chapter 8

Why did He create us?

He created us to worship Him.

Allah does not need us to worship Him.
If nobody prays to Allah, it does not harm
Him. When we worship Him, it helps us.
When we remember Allah, it makes our
hearts feel peaceful and happy.
When we do not remember Him, we do not
feel calm.
But how should we worship Him?
How should we pray?
What words should we say when we want to
worship Him?
How do we know what Allah wants us to do?

Will He speak to us and tell us?

When our mother or father want us to do
something, they tell us.
When our teacher wants us to do something,
he or she speaks to us.
Allah does not speak to me or you to tell us
what He wants us to do.
Allah speaks to special people to tell them
what to do.
Or He sends information down to those
people.
Then they can tell other people what Allah
wants us to do. Those people to whom Allah
speaks are special. They are honest people
and kind people. Allah chose them. They are
called Prophets. Prophets worship only
Allah.
They are kind to people around them.
They tell other people what Allah wants from
us. In this way, we find out what Allah wants
us to do.
There are lots of people nowadays who say
that Allah speaks to them.
These people are not telling the Truth.
They want to play a trick on us.
All the Prophets to whom Allah spoke were
born a long, long time ago.
They lived over a thousand years ago.
Some were alive even longer ago than that.
The last of those prophets brought us the
Religion from Allah that we have to follow
now.
How then do we know what Allah told him?
They did not have computers or emails in
those days. When your mother has to go out
and she wants to leave a message for your
father, what does she do?
She can tell you to tell your father.
Or she can write it down so that he can read
it later on. When people write things down,
other people can read them. All those many
years ago, when Allah told the last Prophet
what to do, he could then tell his friends.
They would learn it by heart; some of them
would write it down.

All those many years ago, when Allah told

the last Prophet what to do, he could then
tell his friends.
They would learn it by heart; some of them
would write it down.
They could write down what the Prophet
said and did, just like your mother can write
down what you did today. Can we find out
what was written down then, even though it
was a long time ago? Yes, we can.
People have helped to look after what was
written down all that time ago.
So all that time ago, the people learned by
heart or wrote out that information for other
people.
And then they passed it onto the people they
taught. And each time, clever people
checked that there were no mistakes being
made.
So now we can see what Allah told that last
Prophet to do, even though the Prophet died
over a thousand years ago.
We can read what the last Prophet said and
did.
In this way, we find out what Allah wants us
to do.
chapter 9

Allah knows more than anyone else.

Allah is kinder to us than anyone else.
Allah gives us more things than anyone else.
But when we look around us, we see some
things happen which might make us sad.
We see people become ill.
We see some people do not have enough
food. We see earthquakes and hurricanes
where people are hurt, or sometimes they
even die.
Why does Allah let these things happen?
Is Allah kind to everyone?
Or only to some people?
Allah is kind to everyone.
He gave us so many things that we cannot
count them all.
But some people do not say thank you to
Him.
Some people do not do the things He tells
them to do.
Some people say that they don’t believe in
Allah.
They don’t think that Allah is real.
Some people even worship other things
apart from Allah, like those who worship
other people or statues or fire.
Do you think Allah is happy with that?
Sometimes Allah punishes people for the bad
things they have done.
He gives them so many good things, like food
and drink and being healthy and yet they
behave badly towards Him.
He gave them hands, but they use their
hands to do bad things, like stealing or
hurting other people.
He gave them mouths and tongues, but they
use them to say bad things.
He gave them brains and made them clever,
but then they worship things apart from
Allah.
Allah gives them time to stop doing their bad
things and to say sorry to Him.
But if they don’t do that, then sometimes He
punishes them.

Sometimes Allah punishes them whilst they

are still alive.
Sometimes Allah waits and He punishes
them in the world we go to after we die.
Allah gives us time to say sorry for the bad
things we have done.
If we say sorry to Him and we stop doing our
bad things, then Allah always forgives us.
How kind He is.
Sometimes even good people have things
happen which they find makes them sad.
Why is this?
When good people – people who worship
only Allah and they do what He tells them to
– have problems, what do they do?
They ask Allah for help.
They do more good things.
They say sorry to Allah even more for any
bad things they have done.
They remember Allah and think about Him
more.
They want Allah to help them; they want
Him to take away their problems.
And so Allah helps them.
So because of something happening to a
person which he did not like, he then ends
up doing more good things than he was
doing before. If something happens to us
which we do not like, then who is it who lets
that thing happen to us?
It is Allah who lets it happen to us.
So we ask Allah to take away that thing
which we do not like. We ask Allah to forgive
us for all the bad things we have done, in
case He is punishing us for something bad we
did.
We say to ourselves that we will try not to
do bad things any more.
We ask Allah to make us patient so that we
do not complain to other people about our
problem.
We try to be brave even though we might be
very sad. And Allah never forgets about us.
He always listens to us, even when no one
else does.
He always helps us if we ask Him with all our
heart. O Allah give us the best things in this
life, the life we are living in now.
O Allah give us the best things in the life that
we will go into after we die.
chapter 10
What does Islam mean?
The Arabic word 'Islam' means submission
and obedience, and derives from a word
meaning 'peace'

What is Islam based on?

Islam is based on the ministry of a man
named Muhammad (peace be upon him),
and on the words that Allah gave to the
world through Muhammad.
(NB. Muhammad is so esteemed by Muslims
that it is usual to utter the blessing "peace be
upon him" after his name.)

What or who is a Muslim?

A Muslim is a follower of the religion of
Islam.
What are the five Pillars of Islam?
These are five duties that every Muslim is
obliged to perform. The five pillars of Islam
help Muslims put their faith into action.

1-Shahadah: declaration of faith

"I bear witness that there is no god, but
God; I bear witness that Muhammad is
the prophet of God." By reciting this, one
enters Islamic faith.
2-Salah: prayer
Muslims are required to pray five times a
day, washing themselves before prayer
and facing in the direction of Mecca
while praying.
3-Zakat: giving a fixed proportion to
charity
Muslims are required to give away a
percentage of their earnings to those less
fortunate, regardless of their religion.
4-Saum: fasting during the month of
Ramadan
Muslims fast for one lunar month each
year, a period called Ramadan. During
this time, Muslims reflect on their
behaviour and strive to purify their
thoughts.
4-Hajj: pilgrimage to Mecca
If it is financially possible, Muslims are
required to travel to Mecca once in their
lifetime.
chapter 11

What do Muslims believe?

The basic belief of Islam is that there is only
one God, whose name in the Arabic language
is Allah, and who is the sole and sovereign
ruler of the universe.

Muslims have 6 main beliefs

1. Belief in Allah as the one and only God.
2. Belief in angels.
3. Belief in the holy books.
4. Belief in the Prophets (special
messengers).
e.g. Adam, Ibrahim -Musa - Dawud - Isa.
Muhammad (peace be upon him) is the
final prophet.
5. Belief in the Day of Judgement...
The day when the life of every human
being will be assessed to decide whether
they go to heaven or hell.
6. Belief in Predestination...
That Allah has already decided what will
happen.
Muslims believe that this doesn't stop
human beings making free choices
chapter 12