BMEB Alim Examination cheat sheet

Tajwid rulings are of two classes: what is obligatory by consensus (e.g., not distorting letters) and what is a mark of excellence (e.g., precise ghunnah lengths).

Makharij al-huruf number 17 points of articulation grouped into five regions: jawf (cavity), halq (throat), lisan (tongue), shafatan (lips), khayshum (nose).

Noon sakinah and tanween have four rulings: izhar (throat letters), idgham (يرملون), iqlab (before ب), and ikhfa (remaining 15 letters).

Meem sakinah has three rulings: ikhfa shafawi before ب, idgham shafawi before م, and izhar before all others.

Madd tabi'i is two counts; madd munfasil and muttasil commonly four to five counts; madd lazim is six counts.

Qalqalah letters are ق ط ب ج د; strongest when the letter carries sukun, weaker at the end of a verse, weakest within a word.

Memorization method (sabaq, sabqi, manzil): new portion daily, recent review, and older review cycling through the whole Qur'an.

Tarteel and tahqiq denote measured recitation; hadr is faster; tadwir is intermediate - all three are permitted if letters and rulings are preserved.

Tafsir bi'l-ma'thur relies on Qur'an by Qur'an, then Sunnah, then statements of Companions and Successors; tafsir bi'l-ra'y uses reasoned ijtihad.

Conditions for tafsir bi'l-ra'y: sound Arabic, knowledge of usul al-fiqh, hadith, nasikh/mansukh, and asbab al-nuzul.

Makki surahs (about 86) emphasize creed, resurrection, and short rhythmic verses; Madani surahs (about 28) emphasize law, society, and long verses.

Asbab al-nuzul restricts a verse's application when the cause is specific; the rule 'العبرة بعموم اللفظ لا بخصوص السبب' governs generality.

Nasikh and mansukh: abrogation is established by explicit later revelation or a Companion's report; abrogation of ruling without recitation is the most common type.

Muhkam verses are clear and decisive; mutashabih verses admit multiple readings - the verse of the Qur'an itself (3:7) defines this.

Qira'at: ten mutawatir readings (qira'at 'ashr) transmitted through chains; the seven ahruf refer to revelatory modes, not the same as qira'at.

I'jaz al-Qur'an includes linguistic inimitability, legislative coherence, and accurate reports of the unseen.

A hadith consists of isnad (chain) and matn (text); criticism applies separately to each.

Sahih conditions: continuous chain, upright and precise narrators, no shudhudh (contradiction of a stronger narration), no hidden defect ('illah).

Hasan is like sahih but with lesser precision; da'if lacks one condition; mawdu' is fabricated and rejected.

Hadith qudsi is attributed to God in wording but transmitted by the Prophet; hadith nabawi is attributed to the Prophet alone.

Classifications by chain: mutawatir (many independent chains, yields certainty), ahad (single chain), mashhur, 'aziz, gharib.

Al-Bukhari and Muslim's Sahihayn are the most rigorously authenticated collections; the Muwatta', Sunan works, and Musnad Ahmad follow.

Rijal sciences assess narrators via jarh wa ta'dil; the phrase 'ittafaqa 'alayh' means both Bukhari and Muslim included it.

'Ilal are subtle defects in isnad or matn that only expert critics detect, even when the chain appears sound.

Arabic root system: most roots are triliteral; forms (awzan) such as fa'ala, fa''ala, af'ala, tafa''ala derive meaning systematically.

I'rab categories: raf' (nominative), nasb (accusative), jarr (genitive), jazm (jussive); each has markers (damma, fatha, kasra, sukun) and substitutes.

The ten verb forms: I fa'ala, II fa''ala, III fa'ala, IV af'ala, V tafa''ala, VI tafa'ala, VII infa'ala, VIII ifta'ala, IX if'alla, X istaf'ala.

Arabic has three cases and three numbers (singular, dual, plural); the dual is marked by alif (raf') and ya (nasb/jarr).

