needs to be taken care of.
For example, the Quran says that Zakhar is for the poor and needy.
This shows that Zakhar is a requirement for those who can afford it.
Another reason is that it purifies your wealth by giving money to those in need.
It reminds Muslims that Allah is the provider and all wealth belongs to Him.

Explain two reasons why Hajj is important to Muslims. Refer to sacred writings or another source of belief and teaching in your answer.
One reason is because Hajj is a pillar of Islam and one of the ten obligatory acts.
Therefore most Muslims are expected to go to it once in their lifetime if they can financially and physically.
The Quran says tell the people shall observe the Hajj pilgrimage.
This shows that Hajj is compulsory for Muslims
Another reason is that it is a spiritual journey to the House of Allah. 
By travelling there, Muslims will feel connected to their religion.

Explain two reasons why Mecca is important to Muslims. Refer to sacred writings or another source of belief and teaching in your answer.
One reason is because the Kaaba is there which is the House of Allah.
Muslims will circle the Kaaba 7 times which is a number which symbolises completion.
The Quran says, 'Allah has made the Kaaba the sacred house.'
This shows that the Kaaba is the holiest building in Islam, which makes Mecca important
Another reason is that the birth place of Islam
This is because it is where Prophet Muhammad received his first revelation and began the religion.

Transcript

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Before we get started, I'd like to thank Reimagining Education for sponsoring the RE Podcast. They share our passion for making learning exciting, meaningful, and accessible to everyone. It's so good to have their support so we can keep bringing you more conversations about religion, ethics, and philosophy. To learn more, just head to reimaginingeducation.uk. Welcome to the RE Podcast, the first dedicated RE podcast for students and teachers. My name is Louisa Jane Smith and this is the R.E. Podcast. The podcast for those of you who think RE is boring, which it is, and I'll prove it to you. In this series, I am taking you through GCSE RE, focusing on AQA, Islam and Christianity. We are looking at key content and key exam skills that you need to be successful in either teaching GCSE RE or sitting and examine it. So if you are a teacher of GCSE RE or a student of GCSERE, I hope that this is helpful to you. As a teacher, you might be new to teaching GCSE or new to this specification. You might be returning after a bit of a break, you might need a bit of a refresh or reinvigoration. Or maybe you are a teacher from a different subject and you just want to feel more confident. As a student, you might use this episode to consolidate what you have learnt in lessons or prepare for some exams. Or maybe you've moved schools or had some absence and just want to catch up with what you've missed. Maybe you're a parent and you just want to support your child in their revision. Whatever your reason for listening, I hope it is helpful for you. I've already done a series on Christian beliefs, one on Christian practices and one on Islam beliefs. And if you have listened to the general introduction to paper one, you will know that you will have to do an entire question on each of those topics, and that will include a multiple choice question, a one marker, a four marker, a six marker, and a twelve marker. Now we're moving on to Islam practices and you'll have to do an entire question on this topic too. Now we've already covered the five pillars of Sunni Islam, the ten obligatory acts in Shia Islam, as well as three of the five pillars, Shahada, Sallah and Sum, as part of the Islam practices unit on the AQA Re specification. Remember, Salah and Sum are also two of the ten obligatory acts in Shia Islam as well. This episode we are going to focus on two more Muslim practices: alms giving or zakah and Hajj pilgrimage. So let's start with arms giving or zakah. Now the first thing you have to know about zakah is it is one of the five pillars of Islam, plus you can find it in the ten obligatory acts of Shia Islam II, and it means giving alms. Now, alms, not A-R-M-S, but A L M S. And it's not a word that many people use nowadays, but it's just the phrase or the word used in the AQA specification. And giving alms is just another way to say giving to those in need or giving to charity. It's just quite an old-fashioned word. So in Islam, there are many ways to give alms, and the first way we have to know is through zakah. So how do Muslims give zakr? The first way Muslims give zakr is by giving two and a half percent of their savings to those in need. There are many charities in the world that Muslims can donate to. So they can donate zakat to a Muslim charity and then the charity will distribute it to those in need. And the second way a Muslim might give zakah is during the month of Ramadan. This is when they fast, and so many Muslims are reminded what it is like to go without, and so it's a really good time for them to give zakah because it helps vulnerable members of society. Also, it's really important for a Muslim to recognize that the money they earn does not belong to them. It actually belongs to Allah, because without Allah, they would not have that wealth. So therefore, if they are given