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Title: How do the five Principles of faith shape the lives of Shi’a Muslims? See? Think? Wonder? Essential – Know the meaning of the five principles of faith (Usl ad-din) . Extended – Be able to use the stories as sources to illuminate the principles of faith.

“There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is his messenger” Task 1: Spot the difference Task 2: Take a worksheet and match a principle of faith to an explanation. Shi’a Shahadah "There is no God but Allah (swt), Mohammad (saws) is the Apostle of Allah, Ali (ru) is the friend of Allah, the successor of the Apostle of Allah and his first Caliph." Sunni Shahadah “There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is his messenger”

Teacher’s Notes Although the Imam is not the recipient of a divine revelation, he has a close relationship with God, through which God guides him, and the Imam in turn guides the people. The Imams are also guided by secret texts in their possession, such as al-Jafr and al-Jamia. Imamate, or belief in the divine guide is a fundamental belief in the Twelver Shia doctrine and is based on the concept that God would not leave humanity without access to divine guidance. According to Twelvers, there is always an Imam of the era, who is the divinely appointed authority on all matters of faith and law in the Muslim community. Ali was the first of the Twelve Imams, and, in the Twelvers and sufis' view, the rightful successor to Muhammad, followed by male descendants of Muhammad through his daughter Fatimah. Each Imam was the son of the previous Imam, with the exception of Husayn ibn Ali, who was the brother of Hasan ibn Ali. The twelfth and final Imam is Muhammad al- Mahdi, who is believed by the Twelvers to be currently alive, and hidden in the Major Occultation until he returns to bring justice to the world. It is believed by Twelver Shia and Alevi Muslims that the Twelve Imams have been foretold in the Hadith of the Twelve Successors. All of the Imams met unnatural deaths, with the exception of the last Imam, who according to Twelver and Alevi belief, is living in occultation. The Twelve Imams also have a leading role within some Sufi orders and are seen as the spiritual heads of Islam, because most of the Silsila (spiritual chain) of Sufi orders lead back to one of the Twelve Imams. Terrible deaths, many poisoned by wife or by order of the Sunni Caliph, beheaded on battle field The Occultation (Arabic: غيبة‎‎ Ghaybah) in Shia Islam refers to a belief that the messianic figure, or Mahdi, who in Shi'i thought is an infallible male descendant of the founder of Islam, Muhammad, was born but disappeared, and will one day return and fill the world with justice and peace. Some Shi'is, such as the Zaidi and Nizari Ismaili, do not believe in the idea of the Occultation. The groups that do believe in it differ on the succession of the Imamate, and therefore which individual is in Occultation. The Hidden Imam is still considered to be the Imam of the Time, to hold authority over the community, and to guide and protect individuals and the Shi'i community. 12 Imam disappeared at age of 4 hundreds of years ago. Ayatollah Khomeini (liberated Iran from the Shah and put a fatwa on Rushdie) an example of 12th Imam portrait hung on the wall of the houses of Iran.

Stories from the Shi’a tradition. Task: 1. Move into groups of 4/5 sharing a story allocated by your teacher. 2. Choose a story teller to read the story aloud to the group. 3. Spend a few minutes reading the story to yourself afterwards, underline any words you don’t understand. 4. Talk about the meaning of the words and annotate your text with the 5 principles of faith. 5. Decide what the moral of the story is. 6. Choose one person to report back to the group.

Exam practice b) Explain two reasons the five roots of ‘Usl ad-Din’ are important for Shi’a Muslims. You will see three different answers to this exam question. They can be awarded a maximum of 4 marks. Give one mark for a correct reason and one mark for the development of a reason. Who will give the best answer: Bob, Baz, Babes, or Betz?

Exam practice b) Explain two reasons the five roots of ‘Usl ad-Din’ are important for Shi’a Muslims. Bob Shi’a Muslims acknowledge the five tenets of belief as: Tawhid, Angels, Holy Books, Prophets, Judgement and Pre-destination. These are important to Shi’a Muslims because they show a Muslim what they must believe in order to be a Muslim and a real member of the faith. These five beliefs come from the Qur’an which make them of the upmost importance for Muslims. For example the Qur’an states: ‘He is Allah (the Supreme), the One. Allah is eternal and absolute. None is born of him. He is unborn. There is none like unto him.’ (Surah 112)

Exam practice b) Explain two reasons the five roots of ‘Usl ad-Din’ are important for Shi’a Muslims. Baz The five principles of faith are: tawhid, divine justice, prophethood, the imams, and the day of resurrection. As a Muslim myself I believe God does not oppress anyone, he is just and good. My favourite teaching is that delivered by the fifth Imam who said the best of the Muslims are like gold because they shine the more they suffer. This principle of divine justice is important because it helps me to make sense of suffering in my life and in the world around me because I know God is just and it will be made fair in the afterlife.

Exam practice b) Explain two reasons the five roots of ‘Usl ad-Din’ are important for Shi’a Muslims. Babes The five roots of Usl ad-Din are important for Shi’a Muslims because they help the individual and the community to understand what they must believe to surrender to Allah. The five principles of faith are important because they are based on the Qur’an and the teachings of the 12 Imams (or 7 for the Severners), it is the Qur’an and the Imams that mean the most to Muslims. A Muslim wishes to find favour with Allah and therefore wishes to practice their faith correctly, the principles of faith help a Muslim to do this. For example a Muslim learns from the principle of Tawhid to worship one God and not compare or associate God with anything of this world, this is an important principle that shapes the life of a Muslim.

Exam practice b) Explain two reasons the five roots of ‘Usl ad-Din’ are important for Shi’a Muslims. Betz Muslims believe Allah created the angels and the angels are made from light. They do not have free will but are subjected to the will of Allah.. Some angels help mankind, infact two are with all people all times and they are called the ‘Recorders’.

Essential – Know the meaning of the five principles of faith. Extended – Be able to use the stories as sources to illuminate the principles of faith.

Saying of the fifth imam Imam said, "Our followers are of three kinds, one who follows us but depends on others, one who is like a glass involved in his own reflections, but the best are those who are like gold, the more they suffer the more they shine.”