S16 E18: The One About GCSE RE Islam practices Jihad and festivals

Explain two ways Muslims practice jihad. 

One way is though lesser Jihad which is the military struggle to defend Islam. 

This must be carried out according to strict and clear cut rules, for example you can’t harm children

Another way is greater jihad, which is the personal struggle of every Muslim to live by the teachings of their faith 

For example pray every day.

Explain two different ways Eid Ul Fitr is celebrated by Muslims.
One way is by performing the Eid prayer - a special prayer in the morning - at the mosque
Muslim will perform that prayer to thank Allah for Ramadan's blessings.
Another way is by paying Zakhar which is giving charity.
This so that everyone is able to celebrate Eid.

Explain two different ways Ashura is celebrated by Muslims.
One way Sunni Muslims commemorate is by fasting
This is to remember how Allah saved prophet Musa from the Pharaoh who fasted to thank Allah
Another way Shia Muslims commemorate Ashura is by mourning the killing of Hussain.
They will express sadness in different ways e.g. wearing black

Explain two reasons why Jihad is important to Muslims. Refer to sacred writings or another source of belief and teaching in your answer.
One reason is because it involves all 5 pillars of Sunni Islam.
For example, the greater jihad involved in Salah is to pray on time.
Prophet Muhammad says, 'the greatest jihad is to struggle to fight the evil within you'.
This shows that Muslims have a daily struggle to follow the teachings of Islam.
Another reason is that it ensures the Muslim community is protected.
Lesser jihad allows Muslims to physically defend themselves against attack.

Explain two reasons why Id Ul Adha is importance to Muslims.  Refer to sacred writings or another source of belief and teaching in your answer.
One reason is because it remembers the sacrifice of Ibrahim.
Muslims are reminded of the strong faith he showed in being willing to sacrifice his son, which was replaced by a lamb.
Prophet Muhammad said, This is why on this day, Muslims slaughter sacrifices.
This is why Muslims sacrifice a lamb on this day, to show Ibrahim’s faith.
Another reason is that it brings the Muslim community together as they celebrate together.
This means they will become more united towards Allah.

Explain two reasons why Ashura is importance to Muslims.  Refer to sacred writings or another source of belief and teaching in your answer. 

One reason is because it remembers an important person to Shia Muslims.
Hussein is one of their imams and they are able to show love towards him by honouring his death.
Prophet Muhammad says Allah loves the one who loves Hussein.
This shows that remembering Hussein on Ashura please Allah.
Another reason is that it is the day sins are forgiven by Allah.
Sunni Muslims believe it is the day of repentance and blessings.

Transcript

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Before we get started, I'd like to thank Reimagining Education for sponsoring the RE Podcast. The mission, 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.

