Fifth Grade
Worksheets
Muslim New Year
Muslim New Year
Reading Comprehension for January 10
When do you celebrate the new year? Many people in the world celebrate New Year's Day on January 1, the first day of their calendar. People all around the world stay up late on December 31, waiting for midnight, to celebrate the coming of the new year. Maybe you've done this! Many people celebrate the new year on other days - in some countries, it is later in January, in others, later in the year still. And some religions celebrate their own new year's holidays. One of these religions is the religion of Islam.
Islam is a religion with millions of followers all around the world. The followers of Islam - called Muslims - live in most of the world's countries. The religion of Islam is founded on the teachings of a man named Muhammad. Muhammad was a man who lived more than 1,000 years ago. Muslims believe that Muhammad was a prophet of Allah (Arabic for God). Today's Muslims follow the teachings of Muhammad to bring them closer to God. And although Muhammad is loved, not everyone loved him when he was alive. In fact, many people wanted to kill him.
Muhammad was born in modern-day Saudi Arabia, in a city called Mecca, about 570. As Muhammad grew, he became unhappy with the religions that surrounded him. He was especially unhappy with all the idolatry he saw. What is idolatry? It is when someone worships an object, like a statue or picture. Muhammad believed that idolatry was wrong. So Muhammad spent a lot of his time in prayer and religious study.
