5. Meaning Focus.

A. True/False Statements.

Read the text quickly and look at the following statements. Do you agree with

these agreements? Why\ Why not?

1. Zayd bin Thabit fought for the first time in the Battle of Uhud.

2. Zayd could neither read nor write, but was able to memorise large parts of the Qur'an.

3. Zayd learned Hebrew and Syriac so that he could help the Prophet (SAAS) talk to people who did not speak Arabic.

4. The second caliph, Umar, instructed Zayd to collect all the different parts of the Qur'an to make one complete book.

5. Uthman sent a copy of the Quran to every Muslim province and ordered that all other copies should be burned.

b) Information Search.

Answer the questions using information from the text.

1. Why do you think the Prophet (SAAS) refused to let Zayd fight in the battles of Badr and Uhud?

2. What first impressed the Prophet (SAAS) about Zayd?

• His recitation of the Quran was clear and beautiful.

• Zayd was dejected when he refused to let him join the army.

• He was able to memorise seventeen surahs of the Quran.

• He was able to learn Hebrew and Syriac very quickly.

3. Which of the following was Zayd's first job for the Prophet (SAAS)?

• collecting all the different parts of the Qur'an

• reciting the Quran correctly

• working as an interpreter

• writing down the revelations

4. Who kept the original manuscript of the Quran after Umar?

• Zayd

• Hafsah

• Uthman

• ‘A’shah

5. How did the caliph Umar overcome the problem caused by different readings of the Quran?

c) Information Management.

Read the passage again and complete the information chart below concerning the scholarly development and work of Zayd bin Thabit.

ZAYD BIN THABIT — THE SCHOLAR

Early Development

1. Decided to memorise the Qur'an ………………………………

2. ………………………………………

3. Became a good …………………………………………………

Scholarly Work for the Prophet (SAAS)

1. Learned …………………………………

2. …………………………………

3. Recorded …………………………………

4 …………………………………

5. Collected and…………………………………

Scholarly Work After the Prophet's (SAAS) Death

1 …………………………….

2. Collected …………………………….

3 …………………………….

d) Learner Activity.

1. Work in groups. Make up a list of the achievements of Zayd bin Thabit. Discuss the achievements and decide which one you think is the most important.

2. Compare your list with those of other groups. Be prepared to question their choices.

3. As a class, decide which achievement was the most important. Try to agree.

e) Vocabulary in Context.

Match each word from the text with the correct meaning.

1. permission a. made sure

2. dejected b. sadness over the loss of something hoped for

3. disappointment с. small pieces or sections of something larger

4. chance d. a person who translates from one language to

5. pauses another

6. indicated e. the activity of watching over what others do

7. instructed f. opportunity

8. interpreter g. short breaks in the middle of an action

9. portions h. a handwritten document before it is

10. supervision printed or copied

11. task i. directed, told someone what to do

12. manuscript j. got, acquired

13.accurate k. showed

14. obtained 1. agreement to allow someone to do

something m. perfectly correct

15. ensured n. sad, in low spirits

o. a job to be performed

f) Semantic Cloze Task.

Use some of the words from the previous task to complete the passage below. Use the words in their correct form.

When Zayd was thirteen years old, he asked the Prophet (SAAS) to (1)……….. him to join the Muslim army. He was very (2) ……….. when his request was turned down and felt very (3)……….. Although he did get a (4) ………… to fight in later years, Zayd is best remembered as a great Islamic scholar. He trained himself to recite seventeen surahs from the Qur'an and impressed the Prophet ('SAAS) with the beauty of his recitations and the understanding (5) ………… by his (6) ……….. The Prophet ……….. (SAAS) (7) …………. Zayd to learn Hebrew and Syriac, so that when he talked to Jews and Syrians, Zayd (8) ……….. for him. Muhammad (SAAS) later (9) ……….. Zayd in arranging in correct order the (10)……….. of the Qur'an that existed at that time.