Drum – 08 August 2019

http://www.drum.co.za8 AUGUST (^2019) | 59
GALLO
IMAGES/GETTY
IMAGES,
GALLO
IMAGES/ALAMY
Tofindoutmore
abouttheorigins
ofIslamgoto:
tinyurl.com/
How-Islam-began-
for-kids
www drum co za 8 AU
T
HEplace(isalIslam’stheMasjidGreatofworld’smostworshipMosquealHaramsacredlargestItinsurroundsofIslamicMeccaArabisitec)the
KaabaWhenMusimsprayheykneel
facingeverythetakenenoughpicatheadultlarsmoneydirection(beeofinMusieftheirand)imofofwhoseabsenceIslamwho’stheKaabaishealthyfamilymutheOnewillHatbehasjravof
eltoMeccaatleastonceinheirifetime
THEIt’sInpartIslam’s 2 ofmostourseriesMOSQUEsacredonplaceholyplaceswevisittheOFGreatMosqueMOSQUESofMeccaSaudiArabia
NOWKNOWYOU
THEORGNSOFTHEGREATMOSQUE
WHO 4 MILLIONCANVISITMECCA?
2157 MILLMILLIONONM 3
IN NUMBERS
MATAF
GATES
MARWA SAFASAFAANDMARWA
THE KAABA
KAABA
MINARET
PA RT 2 OF 5
Turnover
to learn about
the Great Mosque
in Mecca.
FIND
OUT
MORE
TEXT:CUMLAUDEMEDIA.SOURCES:BBC.CO.UK;BRITANNICA.CO;CENTREFORCONTEMPORARYISLAM,UNIVERSITYOFCAPETOWN;
EDITION.CNN.COM;KIDS.KIDDLE.CO;KHANACADEMY.ORG;SOCIALSTUDIESFORKIDS.COM;THEILLUSTRATEDBOOKOFSIGNS&
SYMBOLS, DK, 1996; THE COMPLETE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF SIGNS & SYMBOLS, HERMES HOUSE, 2006; WIKIPEDIA.ORG
Hebelievedtheycouldusemilitarymightto
spreadIslamtootherareas.That’swhyitwas
importanttogetMecca’ssupport.
Beginningintheyear622,heandhisfollowers
wereinvolvedinseveralbattleswiththepeople
ofMecca.ManyresidentsofMeccachosetogo
toMedinaandbecomeMuslims.
BythetimeMuhammadandhisforcescon-
queredMeccain 630 , mostpeoplehadaccepted
theIslamicfaith.
THEPROPHETDIES
Muhammaddiedon 8 June 632 in
Medina.Bythattime,mostofArabia
wasunifiedunderIslam. Fromthere,Muslims
spreadtheirreligionacrossNorthAfricaandinto
Spain, aswellasnorthandeasttodeepintoAsia,
andeventuallyworldwide.
AfterMuhammaddiedhisfollowerscouldn’t
agreewhotheirnextleaderwouldbe. Thiseven-
tuallycausedthereligiontosplitintodifferent
branches.
FIVEPILLARS
Muslimshavefivebeliefsconsideredto
bethemostimportanttotheirreligion.
Thesearecalledthefivepillarsonwhichtheir
religionrests.Eachpillarhasaspecialnamein
Arabic.
Shahada(TheCreed)isthefirstpillar.It’sthe
beliefthatAllahistheonetrueGodandMuham-
madishisprophet.Becausethisisthemost
importantpillar,Muslimsmustprofessthisfaith
inAllahandMuhammadoutloud.
Salat is the pillar of prayer. Muslims must pray
five times a day.
They can pray any-
where but many
Muslims go  to a
placeofworship
calledamosque.
Beforepraying,
Muslimsarerequiredto
washthemselvesduringa
cleansingritual. Whenpraying,Muslimsalways
bowinthedirectionoftheholycityofMecca.
Childrenareencouragedtopractisethepillarof
prayerfromanearlyage.
Zakatisthepillarofgivingalms(givingtothe
poor). Muslimsbelievetheyshouldsharetheir
richeswiththoseintheirreligiouscommunity
whoarelessfortunate.
SaumisthepillaroffastingduringRamadan,
theMuslims’holymonth,whichistheninthmonth
oftheIslamiccalendar.
DuringRamadan,Muslimsdon’teatordrink
anythingbetweensunriseandsunset.Thereare
exceptionsforthesickandtheold,aswellas
pregnantwomenandyoungchildren.Butall
able-bodied,healthyMuslimsmustfastduring
thedaylighthoursofRamadan.
The hajj is another pillar of Islam. According to
this pillar, a Muslim must travel to the city of
Mecca at least once in their lifetime. The hajj is
alsocalledapilgrimage.
PILGRIMAGE
The hajj is a 10-day pilgrimage that
starts on the eighth of Dhu’l-Hijja, the
12th month of the Islamic calendar, and ends with
the Eid al-Adha (Celebration of Sacrifice).
Every year more than two million Muslims from
more than 70 countries go on the hajj.
During hajj, pilgrims go to pray at the Kaaba, or
“House of God”, the holiest place in Mecca’s Great
Mosque.
Pilgrims also travel from Mecca to the plains
of Mount Arafat where they stand vigil. They also
visit Mina and Muzdalifah, considered holy sites,
for prayers and rituals.
Pilgrims return homeafter the hajj ends with
Eid al-Adha. Many willalsostop at Medina to visit
Muhammad’s grave.
The Sultan Ahmet Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey. Completed in 1616,
it is a Unesco World Heritage Site. It’s nicknamed “The Blue Mosque”
because of the 20 000 hand-painted blue tiles lining the interior.
Social
sciences
Datesaretraditionally
eaten to break the fast, as
the prophet Muhammad
did.Tasbeehbeadsare
usedduringprayers.
A volunteer hands
out packages to workers
during the iftar meal in
Dubai. One of Islam’s
practises is Zakat or
givingdonations to the
poor.
During the holy month of Ramadan, Muslims fast from sunrise to
sunset. They break their fast with the evening meal (iftar), which many
people eat together as a family or community.
The two main
branches of Islam
are Sunni Islam (about
90% of all Muslims) and
Shia Islam (about 10%).
Other much smaller groups
include the Wahabis,
Alawites, Salafis and
Ibadis.
IN THE CLASSROOM