Islamic Studies / Ethics
What the domain tests
Islamic Studies here is factual and applied: Quranic structure, the pillars, the Prophetic biography (seerat), the Rashidun era, and the ethical vocabulary of public service such as amanat, adl, sidq and huquq-ul-ibad. The Ethics component often asks how an officer should act when a lawful duty collides with local pressure.
Core facts
- Quran: 114 surahs, 30 ajza; first revelation Surah Al-Alaq (Iqra); longest surah Al-Baqarah, shortest Al-Kausar; Makki surahs centre on aqeedah while Madani surahs deal with law and society.
- Five pillars: shahadah, salat, zakat, sawm, hajj. Six articles of faith: Allah, angels, revealed books, prophets, the Last Day and qadr.
- Seerat dates: born 570 CE (Year of the Elephant); hijra 622 CE, the start of the Hijri calendar; Badr 2 AH, Uhud 3 AH, Khandaq 5 AH, conquest of Makkah 8 AH, Farewell Hajj 10 AH, death 11 AH (632 CE) at the age of 63.
- Khulafa-e-Rashidun: Abu Bakr (632-634), Umar (634-644), Uthman (644-656), Ali (656-661).
Worked example: zakat
A person holds Rs 1,500,000 in savings for a full lunar year with no immediate deductible debt. Nisab is the value of 612.36 g of silver (or 87.48 g of gold); if silver is Rs 200 per gram, the silver nisab is about Rs 122,472. The wealth exceeds it, so zakat is 2.5% of 1,500,000, that is Rs 37,500. Reasoning: establish nisab first, confirm the haul (one lunar year), then apply 2.5% to the zakatable assets, not to income as it arrives.
Traps that cost marks
Confusing the five pillars with the six articles of faith; swapping the gold (87.48 g) and silver (612.36 g) nisab weights; charging zakat on monthly income rather than on wealth held for a year; mixing the dates of Badr and Uhud; and treating Ethics as abstract praise instead of a reasoned duty-based answer.