Islam: practices
The Five Pillars and the Ten Obligatory Acts - prayer, fasting, charity, Hajj - and the major festivals.
Learn
Islam: practices, explained point by point
Everything the GCSE specification expects you to be able to do, and how to actually do it - the same lesson a signed-in student studies from.
Describe the Shahadah and Salah, and explain their importance
The Shahadah is the declaration of faith - that there is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is his messenger - sincerely reciting it is what makes someone a Muslim, and it is whispered to newborns and repeated through life. Salah is prayer five times daily, facing Makkah, with set movements (rak'ahs) and wudu (washing) beforehand; Shi'a Muslims may combine the five into three prayer times. Regular prayer keeps Allah at the centre of the whole day - that "why it matters" sentence is the one examiners look for.
Explain Zakah and Sawm - giving and fasting
Zakah is obligatory giving: 2.5% of savings each year to those in need, purifying wealth and reminding Muslims that everything belongs to Allah (Shi'a Muslims additionally pay khums, a fifth of surplus income). Sawm is fasting during Ramadan - no food or drink in daylight hours - building self-discipline, gratitude and empathy with the hungry; children, the ill, travellers and pregnant women are excused. Ramadan is also treasured as the month the Qur'an was first revealed.
Describe the Hajj and explain what its stages mean
Hajj is the pilgrimage to Makkah every Muslim aims to make once in a lifetime if health and money allow. Pilgrims wear simple white ihram garments (showing everyone is equal before Allah), circle the Ka'aba seven times, walk between the hills of Safa and Marwah recalling Hajira's search for water, stand in prayer at Arafat seeking forgiveness, and throw stones at pillars in Mina rejecting temptation, as Ibrahim did. Each stage re-lives a story - pair the action with its meaning.
Describe the Ten Obligatory Acts of Shi'a Islam
Shi'a Islam sets out ten obligatory acts, which include the practices Sunnis know as pillars - prayer, fasting, Zakah, Hajj - plus khums (the extra wealth tax), jihad (striving in Allah's way, above all the personal struggle to live well), encouraging good, discouraging evil, and love and dissociation (loving the friends of Allah and keeping distance from His enemies). Presenting Sunni and Shi'a practice accurately side by side is a straightforward way to show the "contrasting ways" the papers ask for.
Explain the festivals of Eid ul-Fitr and Eid ul-Adha
Eid ul-Fitr celebrates the end of Ramadan: special prayers at the mosque, festive meals, gifts, and giving to charity so the poor can celebrate too. Eid ul-Adha, during Hajj, remembers Ibrahim's willingness to sacrifice his son in obedience to Allah - a sheep is sacrificed and the meat shared, a third of it with the poor. Both festivals braid worship, family and generosity together, which is exactly the significance an exam answer should draw out.
Structure a 12-mark evaluation about practices (AO2)
Given a statement like "Hajj is the most important of the Five Pillars", argue both sides before you conclude: FOR - it is a once-in-a-lifetime act of total devotion uniting Muslims worldwide; AGAINST - Salah shapes every single day, the Shahadah is the foundation of everything else, and Hajj is only required of those able to go. Then commit to a reasoned judgement. Use religious reasoning on both sides and weigh, don't sit on the fence - the conclusion carries real marks.
Practice
Try a Islam: practices question
A GCSE-style original task from this topic. Sketch a quick plan of your own before you open what a strong answer covers.
Explain two ways Muslims observe Ramadan. [4 marks]
Show what a strong answer covers
The marking points an examiner looks for. Not a model answer - a checklist to plan against.
- AO1: explains a first way with development, e.g. sawm - fasting from dawn to sunset, going without food and drink, with a pre-dawn meal (suhur) and breaking the fast at sunset (iftar), often shared with family and community
- AO1: explains a second way with development, e.g. extra devotion - attending tarawih prayers at the mosque, reciting and studying the Qur’an (revealed during Ramadan, marked by Laylat al-Qadr), and giving generously to charity