Chapter 4: Article of faith( belief in Allah, books, prophets )

Question along with marking schemes -1st term

(a)Associating partners (shirk) is opposed to believing in the oneness of God

(tawhid) and can be divided into three main categories. Write about each
category. 2058/22

This question is asking the candidates to write about tawhid but from another
perspective

. 1. Shirk in the existence of God would constitute assigning partners to God or

saying that there is more than one Creator or that there are more gods than
one. It could also be committed by declaring God to be the father or son of
someone. Well developed answers may well quote Sura 112:3 which says ‘He
does not beget, nor is He begotten.’ This is the most unforgivable sin and should
never be committed as God has said in several places in the Qur’an e.g. ‘Allah
forgives not that partners should be set up with Him, but He forgives anything
else to whom He pleases.’ (Al- Nisa 4:48)

2. Shirk in the worship of God can be committed by praying invoking or asking

for help from any other than God and by offering sacrifice or slaughtering in the
name of any other than God. Muslims should therefore only ask God for the
fulfilment of their wishes or needs as that power lies only with him. Only He
should be invoked.

3. Shirk in God’s attributes means to ascribe qualities which are unique to God
to some other being. It means to believe that some being other than God has
the power to create, or make something perish or has the same knowledge as
God or the same divine power. Muslims should therefore be careful to not
commit this grave sin. All three kinds of shirk should never be committed
‘Whoever joins other gods with Allah, Allah will forbid him from the garden and
fire will be his abode. There will for the wrong-doers be no one to help.’ (Al-
Maidah 5:72)
b)Does belief in angels make a Muslim’s faith stronger? Give reasons for your
answer.

Candidates in response to this question could say that belief in angels does
make a Muslim’s faith stronger. By believing in them, even though they cannot
be seen, a Muslim is confirming his/her firm belief in all that the Qur’an says
about them and what the Prophet (pbuh) has said about them. Some could say
that the revealed faiths prior to Islam also believe in angels and this belief
confirms the Muslim belief that Islam is a continuation and culmination of the
previous faiths revealed by God hence making their faith even stronger. Yet
some others could write that by believing in angels e.g. Jibra’il being the angel
who brought revelations to the Prophet (pbuh) Muslims are convinced of the
Qur’an being sent by God which in turn makes their faith stronger.

(b) Give reasons to support the statement that without tawhid there is no faith.

Here candidates need to give their answer and back it up with reasoning.
Answers could state that belief in the oneness of God is the first article of Islam
and all forms of ibadah revolve around it; because Muslims believe in the one
God they offer salat five times a day to glorify Him and seek His aid; they fast in
the month of Ramadan, give zakat and perform hajj which are all actions to
glorify God, to follow His commands, to please Him and to seek His mercy. If the
belief in tawhid was absent there would be no need to act upon the Pillars of
faith or the teachings of Islam as they are all done to please the one God. All
valid responses need to be credited.

(b) Why is associating partners with God (shirk) regarded as a great sin? [4]

Shirk in Islam is regarded as a great sin because it signifies ascribing the divine
attributes of God to others besides Him. It is believing that the source of power,
harm and blessings comes from others besides God and goes against the most
fundamental teaching of Islam, tawhid. There must be evaluation in the answer,
not just a statement.

a)Give an account of Muslim belief in prophets and the messages they

preached. [10]
 Belief in all the prophets sent by God is a part of every Muslims faith. Muslims
believe that the line of prophets started from Adam and finished with Prophet
Muhammad (pbuh). They could also say that Muslims believe in all the prophets
that came before Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and believe that some amongst
them were nabis and some were rasuls. Answers may also include that Muslims
consider all the prophets to be sinless and not more than human and also that
they were all men of exceptional morals and character. The answers could
include that the Qur’an states that there were many prophets and a Hadith of
the Prophet gives the number at 124,000. Prophets were endowed with
miracles and some were sent with books to guide humanity. The development
in the answer could perhaps detail what the miracles of some of these prophets
were and could also include the names and characteristics of some of the
prophets and name the books that were revealed to them as well as write about
the belief that each prophet was sent for a specific community except Prophet
Muhammad (pbuh) who was sent for all humanity. Qur’anic teaching
aboutrespecting all prophets equally could also be given in the answer. In
answering this question candidates also need to write how the message of all
the prophets has always been the same, that is, belief in the oneness of God,
tawhid, good conduct and life after death.

