1. Ninian Smart - The 7 Dimensions of Religion Ritual Material Social Experiential Mythological Ethical Doctrinal All religions include 7 common ideas Repeated actions Items + places People + roles Experience Stories Rules + Guidelines Beliefs + Meanings

2. Have a think… What do these images have in common? But which one is the odd one out?

3. Ninian Smart - The 7 Dimensions of Religion Ritual All religions include 7 common ideas Repeated actions Learning Objective To enquire into the Muslim daily ritual of salat (prayer) Title: The Ritual Dimension – Salat in Islam

4. Ritual

5. Salat (compulsory prayer) Ritual The 5 Specified Times a Day 1) Dawn, before sunrise 2) Midday, after the sun passes its highest 3) The late part of the afternoon 4) Just after sunset 5) Between sunset and midnight 10+ Years Old Facing Mecca

7. Mindmapping Salat First time - note the key themes on the topic of prayer in Islam (salat) What are the main ideas mentioned? Second time - add as much detail, that explains those key themes, as possible. How much can we learn about those main ideas? Salat Things to look for… Niyyah Wudu Ruku The Shahadah Ritual

8. Now that we understand more about Salat let us begin to evaluate it for ourselves. Which statement do you agree most with and why? Evaluating Salat Ritual “Salat is unreasonable and even unhelpful for Muslims” “Salat is perfect for helping Muslims obey Allah”

9. Make your own… RitualRepeated actions You are now going to create your own prayer rituals and instructions. You must include… 1.A set of repeatable actions and words – what will your devotees do regularly to express their beliefs and commitment to your religion? Create a step-by-step process of how to carry out the ritual: what to say and do and in which order. Like Salat and the Shahadah, yours must include the key statement of your religion. 2.A preparation routine – will your religion have a preparation routine for the ritual, like wudu or niyyah. If so, you will need to explain why this matters and how the actions performed help the devotee prepare for the ritual. Other things to consider: When will this ritual occur? How often? Where will it be done? Do they have to face in a specific direction? REMEMBER… Are you making detailed notes now to make neat later or are you creating now?