Islamic Studies and Ethics
Islamic Studies items test recall of pillars, sources of law and Seerat, plus applied ethics questions about conduct in public office. The ethics half is where candidates who only memorised dates lose marks.
Core content
- Five pillars: Shahadah (faith), Salat (prayer), Zakat (almsgiving), Sawm (fasting in Ramadan), Hajj (pilgrimage).
- Sunni sources of law: Quran, Sunnah, Ijma (consensus), Qiyas (analogy).
- Seerat: the Makki period of revelation and persecution, the Madani period of state-building and treaties; the Hijrah of 622 CE begins the Hijri calendar.
- Ethical vocabulary: amanah (trust), adl (justice), sidq (truthfulness), ikhlas (sincerity); prohibitions on riba (interest), rishwah (bribery) and ghibah (backbiting).
Worked example
Zakat on savings. A person has held Rs 1,500,000 for one full lunar year, above nisab, which is the value of 87.48 g of gold or 612.36 g of silver. Zakat = 1,500,000 x 2.5% = Rs 37,500. Two checks decide such questions: the wealth must be zakatable and held for a complete year, and the rate is 2.5%. Ushr is different - 10% on produce from rain-fed land and 5% where irrigation costs are borne.
Traps
Deducting household expenses first when the question says the sum was saved and held. Swapping the 2.5% zakat rate with the 5% ushr rate. Treating lunar and Gregorian years as equal, though a lunar year is about 354 days. In ethics items, choosing the pious-sounding option over the one describing the actual duty - for instance refusing a gift offered to speed up a clearance, or declaring a conflict of interest rather than quietly stepping aside.