Lesson video

Hello, I'm Ms. Rivers.

I'm glad you've chosen this lesson.

I'm looking forward to working with you today.

So I'll be helping you with your learning in this lesson.

So let's get started.

Welcome to today's lesson.

The lesson is from the unit "Stories: How do Different People Find Deeper Meanings?" This lesson is called "Muslim Stories: The Story of the Crying Camel." By the end of today's lesson, you will be able to retell the story of the Crying Camel and explain its deeper meaning.

You might already know some stories with deeper meanings or hidden messages.

Maybe you know lots of stories with deeper meanings.

Today's learning is about an important story with a hidden message.

Today's story is important for Muslims. Some of today's learning will be new for everyone, so we will need to work really hard.

But I'm here to help, and we can all learn together.

The key words for today's lesson are hadith.

That's a collection of sayings and actions of the Prophet Muhammad.

Compassion, that means treating people and animals with kindness.

And overworked, making someone work too hard or for too long.

Some of these words might be new for you, so let's practise saying them together.

I'll say the word and you say it back to me.

Hadith.

Compassion.

Overworked.

We'll be exploring and using these words all through the lesson, so listen carefully and see if you can spot when we use them.

In the first part of the lesson, we'll be thinking about some of the stories and sayings of the Prophet Muhammad and thinking about how they're remembered.

How are the stories of the Prophet remembered? How do you make sure that you remember important things? I wonder if you do any of these things.

Do you write things down on a calendar so that you don't forget? Do you write things on a Post-it note or on a piece of paper so that you can remember later? Maybe you do something silly to remind you, like tying a knot in a handkerchief.

So when you see it, it reminds you of that important thing.

Maybe your mom or dad puts a message on their phone or a little reminder when there's something important they have to remember.

Maybe you have some other ideas of ways that you remember things.

Alex and Andeep are talking about how they try to remember important things.

Andeep says, "If I have something important to remember, I ask my friend to remind me lots of times." Alex says, "My mom puts a reminder on her phone.

I write things down in my notebook." I wonder if you can think of another example of a way to remember something important.

Have a think for a moment.

(mouse button clicks) People with a Muslim worldview believe that God's words are written down in the Qur'an so that they can be remembered.

A Muslim would call God Allah because Allah is Arabic for God.

So in this lesson, we'll use the word God, but you can see that it says Allah in brackets as well to remind us that that's the word that Muslims would use.

So the Qur'an helps Muslims to remember those important words that help them to understand all about God.

And Muslims read the Qur'an to find out more about God.

Many Muslims read the Qur'an to find out how they should live, and there are instructions and rules and guidelines for them to follow.

Muslims believe that the Prophet Muhammad was a teacher who said many wise things.

And many Muslims like to follow his teaching and example wherever they can.

(mouse button clicks) Some of the wise things that the Prophet Muhammad said and did have been remembered and passed on from one person to another over many years, and they've been collected and written down so that they wouldn't be forgotten.

And we know that writing things down is a really good way of remembering things.

And the collections of sayings and stories of the Prophet Muhammad are called the hadith.

Do you remember that key word, hadith? It means a collection of the sayings and stories of the Prophet Muhammad.

We're going to use that word in our lesson.

So here's a quick check to see what we've learned so far.

What is the collection of sayings and stories of the Prophet Muhammad called? Is it A, the Qur'an? B, the hadith? Or C, the Bible? Pause the video for a moment while you think about your answer.

That's right.

The correct answer is B, the hadith.

The hadith is the collection of sayings and stories of the Prophet Muhammad.

Well done if you chose the right one.

So the hadith, the sayings and stories of the Prophet Muhammad, are important to people with a Muslim worldview, like Nadia.

Here is Nadia, and she says, "The hadith show me how to be a good person by following the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad.

They remind me how to be kind and help others, for example, by being a good friend and taking care of my family." So Nadia reads the stories and sayings in the hadith to help her to live a good life and to be a good Muslim.

Nadia is explaining why the hadith is so important to her.

She says, "People wrote down some of the wonderful things Prophet Muhammad said and did.

I love to read words from the hadith to imagine what it must have been like to be with the Prophet." Iqbal is a Muslim too, and hadith is important to him.

He says, "The words of the Prophet Muhammad are like messages from the past that have been passed down from one person to another." So it's important for Iqbal to read the hadith to understand how Muslims have thought and behaved over many years.

So the words in the hadith help us to understand more about Muslim beliefs.

And when we read the sayings in the hadith, it helps us to understand what's important to Muslims. (mouse button clicks) And Iqbal says this, "The words in the hadith teach me to be patient and calm and always to show compassion to those in need.

