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. Aft...

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”.                                                                  ...

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?                                                                  ...

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 ...

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 demon...

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 ...

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 conv...

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 t...

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 i...

ARTICLES OF FAITH