Hajj - Pilgrimage

Learning Objectives :

Describe clearly what Muslims do during Hajj.

Explain why Muslims visit Makkah, and analyse what about their religious

history makes them do this.

Date

Starter• In your book, write down one place

that you would love to visit in your

lifetime, and why.

• For example; I would love to visit India

because the culture looks amazing and I

want to see the Taj Mahal.

Today’s Task

• Today, we are going to look at the final pillar of Islam; Hajj.

• What does Hajj mean?

• What is a pilgrimage?

• ‘A pilgrimage is a holy journey; it often takes a long time and is about showing devotion to a particular place or religion’.

• Write this down on your Hajj passport.

We are going on our own

pilgrimage!

• There are 5 different stations – you will

need to transfer the information from each

one onto your Hajj Passport.

1 : What is Hajj all about?

Hajj is the fifth pillar of Islam. It states that at least once in

their lifetime, every Muslim should visit Makkah, which is in

Saudi Arabia.

In Makkah, the Kaaba can be found; Allah instructed a man

called Ibrahim to build the Kaaba as a house of God (Allah).

The Kaaba still stands in the same place today.

The Angel Jibriel brought a Black Stone down from Paradise,

which was set into one corner of the Kaaba.

2. How do Muslims prepare for Hajj?

Pilgrims must enter the state of Ihram. Muslims must

first bathe themselves, before putting on white clothing.

After this, Muslims must declare their intention to

perform Hajj.

At this point, Muslims are

not allowed to do any of

the following;

1. wear clothes that have

been sewn together

2. cut or pluck hair

3. clip nails

4. cover your head

5. wear perfume

6. engage in sexual

intercourse

Young Muslims dressed in the pure

white clothing of Ihram.

3. What are the different stages of Hajj?

Day 1 : The pilgrims enter the state of

Ihram. Pilgrims will walk around the Kaaba 7

times (Tawaf). They will run between the

hills of Safa and Mawah. The pilgrims then

travel to Mina, where they will say 5

prayers.

Day 2 : Pilgrims will visit Arafat and say

lots of prayers. They will also collect the

pebbles they need for the next day.

Day 3 : Pilgrims throw stones at a pillar

to represent killing the devil, Shaytan. They

will walk around the Kaaba another 7 times.

Some pilgrims will also sacrifice an animal.

Pilgrims are no longer in Ihram.

Day 4/5/6 : Pilgrims stay at Mina for 2

or 3 days.

Day 6/7 : Perform the final Tawaf at

Makkah.

4. Why is Hajj so important to Muslims?

Hajj is a holy journey for pilgrims; the Kaaba in Makkah was

built by Ibrahim, an important prophet in the Muslim faith.

Over time, the city of Makkah became troubled; people

worshipped false gods and decorated the Kaaba with their

images. The Prophet Muhammad spent a long time trying to

restore the city of Makkah to it’s original state. He eventually

managed to clean the Kaaba of all false idols.

Because Muhammad worked so hard to return the Kaaba to

being the House of God (Allah) Muslims think it really

important that they visit it at least once in their lifetimes.

5. Why are Muslims only expected to visit Makkah

once?

Some people are not allowed or

expected to visit Makkah;

1. Pregnant women, as the journey

will be too tough.

2. Non-Muslims.

3. People who are too young;

ideally, a boy or girl should have

entered puberty before they go

on Hajj.

4. People who are too ill.

Other people will not have the

choice about whether or not they

go on Hajj; the journey is very

expensive, so often people can

only afford to go once, if at all.

What else can we know about

Hajj? – Watch the video clip

http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/clips/z8jpycw

Plenary

• If you have any wool at home, you

could make your own Hajj bracelet.

Hajj – Postcard

Learning Objectives :

Work as a group to describe what Muslims do during Hajj.

Compare your ideas to those of Muslims, and analyse why Hajj is

so important to them.

Date

Today’s Task

• You are going to present everything

you know about Hajj in the form of a postcard.

• You will write to a family member or friend about your trip, explaining everything you saw there, and the reasons behind the pilgrimage.

• Remember; non-Muslims are not really allowed to take part in Hajj, so you will need to explain that you watched Muslim people completing the different stages, rather than you doing them yourself, if you’re not a Muslim.

• You will plan this before you start!

Year 8 : Hajj PostcardComplete the following tasks.

Task 1

Describe the things you have seen in Makkah.

‘Dear ___________.

I am on holiday in Saudi Arabia in the city of Makkah – I have so much to tell you about the things I have seen!’

1. Describe what is in Makkah and who visits it.

2. Describe Ihram, and the other stages of Hajj – what do Muslims do on each of the different days?

3. Try to describe how you think the Muslims might feel e.g. Are they happy? What is the atmosphere there like?

Task 2

Describe what Hajj actually is.

1. Explain that Hajj is the fifth Pillar of Islam – what are the 5 Pillars of Islam?

2. How often are Muslims expected to visit Makkah?

3. Are there any exceptions or people who are not allowed to go?

4. Explain the reasons why Hajj is so important to Muslims e.g. Who was the Kaaba built by? Why was it built?

5. Flightpath 7: Analyse the reasons behind a Muslim wanting to visit Makkah – we know an important prophet in

Islam built the Kaaba, but why should that make Muslims want to go there? How do the 5 Pillars fit into all of

this?

Task 3

Compare how you feel about the place you want to visit with how Muslims feel about their pilgrimage.

1. ‘Being here reminds me of how much I want to visit __________. I really want to go there because_________’

2. How are your feelings about your special place similar to Muslims? E.g. Does the place interest you? Is it a holy

place? Do you have to go there?