They help me to understand how to live a good life and to make the world a better place." Can you see two of our key words there? We've got hadith, the sayings and stories of the Prophet Muhammad, and also the word compassion.

That means being caring and kind to people and to animals.

So Iqbal is saying that the hadith teaches him lots of things, and one of the things the hadith teach him is to show compassion.

So here's a quick check to see if we've remembered our keywords for today.

And here's a question with a key word in it.

What are the hadith? Are they A, the parables and sayings of Jesus? Or B, stories and fables about animals? Or C, stories and sayings of the Prophet Muhammad? Pause the video and think about your answer.

That's right.

The answer is C.

The hadith are the stories and sayings of the Prophet Muhammad.

Well done if you've got that right, 'cause that means you've remembered one of our key words for today.

So now it's your turn to do some thinking and writing, and we're going to help Alex with his work.

Alex has been learning all about Muslim beliefs, and he says, "Everything a Muslim needs to know about the Prophet Muhammad is found in the Qur'an." Is Alex correct? Have a think about whether he is correct or not, and explain your answer.

So I would like you to write down whether you think he is correct and then explain why you have given that answer.

Pause the video while you do your writing.

So how did you get on about thinking about Alex's understanding? Is he right, is everything a Muslim needs to know about the Prophet Muhammad in the Qur'an? Is he correct? No, he's not correct, is he? Because Muslims read the hadith as well as the Qur'an.

And they read the hadith because the hadith has stories about the Prophet Muhammad.

The hadith is full of wise words from the Prophet Muhammad, and both the Qur'an and the hadith show Muslims how to live a good life.

So did you give some good reasons to help Alex to have a better understanding of where Muslims learn from? It's not just the Qur'an, it's the hadith as well.

So did you think of some answers the same as mine? Or did you think of some different ones? Well done for working so hard and for doing good thinking.

So in the second part of the lesson, we're going to learn about one of those stories from the hadith, the story of the Crying Camel.

And we're going to be thinking about the deeper meanings in the story.

What is the deeper meaning of the Crying Camel? (mouse button clicks) So a long time ago, some people asked the Prophet Muhammad if it was important to care for animals as well as caring for people.

And the Prophet replied, "There is a reward for taking care of any living being." Nadia has been thinking about this saying of the Prophet.

And she says, "I believe this saying from the hadith means we should care for animals as well as we care for people." So that's what the Prophet was saying, isn't it? That we should take care of every living being, that means people and animals.

So Iqbal is thinking about stories from the hadith, and he says, "The story of the Prophet Muhammad and the Crying Camel is a good example of how the Prophet showed compassion to animals.

It's one of my favourite stories from the hadith." Did you notice those two key words in what Iqbal was saying? Compassion, that means caring and kindness, and the hadith, that collection of sayings from the Prophet Muhammad.

So Iqbal really likes the story of Prophet Muhammad and the Crying Camel.

And I'm going to tell you that story now.

So get comfortable so that you can listen to the story and enjoy looking at the pictures.

The story of the Crying Camel: It was a very hot day in the city.

The sun was strong and bright.

It was so hot that everyone in the town was sheltering in the shade of the trees and trying to keep cool.

There were many beautiful gardens in the city.

People enjoyed sitting in the shade of the trees chatting together as they enjoyed cool drinks.

The Prophet Muhammad also loved the city gardens.

He was walking through one of the gardens enjoying the cool shade.

You can't see the Prophet Muhammad in this picture because Muslims don't usually draw pictures of him, but I think you can imagine him walking through this beautiful garden: So he was enjoying walking through the garden when he heard a sound.

He stopped to listen.

It sounded like someone crying.

He followed the sound of the crying, and as he got nearer, he saw that it was not coming from a person at all.

The crying sound was coming from a camel tied up to a post in the city square.

The hot sun was beating down on the camel.

There was no shady tree to keep it cool.

There was no water for it to drink.

The Prophet Muhammad was sad to see how the camel had been treated.

He saw that the camel had been overworked.

The camel was tired and thirsty.

The Prophet patted the camel gently and spoke kindly to it.

After a while, the camel stopped crying.

The camel knew that the Prophet was a kind man.

(mouse button clicks) So here's a quick check to see if you've been listening carefully.

Why was the camel crying? Is it A, it was lonely and needed a friend? Or B, it was a hot day and the camel needed water? Or C, it was a cold day and the camel needed a blanket? Pause the video while you think about your answer.

That's right.

The answer is B.

The camel was crying because it was a hot day, and it needed some water.

Well done if you chose the right answer.

That shows you were listening carefully.

So let's carry on with the story: The Prophet saw that the owner of the camel was sleeping under a shady tree nearby.