this wealth, it's their responsibility to share the wealth with people who may not have as much wealth as them. So why is zakat important? Well, first of all, it purifies the wealth. So the word zakat literally means purification. So you can see the link there. Zakat purifies money. So unless a Muslim gives some of their money away to people who need it, their money will be seen as impure. Second of all, it also purifies bad qualities about the Muslim. It purifies their selfishness, their greed. It removes all of that. By giving to other people, they become more generous. They remove selfishness, they remove greediness. Two things are not good for a Muslim to have in their life. But what does the Quran say about zakah? There are many verses in the Quran about zakah. But here's one that kind of covers many things. Zakqa is only for the poor and the needy, and for those employed to bring it, bring hearts together, bringing the captives, those in debt, and those for the cause of Allah. So there are many things zakr is used for, and zakr basically goes to vulnerable members of society in the Muslim community. The second way Muslims give arms is by something called khums. Now, qhums is specifically for Shia Muslims, not Sunni Muslims. It's one of the ten obligatory acts in Shia Islam, but it is not in the five pillars of Sunni Islam. But this is another way that Muslims give arms. So what is Qums? Kums is giving 20% of your savings for those in need and can be given to charitable causes. So this is where a Shia Muslim usually once a year will look at their savings and give away 20% of their savings to charitable causes, like charities that deal with poverty, schools, orphanages, mosques, hospitals, anything that helps the Muslim community, Qhums can be given to. Khums comes from the Arabic word khamza, and khums means five in Arabic because you're giving away one-fifth, that's 20% of your savings. So why is Qhums important for Shia Muslims? Well, it's one of the ten obligatory acts, and secondly, it's a reminder to Muslims to share the wealth that belongs to Allah because it doesn't belong to them. Yes, it's the money they earn, and yes, it's from their hard work, but without Allah's provision, they would not earn that wealth. What does the Quran say about kums? It says, everything you may come by, one fifth of it is for Allah and the Prophet, for the relatives, the orphans, for the needy and the traveller. So you can see here the Quran clearly says that one fifth of the things that you come by is for these vulnerable groups. Now, even though this is in the Quran and Sunni Muslims do accept this Quran verse, of course, they believe it only applies to spoils of war, whereas Shia Muslims believe it applies to money as well. So therefore Shia Muslims pay Qhums, whereas Sunni Muslims in the modern day don't really pay Qhums. So let's have a look at what kind of format question you could be asked on this topic. So you could be asked in general two ways Muslims give arms, or you could specifically be asked about zakah or khums. So please have a go at some questions, giving yourself a time limit of about three to four minutes per question. So let's give a model answer to the question explain two ways Muslims give arms. Now notice it's not specifically asking which type of arms, so I can use any type and explain how they are given in Islam. So here is my answer. One way is through zakah, which is two and a half percent of wealth. That's my first mark. This money is given to those in need. That's my second mark. Another way is through kums, which involves Shia Muslims giving 20% of their savings. Third mark. This is given to those in need and charitable causes. Clearly four marks there for two developed ways alms are given by Muslims. But now let's look at a question that is specifically about zakah, not about alms giving in general. So I must focus on zakah here, not all the other types of alms giving. So explain two ways Muslims give zakah. Now this can trip people up because their first paragraph will be about giving two and a half percent, and then they don't know what to do for the second point. What I suggest is that the first paragraph is based on how much is given for zakr, and the second paragraph focuses on when it is given. So one way is by giving two and a half percent of their wealth. This goes to people in need, particularly vulnerable members of society. Another way is by giving zakah during Ramadan. This is the time that many Muslims fast, so are more aware of those in need. Two develop points there, so four out of four. With a six-mark question, it's a similar principle. You could be asked about almsgiving in general, or specifically about the zakr almsgiving, or about the khums almsgiving for Shia Muslims. So again, it is not enough for me to just know about almsgiving and charity in general. I have to know the specifics of zakah and khums, because both of them are on the AQA G C S E specification. So give the episode a pause and feel free to have a go at some six-mark questions, giving yourself a time limit of five to six minutes. So either explain two reasons why almsgiving, zakah, or kums is important to Muslims, and remember to refer to sacred writings or another source of authority in your answer. And if we model one of these, let's look at the one about almsgiving in general. So explain two