O Level Islamic Studies by Ahsan Naqvi

Q         Why is the belief in resurrection important to Muslims in their daily living?                                                                 [4-J-10] Q         Explain the importance of the Day of Judgment in Muslim belief. [4-N-12] Death is a physical reality. Muslims believe that after death, the soul of a person is kept in a place called “Barzakh” where they will stay until the Day of Judgment. One day Allah will announce the end of life on earth. Israfeel (as) is ready to announce it and waiting for the command of Allah.There will be a massive earth quake and everything will finish. After some time, Allah will announce that all human beings should be given life again and they should answer Allah for what they did on earth. Allah will do justice and people will be sent to paradise or hell.  “Truly He who gives life to the dead earth can surely give life   to men who are dead”.       [41.39] This concept is the fundamental belief of the Muslim faith. If a

Q         Write short accounts of Muslim belief about Resurrection and the Last day.                                                                 [4-N-05] Significance  “Truly He who gives life to the dead earth can surely give life to men who are dead”.                                                                               [41.39] Allah has created us and He knows what is right for us and what is wrong. Therefore Allah sent prophets and Books to guide human beings. Muslims believe that after our death, we will be given life again (Resurrection) and we will be accountable to God for our good and bad deeds. Accountability starts as soon as a person dies but the stages of the Day of Judgment are well defined in Sura Al Qariah and Sura Al Zilzaal. The main events On a normal day, Allah will decide to end this world. Angel Israfeel will blow the trumpet and the sound will create a horrible earthquake. Human beings will be in a panic like scattered moths and finally

Q         Write short accounts of Muslim belief about Books. [4-N-07][4-J-04][4-J-02][4-N-08] Q         Give a descriptive account of the Muslim belief in revealed books. [10-N-10] Q         Name the revealed books mentioned in the Quran, giving the names of messengers they were revealed to and the message they contained. [10-N-14-2058/22] Q         All revealed books were sent by God. What in your opinion makes the Quran unique?                                                                                  [4-N-14-2058/22] Books of Allah contain the messages which Allah gave to humanity through his prophets. The purpose was to provide guidance to human beings so that they should not be having any argument on the Day of Judgment that they did not receive guidance from Allah. It is generally believed that it was angel Jibreel who brought all the Books to the prophets. We learn from the Quran about the scriptures and Books given to: Scriptures to Ibrahim (as)

Belief in the Books of Allah

Q         Discuss the importance of Jibra’il in comparison to other angels. [4-N-10] Jibrail (AS) is the chief of all angels. He has the honour that he brought the messages of Allah and the Books of Allah to the prophets. In that way he was the means of communication between the prophets and Allah. He is superior to all angels because Allah Himself has described his respect. In Sura Al Qadr, Allah says: “In this Night, the angels and Rooh descend with the permission of their Lord”. In this Ayat, Rooh is angel Jibrael. Jibril (as) is a very huge figure. When the Prophet (sw) saw him in original form, he had covered the entire horizon. Jibril (as) was also chosen for very special tasks too. He brought the message to Maryam (as) of the birth of Essa (as). He also came to the Prophet (sw) in the form of a human and talked to him in the presence of other companions. In many respects he is different from other angels.

Q         Write short accounts of Muslim belief about angels. [4-N-08][4-J-05][4-J-04][4-J-02][5-specimen paper 09] Q         What are the Muslim beliefs about angels?                             [10-J-10] Q         Give an account of Muslim belief in the following: (i) angels; and (ii) prophets.                                                                        [10-N-12-paper 21] Like the human beins, Jinns and every other creation, angels are also the creation of Allah. Arabs believed that they were the daughters of God. In other religions too, angels were believed to be partners of Allah in His powers but Allah decrares it clearly that they are the creation like other creations. They are made of light (Noor). They praise Allah all the time. It comes in Ahadith that like our Kaaba, there is another Kaaba in the heaves and every day thousands of angels perform its Tawaaf. They also perform duties Allah has assigned them. The angels are the workers of Allah. The ent

Belief in angels

Q         Explain how the declaration of faith (shahada) is acted upon through the remaining four pillars of Islam. [4-N-12] Declaration of Faith or Shahada is the fundamental of Islamic Faith. It is demonstrated in all four pillars of Islam. In the prayers or salat it is demonstrated in many places. Azaan itself is the declaration of Shahada. During prayers we repeat this declaration saying Allah Akbar. In Saum or fasting, we do not eat or dring anything though we are alone. This is the result of Shahada and fear of Allah. In Zakaat, we pay a certain amount only due to the fear of God. Besides that we help humanity only because of the belief in one Allah. For Hajj, we spend huge amount of money and travel a long way. There is no worldly gain behind this difficulty. However millions of Muslims perform Hajj only for the sake of Allah. They recite in Hajj: “O Allah, I am in your service.There is no partner of Yours.” which is also a demonstration of Tauheed

