Year 5 Early Islamic civilisation: how did Baghdad become the 'City of Peace'? worksheet

“Muhammad ﷺ and the Hijra” is free to print, with no account. It is the first sheet in the Year 5 history unit “Early Islamic civilisation: how did Baghdad become the 'City of Peace'?”, for children aged 9 to 10, and takes about 23 minutes.

Print it on A4. The child's pages come first; the answers, and what each wrong answer tells you, are on the grown-up page that follows. Weeks 7 to 12 of the year, 6 sheets in the unit.

Free sample · answers on the last page

Muhammad ﷺ and the Hijra

Name: ____________ · Date: ____________
Year 5 · History · about 23 minutes
Answers are on the grown-up page

Today I can explain key events in the life of Muhammad ﷺ and how the words of the Qur'an were kept safe.

A Look back3 min

1.
Which year came first: 50 BC or 50 AD? Circle the earlier year.
50 BC50 AD
2.
Put these years in order, earliest first: 1485, 800, 1066. Write them in order.
3.
How many years are there from 600 CE to 625 CE?

B Watch me, then you4 min

A man sits in a cave in 610 CE. Later, in 622 CE, he makes a long journey. How many years are there between the two?

A rocky cave high on a bare mountain above a dusty desert town

Watch me

Find 610 and 622 on the timeline.

622 − 610 = 12

There are 12 years between the two events.

Now you

1.
From 570 CE to 613 CE is how many years?

C Your turn8 min

Read each clue about the life of Muhammad ﷺ. Then explain what happened and why.

1.
Many people in Mecca worshipped many gods. In 613 CE Muhammad ﷺ began to teach that there is only one God. Why might some Mecca leaders have been angry?
2.
In 622 CE Muhammad ﷺ and his followers left Mecca for Medina. This journey is called the Hijra. Why did they leave Mecca?
3.
Muslims count their years from the Hijra, not from the birth of Muhammad ﷺ. Why might the Hijra matter so much to Muslims?
4.
The words of the Qur'an were learned by heart by many Muslims, then later written down in one book. Why would learning them by heart help keep them safe?

Say it out loud: Which clue helped you explain why something happened? Say how.

D Spot the mistake3 min

Kit says: “Muhammad ﷺ invented Islam in 610 CE, when he first received a message from the angel Gabriel.”

1.
Circle True if Muslims would agree with Kit, or False if they would not. Then explain in one sentence:
TrueFalse

E Think deeper4 min

A dusty desert road leading between two walled towns under a hot sky

1.
Historians must separate what they can be sure of from what people believe. Write two things we can be sure of about the Hijra, and one thing that is a belief.

How did it feel?

I can do it Nearly Not yet

For the grown-up

Muhammad ﷺ and the Hijra · 2 minutes to read

Answers, and what a wrong one tells you

A

1. 50 BC If they wrote 50 AD, they may think AD always comes first. Point to the timeline: BC counts down towards AD.

2. 800, 1066, 1485

3. 25 If they wrote 1225, they added the years. Count the gap between the dates by taking the earlier year away from the later one.

B

1. 43 If they wrote 1183, they added 570 and 613. Years between two dates are found by taking the earlier year away from the later one.

C

1. Look for: Says the teaching went against the gods they worshipped, or that leaders feared losing power or money. If your child is stuck, ask: how might people feel if someone taught that their old beliefs were wrong?

2. Look for: Says Muslims were treated badly or were unsafe in Mecca, or that Medina welcomed them. If your child is stuck, read the last question again together and ask how the leaders of Mecca felt about Muslims.

3. Look for: Says that after the Hijra Muslims could live freely together and Islam grew, so it was a new start. If your child is stuck, ask: what was different for Muslims in Medina compared with Mecca?

4. Look for: Says many people remembered the words, so they would not be lost or changed. If your child is stuck, ask: if one book was lost, how could the words still be shared?

D

1. False If they circled True, they may think the first revelation started a new religion. Explain that Muslims believe Islam is Allah's message, delivered through prophets, and Muhammad ﷺ taught it.

E

1. Look for: Two sure facts such as the move from Mecca to Medina or the date 622 CE, plus one belief such as the journey being guided by Allah.

Words to use

Say“What happened, and why? Which clue told you?”

Instead of“Just tell them the answer.”

After the sheet

Cut a long strip of paper and mark it with 560 at one end and 630 at the other. Mark 570, 610 and 622 with a pencil, then count the gaps together.

Tick what your child got right in StudyDen. Anything missed comes back in a later Look back box, so there's no need to redo the sheet.

The rest of this unit

5 more sheets come with a StudyDen plan, in teaching order:

Events in time order(with a plan)
Caliphs and conquered cities(with a plan)
A web of trade routes(with a plan)
Years in the City of Peace(with a plan)
Baghdad: City of Peace(with a plan)

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