Al-Azhar Thanaweya cheat sheet

The Qur'an is the Arabic revelation to Muhammad ﷺ, transmitted by mutawatir chains, and its recitation is an act of worship; it comprises 114 surahs and 6,236 verses (according to the Kufan count).

Makki surahs generally precede the Hijrah and emphasize creed, resurrection, and the unity of God; Madani surahs follow the Hijrah and treat law, society, and relations with other communities.

Asbab al-nuzul (occasions of revelation) are reports explaining the context of a verse; knowledge of them aids understanding but the verse's ruling is not restricted to the specific occasion unless the wording is restricted.

Al-nasikh wa al-mansukh (abrogation): the later ruling may replace the earlier; abrogation occurs in rulings and in recitation, not in the divine essence or in historical reports.

The seven ahruf (modes) refer to the original flexibility of recitation; the Uthmani codex standardized the script, and the qira'at (e.g., Hafs 'an 'Asim, Warsh 'an Nafi') are transmitted ways of reciting that codex.

Muhkam verses are clear and decisive; mutashabih verses are ambiguous and require grounding in the muhkam; the precise meaning of some mutashabih is reserved to God.

The mushaf is arranged by tawqifi (divinely guided) order, not by chronological revelation; the first revealed verses are Qur'an 96:1-5, and the last complete surah revealed is commonly held to be Surah al-Nasr.

I'jaz al-Qur'an (inimitability) is the doctrine that no human can produce its like; it is evidenced by its eloquence, its coherence, and its accurate reports of the unseen.

A hadith consists of isnad (chain of narrators) and matn (text); the isnad is evaluated for continuity, integrity ('adalah), precision (dabt), and freedom from hidden defects ('ilal) and contradiction (shudhudh).

Sahih: a connected chain of trustworthy, precise narrators, free from shudhudh and 'illah; hasan: similar but with slightly weaker precision; da'if: fails one or more conditions.

Mutawatir reports are transmitted by so many at every level that collusion on a lie is impossible; ahad reports are transmitted by one or a few and yield probable knowledge unless supported by corroboration.

The Sahihayn (Bukhari and Muslim) are the most authentic collections; their agreed-upon narrations are the highest grade of hadith.

Al-jarh wa al-ta'dil is the science of assessing narrators; criticism is accepted only from qualified scholars and only when its cause is explained.

Types of hadith by chain: marfu' (attributed to the Prophet ﷺ), mawquf (a Companion's statement), maqtu' (a Successor's statement); by number of narrators: mutawatir, mashhur, 'aziz, gharib.

A mursal report is one where a Successor narrates directly from the Prophet ﷺ without naming a Companion; it is weaker than a connected report but may be strengthened by corroboration.

The hadith qudsi is a report in which the Prophet ﷺ conveys words from God but not as part of the Qur'an; its wording is from the Prophet ﷺ and it is not recited in prayer.

Tawhid has three aspects: rububiyyah (God's lordship), uluhiyyah (God's exclusive right to worship), and asma' wa sifat (His names and attributes).

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

God is one, eternal, self-sufficient, neither begotten nor begetting, and nothing is like Him (Qur'an 112; 42:11).

Prophethood is a divine selection; prophets are truthful, trustworthy, and infallible in conveying the message; Muhammad ﷺ is the final prophet (khatam al-nabiyyin).

The major sins (kaba'ir) do not remove a person from faith but require repentance; the Khawarij erred by declaring sinners disbelievers, and the Murji'ah erred by removing deeds from faith.

The Ahl al-Sunnah position on qadar: God's knowledge and will encompass all things, while humans have real acquisition (kasb) and moral responsibility for their choices.

Angels are created from light, do not disobey, and carry out God's commands; Iblis is a jinn, not an angel, because he disobeyed and was created from fire.

The unseen (ghayb) includes the Last Day, resurrection, reckoning, the sirat, and the intercession; belief in it is obligatory and its details are known only through revelation.

The five ahkam (rulings) are: obligatory (wajib), recommended (mandub), permissible (mubah), disliked (makruh), and forbidden (haram).

The four primary sources of law are the Qur'an, the Sunnah, ijma' (consensus), and qiyas (analogical reasoning); secondary sources include maslahah, 'urf, and istishab.