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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 GCSC RE, focusing on AQA Islam and Christianity. We are looking at key content and key exam skills that you need to be successful in teaching GCSC RE or sitting and exam in it. So if you are a teacher of GCSERE or a student of GCSE, I hope this is helpful to you. As a teacher, you might be new to teaching GCSE or just new to this spec. You might be returning after a break, or you might just need a bit of a refresh or reinvigoration. Or maybe you are a teacher from a different subject and you want to feel more confident in teaching RE. As a student, you might use it to consolidate what you've learnt in lessons or prepare for some exams. Or maybe you've moved schools or had some absence and you just want to catch up with what you've missed. Maybe you're a parent and want to support your child in their revision. Whatever your reason for listening, I really hope this is helpful for you. I've already done a series on Christian beliefs, one on Christian practices and one on Islam beliefs. We're now working through Islam practices. We've already done the five pillars of Islam, ten obligatory acts, as well as shahada, salah, and swarm, almsgiving and haj as part of the Islam practices unit on the AQA specification. Remember, Salah, Summ, Zakka, and Hajj are also four of the ten obligatory acts in Shia Islam, as well as four of the five pillars. In this episode, we are going to look at jihad, which is one of the other ten obligatory acts, but not one of the five pillars. Although you will see in this episode that Greater Jihad is inextricably linked to the five pillars, so it is important to Sunni Muslims too. We're also going to have a look at the three different festivals that you need to know for your exam. So that is Edil Fitta, Eidl Atah, and Ashura. So let's start with jihad. We need to know what jihad is and the different forms of jihad. So we need to make sure we understand each of these clearly. So the word jihad literally means to struggle. It's the personal or collective struggle against evil. As I said, you'll find jihad mentioned in the 10 obligatory acts of Shia Islam. So let's have a look at two ways Muslims perform jihad, so you can do your four markers in Islam practices. We can say that those two ways are greater jihad and lesser jihad. Greater jihad is the personal struggle every Muslim faces every day to live by the teachings of their faith. This is a spiritual struggle, the struggle to be a good Muslim, the struggle to pray, the struggle to fast, the struggle to give your money away to charity, the struggle to afford the pilgrimage and go on that pilgrimage of Hajj, which can be very challenging. So the Greater Jihad is an everyday struggle that Muslims go through in their life. It's a struggle just to be a good human being and a struggle to be a good Muslim. So this means you can use a lot of your knowledge of the five pillars and ten obligatory acts for greater jihad. You've then got lesser jihad. So lesser jihad is the military struggle to defend Islam and is carried out according to clear, strict rules. So if greater jihad is a spiritual inner struggle, lesser jihad is more of a physical outer struggle. It involves potentially war, physically fighting to defend yourself, defending your community, defending your religion against any injustice. You can use your knowledge of Ashura here, which we're going to look at later in the episode. You notice it is called lesser jihad, and this may be because it's less important or because a Muslim would have to engage in this jihad much less times. So there are our two ways of practicing jihad. Both ways are important to Muslims. Greater jihad is important to Muslims because every single pillar and every single one of the ten obligatory acts involves the greater jihad, that great inward struggle. Think about it: praying, fasting, giving charity, going on pilgrimage, being kind to people, avoiding evil. Each of these involves a struggle, so it applies to all Muslims. Lesser jihad, though, is also important because it ensures the Muslim community is protected and it does emphasize standing up for justice, because lesser jihad involves standing up to and fighting against injustice. So both of them are important. However, Greater Jihad, just by the name, is seen as more important. It is the greater jihad because it applies to just about every Muslim, basically every day, and it is the one that Muslims should put more effort into. Lesser jihad mainly applies to people who are involved in some kind of conflict. So it's going to happen less often. Right, let's have a look at a quote for each. Prophet Muhammad famously said, the greatest jihad is to fight the evil within you. So notice here he emphasizes greater jihad because this has to do with the fight within yourself against evil temptations. What about a quote about lesser jihad? The Quran says, fight in the cause of Allah those who fight you, but don't go over the limits. This clearly tells Muslims that you can defend yourself in lesser jihad, but there are some strict rules you have to follow so you don't go over the limits. These involve things like not killing innocent people, not harming women or children. Prisoners of war have to be treated kindly. You can't force someone to convert to Islam. You can't destroy trees, you can't harm animals, you can't blow up or harm buildings that don't need to be harmed, particularly places of worship, and that doesn't include just Muslim places of worship, but any place of worship from any religion. You cannot destroy those at all. So there are many strict rules involved in lesser jihad. So we've done the two forms of jihad, we've had a look at some quotes, and we've had a look at why they are important. Let's now apply this knowledge to some exam questions. So in a format question, you could be asked about jihad in general, or you could be asked specifically