reasons why almsgiving is important to Muslims. Refer to sacred writing or another source of authority in your answer. One reason is because zakah is a pillar of Islam and one of the ten obligatory acts. It reminds Muslims that everyone in the Muslim community needs to be taken care of. For example, the Quran says that zakah is for the poor and needy. This shows that zakah is a requirement for those who can afford it to give for those who have less. This paragraph would be given four marks so far, so two marks for a developed point, one mark for the source, and one mark for the application. Another reason is that it purifies wealth by giving money to those in need. It reminds Muslims that Allah is the provider and all wealth belongs to Him. And the last paragraph gets you those final two marks because it's a developed point. So again, notice here, even though this is about almsgiving in general, in the first paragraph I picked a specific type of almsgiving, which is zakr, and in the second paragraph I talked about almsgiving as a general thing. You can use both approaches, specific or general, in this type of question, and they would both hit the criteria. In the next section of this episode, I'm going to be covering the topic of Hajj, which is also part of the Islam practices unit of the AQA GCSE specification. I'm going to cover what Hajj is, its role, origins, and how it's performed. So let's go through Hajj. There are many things about Hajj that we have to know about. So let's start with the definition of Hajj to begin with. So Hajj is one of the five pillars and ten obligatory acts. So you can find it in both Shia and Sunni practices. And it is the pilgrimage to Mecca, which all Muslims must undertake at least once in their lives unless prevented by problems, for example, health problems or wealth problems. So Hajj is an obligation, but you only have to go and do Hajj once in your life, only if you can. You have to be able to afford it financially, but also physically, you have to be able to do it as well. Hajj is quite an expensive trip when you think about the flights, accommodation, the visa, all the things that involve going to another country. So it is expensive for many people. In fact, not many people in the world can actually go to Hajj within their lifetime. But also you have to be physically able to do it as well. Hajj is a very demanding physical pilgrimage that involves lots of walking, lots of physical activities. So you have to be physically able to do it as well. If you don't do it in your lifetime because you weren't able to do it for those reasons, then you are pardoned and forgiven by Allah for not completing it. But as a Muslim, you have to complete it if you can and if you have had the opportunity to do so. So there are many things you have to know about Hajj for the GCSE specification, and I'm going to try and make sure I cover all of them. Let's start with how Hajj is done. So number one, a Muslim has to visit Mecca as part of Hajj. And when they go to Mecca, they must wear specific clothes, and this is called Iram. Ihram is two plain white cloths that a man must wear. One cloth covers the top half of their body, the other cloth covers the second half of the body, and they're usually made out of a toweling material. Women just generally wear the normal dresses that they would ordinarily wear, but they must cover their head. However, they're not allowed to cover their face. So a woman can wear a black or white covering that covers their whole body except for their hands and face. So what else does the Hajj involve? Well, it involves circling the Kaaba seven times when you're at Mecca. And the reason it's seven times because in Arabic that is seen as the number of completion and that links back to the creation of the world. It also involves asking God for forgiveness on Mount Arafah. So Mount Arafah is a very important mountain because it is where Muhammad gave his last sermon before he died. Muslims spend the day there as part of the Hajj pilgrimage asking Allah to forgive them. Next, a Muslim will collect stones at a place called Muzdalifa, and then that leads them to the next ritual where they throw stones at pillars that represent Satan in a place called Minna. So the Hajj has many rituals, and these are the ones you have to know for your exam. So why is Hajj important? Well, firstly, it's a spiritual journey that involves visiting the house of Allah. So the Kaaba in Mecca is known as the house of Allah. So by visiting that, it's a very spiritual journey. Secondly, Muslims are visiting the birthplace of Islam and the holiest city, because this is where Prophet Muhammad was born, where he lived, where he spread his message to begin with, where he got the first revelation of the Quran. So by visiting Mecca and doing the Hajj pilgrimage, Muslims are actually going to the birthplace of Islam. So going on this pilgrimage has many benefits, spiritually, physically, emotionally, mentally. Often when a Muslim comes back after the Hajj pilgrimage, they tend to be quite a changed person for the better. Now, in terms of quotes from the Quran, I'm going to use two quotes rather than one. The first quote is the people shall observe the Hajj pilgrimage. This is a small Quran verse that you can use to show how Allah commanded people to go on Hajj. And the second quote: Allah has made