Wudu' requires intention, washing the face, arms to the elbows, wiping the head, and washing the feet; its obligatory acts are few, while its sunnah acts are many.

Salah is obligatory five times daily; its conditions include purity, facing the qiblah, covering the 'awrah, and the correct time; its pillars include takbir, recitation, ruku', sujud, and tashahhud.

Zakah is due on wealth held for a lunar year above the nisab, at 2.5% for cash and trade goods; the poor and needy are among its eight categories (Qur'an 9:60).

Fasting is obligatory in Ramadan; it is invalidated by eating, drinking, and marital intimacy during daylight, and is excused for illness, travel, and other valid reasons.

Hajj is obligatory once in a lifetime for those who are able; its pillars include ihram, standing at 'Arafah, tawaf al-ifadah, and sa'i.

Usul al-fiqh studies the evidence and methods of deriving rulings; fiqh studies the derived rulings themselves; the two are distinct but complementary.

The Arabic word is noun (ism), verb (fi'l), or particle (harf); the noun may be marfu', mansub, or majrur, while the verb may be marfu', mansub, or majzum.

The nominative case (raf') is used for the subject (fa'il), the predicate (khabar), and the subject of a passive verb (na'ib al-fa'il).

The accusative case (nasb) is used for the object (maf'ul bihi), the absolute object (maf'ul mutlaq), and the circumstantial object (hal).

The genitive case (jarr) is used after prepositions and in possessive constructions (mudaf ilayh).

The verb is mabni (fixed) in the past tense, in the imperative, and in the imperfect when attached to the nun of women or the nun of emphasis; otherwise it is mu'rab.

Rhetoric ('ilm al-balaghah) comprises three sciences: ma'ani (sentence structure and meaning), bayan (figures of speech), and badi' (embellishments).

In bayan, tashbih compares two things sharing a quality; isti'arah is a metaphor that replaces one term with another; kinayah is an allusion that implies a meaning without stating it.

In 'arud, Arabic poetry is built on meters (buhur); the bayt consists of two hemistichs (sadr and 'ajuz), and the final rhyme (qafiyah) must be consistent.

Muhammad ﷺ was born in Mecca in 570 CE (the Year of the Elephant); his father 'Abdullah died before his birth, and his mother Aminah died when he was six.

He received the first revelation at age 40 in the cave of Hira in 610 CE; the first verses were Qur'an 96:1-5.

The Hijrah to Medina occurred in 622 CE; this event marks the start of the Islamic calendar.

Key battles: Badr (2 AH/624 CE) was a decisive Muslim victory; Uhud (3 AH/625 CE) tested the Muslims; Khandaq (5 AH/627 CE) was a defensive siege.

The Treaty of Hudaybiyyah (6 AH/628 CE) established a ten-year truce and was followed by the conquest of Mecca (8 AH/630 CE).

The Farewell Pilgrimage occurred in 10 AH/632 CE, where the Prophet ﷺ delivered his final sermon at 'Arafah; he died in Medina in 11 AH/632 CE.

The Prophet ﷺ was known as al-Amin (the trustworthy) before prophethood; his character and honesty attracted early followers.

The first caliph was Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, followed by 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, 'Uthman ibn 'Affan, and 'Ali ibn Abi Talib.

The Rashidun caliphate (11-40 AH/632-661 CE) expanded Islam into Syria, Iraq, Egypt, and Persia; the capital remained Medina until 'Ali moved it to Kufa.

The Umayyad caliphate (41-132 AH/661-750 CE) established Damascus as its capital; it expanded to North Africa, Spain, and Central Asia.

The Abbasid caliphate (132-656 AH/750-1258 CE) built Baghdad as its capital and presided over a golden age of science, translation, and law.

Al-Andalus (Islamic Spain) flourished from 711 CE; Cordoba became a major center of learning under the Umayyads of Spain.

The Crusades (1095-1291 CE) saw European campaigns in the Levant; Salah al-Din al-Ayyubi recaptured Jerusalem in 1187 CE.

The Ottoman state began around 1299 CE, conquered Constantinople in 1453 CE, and lasted until 1924 CE.

The House of Wisdom (Bayt al-Hikmah) in Baghdad was a center for translating Greek, Persian, and Indian works into Arabic.

Prominent scholars: al-Bukhari (d. 256 AH), Muslim (d. 261 AH), al-Ghazali (d. 505 AH), and Ibn Khaldun (d. 808 AH).

