Islam
Islam items test the Five Pillars, the articles of faith, the hierarchy of sources and law schools, the Sunni–Shia division, and Sufism.
The Five Pillars
Shahada, the confession that there is no god but God and Muhammad is his messenger; salat, five daily prayers facing the qibla; zakat, obligatory alms of about 2.5 percent of qualifying savings; sawm, fasting from dawn to sunset during Ramadan; hajj, pilgrimage to Mecca once in a lifetime if able.
Articles of faith
Belief in God (tawhid), angels, revealed books (Tawrat, Zabur, Injil, Quran), prophets with Muhammad as the seal, the Day of Judgment, and divine decree (qadar). Shia Islam adds imamate and the justice of God.
Sources and law
The Quran has 114 suras revealed between 610 and 632. The Sunna is recorded in hadith, with Bukhari and Muslim among the most trusted collections. Jurisprudence draws on Quran, Sunna, ijma (consensus) and qiyas (analogy), with ijtihad as independent reasoning. The four Sunni schools are Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i and Hanbali; Shia follow the Ja'fari school. Sharia is the divine law; fiqh is its human jurisprudence.
History and branches
The hijra of 622 begins the Islamic calendar. The Sunni–Shia split arose over succession to Muhammad; Ali and his son Husayn are central to Shia devotion, and Husayn's death at Karbala in 680 is commemorated at Ashura. Twelver Shia await the hidden twelfth Imam, the Mahdi. Sufism is the mystical strand, organized in tariqas and practicing dhikr; Rumi is its best-known poet.
Worked example
A Muslim calculates 2.5 percent of savings held for a lunar year and gives it to the poor. Reasoning: this is zakat, an obligatory pillar with a nisab threshold, distinguished from sadaqa, which is voluntary. The purpose is purification of wealth and redistribution, not charity in the discretionary sense.
Traps that cost marks
- Rendering jihad only as holy war; the greater jihad is the inner struggle.
- Equating sharia with fiqh.
- Claiming the Quran is the sole authority; hadith and consensus also function.
- Assuming Sunni and Shia use different scriptures; both accept the Quran.