50 Fun Facts About Islam for Kids

Which prophet built a huge ark and loaded it with pairs of animals before a great flood?

Nuh (Noah) preached for 950 years, yet only a small group of believers boarded the ark with his household. A chapter of the Quran is named after him.

Which prophet was swallowed by a giant fish after leaving his people and sailing away on a ship?

Yunus (Jonah) prayed from inside the fish and was cast onto the shore, where a gourd plant grew over him. His people later believed and were spared.

Which sweet fruit do many Muslims eat first to break their Ramadan fast, as Prophet Muhammad did?

Dates were how Prophet Muhammad broke his own fast, so many Muslims still begin the evening meal with them and a drink of water. Traditionally three are eaten.

Islamic tradition says humans were made from clay and jinn from fire, so what are angels made from?

Light is what angels are created from in a well-known hadith. Muslims believe angels never disobey God, and that some of them record each person's deeds.

Which object in the sky decides when each month of the Islamic calendar, including Ramadan, begins?

The Moon sets the Islamic calendar: a month begins when the thin new crescent is sighted. The year is about eleven days shorter than a solar year, so Ramadan slowly moves through every season.

Which tiny creatures did Prophet Sulaiman (Solomon) hear warning each other about his marching army?

Ants gave their name to a chapter of the Quran because of this story, in which one of them tells the others to hurry home. Sulaiman understood, smiled and thanked God for the gift.

Which animals did the ruler Abraha march toward the Kaaba in the year Prophet Muhammad was born?

Elephants gave that year its name, the Year of the Elephant. The lead animal is said to have refused to enter Mecca, and flocks of birds dropping pebbles defeated the army.

The Kaaba in Mecca, which Muslims face when they pray, is built in roughly which shape?

A cube is what the name Kaaba means. The building wears a cloth cover called the kiswah, which is replaced with a new one every year.

In which modern country is Mecca, the holiest city in Islam and Prophet Muhammad's birthplace?

Saudi Arabia welcomes millions of pilgrims to Mecca every year from all around the world. Only Muslims are allowed to enter the city.

What does the Muslim greeting 'Assalamu alaikum', said whenever two people meet, mean in English?

Peace be upon you is answered with 'Wa alaikum assalam', which wishes the same back. Muslims are taught that the very first human greeted the angels with these words.

How many times each day are Muslims required to pray, starting before sunrise and ending after dark?

Five daily prayers are known together as salah, and each is built from repeated units called rak'ahs. They are performed facing the Kaaba in Mecca.

Which word names the washing of hands, face, arms and feet that Muslims do before praying?

Wudu also includes rinsing the mouth and nose and wiping over the head, always in a set order. Where there is no water at all, clean sand or dust may be used instead.

Which word names the call to prayer that a muezzin recites aloud from a mosque?

The Adhan is recited before each of the daily prayers, today usually through loudspeakers. The very first muezzin was Bilal ibn Rabah, a freed slave.

Which part of a mosque did the muezzin traditionally climb to give the call to prayer?

The minaret is a tower that lets the call carry over the rooftops, and it also works as a landmark showing where the mosque is. Some are thick and squat, others pencil-thin.

What is the title of the person who stands at the front and leads prayers in a mosque?

An imam can lead the prayer anywhere, not only in a mosque, whenever two or more people pray together. In many communities the same person also teaches and gives the weekly sermon.

On which day of the week do Muslims gather at the mosque for a special midday prayer and sermon?

Friday is known as Jumu'ah, the 'Day of Assembly'. In many Muslim countries it is part of the weekend, and in others schools close early that day.

Which word names the direction toward the Kaaba that Muslims face whenever they pray?

The qibla is shown inside most mosques by a wall niche called a mihrab. It is the recommended way to face for personal prayers too.

Which word names the pilgrimage to Mecca that Muslims try to make at least once in a lifetime?

Hajj pilgrims dress simply, the men in two plain white cloths, so that rich and poor look the same before God. The journey takes place in the last month of the Islamic year.

Which pillar of Islam asks Muslims to give a share of their savings each year to people in need?

Zakat is customarily one-fortieth of what a Muslim has saved, paid once a year. The word comes from a root meaning to purify, because giving is believed to cleanse the rest.

Which word names the declaration of faith that a person says to become a Muslim?

The Shahada says there is no god but God and that Muhammad is the Messenger of God. It is recited in every call to prayer.

The longest chapter of the Quran, Al-Baqarah, takes its name from which animal?

The Cow has 286 verses and also holds the longest single verse in the Quran, which is about recording loans. The same chapter tells Muslims to fast during Ramadan.

Which short chapter, placed first in the Quran, do Muslims recite in every unit of daily prayer?

Al-Fatiha means 'The Opening' and is a short prayer asking God for guidance and mercy. Its verses praise God as the lord of the worlds, the most gracious and most merciful.

What does 'Iqra', the first word of the Quran revealed to Prophet Muhammad in a cave, mean?

Read was a surprising command, because Prophet Muhammad replied that he could not read. The first verses revealed go on to praise God for teaching people by the pen.

Which angel carried the words of the Quran from God to Prophet Muhammad over about 23 years?

Jibril, known in English as Gabriel, first appeared to him in a cave when he was 40 and kept bringing verses until the year he died.

In which cave on a mountain near Mecca did Prophet Muhammad receive the first verses of the Quran?

Hira is a small cave high on Jabal al-Nour, a name meaning 'Mountain of the Light'. Prophet Muhammad often went there alone to think and pray.

What title is given to a person who has memorised the whole Quran by heart?

