Islamiat / Basic Religious Knowledge
Islamiat / Basic Religious Knowledge
The paper covers the five pillars, the articles of faith, basic Quran facts, prayer, zakat and the life of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Questions are short and factual, and the marks come from exact counts and names.
Pillars and faith
- Five pillars: Shahadah (faith), Salat (prayer), Sawm (fasting in Ramadan), Zakat (alms), Hajj (pilgrimage).
- Six articles of faith, recited in Iman Mufassal: Allah, His angels, His books, His prophets, the Day of Judgement, and qadar - good and bad both from Allah.
- Farz rakats in a day: Fajr 2, Zuhr 4, Asr 4, Maghrib 3, Isha 4 - seventeen in total. Witr is three rakats and is wajib in the Hanafi school, so it is not counted among the seventeen farz.
- Zakat is 2.5 per cent on savings held above the nisab for one lunar year. Ushr on agricultural produce is a separate levy, commonly one-tenth on unirrigated land.
Quran facts
- 114 surahs, 30 parts, revealed over about 23 years. The first revelation was Surah Al-Alaq, beginning with Iqra, in the cave of Hira around 610 CE.
- Longest surah is Al-Baqarah; shortest is Al-Kawthar; Al-Fatiha has seven verses.
- Twenty-five prophets are named in the Quran; Muhammad (peace be upon him) is the last, Khatam-un-Nabiyyin.
- The qibla changed from Bait-ul-Maqdas to the Kaaba in 2 AH; the Battle of Badr was fought in 2 AH; Hajj rites centre on Arafat on 9 Dhul Hijjah.
Worked example
How many farz rakats are offered in one full day? Count only the obligatory cycles: 2 + 4 + 4 + 3 + 4 = 17. Candidates who add sunnah and witr get a number that is not an option, then guess.
Traps
Confusing 114 surahs with 30 parts; giving 10 per cent for zakat; counting total rakats instead of farz; mixing the year of the qibla change with the year of Badr.