Q         ‘There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah’.                Describe the Muslim beliefs summarized by the declaration of faith  (shahada). [10-N-12-2058-22] To believe that there is no God but Allah and Muhammad (saw) is His Apostle is an integral part of Muslim faith. A true Muslim submits his life only to Allah. He follows the way of God and avoids everything forbidden by God. He believes in Allah and all of His attributes. These attributes are very well presented in Ayat ul Kursi and Sura Al Ikhlaas. Ayatul Kursi gives the following attributes of Allah: He is alive, eternal and self-subsisting, active, Lord of everything, accepts interceding, has the knowledge of past and the future, giver of knowledge and the possessor of all powers. Sura Al Ikhlaas says that Allah is One and Unique, Absolute, having no children or parents and no one is like Him. When Muslims say that Mohammad is the messenger of God, they believe that Mohamma

Q       What do Muslims mean when they call the Quran Kalam Allah. [10-J-99] It means that Muslims have a firm belief that the holy Quran is the real Book of Allah. Unlike Torat, Injeel and Zuboor which are amended and corrupted by human beings, Quran is in its purest form. It was preserved in the book form within a few months of the death of the Prophet Mohammad (saw). All prominent companions were alive and the Quran was also safe in scattered writing. Muslims have Ijma that there is no change in the Quran. Allah says in the Quran: "We have revealed this and We will preserve it". Allah challenged Arabs who were proud of their command over their language to make only one Sura like that of Quran and they failed. This shows that it was not a human speech but it was divine. The pagans of Makkah used to stop people listening to the Quran and called Mohammad (saw) magician because the Quran would change the person completely. A good example is the conversion of Umar

Q         What do Muslims mean when they call God Al Rehman, Al Rahim (the Compassionate, the Merciful)                                                      [6-J-99] Rehman and Raheem are the names of Allah and show two attributes of Allah. They are the part of Sura Al Fatihah. The meaning of both the phrases is the same. Allah is very kind but Al Rahim has a higher degree of kindness. Muslims have a firm belief that Allah is not cruel with humanity. Allah has created human beings and He asked angels and Jinns to prostrate Adam. Allah provides us every need of life. Allah does not punish us on every sin and in spite of our sins, He does not stop His blessings upon us. With reference to Sura Fatihah, we cannot understand Quran unless Allah shows His mercy and shows us the right path. In Sura Ash Shura Ayat 5, Allah says: “----- Verily, Allah is He, the oft-forgiving, the most merciful.” 

Q    What does a Muslim understand by: “You alone we ask for help”.    [4-J-02] This is the part of Ayat 4 of Sura Al Fatihah. It means that it is the fundamental belief of Muslims that only Allah can help us in the matters of unknown. Only Allah has the authority to bless someone with children or wealth and He gives life, death and sustenance. Therefore we must pray only to Allah. In Sura Al Ahqaf Ayat 6, Allah says: “And who could be further astray than the one who invokes instead   of Allah, those who cannot answer him till the day of Resurrection”.

Q         Why do Muslims avoid associating anything with God? [7-J-96] Q         Why is associating partners with God (shirk) regarded as a great sin? [4-J-13] Allah declares in the Quran that He may forgive any sin except making partners with Him because it challenges His authority. The Quran says:  “It has been revealed to you and to the previous prophets that if you (anyone) commit Shirk, every deed of yours will go waste and you will be at a loss”            (Sura Al Zumr-65) “Indeed whosoever commits Shirk, Paradise will be forbidden for him and his destination is Hell and the cruel will find no help”. (Sura Al Maida-72) Making partners in any attributes of Allah is also Shirk. A Muslim may ask help (from unknown) only from Allah. Sura Al Fatihah teaches us: “You alone we worship and only Your aid we seek”.

Q         Outline the Muslim teaching about the belief in the oneness of God (Tawhid). [10-J-13] Q         What do Muslims mean when they say: “There is no god but God” [9-J-96]       To believe that there is no God but Allah and Muhammad (saw) is His Apostle is an integral part of Muslim faith. A true Muslim submits his life only to Allah. He follows the way of God and avoids everything forbidden by God. He believes in Allah and all of His attributes. These attributes are very well presented in Ayat ul Kursi and Sura Al Ikhlaas. Ayatul Kursi gives the following attributes of Allah: He is alive, eternal and self-subsisting, active, Lord of everything, accepts interceding, has the knowledge of past and the future, giver of knowledge and the possessor of all powers. Sura Al Ikhlaas says that Allah is One and Unique, Absolute, having no children or parents and no one is like Him.

ARTICLES OF FAITH