A hafiz has learned all 114 chapters by heart, word for word, and is traditionally highly respected by the community. A woman who does the same is called a hafiza.

Which phrase, meaning 'in the name of God', do Muslims say before eating or starting a task?

Bismillah opens every chapter of the Quran except the ninth. Its full form goes on to call God the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

Which phrase, meaning 'praise be to God', do Muslims use the way English speakers say 'thank God'?

Alhamdulillah appears among the very first words of the Quran, in a longer form that praises God as Lord of all the worlds.

Which phrase, meaning 'if God wills', do Muslims add when talking about plans for the future?

Inshallah appears in the Quran, in a passage telling believers to add it whenever they speak of something they intend to do. It works much like saying 'hopefully'.

How many 'beautiful names' of Allah, such as the Merciful and the Wise, are traditionally counted?

99 names are traditionally counted, each describing a quality of God such as mercy, wisdom or strength. Lists of them differ a little from scholar to scholar.

Who do Muslims believe was the very first human being and also the first prophet?

Adam was shaped from clay, and the angels were told to bow down to him. He and his wife Hawwa are said to have met again at Mount Arafat after leaving paradise.

Which prophet do Muslims believe built the Kaaba in Mecca together with his son Ismail?

Ibrahim (Abraham) is honoured with the title 'Friend of God'. Muslims believe he and his son also set up the pilgrimage rites that are still followed today.

Which mother of the prophet Isa is the only woman mentioned by name in the Quran?

Maryam has a whole chapter of the Quran named after her, the nineteenth. In English she is known as Mary, the mother of Jesus.

Which wealthy merchant became Prophet Muhammad's first wife and the first person to accept Islam?

Khadijah first hired him to lead her trade caravan to Syria and, impressed by his work, proposed marriage herself. Her caravans were said to equal those of all the other traders put together.

Which close friend sheltered in a cave with Prophet Muhammad and later became the first caliph?

Abu Bakr was also Prophet Muhammad's father-in-law, and he led the Muslim community for about two years. The cave where the two friends sheltered lies a few miles south of Mecca.

Prophet Muhammad moved from Mecca to which city, where his mosque and tomb are found today?

Medina was called Yathrib before he arrived, and its newer name comes from 'City of the Prophet'. He built its famous mosque in the very year he settled there.

Which foster mother from a desert tribe cared for the baby Muhammad away from the town of Mecca?

Halimah belonged to the Banu Sa'd, a tribe whose women raised town children in the desert. Other nurses are said to have turned the baby down because his father had died.

Which uncle took in the young Muhammad after his grandfather died and protected him in Mecca?

Abu Talib took his young nephew in despite being poor himself, and stayed loyal to him for the rest of his life. He was also the father of Ali.

Which daughter of Prophet Muhammad married his cousin Ali and was the mother of Hasan and Husayn?

Fatimah is commonly known by the title al-Zahra, 'the radiant one'. She married Ali a year or two after the Muslims moved away from Mecca.

Prophet Musa threw his staff to the ground in front of Pharaoh, and it turned into which animal?

A snake is what the staff became, and when Pharaoh's magicians threw down their own rods, it swallowed theirs. Seeing this, the magicians declared that they believed Musa.

Which festival of gifts and sweet food do Muslims celebrate when the fasting month of Ramadan ends?

Eid al-Fitr begins with a communal prayer, followed by visits to relatives and the giving of gifts. So much sweet food is shared that it is nicknamed the 'Sugar Feast'.

Which meat does the Quran forbid, so that Muslims around the world never eat it?

Pork in every form is ruled out, because all parts of a pig are prohibited. The only exception is an emergency such as a famine, when there is nothing else to eat.

Which word, meaning 'permissible', appears on food labels to show that Muslims may eat it?

Halal is the opposite of haram, which means forbidden. Companies around the world pay to have their products checked and certified so that Muslim shoppers can buy them.

Which well beside the Kaaba is said to have sprung up for baby Ismail and his thirsty mother Hajar?

Zamzam lies only about 20 metres east of the Kaaba. In earlier centuries, jars of its water were kept cool inside special domed buildings near the well.

Which night in the last ten days of Ramadan is honoured as when the Quran was first sent down?

Laylat al-Qadr means the 'Night of Power', and nobody knows exactly which night it is. It is believed to be one of the odd-numbered nights, so many Muslims pray late on all of them.

Which month, whose name means 'forbidden' or 'sacred', is the first of the Islamic calendar?

Muharram is one of four sacred months in Islam, a name that recalls the old ban on warfare during them. The Islamic new year begins on its first day.

Which horse-like creature is said to have carried Prophet Muhammad on his miraculous Night Journey?

The Buraq's name is often linked to the Arabic word for lightning, a nod to its speed. It is described as a white animal, bigger than a donkey but smaller than a mule.

Pilgrims in Mecca hurry between which two small hills, recalling Hajar's search for water?

Safa and Marwa stand about 450 metres apart and are now inside the Great Mosque of Mecca. Pilgrims cover the distance seven times, roughly three kilometres in all.

Which bird brought Prophet Sulaiman news of the Queen of Sheba, whose people worshipped the Sun?

The hoopoe, called the Hud-hud, was missing when Sulaiman inspected his army of people, jinn and animals. It soon flew back with its report from Sheba.

Abu Hurayra, the nickname of a companion of Prophet Muhammad, means 'father of' which baby animal?

A kitten gave Abu Hurayra the name he is remembered by. He is considered the most prolific narrator of hadith, and is said to have memorised more than 5,000 of them.