1. Starter for 5!
Which word for God means He is outside of space and time?
What does it mean when we say God is all-knowing (omniscient)?
What does the term free will mean?
Why do Muslims not allow images of God or Muhammad in their mosques?
Which aim of punishment means that punishment is there to put people off committing crime?

2. Starter for 5!
Which word for God means He is outside of space and time? Transcendent
What does it mean when we say God is all-knowing (omniscient)? God knows everything there is to know, he knows the past, present and the future.
What does the term free will mean? Humans have the ability to make their own choices and accept the consequences of their actions
Why do Muslims not allow images of God or Muhammad in their mosques? This is due the concept of Tawhid – Muslims believe God is unique so cannot be likened to anything, they do not allow images of Muhammad as only God should be worshiped.
Which aim of punishment means that punishment is there to put people off committing crime? Deterrence

3. Would you prefer to know the ending?
What is it like to know the ending of a film or book before you have seen or read any of it?
(Think of a time when this has happened and remember what it was like.)
Would you prefer to know the ending?
Get students to discuss with their tables any times when this has happened (do bring in some of your own examples if you can/want to).

4. What if I told you I had a book that contained within it the details of everything that will happen today? Would you want to know what was in it?
“Never”
“Sounds fun”
“Absolutely!”
“Kind of”
“Maybe. If…”
“No way!”
“Sure”
“Reluctantly”
“Without a doubt”
“I’m okay thanks”
“If I have to”
“What do I get if I do?”
Introduce the next question giving students the chance to choose one of the possible statements that best represents their opinion.
What difference would knowing make?
Would you still be free to choose to live however you wanted?

5. Predestination (al-Qadr) and Human Freedom
Learning Objective: To explore the concept of predestination in Islam.
I can explain Muslim beliefs about predestination.
I can evaluate whether God should do more to control the world.
I can link the concept of predestination to the Day of Judgement.

6. Muslim beliefs about predestination (al-Qadr)
Muslims believe that God has written down everything that has happened and everything that will happen.
Preserved Tablet /
Book of Decrees
Chapter 1: Everything that has happened
Chapter 2: All that will happen
“Only what God has decreed will happen to us.” Qur’an 9:51
Link this into the starter activity – it is like God has already seen the end of the film and has written down everything that will happen in each day. Ask students to think, pair, share on whether they think this affects free will. To answer they need to make links back to last lesson on the qualities of God – particularly draw out God’s omniscience and transcendence.
Does this affect our free will?

7. Muslim beliefs about predestination (al-Qadr)
Keyword: Transcendent
God is beyond space and time.
Option 1
A person’s action is not caused by what is written on the Preserved Tablet, but it is written there because God is outside of time so already knows what the person will choose.
Muslim’s also believe in God’s supreme will and omnipotence – he has determined which choices he will allow – the choices we make have therefore been approved by God (even bad choices).
To help explain the idea of predestination you need to make links back to God being transcendent. Use the analogies on the next slide to help explain the concept.
Option 2
Option 3

8. Free Choice?
Imagine you travelled 100 years into the future and watched people – the way they lived, talked and acted – and wrote down notes and observations in a journal. Then you travelled back to today and told everybody how people will live in the future, does that mean that the people living in the future have no free choice?
No! Those people are still deciding for themselves what they want to do – you just happen to see in advance what they are going to decide.
Discuss the two scenarios as a class.

9. Free Choice?
A mother of a hungry little boy knows her child well. She knows in advance what he is going to do. If he is given a choice between a bowl of peas and an ice cream, she is sure he will choose the ice cream. Does this mean his choice is not free?
The boy wasn’t forced to eat the ice cream – it was his choice. Just because the mother was able to predict what will happen does not mean the boy is not being given a real choice.
Ask students how this links to Sunni beliefs about predestination – draw out that the mother, like God has determined the choices available to the child and knows what the child will choose. This is like God who determines the choices available and knows in advance what we will choose but it is still our choice – free will.

10. If you were God…
If you were God, having His power (omnipotence), knowledge (omniscience) and supremacy (rule), what would you think you should be in control of? What would you make happen? What would you allow? How much freedom would you give to humans and why? How important would human happiness be to you? You are going to create a short Prime Ministerial speech outlining what you would do if you were elected to be God. We will hear from four or five wannabe gods and then vote on the one with the best plan

11. Predestination and Judgement Day
Even though God knows everything in advance, humans are still responsible for their actions. At the end of life, humans will stand before Allah and be given a book of deeds that details everything they have done in their lives, good or bad. Rewards and punishments will be handed out.
The Judgement Day shows that humans are ultimately responsible for their choices and God does not force or make anyone choose good or bad. He is still in control because He will sort it all out in the end.
Heaven
Explain that students will cover more on judgement day in the lesson on the afterlife so this is just a quick link at the end as it is in the spec.
Hell
Judgement Day

12. Predestination (al-Qadr) and Human Freedom
Learning Objective: To explore the concept of predestination in Islam.
I can explain Sunni and Shi’a beliefs about predestination.
I can evaluate whether God should do more to control the world.
I can link the concept of predestination to the Day of Judgement.

13. Use your freewill…
Using your Post-it note, write an answer to one of the following questions or tasks to use as your exit ticket! Be as detailed as you can and try to fill your Post-It note. 1) If there is a God, do you think God should control more or less of the world and why? 2) If there was a God, should he destroy the preserved tablet? 3) Does having a Judgement Day excuse God from taking responsibility for what His creations do? 4) Explain predestination.
Give students a Post-It Note on which they need to write an answer to the question of their choosing.