b)How are these prophets and their messages important for Muslims? [4]

In answer to this question the candidates need to bring out the importance of
all the prophets and the message they brought. They could in their answers say
that the prophets and their message always taught the unity of God and so
reinforce Muslim belief in tawhid. They all spoke of the need to treat fellow
human beings with kindness and taught their communities the importance and
need for good conduct and that was the primary teaching of the Prophet
Muhammad (pbuh) as well which makes Muslims realise that Islam is a
continuation of God’s earlier message, his completion of that message and not a
new religion.
A)Write about Muslim beliefs in prophets. [10] May/June

Some candidate’s answers may give evidence of basic knowledge of the

character of prophets. Others might go on to describe the main characteristics
of the prophets e.g. they were all chosen by Allah to deliver his books and each
was sent to a specific community except Muhammad who was sent for all
humanity. Good answers will go on to give a full account of the beliefs, with the
names of the prophets and refer to Qur’anic teachings in support of points
made e.g. answers could say that the Qur’an names many prophets including
Adam, Nuh, Ibrahim, Musa, ‘Isa and Muhammad. Muhammad was sent as the
last prophet, yet the Qur’an says that they should all be respected equally.

b) Explain how this belief influences the daily living of a Muslim. [4]

The answer may attempt to apply the belief e.g. that Muslims must respect all
prophets, but without evident understanding. Some answers will show that the
candidate has applied the belief with reasonable success, but without clearly
showing how it affects conduct. Good candidates will give a fair explanation of
how this belief is worked into daily life and show a reasonable understanding of
its effects and may even support points with quotations and references from
the Qur’an and Hadiths.

b)Briefly explain why Allah revealed different books from time to time. [4]
Answers could explain how different books were sent from time to time for the
guidance of humanity telling people what they should or should not do.
Stronger answers will give the names of the revealed books and discuss how the
message sent was lost or distorted creating a need for a new book and how the
Qur’an is the last in the line of revealed scriptures and why it is last.

a)Name the revealed books mentioned in the Qur’an, giving the names of the
messengers they were revealed to and the message they contained. [10]
October/November 2014 2058 22 The candidates in their answer could
mention: The Zabur (Psalms) revealed to Dawud (David); The Tawrat revealed to
Musa (Moses); The Injil (Gospel) sent to Isa (Jesus) and The Qur’an revealed to
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). Some candidates may well say that the Qur’an also
mentions the Suhuf (scroll) of Ibrahim. All the divine books invited the people to
worship one God, they contained belief in prophethood, the Day of Judgment
and accountability before God on the Last Day. Along with these teachings the
revealed books contained a code of conduct, a code of morality and justice, but
the books besides the Qur’an were not comprehensive enough to contain a
complete code of life for all times. The Qur’an is the most comprehensive book
sent by God. It deals with every aspect of life: social, economic, moral, legal.
God says, ‘This day I have perfected your religion for you and completed my
favours upon you and chosen for you Islam as your religion’. (Al Maidah 5:3).
Some candidates could add that none of the revealed books besides the Qur’an
are in their original form today.

b)All revealed books were sent by God. What in your opinion makes the Qur’an
unique?[4]

It could be said that Qur’an is different from other revealed books as it is the
only book revealed to all humanity for all times. God Himself has promised to
protect its message. It could be said that the language of the Qur’an is very
much alive today and spoken by millions unlike those of the other revealed
books. These and other valid responses need to be awarded marks on their own
merit.

a)What are Muslim beliefs about angels? [10]

Angels are the servants of God. Some answers could go a bit further and state
that they are made of light and their sole purpose is to worship, obey and serve
God. Better answers will elaborate on the duties of angels, by perhaps saying
that an important aspect in the duties they perform is their service as
messengers e.g. Jibril took messages to prophets, including Muhammad and he
also took God’s message to Mary. Answers could also include a description of
the roles of other angels e.g. they record good and bad deeds; inquire of the
dead in the grave; will sound the trumpet on the last day etc. An excellent
answer may even mention some of these angels performing specific duties by
name.