Islamiyat test revision Answers

Q1)The Quran teaches that humans should be responsible towards the

environment’. Give reasons to agree or disagree with this statement.

I agree with the statement that "humans should be responsible towards the
environment. This is because Allah has given us all the comfort and survival we
require in this world. He has fullfilled all our needs many of which through the
medium of the environment. The environment itself is one of his many blessings
he has bestowed on us and we must be thankful to our gracious lord and we need
to be responsible to the enviorment which makes us capable of living by fullfilling
our basic needs. We must also avoid being wasteful and ungrateful for his
blessings. All of our responsibilites to our enviorment is also stated in the Quran in
various Surahs.

Q2)Explain why God send his revelations through messengers.

Firstly God sent his revelations through a messenger as a muslim man of the same
era would make it easier for the revelations to be conveyed. It would also allow
the messengers chosen from human kind to demonstrate these teachings to show
how these teachings can be implemented. An example of this is in the case of the
Prophet where his Hadith and Sunnah guided the Muslims through the teachings
of the Quran. A messenger conveying these revelations instead of an angel also
prevented the people from accidentily worsshiping the angels instead of god such
as in the case of Jesus where the messenger was said to be "the son of god" and
was worshipped more than god himself. A messenger conveying these reveltations
was also suitable because Human kind needed guidance and inspiration. Through
messengers the message of God could also be conveyed to every area in every
language making the message of god universal.
Q3) Why do Prophets go through difficulties in their lives?

Prophets go through difficulties firstly as tests by Allah. These difficulties come in

different ways, many of which as tests. These Hardships also build strenght in the
Prophets which they will need to overcome adversity which they will face from
their community while spreading the message of Allah. This pattern of facing
opposition from their community was repeated by almost every messenger Allah
sent such as Prophet Muhammad, and Prophet Musa. These difficulties also
strenghtened the faith of the Prophets and increased their mental resistence to
opposition of Islam as their belief was extremely strong. This is also a lesson for
Muslims as overcoming adversity and strenghtening your faith helps u get closer
to god.

Q4)God sends humankind messengers from amongst their own communities.

Explain why this is significant.

This is because the human kind messengers could set an example and show how
the muslims can practice the message in their everyday lives. This can be proved
by the story of the Holy Prophet where Muhammad displayed how to practice the
teachings of the quran through his actions and his actions became to known as
sunnah something which all Muslims use to guide themselves on the right path.
There is also a possiblity that if the angels came with the messages the humans
may begin worshipping the angels themselves instead of god. This can be seen in
the case of christians where Instead of God and God alone being worshipped
majority of the Christians turned their Worship towards Jesus who they claimed to
be "the son of god"
Q4) God sends humankind messengers from amongst their own communities.
Explain why this is significant.

God sent humankind messengers from amongst their own communities so that
the Prophets knew the needs and conditions of the community so that he could
teach them in which he felt fit. The community was also able to relate to the
Prophet as he was one of them. They could also view the prophet being able to
practice and benefit from the teachings he is giving which gave them and example
and path to do this themselves. Allah also sent a messenger from amongst their
community instead of an angel as there was a possiblilty that humankind would
misunderstand and would not see the possilbility to practice the teachings in their
everyday lives. There was also the possiblity of Angels being worshipped instead
of God which is a geninue possibility seen in History many times where
messengers were worshipped instead or more than god such as in the case of
Jesus who was known as the "Son of god" but was worhipped more than god
himself. If angels were sent humankind worshipping them would be much more
likely due to their godly abilities Allah has blessed them with.

Q5)To what extent is the Quran basis of legal thinking in Islam?

Quran is the fundamental source of guidance and law. It is a primary source of law
together with sunnah/hadith. No one can challenge the words of Quran and
everything said against the words of the Quran are hearsay. The Quran gives a
clear and fair view on everything and provides the basic ruling of any Islamic law
on things such as life marriage and death. Muslims all around the world use the
Qurans laws and they are unified by using the same source.
Q6)What is the significance to Muslims today of having the Qur’an in the form of
a book?[4]

The significance of Muslims having Quran in the form of a book is that now all
Muslims carry the same one book that creates a small bond of unity between all
Muslim brothers and sisters.Having the Quran Compiled also lessens the chance
of errors being made in its reproduction and ensures accurate verses. Another
point of signigance that is due to the Quran being compiled is that all Surahs and
verses were retained and none were lost due to its compilation. Another
advantage of having the Quran in the form of a book is that now it can be carried
by Muslims all over the world and they can use the Quran anywhere they require
it to make a judgement with refrence to it to stay away from sins and to follow the
right path with doing good deeds.