the Kaaba the sacred house because you could be asked about the Kaaba in your exams. So you have to know why the Kaaba is important and you have to have a verse that could go in a six-mark question on the Kaaba. So this Quran verse tells you that the Kaaba has been made sacred or special or set apart by Allah. With the four-mark questions for Hajj, you could get explain two ways Muslims perform Hajj in the exam, or they could even ask you to explain two actions that Muslims perform at any of the stages during Hajj. So they might say, explain two ways Muslims perform Mecca or Mina or Mount Arafat or Mustalifa. So again, you have to know the specifics of what is done in those places during Hajj because those are on the specification. So you could be asked about them. So do pause the episode and have a go at any of these questions and set yourself a time limit of three to four minutes. I'm going to provide a model answer to the question explain two ways a Muslim performs Hajj. And all I have to do really is pick two rituals of a hajj and explain how they are done. One way is by circling the Kaaba seven times together. First mark. This symbolizes unity of the Muslim community. Second mark. Another way is by going to Mount Arafah for the whole day, third mark. This is where Muslims ask Allah to forgive their sins. Final marks for four out of four. All I've done is pick two rituals of the Hajj from the menu that I've spoken about already and explained how they are done. With the six mark questions, you could be asked about why Hajj is important to Muslims, or you could be asked about why any of the specific parts of Hajj are important to Muslims, such as Mecca, Minnah, Arafah, or Mustalifa. Or you could be asked about why the Kaaba itself is important to Muslims, because all of these elements are on the specification. So have a go at some six-mark questions, giving yourself a time limit of five to six minutes. But let's have a look at a model for the importance of Hajj question. So explain two reasons why Hajj is important to Muslims. Refer to sacred writings or another source of belief and teaching in your answer. One reason is because Hajj is a pillar of Islam and one of the ten obligatory acts. Therefore, most Muslims are expected to do it once in their lifetime if they are financially and physically able. The Quran says, the people shall observe the Hajj pilgrimage. This shows that Hajj is compulsory for Muslims, and that paragraph would get four marks. Two marks for the developed point, one mark for the source, and one mark for the application. Notice there for all the pillars of Islam and the importance questions, I can always say it's important because it's a pillar of Islam. That in itself is a reason why it's important. Another reason is that it is a spiritual journey to the house of Allah. By travelling there, Muslims will feel connected to their religion. That again is two marks of a developed point, bringing the total to six out of six. What about a question regarding the importance of Mecca? So again, that's on the specification, so you have to be able to answer a question on that, not just on Hajj generally. So explain two reasons why Mecca is important to Muslims, refer to sacred writings or another source of belief and teaching in your answer. One reason is because the Kaaba is there, which is the house of Allah. Muslims will circle the Kaaba seven times, which is a number which symbolizes completion. The Quran says Allah has made the Kaaba the sacred house. This shows that the Kaaba is the holiest building in Islam, which makes Mecca important. Four marks there. Another reason is that it is the birthplace of Islam. This is because it is where the Prophet Muhammad received his first revelation and began the religion. So notice here I'm speaking about Mecca in both points. The question is not actually about Hajj. I've said the city of Mecca is the birthplace of Islam and where the Prophet Muhammad got his first revelation, and I've said it is where the Kaaba is, which is the sacred house. So therefore, both of these points are relevant to the question. I've not gone off topic, and therefore I get six out of six. Hopefully, this gives you a little bit of a grounding in zakr and hajj, charity and pilgrimage, as well as how to answer four and six mark questions. Take some time now, set a timer, have a go at some of those other four and six mark questions, take your answers into school for your teachers to mark. And just before I go, do you remember there is that hadith where Muhammad said Islam is built on five things, and that relates to the five pillars. So any question you get on the five pillars, you can use that quote. We've now finished our series on the five pillars, but we haven't finished Islam practices. We've still got one more episode to go where we're going to look at fair. So Edelfitta and Edel Adha, Ashura, which is a Shia commemoration of Hussein, who is Muhammad's grandson, and then jihad, which means struggle. We're going to look at lesser and greater jihad. This podcast is supported by Reimagining Education at reimaginingeducation.uk. My name is Louisa Jane Smith, and this has been the R.E. Podcast. The podcast for those of you who think R.E. is boring, which it is. I just proved it to you. But thank you so much for letting me help you get an even better grade in GCSE REST.