about greater jihad, or specifically about lesser jihad. Remember, in the practices paper, questions are always explain two ways Muslims practice, and it'll be jihad, greater jihad, or lesser jihad. So ensure you are confident asking that type of question for jihad generally or for either of the specific types of jihad. I'm going to model an answer to the question explain two ways Muslims practice jihad. So what I suggest is that in this question you would do one paragraph on lesser jihad and one paragraph on greater jihad. That would be easier than just trying to find two points about jihad generally. So here's my model answer. One way is through lesser jihad, which is the military struggle to defend Islam, your first mark. This must be carried out according to strict and clear-cut rules, for example, you can't harm children. So that's a clear two marks there for a developed point. You could probably actually get two marks without the example of harming children, but I think it's always quite nice to add examples just to ensure that your point is developed. Another way is greater jihad, which is the personal struggle of every Muslim to live by the teachings of their faith. For example, pray every day. So we get another two marks for the second developed point. So a clear four out of four marks for that whole question. I've identified two ways jihad is practiced and explained them in detail with examples. But as I said, you probably get four marks without the examples, but I want to make sure that we've got a full development there. So you could go away now, pause the episode, and you could try to explain two ways Muslims practice lesser jihad or two ways Muslims practice greater jihad. For greater jihad, I would suggest you take two of the five pillars and explain why Muslims struggle to practice them. For lesser jihad, you could talk about why and how a Muslim might have to struggle for justice. You can see now how your knowledge of five pillars can be used in questions on jihad. For lesser jihad, you could talk about why and how a Muslim might have to stand up for justice. You could also look at the Battle of Kabbalah or Muhammad's fight against the Meccans as an example of lesser jihad. Let's now look at some six markers. So you could be asked about why jihad is important to Muslims in general, or again, you could be asked specifically about greater or lesser jihad and their importance. So again, it's not enough to just know about jihad as a general concept. You have to know the specifics of greater and lesser jihad. So feel free to pause the episode and have a go at one of those questions, giving yourself a time limit of five to six minutes. So remember, in the six markers, it's always going to be explain why something is important, and you have to refer to a source of authority in your answer and apply that source of authority to the question. So here is a model answer for explain two reasons why jihad is important to Muslims. Refer to sacred writing or another source of belief and teaching in your answer. One reason is because it involves all five pillars of Sunni Islam. For example, the greater jihad involved in Sallah is to pray on time. Prophet Muhammad said the greatest jihad is to struggle to fight the evil within you. This shows that Muslims have a daily struggle to follow the teachings of Islam. So you can see here that that first paragraph would get four marks: two marks for the developed point, one mark for the source, and one mark for the application. Another reason is that it ensures that the Muslim community is protected. Lesser jihad allows Muslims to physically defend themselves against attack. And that will be two marks for a developed point, making the total six out of six. So notice here that this question is about jihad in general, but you can do what I did, which is pick one type of jihad for each paragraph. In the first paragraph, I spoke about greater jihad. In the second paragraph, I spoke about lesser jihad. I'm still answering the question because the question is not telling me which type of jihad I have to talk about. But if the question did ask about specifically greater or lesser, then I need to make sure I only talk about that type of jihad, not jihad in general. If you get a six-marker on greater jihad, you can use your knowledge and quotes from the pillars and obligatory acts. And if you get one on lesser jihad, you can use your knowledge on the Battle of Kabbalah, or you can think about Muhammad and the fight against the Meccans to establish Islam. Right, let's go through the festivals topic in the Islam practices unit of the AQA GCSE specification. There are three festivals that you have to know for Islam practices, which are the two Eids, Edelfitta and Edel Adha, and Ashura, which kind of is more a commemoration rather than a festival, as we will see later on. So let's start with Edelfitta. So Edelfitta is a festival and it celebrates the end of the month of Ramadan and marks the end of fasting. So fittah literally means breaking. So Edelfita, you are celebrating the end or the breaking of the fast. So how do Muslims celebrate Edelfitta? The first way is by going to a special Eid prayer in the morning, which is done at the mosque with lots of Muslims and they also will give zakah on this day. So on this day, Muslims pay a portion of money that goes towards the poor and the needy. And the idea is that every Muslim is able to therefore celebrate Eid because they can afford to at least buy a gift or have a meal on this day. A second way a Muslim might celebrate Eid al-Fitta is by spending time with their family or friends and remembering Allah. Eid is a very spiritual time for Muslims, so therefore remembering Allah is a very important part of Eid. It's important for two reasons. Number one, it celebrates the end of fasting, but a Muslim is celebrating the fact that for 30 days prior to Idulfitta, they've spent fasting during the hours of sunlight in the month