Tafsir is the explanation of the Qur'an; its primary method is tafsir al-Qur'an bi al-Qur'an (explaining the Qur'an by the Qur'an itself).

The next sources are the Sunnah, the statements of the Companions, and the statements of the Successors; reliance on personal opinion (ra'y) without grounding is condemned.

Tafsir bi al-ma'thur relies on transmitted reports; tafsir bi al-ra'y relies on reasoning and language, and is acceptable when it does not contradict transmitted evidence.

The science of asbab al-nuzul is essential for tafsir; the occasion of revelation clarifies the meaning but does not restrict the ruling unless the wording is restricted.

Al-nasikh wa al-mansukh affects tafsir: the later verse may abrogate the earlier ruling, and the interpreter must know the chronology.

The muhkam verses are the foundation for interpreting the mutashabih; the interpreter must not force ambiguous verses to fit a preconceived view.

Major tafsir works include Jami' al-Bayan by al-Tabari, al-Tafsir al-Kabir by al-Razi, and Tafsir al-Qur'an al-'Azim by Ibn Kathir.

The Qur'anic sciences (ulum al-Qur'an) include revelation, collection, recitation, abrogation, and the inimitability of the Qur'an.

The Prophet ﷺ said: 'I was sent to perfect noble character' (Bukhari); akhlaq is central to Islamic teaching.

The cardinal virtues include justice ('adl), beneficence (ihsan), truthfulness (sidq), patience (sabr), and gratitude (shukr).

The golden rule in Islam: 'None of you truly believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself' (Bukhari and Muslim).

Backbiting (ghibah) is mentioning a person's faults in their absence; it is forbidden unless there is a valid legal reason.

Slander (buhtan) is false accusation; it is a major sin and requires repentance and restoration of the victim's reputation.

The rights of parents are among the greatest duties after the worship of God; the Qur'an commands kindness to parents (17:23-24).

Trustworthiness (amanah) includes keeping promises, returning deposits, and fulfilling contracts.

Moderation (wasatiyyah) is a defining characteristic of the Muslim community; extremism is condemned in the Qur'an and Sunnah.

Logic (mantiq) studies correct reasoning; its core is the theory of terms, propositions, and syllogism.

A term (lafz) may be universal (kulli) or particular (juz'i); a proposition (qadiyyah) may be categorical or conditional.

The categorical proposition has four forms: universal affirmative (A), universal negative (E), particular affirmative (I), and particular negative (O).

Contradiction (tanaqud) occurs when two propositions cannot both be true or both be false; they must differ in quantity or quality.

The syllogism (qiyas) consists of two premises and a conclusion; the middle term must be distributed at least once.

The four figures of the categorical syllogism are determined by the position of the middle term; valid moods include Barbara (AAA-1) and Celarent (EAE-1).

Islamic philosophers such as al-Farabi and Ibn Sina integrated Aristotelian logic with Islamic thought; al-Ghazali critiqued some philosophical positions in Tahafut al-Falasifah.

In Islamic philosophy, the distinction between essence (mahiyyah) and existence (wujud) is central to metaphysical discussions.

Mathematics: the quadratic formula for ax² + bx + c = 0 is x = [-b ± √(b² - 4ac)] / (2a); the discriminant b² - 4ac determines the nature of the roots.

Mathematics: the Pythagorean theorem states a² + b² = c² for a right triangle; trigonometric ratios: sin = opposite/hypotenuse, cos = adjacent/hypotenuse, tan = opposite/adjacent.

Physics: Newton's second law F = ma; the law of universal gravitation F = G(m₁m₂)/r²; speed = distance/time.

Chemistry: the mole is 6.022 × 10²³ particles; molarity = moles of solute / liters of solution; pH = -log[H⁺].

Biology: the cell is the basic unit of life; photosynthesis converts CO₂ and H₂O into glucose and O₂ using light energy; DNA replication is semi-conservative.

Languages: English verb tenses include present simple, present continuous, past simple, and present perfect; each has distinct uses and time markers.

Social studies: the Nile River flows northward through Egypt; Egypt's population is concentrated along the Nile valley and delta; the Aswan High Dam regulates the river's flow.

Study skills: spaced repetition and active recall improve long-term retention; summarizing and self-testing are effective learning strategies.