Balagha: 'ilm al-ma'ani (sentence structure), 'ilm al-bayan (figures: tashbih, isti'ara, kinaya), 'ilm al-badi' (embellishments: jinas, tibaq).

Pre-Islamic poetry (mu'allaqat) established the qasida form; the 'amud al-shi'r defines meter, rhyme, and thematic unity.

Meter ('arud) has 16 canonical bahrs; the bayt divides into sadr and 'ajuz with a shared qafiya.

Tawhid has three dimensions: rububiyyah (lordship), uluhiyyah (worship), and asma' wa sifat (names and attributes).

The six pillars of iman: belief in Allah, angels, books, messengers, the Last Day, and divine decree (qadar), good and bad.

Qadar: Allah's knowledge, writing, will, and creation encompass all things; human acquisition (kasb) grounds moral responsibility.

Allah's attributes are affirmed without tashbih (likening) or ta'til (denial), per the verse 'laysa kamithlihi shay'.

Major theological schools: Ash'ari and Maturidi (sunni), Mu'tazili (rationalist), and Athari (textualist).

Prophethood ends with Muhammad; no prophet or messenger follows him.

The unseen (ghayb) includes angels, jinn, resurrection, and the scales; belief in it is a condition of iman.

Five ahkam: fard/wajib, mandub, mubah, makruh, haram; fard is either 'ayni (personal) or kifa'i (communal).

Primary sources: Qur'an, Sunnah, ijma' (consensus), and qiyas (analogy); secondary: istihsan, maslaha, 'urf, istishab.

Conditions of valid salah: purity, facing qiblah, covering 'awrah, intention, and correct timing.

Zakah rate is 2.5% on qualifying wealth held for a lunar year above nisab; categories of recipients are eight (9:60).

Hajj pillars: ihram, standing at 'Arafah, tawaf al-ifadah, and sa'i; omission of a pillar invalidates the hajj.

Marriage contract requires offer and acceptance, two witnesses, and the wali (guardian) in most schools.

Maqasid al-shari'ah: preservation of religion, life, intellect, lineage, and property.

Born 570 CE in Mecca; received first revelation at age 40 in the cave of Hira (610 CE).

Hijrah to Medina in 622 CE marks year one of the Islamic calendar; the Constitution of Medina organized relations among tribes.

Key battles: Badr (2 AH), Uhud (3 AH), Khandaq (5 AH), and the conquest of Mecca (8 AH).

Farewell Pilgrimage and the Farewell Sermon occurred in 10 AH; the Prophet died in 11 AH (632 CE).

The Rightly Guided Caliphs: Abu Bakr, 'Umar, 'Uthman, 'Ali; 'Uthman standardized the Qur'anic codex.

Umayyad capital was Damascus; Abbasid capital was Baghdad; the House of Wisdom flourished under al-Ma'mun.

The Prophet's statement 'innama bu'ithtu li-utammima makarim al-akhlaq' frames ethics as the purpose of prophethood.

Core virtues: sidq (truthfulness), amanah (trust), 'adl (justice), ihsan (excellence), and haya' (modesty).

Adab of the scholar: humility, sincerity, respect for teachers, and teaching without arrogance.

Adab of the student: intention, patience, note-taking, and honoring the teacher's knowledge.

Social adab: greeting (salam), visiting the sick, honoring guests, and maintaining ties of kinship (silat al-rahim).

Prohibited character traits include ghibah (backbiting), namimah (slander), hasad (envy), and kibr (arrogance).

Da'wah method follows the verse 'ud'u ila sabili rabbika bi'l-hikmah wa'l-maw'izah al-hasanah' (16:125): wisdom, good admonition, and gentle debate.

Pedagogical sequencing: concrete to abstract, simple to complex, and repetition with spaced review.

Assessment should be formative (feedback) and summative (final evaluation), aligned with learning objectives.

The Prophet's teaching style used questioning, parable, repetition, and demonstration (e.g., wudu' demonstration).

Effective da'wah requires contextual knowledge of the audience, avoiding harshness, and modeling behavior.

Bloom's taxonomy levels: remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, create - useful for designing Islamic studies curricula.