of Ramadan, hopefully getting a better connection with Allah. And secondly, it therefore celebrates the commitment shown to Allah during Ramadan. A Muslim has tried to spend 30 days being the best versions of themselves as possible. A Muslim is therefore celebrating this day of Eid by remembering their commitment towards Allah, done in the month of Ramadan. So let's have a look at a quote. We can use a great quote by Prophet Muhammad who said, The day of fittah is the day when you break your fast. The second festival you have to know for your exam is Eid or Adha. Adda means sacrifice. So this is the festival of sacrifice, and it celebrates the Prophet Muhammad's willingness to sacrifice his son for Allah. It's that famous story that you'll find in all three of the Abrahamic religions, where Prophet Ibrahim is asked by Allah to sacrifice his son, and he's willing to do so. In the end, the son is replaced with an animal. So you can see how this festival links back to, firstly, your knowledge of prophethood, and secondly, Hajj, because Hajj is when the story of Abraham is remembered and parts of it are reenacted. So how is Eidil Adha celebrated? Let's have a look at two different ways. The first way is a bit like Eidul Fitta. There's a specific Eid prayer that is prayed, and that's done in the morning in the mosque with other Muslims. Doing it together creates unity and supports the ummah, the community of Muslims. Secondly, it's very traditional for a Muslim to have an animal slaughtered on this day, for example, a lamb or a sheep or a goat or a cow. And the meat from this animal is then given to the poor and needy and friends and family, so that everyone on this day can have a meal using that meat. For some Muslims, this is the only time in the year that they will eat meat. So the animal used in the meal represents the animal that was sacrificed by Prophet Ibrahim in place of his son. So why is Edel Adha important? It celebrates the ending of the Hajj pilgrimage. So the Eidil Adha takes place during the Hajj pilgrimage and is near the end of the Hajj pilgrimage. So whether you are on Hajj or not, if you're at home, you are remembering the Hajj pilgrimage. And secondly, it remembers Prophet Abraham's faith in Allah to sacrifice his son. Muslims are reminded of the faith Ibrahim showed in sacrificing his son, and they try to remind themselves that they should also have as strong a faith in Allah as well. So let's have a look at a quote we could use then. Prophet Muhammad says, The first thing to be done on this day is to pray, and after returning from prayer, we slaughter our sacrifices again. So this emphasizes the fact that you pray on this day, so it's a spiritual day, but you also slaughter your sacrifices and then give the animals away to remember the sacrifice of Prophet Ibrahim. And that will go toward the poor and needy. The third festival or important day in the Muslim calendar that you have to know for your exam is Ashura. Ashura takes place on the 10th of Muhamm. Ashura means 10th in Arabic. Muhamm is the first month of the Muslim calendar. Now, Ashura means different things to Shia Muslims and Sunni Muslims. So we have to make sure we know both. So for Shia Muslims, Ashura is a really important commemoration. It commemorates the martyrdom or the killing of Imam Hussein, who is the Prophet Muhammad's grandson. So on this day, Imam Hussein, who is also the third Shia Imam of the Imamate, so a successor to Prophet Muhammad according to Shia Muslims, and he was brutally killed on this day in a place called Kabbalah in Iraq. And so it is a sad day that Shia Muslims commemorate. And the way they do this is by expressing sadness in different ways. So depending on their culture, many Shia Muslims on this day would wear black or recite poetry that's quite sad or do a street procession. And it's important to Shia Muslims because it's a day of sadness and it reminds them of the day of the death of their Imam. So remember, Imam Hussein, for Shia Muslims, is the third successor of Prophet Muhammad. And on this day he was brutally killed. So therefore it's a really sad day and it reminds them of their Imam. So let's have a look at a quote to support the Shia commemoration of Ashura. Prophet Muhammad said while he was alive to the community, Allah loves those who love Hussein. So he was telling his community that if you want to be loved by God, one of the things you have to do is love his grandson Hussein. So by remembering Hussein every year on Ashura on the day of his death, Shia Muslims are putting that quote into practice. And remember, one of the ten obligatory acts for Shia Muslims is Tuallah, which is showing love to Muhammad's family. Ashura is one way that Shia Muslims put Tawallah into practice. What about Sunni Muslims? How do they observe Ashura? Well they observe Ashura as a day of repentance for sins because of the belief that they'll be forgiven. So on this day, what do they do? So they fast and repent for their sins. Why is that important? Well, because Sunni Muslims believe it's a day where Allah forgives sins. But also for Sunni Muslims, this was the day where Allah helped Prophet Musa or Moses escape the Pharaoh when he parted the Red Sea. So on this day it remembers that. So if we think about a quote, Prophet Muhammad said to Muslims to fast on this day. He recounted the fact that Prophet Musa or Moses on this day escaped from Pharaoh and he fasted to thank Allah for helping him escape. So therefore, Sunni Muslims are also strongly recommended to fast on this day. Shia Muslims do not fast on Ashura at all. So therefore we cannot make that a Shia practice. So this is a common misconception on this topic. So you can see that although it's the same day of Ashura, Sunni Muslims and Shia Muslims remember Ashura for two completely different reasons. One happened after Prophet Muhammad's death through the killing of Hussein, his grandson, and one happened way before Prophet Muhammad's life