He walked over to him and woke him up and told him that the camel was too hot and needed some water.

The Prophet reminded the man that the camel was one of God's creatures and that he should take care of him.

The Prophet said, "Your camel works hard for you, carrying heavy loads and walking long distances with you.

It is your duty to treat your camel with compassion.

You should not overwork it.

Instead, you should care for it and make sure that it has enough water." The owner looked sorry and ashamed.

He took the camel into the shade and gave it some water.

He promised the Prophet that he would take care of the camel properly from now on.

And if you look in this picture, you'll see that the camel is smiling now, isn't it? It's not crying anymore.

It's very pleased to have some water and some shade.

(mouse button clicks) So let's have a check to see how carefully you were listening to that story.

This slide has got some sentences with some gaps in, and we've got some words that we can use to fill the gaps.

Can you see at the top of the slide, we've got word A, that's promised; word B, compassion; and word C, sorry? So I wonder where those words will fit in these gaps.

So I'm going to read the sentences to you, and I will leave a gap, and have a think which word might go in there.

The Prophet told the owner to show what to the camel? And here's the next sentence: The owner was what? And then finally, he, what, that he would take better care of the camel? Pause the video while you think about your answers and see which words fit into the gaps.

(mouse button clicks) So did you manage to fit all the words in? So here are the answers.

Let's see how many you got right.

(mouse button clicks) The Prophet told the owner to show compassion to the camel.

So compassion fitted into the first.

(mouse button clicks) The owner was sorry.

The owner was sorry that he'd overworked the camel and hadn't treated it kindly.

(mouse button clicks) And finally, the owner promised that he would take better care of the camel and that he would give it shade and water in future.

Well done if you managed to fit all of those words into the gaps.

That shows you are listening to the story very carefully.

So Iqbal and Nadia have been thinking about the story and about what it means to them.

And Iqbal says, "The Prophet Muhammad wanted to help the overworked camel to feel better.

He showed kindness and compassion to the camel." So Iqbal learns from the example of the Prophet Muhammad when he reads this story.

And can you see two of our key words there? Overworked, that means the camel was working too hard.

And compassion, that means kindness and care.

Well done if you spotted those key words.

(mouse button clicks) And Nadia says, "The story teaches us that animals have feelings too.

We should take care of them just like we take care of our friends and family." So Nadia has learned from the words of the Prophet Muhammad, that animals are living beings that we should take care of in just the same way as we take care of people.

Iqbal and Nadia have different ideas about the deeper meaning of the story of the Crying Camel.

So when they read it, it makes 'em think about different things and learn different things from the story.

So Nadia says, "I think the deeper meaning of the story is that animals are not there for humans to use.

We should show compassion to them." And it helps Nadia to understand how she, as a Muslim, needs to treat animals and think about animals.

And Iqbal has a different idea.

He says, "The story reminds me that Allah created the world, so we should look after everything in it, including animals." So for Iqbal, it makes him think all about creation and how it's so important to look after everything that God has created.

Did you notice that word Allah? That's the word that Muslims use for God.

It's Arabic for God, and Iqbal uses that word when he's talking about God.

So now it's your turn to do some writing.

So I would like you to write some instructions for a Muslim to help them to look after a camel.

So think about some of the things the Prophet Muhammad said and did in the hadith about caring for animals.

Think about what he said to the owner of the camel about how he should look after it.

And that will help you to write some instructions so that a Muslim would know what was important when they're looking after animals.

So pause the video while you do your writing.

(mouse button clicks) So well done for working hard.

Did you think of some good ideas for your instructions? Here are some of my ideas.

I wonder if yours are the same or different.

(mouse button clicks) So here's one instruction, care for all animals because God, Allah, created them.

(mouse button clicks) Show compassion to the camel.

(mouse button clicks) Give the camel some water to drink.

(mouse button clicks) Make sure the camel has some shade on hot days.

(mouse button clicks) And don't overwork the camel.

I wonder if you thought of some instructions a bit like those to help a Muslim to look after the camel.

Well done for working hard and for doing good writing and good thinking.

So we've learned a lot today in our lesson all about Muslim stories and the story of the Crying Camel.

We've learned that the Prophet Muhammad used stories with a deeper meaning to teach people how to live.

We've learned that many of the stories and sayings of the Prophet Muhammad are recorded in the hadith.

The hadith is a collection of the Prophet Muhammad's sayings and stories about his life.

We've learned about the Prophet's story of an overworked camel who cried because he was not being treated with compassion.

And we've learned that for Muslims, a deeper meaning of this story is that everyone should look after animals.

So well done for working hard in today's lesson.

I've enjoyed working with you and I hope to see you soon.

(mouse button clicks).