A (synonym)
UNIT 5 UNIT 5
Reading for Islamic Higher Education | 51 Main Aims:
to develop students’ reading comprehension skills and strategies using an authentic reading materials related to
prophetic call.
Objectives:
By the end of this session students will have:
practiced scanning practiced skimming
identified words related to Islamic terms practiced setting reading purposes
identified and practiced future tense with will
| Muhsinin 52 A. Get Ready to Read
1. Build background knowledge
a. How old was the Prophet Muhammad when he first received God’s revelation?
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b. Where did he receive the first revelation?
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What was the first command that the Prophet Muhammad received?
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c. Based on the time of revelation, the Qur’anic verses were classified into two: the time when the Prophet Muhammad was in Mecca and the time when he was in Medina. What is the name of the Qur’anic verses revealed in Mecca and what is the name of the Qur’anic verses reveled in Medina?
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2. Set purposes for reading a. Author’s objective
Based on the title, the writer intends to inform readers about:
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b. Your reading purposes
Based on the title of the text, write down your purpose (s) of reading.
When I finish reading the text I will get information about:
Reading for Islamic Higher Education | 53 1. ______________________________________________________
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2. ______________________________________________________
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3. Vocabulary Preview
Use the words from box A and box B to fill in the synonyms and the meaning of the words taken from the text in the following table.
No Words Synonyms Meaning
1 pursue
2 terrified
3 rushed
4 convinced
5 perspiring
6 constraints
7 vanished
8 endured
9 admonisher
10 adherents
B (meaning)
ketakutan, yakin, bergegas, berkeringat,
hilang, kendala, bertahan, pemberi peringatan, penganut,
mengejar
A (synonym)chase, hastened, assured,
sweat, frightened,
reminder, barriers,
remained, disciple,
disappeared
| Muhsinin 54
4. Write your Sentences
To make sure that you know and understand the list of words above, please write a sentence using each of the words. You may change the tenses. Don’t worry to make mistakes.
1. pursue
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2. terrified
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3. rushed
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4. convinced
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5. perspiring
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6. constraints
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7. vanished
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8. endured
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9. admonisher
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10. adherents
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Reading for Islamic Higher Education | 55 B. While Reading
1. 1st Reading
Read the text for the first time as quickly as possible (skimming) and underline the word or groups of words discussed in the vocabulary preview and some Islamic terms used in the text.
2. 2nd Reading
Read the text for the second time (scanning) to find out the main idea of each paragraph.
Prophetic Call
Khadijah’s wealth gave Muhammad the freedom to pursue his spiritual inclinations, which prompted him periodically to wander into the hills, especially into a cave outside Mecca, for meditation and contemplation. Tradition states that on one such visit around the year 610 (when he was forty years old), Muhammad had a vision of a majestic being (later identi¤ed as the angel Gabriel) and heard a voice saying to him, “Muhammad, you are God’s messenger.”
Terrified and overwhelmed by this divine apparition, Muhammad fell prostrate. The voice commanded, “Recite!”
Then Muhammad asked in terror: “What shall I recite?” And the answer came:
Recite—in the name of thy Lord who created!
Created man from clots of blood!
Recite—for thy Lord is most beneficent. . . . who has taught man that which he knew not.
(Qur’an 96:1– 4)
Muhammad is said to have rushed home and told his wife Khadijah that he was either possessed (mad) or had received a call to prophethood. On hearing the full story, his wife, convinced of his prophetic call, reassured him.
| Muhsinin 56
Interestingly, according to Muslim tradition Khadijah and Muhammad turned for advice to her Christian cousin, the priest Waraqa ibn Qusayy, who reassured Muhammad that he had seen God’s messenger, the angel Gabriel. “Like the Hebrew prophets,” continued the priest, “you will be called a liar, and they will use you despitefully and cast you out and fight against you.”
This marked the beginning of Muhammad’s career as God’s messenger, or rasul Allah in Arabic. From this time until his death in 632 he received at frequent intervals verbal messages (or revelations) which he believed came directly from God. It is said that as time went on Muhammad felt physical discomfort , such as perspiring on a cold day, whenever he experienced one of these divine revelations.
Muhammad, like the biblical prophets, apparently suffered the physical constraints that accompany divine messages.
All his doubts must have vanished when fresh messages came to him, culminating in the command to proclaim publicly what he had been taught by God. Those messages were sometimes written down and sometimes memorized by his followers. Ultimately, they were collected and put into writing around 650 c.e. in the form that has endured to this day and is recognized as the Qur’an, the Holy Book of Islam.
Like the biblical prophets, Muhammad regarded himself a warner or admonisher and proclaimed his revelations to his compatriots. He emphasized four issues: the oneness of God, the goodness and power of God, the moral responsibility of humans toward God, and the judgment awaitinghumanity on the day of resurrection. From the beginning, his public messages won a sympathetic audience. As he continued to preach against idolatry and advocate the worship of one God only, the number of his followers increased. Soon, his movement was called Islam and its adherents Muslims, though the Qur’an speaks of
Reading for Islamic Higher Education | 57 them simply as “the believers.” Muhammad’s messages were basically religious, but his preaching implied his disapproval of the conduct and attitudes of wealthy compatriots. As a result, the rich merchants of Mecca approached Muhammad to make a deal with him. They offered him a marriage alliance with one of the wealthiest families and a substantial share in the trade if he modified his criticism. Muhammad decisively rejected both offers, which invited the hostility of the Meccans.