Q7) Explain why the first community of Muslims thought it was necessary to
compile the Quran.

The first muslim community thought it was necessary to compile the Quran as
firstly during the Battle of Yamama in 11 AH many Huffaz (Those who memorize
the Quran) were martyred. Hazrat Umar seeing these deaths grew concered that
eventually all Huffaz would either be martyred in battle or would die a natrual
death. This woud lead to the preservation of the Quran being endangered.
Therefore Hazrat Umar suggested to Hazrat Abu Bakr who was the caliph at the
time that the Quran should be compiled. Hazrat Abu Bakr was hesitant at first and
asked for a second opinion from Zaid ibn thabit , Prophet Muhammads main
scribe when he was alive. Zaid also disagreed with the suggestion however Umar
was eventually able to convice them both.

Q9) The Quran should not have been compiled in written form because it did
not take place during the Prophet’s lifetime.’ Agree or disagree with this
statement, giving reasons for your answer.

I disagree with this statement as firstly not all Muslims are able to Memorize the
Quran as easily as others. It takes them much longer than others and therefore
while in the process of memorizing the Quran having a compiled version of the
Quran in their pocket to refer to at any time is extremly helpful. Abu Bakrs
decision to compile the Quran is also Valid as he is a rightly guided Caliph being
one of the Prophets longest and closest companion when he was alive. The
compilation of the Quran also did not change the meaning or recitation of the
verses themselves therefore the decision to compile it is reasonable and correct.

Q)Memorizing the Quran is no longer important because the Quran is preserved

as a book’. Discuss whether you agree or disagree with this statement, giving
reasons for your answer.

I disagree with this statement as firstly it is mentioned in the Holy Prophets

Hadiths and showed in his Sunnahs that it is ideal to memorize the Quran as it can
be a huge aid in everyday life. This is because in times of difficulty where a
decision must be made a Muslim who has memorized the Quran can refer to it
and make a fast and correct judgement on what his reaction/judgement should
be.An example of this are Muslim scholars who have sucessfully memorized the
Quran and are almost always able to provide correct judgement on any situation.
Memorzing the Quran is also a great feat to achieve and quite a difficult one at
that however those who are able to successfully accomplish memorizing the
Quran strengthen their faith and at the same time grow closer to Allah.

Q8)Why is the understanding the teachings of Quran important toMuslims?

Quran being the fundamental basis of Idea and actions is the primary source of
law for ALL muslims. meaning that the same laws under the guidance of Allah are
to be obligated by every muslim regardless of culture. The quran lays down all
basic laws on every aspect of life. marriage,politcs inheritence etc. It can be
appropriatley applied everywhere and even 1400 years back. IT is the main source
of shariah law which cannot be challenged or changed by any significant other
including prophets.Muslims should understand the teachings in the Holy Quran as
it was sent down for guidance for all of mankind. By understanding the teachings,
Muslims will stay on the right path as mentioned in Surah Al-Fatiha. Muslims may
hope for mercy and blessing of god as promised in the Quran. The Quran will
influence the daily living of Muslims as they will develop genuine fear of God and
will try to fully follow the divine message.

Q12)How is the use of ijma’ (consensus) important to Muslims today? [4]

Ijma is the consensus/Opinion between Muslim scholars. Ijma occurs in

circumstances where Quran and Sunnah/Hadith do not give definitive answers
therefore new rulings must be made. These Rulings can not be made by ordinary
Muslims as many of them are not well enough versed in the Quran/ have no
memorized the Quran so therefore these Rulings are made and agreed upon by
Muslim scholars who have a good idea of the Quran and have Memorized it. All
Muslim scholars must unite on one ruling for it to be passed and this signifies
unity. Ijma has had made various rulings such as Abu Bakr being elected as the
First Caliph or the decision for 2nd Adhan on Jumma however one ruling of Ijma
that is the most relevant to muslims today is the Compilation of the Holy Quran
during Abu Bakrs caliphate.

Q13) Give an example to show how the Quran could be used in the exercise of
Qiyas (analogy

An example on how Quran can be used i the exercise of Qiyas (analogy) is firstly
refer to Allahs statement in Quran of anything that intoxicates u being banned.
When this was revealed in the Quran the only known intoxicant was alcohol
However in recent times many new intoxicants such as drugs have been created
and a uprise in their usage has led to a qiyas being formed to create judgement on
wether these drugs (Non-medical) should be banned as they intoxicate you. In the
end Muslim Scholars decided that all Drugs that inxtoicate u (Excluding drugs that
do not intoxicate u and drugs used for medical purposes)should be banned.