in the time of Prophet Musa or Moses, where he fasted to thank Allah from being saved from the Pharaoh. So let's think about the way that festivals could be asked about in a format question. So explain two ways that festivals are celebrated, or explain two ways that Edul Fitta, explain two ways that Edulf Adha, or explain two ways that Ashura is celebrated. So have a go at maybe one or two of these, giving yourself a time limit of around three to four minutes each. I'm going to provide a model answer to the question. Explain two ways Eidul Fitta is celebrated by Muslims. One way is by performing the Eid prayer, a special prayer in the morning at the mosque. So that will give us one mark. Let's develop that for our second mark. So Muslims will perform that prayer to thank Allah for Ramadan's blessings. And there's our second mark. Another way is by paying zakka, which is Giving charity. Third mark. This is so that everybody is able to celebrate Eid. So that's a clear four out of four marks. I've told the examiner two ways Eid al Fitr is celebrated and developed each way in detail. I've also made sure I have not confused it with Eid al Atta by talking about the sacrifices of an animal. So you have to make sure that you know each Eid distinctly from each other. Let's do a four marker on Ashura. So explain two ways in which Ashura is remembered. So in this answer, I'm going to talk about how Sunni Muslims remember Ashura and how Shia Muslims remember Ashura. So one way Sunni Muslims commemorate is by fasting. One mark. This is to remember how Allah saved Prophet Musa from the Pharaoh who fasted to thank Allah. Second mark. A way Shia Muslims commemorate Ashura is by mourning the killing of Hussein. They will express sadness in different ways, for example, wearing black. So clear four out of four marks. And again, notice I've not confused Shia and Sunni Muslims in terms of how they remember Ashura. Shia Muslims do not fast on Ashura. Therefore, I've made it clear in my first paragraph it is only Sunni Muslims who fast on Ashura. Let's now look at six mark questions regarding festivals. Again, you could be asked about why festivals are important, or you could be asked about why Edel Fittah or Edel Altha or Ashura are important specifically. Make sure you're not talking about what is done on these days. Rather, you have to talk about why they are important to Muslims. So feel free to pause the episode, have a go at some of these questions, giving yourself a time limit of five to six minutes for each one. And we are going to have a look at a model answer to the question, explain two reasons why I'll Adda is important to Muslims. Refer to sacred writing or another source of belief and teaching in your answer. One reason is because it remembers the sacrifice of Ibrahim. Muslims are reminded of the strong faith he showed in being willing to sacrifice his son, which was replaced by a lamb. Prophet Muhammad said, This is why on this day Muslims slaughter sacrifices. This shows why Muslims sacrifice an animal on this day to show Ibrahim's faith. So in that first paragraph, I have four clear marks. I've got a develop point, I've got the source, and I've applied the quote at the end. So that's four marks. Another reason is that it brings the Muslim community together as they celebrate as a community. This means they will become more united towards Allah. And that is a second developed point, giving myself the final two marks, making it six out of six altogether. And notice here my answer is not focusing on what Muslims do on this day. I'm talking about the importance of this day. So yes, I have spoken about the slaughter of the sacrifice, but I've linked it to why it's important to sacrifice to remember Prophet Ibrahim and his willingness to sacrifice his son for Allah. Let's have a look at a six-marker example question on Ishura. So explain two reasons why Ashura is important to Muslims, refer to sacred writing or another source of belief and teaching in your answer. One reason is because it remembers an important person to Shia Muslims, Imam Hussein. Hussein is one of their Imams and they are able to show love towards him by honouring his death. Prophet Muhammad says, Allah loves the one who loves Hussein. This shows that by remembering Hussein on Ashura, you are pleasing Allah. There's four marks right there for a developed point, a source, and the application at the end. Another reason is that it is the day sins are forgiven by Allah. Sunni Muslims believe it is a day of repentance and blessings linked to the story of Prophet Musa. And there's your last two marks. Notice here I've not made that mistake I talked about earlier. I've made it clear why Ashura is important to Shia Muslims and to Sunni Muslims. For Shia Muslims it's important because of Hussein and his death, whereas for Sunni Muslims it's important because of their repentance. So I've made sure I specify each of those importance to the specific type of Muslims. Hopefully this gives you a little bit of a grounding in festivals, Ashura and Jihad, 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 four and six mark questions. Take your answers into school for your teachers to mark. Have a think about what sort of 12 markers you think you might get. So it might be one where you have to decide which of the festivals is the most important. Or it could be comparing Greater Jahad with Lesser Jihad, which one is the most important there. This is the last episode in the series, and I'll be back in January with some more episodes. Please enjoy the festive season if you've got some time off, however you choose to celebrate it.

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This podcast is supported by ReimaginingEducation at reimaginingeducation.uk. My name is Louisa Jane Smith, and this is the RE Podcast.

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The podcast for those of you who think RE 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.