3. How are your feelings about your special place different to Muslims?

4. Flightpath 7: Analyse the reasons behind how you feel about your place, and Muslims about Makkah; will visiting this

place provide you with a happiness equal to Muslims visiting Makkah? Why do you think you feel how you do about

your special place, and why do Muslims feel how they do about Makkah?

Assessment

• Look at the model answer.

• You have also been given a mark scheme.

• Using the mark scheme, read out the postcard ticking off the bits of the mark scheme that you think this person has achieved. You can underline or write on the work if you want to.

• At the end, give the postcard a medal comment, and a mission comment.

Hajj Model Answer

In your groups, peer mark the following postcard. Use the

mark scheme to work out how well this person has done –

You can tick off what they have completed on the mark

scheme as you go, and you can write on / highlight this piece

of work if it helps you.

Dear ___________.

I am on holiday in Saudi Arabia in the city of Makkah – I have so much to tell you about the things I have seen! Makkah is a

really busy city, and there is a building called the Kaaba. Lots of Muslim people visit Makkah to see the Kaaba. I have been

watching what the Muslim pilgrims do when they get here (I am not allowed to take part as I am not a Muslim) – when they

arrive, they dress in white clothes, and I overheard some of them saying that they are not allowed to shave or cut their nails

or wear perfume. But it’s only for a couple of days so I suppose that wouldn’t be too hard to do. Muslims tend to be here

for about 6 or 7 days. They do different things on each day; for example on the first day, I saw them running between two

mountains called Mawah and Safa, and on the third day I saw them throwing stones at this huge pillar – I think I overhead one

of them saying that this represents stoning the devil to death. I have also seen Muslims walk around the Kaaba a lot. The

Muslims look really happy when they are here, and I think that sometimes they meet up with family and friends in Makkah

who they haven’t seen in ages, so that must be nice for them.

I managed to speak to a lovely Muslim girl the other day called Mez – she explained to me that the reason Muslims

come here to Makkah is because it is part of five rules of their religion called the Five Pillars; the Fifth Pillar is called Hajj,

which means pilgrimage (a kind of holy journey). The rules say that all Muslims should visit the Kaaba in Makkah at least once

in their lifetime. Some Muslims don’t have to though, for example if they are ill or if a lady is pregnant, because the journey

is long and all in all the pilgrimage takes about seven days! Mez told me that the Kaaba is important to visit because a really

important prophet called Ibrahim built it, because the Muslim god, Allah, told him to make a House of God. So it’s a holy

place for Muslims, which makes it really important.

Being here makes me think about how much I really want to visit the

Taj Mahal in India – I really want to go there because the culture looks amazing

and I have read the story about why the Taj Mahal was built. I will be really upset

if I don’t ever get to go there because it’s something I’ve always dreamed about

doing; I think this is probably how Muslims feel about visiting Makkah and the

Kaaba. I suppose I feel a bit differently to Muslims about my special place though

because it is not a rule that I have to go there; I just really want to. But nobody

will be disappointed in me if I don’t except from me.

Anyway, I will see you soon back in rainy old England!!! xx

Planning

• You are now going to plan a high

quality postcard

• Make sure that you use the mark

scheme to fill in the planning sheet so

that you know for sure you are

working at the highest possible

flightpath, and that you are including

all of the correct information.

Current Flightpath: _______________________

Medal : _____________________________________________________________

Mission : _________________________________________________________________________________

Hajj Postcard Mark Scheme

Use this mark scheme to work out how good a piece of

writing is – tick off each box that the writing has achieved –

this will make it really easy for you to give the piece of

writing a level. Make sure you fill in the medal and mission

comments at the bottom of the page too!

It explains how Muslims might feel during

their time in Makkah.

Flightpath 5

The postcard describes the things that

Muslims do during their Pilgrimage to Makkah,

including Ihram.

It uses key words like Ihram, Muslims,

Makkah and Kaaba.

It describes clearly a place that the writer

would like to visit.

Postcard Planning Sheet

Use the boxes below to plan your postcard.

Make sure you use the mark scheme so that you include all

The information you need to achieve a high level.

Use your planning sheet

Write your own postcard using one of the templates provided

Make sure you use the planning sheet

• Remember!!! You are describing what you saw at Makkah – if you are a non-muslim, you would not be allowed to actually take part.

Dear ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Dear _______________________I am on holiday in Saudi Arabia in the city of Makkah – I have so much to tell you about the things I have seen!In Makkah, there is ___________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________Makkah is visited by _____________________________________________________ ____________________________________Ihram is when Muslims_______________ ____________________________________________________________________________Muslims do lots of different things during Hajj. On day ______ they ____________________________________________________________________________On day _______ they __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________I think the Muslims look really _________________ because _____________________________________________________________________________________________

Hajj is the ________ Pillar of Islam. The Pillars are ___________________________________________________________________________________Muslims are expected to visit Makkah ___________ unless they ______________________________________________________________________________________________________The Kaaba is really important to Muslims because ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________

Being here reminds me of how much I want to visit __________. I really want to go there because _______________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I feel similar to Muslims about visiting ___________________ because I feel ________ ____________________________________________ and I think they feel _____________________ ___________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________However, my feelings are different to how Muslims feel because _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Lots of Love! ______________________________

Self Mark:

• Use the mark criteria to mark your

own work

• Give yourself a final flightpath, a medal

comment and a mission comment.

Plenary

• Complete the following sentence in

your books:

• Today, I think I have achieved a L____

in my work, because I have_________

and ____________.