S. A. Nigosian, 2004
3. 3rd Reading
Read the text for the third time. This time you have to read more carefully to find out the answers to the following comprehension questions:
1. Why did the Prophet Muhammad regularly visit the cave outside Mecca?
A. to follow tradition B. to contemplate
C. to obtain spiritual inclination.
D. to receive revelation E. to seek inspiration
2. How did the Prophet Muhammad assure that the majestic being he saw in the cave was the angel Gabriel?
A. His wife Khadijah told him.
B. Angel Gabriel told him.
C. The Christian priest Waraqa Ibn Qussay told him.
D. His companions told him.
E. Someone told him in his dream.
3. “Like the Hebrew prophets,” continued the priest, “you will be called a liar, and they will use you despitefully and cast you out and fight against you.” From this sentence we understand that …
| Muhsinin 58
A. The prophet Muhammad will have the same experience with the Hebrew Prophets.
B. The prophet Muhammad will not have the same experience with the Hebrew Prophets.
C. The Hebrew Prophets were liars.
D. The Hebrew Prophets fought against their own people.
E. The prophet Muhammad should not have the same experience with the Hebrew Prophets.
4. What marked the beginning of the Prophet Muhammad career as a God’s messenger?
A. When his people fought against him.
B. His freedom to chase spiritual inclination.
C. His regular visit to the cave outside Mecca.
D. The assurance from the Christian priest Waraqa Ibn Qussay.
E. The receipt of the first revelation from angel Gabriel.
5. Which of the following is not among the issues emphasized by the Prophet Muhammad?
A. the oneness of God
B. the goodness and power of God
C. the moral responsibility of humans toward God
D. the judgment awaitinghumanity on the day of resurrection
E. the importance of good relationship among people 6. On hearing the full story, his wife, convinced of his prophetic
call, reassured him. According to this sentence, who heard the story?
A. The Prophet Muhammad B. Khadijah
C. Khadijah’s Christian cousin D. Waraqa ibn Qusayy
E. God’s messanger
7. Which of the following statements is not true about the revelation received by the Prophet Muhammad?
Reading for Islamic Higher Education | 59 A. The revelation was written down and collected into a
Book during the life time of the Prophet.
B. The revelation was memorized by the companions of the Prophet.
C. The revelation was written down and collected into a Book after the Prophet passed away.
D. The Prophet Muhammad experienced physical suffer in receiving the devine revelation.
E. The revelation that the Prophet Muhammad received through the angel Gabriel was truly from Allah.
8. As he continued to preach against idolatry and advocate the worship of one God only, the number of his followers increased. The word idolatry is closest in meaning to … A. statue
B. religious leader C. invisible creature D. polytheism E. sculpture
9. They offered him a marriage alliance with one of the wealthiest families and a substantial share in the trade if he modified his criticism. They refers to
A. The wealthy compatriots
B. The Prophet Muhammad follower C. The rich merchants of Mecca D. The wealthiest families E. The Muslims
10. The information about the first revelation received by the Prophet Muhammad can be found in …
A. Paragraph 1 B. Paragraph 2 C. Paragraph 3 D. Paragraph 2 and 3 E. Paragraph 2 and 4
| Muhsinin 60 C. After You Read
1. Checking Your Purposes a. Author’s objective
Look back at the author’s objective you have stated.
Can you prove it? Which part of the text support your proof?
b. Your reading purposes
Check your reading purposes. Do you think you get your purposes?
2. Grammar Practice
A. The following sentence is taken from the text. Please work with your partner or groups to find other sentences from the text (if any) which have the same constructions.
1. They will use you despitefully and cast you out and fight against you.”
2. ____________________________________________________
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3. ____________________________________________________
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4. ____________________________________________________
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5. ____________________________________________________
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B. Write other sentences using your own words.
1. ____________________________________________________
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2. ____________________________________________________
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3. ____________________________________________________
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Reading for Islamic Higher Education | 61 4. ____________________________________________________
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5. ____________________________________________________
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3. Write your reading
The Prophet Muhammad was the only messenger of God sent for all mankind. Other prophets were sent specifically for their own clans. Please fill out the following table to complete the names of some prophets and the corresponding clans to whom they were sent.
No Names of the Prophets Names of the Clans 1. Prophet Muhammad All clans
2. Prophet Shaleh
3. Ad
4. Kaldan
6. Prophet Suaeb
7. Sodom
8. Prophet Ismail 9. Prophet Musa
10. Bani Israil
| Muhsinin 62
Main Aim:
to develop students’ reading comprehension skills and strategies using an authentic reading materials related to the
categories of tawheed.
Objectives:
By the end of this session students will have:
practiced scanning practiced skimming
identified words related to Islamic terms (tawheed) practiced setting reading purposes
identified and practiced present perfect tense