 Dear students, in this module we are going to see that how religion defines different religious symbols, different beliefs and rituals. So religious symbols are basically objects, gestures or images that represent spiritual or transcendent ideas and beliefs. These symbols can be highly charged and emotional such as the cross in Christianity or the crescent moon in Islam. And religious beliefs are cognitive frameworks and ideas that shape an individual's understanding of supernatural, the divine and the meaning of life. Whenever you practice your religious beliefs in your daily life, you see that your reflection of those beliefs in those practices is symbolic. You may not see any value or utility in your actual sense. For example, when you pray, you prostrate in the state of prostration, so it is not that you are trying to gain some benefits from a point of view of physical exercise, but you see it in the spiritual sense, its meanings are spiritually derived. So whatever your religious practices are, their importance is symbolic of your beliefs, your reflection of rituals is reflected in symbolic values. So these beliefs can be expressed in texts, creeds or oral traditions and often involve ideas of salvation, transcendence and morality. So there are three major objectives. One is that you are seeking salvation or salvation through these symbols. Because if you look at it from an Islamic point of view, then whatever religious rituals you perform, whatever religious practices you practice, your goal is that you are successful in the end. Similarly, morality is a very important aspect. Your religious beliefs also give you the definition of right and wrong. For example, if you think that we should speak the truth, we should not speak lies, we should work with honesty, we should work hard, then what are all these values to achieve in the end? Definitely, there are many worldly traditions of them, but if you think about it, then in our conscience or in our conscience, the fear of God, which has moral values or internal mechanism of social control, you achieve that sense of morality through these. Rituals are symbolic practices or ceremonies that are performed to honor or connect with the divine or supernatural. So the ultimate purpose is that you are built with God's will and connection. And the most important thing is that these religious symbols, beliefs and rituals can be unifying and decisive, shaping the group identity and social cohesion, but also creating conflict and tension between different religious groups. So when you see in Pakistan that many people are offering Salat in the same place, then this is a group identity, a social cohesion and a mutual brotherhood. Similarly, when you see in Ramzan that people give Zakat on a massive scale and spend it on other people and feed them, then all these positive values are symbolic reflections of the same religion. But the ultimate purpose is that your salvation and your connection with God can be built. So food for thought for you for this module, it can be that you see in your mind how people take support of different symbols while performing their religious practices. For example, the cross in Christianity is a symbolic reflection of that religious identity. So you can see from the Muslims that what are the symbolic reflections of their identities.