Islamic Studies: Pillars, Quran and Seerat
The Islamic Studies questions are elementary but exact: the pillars of Islam, basic Quran facts, the life of the Prophet (Seerat) and everyday rulings. Precision on numbers and names earns the marks.
The five pillars
- Shahadah - declaration of faith.
- Salah - five daily prayers, with obligatory rakats of Fajr 2, Zuhr 4, Asr 4, Maghrib 3 and Isha 4.
- Sawm - fasting in Ramadan from dawn (Suhoor) to sunset (Iftar).
- Zakat - 2.5% of savings held for one lunar year above the nisab.
- Hajj - once in a lifetime for those who are able.
Quran
- 114 surahs arranged in 30 juz; the longest surah is Al-Baqarah, the shortest Al-Kawthar.
- First revelation: Surah Al-Alaq ("Iqra") in the cave of Hira, 610 CE.
- Makki surahs were revealed before the Hijra of 622 CE, Madani surahs after it.
Seerat
Born in Makkah about 570 CE; Hijra to Madina in 622 CE; Farewell Sermon and death in 632 CE.
Worked example
A person has saved Rs 200,000 for a full lunar year and it is above the nisab. Zakat = 2.5% x 200,000 = Rs 5,000. Had the money been held for only six months, no zakat would be due yet, because the lunar year must complete.
Traps
- Mixing Sunnah and Fard rakats when the question asks for obligatory ones.
- Confusing 114 (surahs) with 30 (juz).
- Treating the nisab as a fixed zakat amount rather than a threshold.