Islamic Perspectives on God

Overview

This 45-minute lesson explores Islamic views on God, focusing on the prohibition of images, the significance of the Qur'an, and key teachings about God in Islam. Students will investigate and reflect on how Islamic perspectives compare with other cultural perspectives on deity representations. This lesson aligns with the New Zealand Curriculum Refresh's vision of supporting ethical, reflective, and culturally capable learners.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

Understand the concept of God in Islam, particularly the emphasis on aniconism (no images of God).
Recognise the centrality of the Qur'an in Islamic beliefs about God.
Explain key attributes of God as described in the Qur'an.
Reflect on how Islamic imagery of God contrasts with other cultural/religious perspectives.
Engage respectfully with diverse religious perspectives in line with New Zealand Curriculum competencies.

Curriculum references:

Level: Year 10 (Level 5 of the New Zealand Curriculum)
Learning area: Religious Education / Social Sciences
Strands: Beliefs and values; Explanation and analysis
Key competencies: Thinking; Relating to others; Using language, symbols and texts
Achievement objectives:
Understand how religion influences beliefs, values and behaviour in different cultures.
Analyse different cultural and religious perspectives on key concepts (God, spirituality).
Reflect on the significance of religious beliefs within cultural contexts.

Lesson Structure and Timing

Time	Activity	Details
5 mins	Introduction	Activate prior knowledge on imagery of God across cultures. Pose questions about how people depict God in various religions. Introduce today's focus: Islamic perspectives.
15 mins	Teacher Input + Guided Discussion	Present key points about Islamic belief in God (Allah), the prohibition on imagery (aniconism), attributes of God from the Qur'an, and the role of the Qur'an. Use visual aids (calligraphy, examples of Qur'anic verses referencing God's attributes). Encourage questions to clarify.
15 mins	Group Activity: Comparing Images	Students work in groups of 4 to analyse images/artworks representing God in different cultures (including Islamic calligraphy vs figurative art from other traditions). Groups discuss and document differences in representation, significance, and beliefs.
5 mins	Group Sharing	Each group shares highlights of their discussion with the class.
5 mins	Reflection and Formative Assessment	Individually, students write a short paragraph on how Islamic representation of God differs from other religions and why these differences matter. Exit slip to assess learning.

Detailed Lesson Plan

Introduction (5 minutes)

Begin with a question: "How do different religions show us what God looks like?"
Quick brainstorm: Write student ideas on the board.
Link to last lesson ("Imagery of God Across Cultures" Lesson 1) to activate prior knowledge.
Introduce today’s focus: Islamic perspectives, emphasising that Islam depicts God without images in line with the teaching of the Qur'an.

Teacher Input and Guided Discussion (15 minutes)

Explain the concept of Tawhid (the oneness of God) in Islam.
Emphasise the prohibition of images or depictions of Allah to avoid idolatry.
Introduce aniconism in Islamic art, focusing on calligraphy and geometric patterns.
Display examples of Arabic calligraphy representing God’s name and the 99 names (attributes) of Allah.
Read and explain select Qur'anic verses about God’s nature and attributes (e.g., Merciful, Creator, All-powerful).
Equip students with questions to guide thinking, such as:
Why do Muslims avoid images of God?
How do calligraphy and art express God’s presence differently than pictures?
Encourage respectful questioning and relate to students’ understanding from other religious perspectives.

Group Activity: Comparing Images (15 minutes)

Provide each group with printed or projected images:
Islamic calligraphy representing God’s names.
Images representing God or gods from other religions (e.g., Christian iconography, Hindu deities).
Groups use a Venn diagram or comparison chart template to record differences and similarities.
Guiding prompts:
How is God represented or not represented?
What might be the reasons behind these representations?
How do these representations reflect beliefs about God’s nature?

Group Sharing (5 minutes)

Each group briefly presents:
One key difference they found.
One question or thought about the significance of these differences.
Teacher facilitates connections between groups’ observations.

Reflection and Formative Assessment (5 minutes)

Students individually write a short paragraph responding to: "Explain how Islamic beliefs about God influence how God is represented, and why understanding this helps us respect different cultures."
Collect these as exit slips to assess understanding and reflect on cultural respect.
Summarise key lesson points and preview next lesson (Lesson 3: Other cultural perspectives on God).

Resources Needed

Projector / screen for showing calligraphy and images.
Printed or digital copies of images representing God from various religions.
Handout with Qur'anic verses describing God's attributes.
Venn diagram or comparison chart templates.
Writing materials for reflection activity.

Teaching Tips

Encourage sensitive discussion acknowledging students’ diverse beliefs.
Use inclusive language and relate Islamic beliefs respectfully alongside other traditions.
Reinforce key competencies: critical thinking about cultural beliefs, empathy, respectful communication.
Use formative assessment (exit slips) to adjust future lessons if needed.

This lesson carefully integrates the New Zealand Curriculum’s goals of fostering ethical, reflective, and culturally-aware learners by exploring religious perspectives respectfully and critically. The interactive and reflective activities ensure Year 10 students remain engaged and develop meaningful understanding of the rich diversity in religious imagery and beliefs.

Teaching Instructions