As you begin this activity, have students take off their shoes and line them up outside the door. You’ll see why in a minute 🙂
Islam is a religion that has more than a billion followers worldwide. This number represents over 20% of the world’s population (“Christianity” is only 33% of the population and this number includes Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses). If that many people follow this religion, we would be wise to learn more about them and be able to communicate effectively about the true and living God.
More can be found on Islam (and various unreached people groups that practice Islam) in the book Window on the World. It is worth getting if you are interested in learning about and praying for people around the world that follow and practice different faiths.
Muslim Call to Worship
Why did we take off our shoes? – because when Muslims go to a mosque, the place Muslims go to pray and worship, they take their shoes off as a sign of respect.
Next, provide a towel or mat for students to use as a prayer mat. Encourage students to sit and kneel on their prayer mats.
When Muslims pray, they recite the call to prayer which states, “There is no god but Allah, and Mohammed is his prophet.”
Let’s read some scriptures to help us understand why this prayer conflicts with the Bible, God’s word.
And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. John 17:3
For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. I Timothy 2:5-6
The Bible states that there is one God and one Son. Who are they?
That’s right. God and Jesus, His son. So while we are on our prayer mats, we are going to say a prayer to God, proclaiming that He is the one, true God and thank Him for giving us His son.
Muslims lean forward and touch their foreheads to the ground while they are reciting their call to prayer.
Let’s do this while we say our own prayer:
“There is no God but You, O Lord! And Jesus is your Son.”
Very good! Try it again.
“There is no God but You, O Lord! And Jesus is your Son.”
Subha – Islamic Prayer Beads
Muslims also wear (or hold) a necklace or string of beads, called their prayer beads, to remind them of the 99 names of Allah found in the Koran, the Muslim holy book.
In similar fashion, we are going to learn some of the names of God found in the Bible.
We’ll do this by making our own necklace and thanking God for what each name on our necklace represents.
What you will need:
- A copy of the Names of God page (download link below)
- An 18″ piece of string
- 18 paperclips
- A hole puncher
Download Names of God sheet here. Print on cardstock.
Cut out each rectangle with a name of God on it.
Hole punch each card on the left hand side.
Place 18 paperclips on a string and then tie the string to form a necklace.
As you add each name of God card to the necklace, pray and thank God for what that name represents. For example, “God, we thank you for being Jehovah-rapha, the God who heals. Thank you for being El Shaddai, the God most high, and so on.
We have talked about prayer posture, prayer beads, and praying the names of God. Let’s end by praying for those that follow the Muslim faith to be exposed to the teachings of the Son of God, that their eyes might truly see!
God, we pray for the 1 billion Muslims in the world and more specifically for those in Northern Africa. God please open their eyes to the truth that is found in You and in Your Word. Please help them, by Your Spirit, to see that You are the only way to salvation and that their good works will not save them. Please show them that they must believe in Your son, Jesus, who died on the cross and rose again, in order to be made right with You and spend eternity in heaven. Please help us to be gentle and respectful as we communicate with people who are Muslim. We thank you that You are the one who draws people to Yourself and gives them the faith to believe in You!
5 Pillars of Islam
An understanding of Islam often begins with learning about the five basic beliefs of Islam, often called the Five Pillars of Islam. This can be contrasted with the foundational beliefs of the Christian gospel message. We’ll call these the Five Pillars of Christianity.
This graphic illustrate the tenants of each faith.
The Muslim faith teaches that following the Five Pillars of Islam will earn someone a place in “paradise” (this is the word a Muslim would use in place of heaven). Let’s learn what the five duties of every Muslim are:
- Pray five times each day
- Declare their faith by repeating the call to prayer that we discussed earlier.
- Fast during the month of Ramadan from sun up to sun down.
- Give to the poor.
- Journey to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Mohammed at least once.
In other words, Muslims believe that if they obey these five pillars (duties), Allah will have mercy on them and they will earn entrance in to paradise (or heaven).
Five Pillars of Christianity
Let’s contrast this with what we will call the Five Pillars of Christianity (the Gospel):
A comprehensive explanation of the Five Pillars of Christianity is available for download here.
1. God is holy.
- God is the holy, just and gracious creator of all things.
- Because of his holiness, God cannot dwell with sin.
2. Man is sinful.
We are each created by God, but we are all corrupted by sin.
- We have rebelled against God.
- We are separated from God.
- We are dead without God.
3. Christ is sufficient
Jesus alone is able to remove our sin and restore us to God.
- He lived the life we could not live.
- He died the death we deserve to die.
- He conquered the enemy we cannot conquer.
4. Faith is necessary.
We can be restored to God only through faith in Jesus.
- We turn from our sin and ourselves.
- We trust in Jesus as Savior and Lord.
5. Eternity is urgent.
Our eternal destiny hinges on our response to Jesus.
- Hell is a dreadful reality for those who turn from Jesus.
- Heaven is a glorious reality for those who trust in Jesus.
- Will you turn from Jesus or will you trust in Jesus?
We will end this explanation of Christianity with John 3:16, a verse that is the one of the cornerstone verses of the Christian faith. This verse says,
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16
This verse teaches us that being reconciled to God is based on us responding to God in faith. Unlike Islam and the Koran, the message the Bible teaches is not a works-based message. It is a faith-based message.
This is emphasized in Ephesians 2:8,9.
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. Ephesians 2:8-9
It is interesting to note that these ideas between Christianity and Islam are in stark contrast with each other.
The bottom line is this: Islam is a faith based on a dead prophet. Christianity is a faith based on a risen (resurrected) Savior. Testimonies from former Muslims who have converted to Christianity confirm this. They often say that Islam felt like a dead, ritualistic religion with no love and no relationship with their God. What they discover with Christianity is that it is a religion based on love… and the cornerstone of Christianity is restoration to a loving relationship with God.
The good news is that someone who follows the Islamic faith will still read the New Testament. Listen to what Paul wrote in Romans 1 about the effects of the gospel (the Christian message) on our life.
For I am not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. Romans 1:16
Please take all you have learned about the Islamic faith and use it to help you pray for Muslims. The Bible has the power to change their lives (Romans 1:16), the Holy Spirit can change their hearts (John 16:7-11) and open their eyes to the truth (2 Corinthians 4:4).