EITHER

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (Oct/Nov 2025). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. [1] Muslims believe that an important part of God's nature is God's merciful characteristic.
2. [1] 'Say: "Call upon God, or Call upon Rahmān: By whatever name ye call Upon Him, (it is well): For to Him belong The Most Beautiful Names..." (Qur'an 17.110)
3. [1] One of God's names is The Most Merciful and The most beneficent translated by both Ar-rahman and Ar-rahim.
4. [1] Some scholars say Ar-Rahman is a universal mercy that God shows to all of the creation on Earth, all creatures, and all people, both the believers and non-believers and Ar-Raheem' is a specific mercy for the believers to reward them for the good they do and a special mercy for the believers on the Day of Judgment.
5. [1] The names Ar-rahman and Ar-rahim are found in the statement read at the beginning of every action that a Muslim does, the basmala reminding him that he is doing these actions by God's mercy.
6. [1] They also form part of sura Fatiha, which is read in every unit in the daily prayers (salah), so about 17 times in a day constantly reminding Muslims of God's immeasurable mercy.
7. [1] God's mercy can be manifested in the fact that He continues to provide to humans despite their sins, and also in the fact that He is ready to forgive humans however much they sin.
8. [1] In a Hadith Qudsi it is said: O son of Adam, were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky and were you then to ask forgiveness of Me, I would forgive you. O son of Adam, were you to come to Me with sins nearly as great as the earth and were you then to face Me, ascribing no partner to Me, I would bring you forgiveness nearly as great as it.
9. [1] Reference to any relevant Qur'anic verse or Hadith should be credited.
10. [1] Candidates might explain that belief in God's mercy forms part of the belief in God's names and attributes and therefore a prerequisite to be considered a Muslim.
11. [1] Candidates could agree with the statement and show that Muslims are required to show mercy to all living creatures on earth, be it humans, animals or plants.
12. [1] Ibn Taymiyah, a famous scholar has said: 'The people of the Sunnah and the Muslim community follow the Book and the Sunnah and they obey Allah and his Messenger and follow the truth. They have mercy upon the creation'.
13. [1] In Qur'an: 21.107, God says that it is incumbent on the Prophet (pbuh) to show mercy to others: 'We have not sent you except as mercy to the worlds.' This shows that other humans should follow the example of the Prophet (pbuh) in his quality of mercy.
14. [1] Qur'an 90.17 defines the believers as those who encourage each other to patience and mercy, showing the importance of being patient and merciful as a Muslim.
15. [1] In a Hadith, the Prophet (pbuh) linked having mercy to being a believer: 'By the one in whose hand is my soul, you will not enter Paradise until you are merciful to others.' (Nasa'i)
16. [1] The condition for someone to earn God's mercy is also linked to them being merciful to others: 'Those who are merciful will be shown mercy by the Merciful. Be merciful to those on the earth and the One above the heavens will have mercy upon you.' (Tirmidhi)
17. [1] And in another Hadith, the same idea is repeated: Verily, whoever does not show mercy will not receive mercy. (Bukhari). This shows that if Muslims believe in God's mercy and want to earn it, then they have to act with mercy too.
18. [1] Irrespective of whether humans believe that God is being merciful to them or not, they should still be compassionate and kind in their dealing to others, as this is part of the universal values.
19. [1] Some Muslims might argue that believing in God's mercy is an important part of the Muslims' faith without which one might not be considered a Muslim. However, acting with mercy is not part of obligatory acts (fard) of Islam.
20. [1] A Muslim can still earn a place in Jannah even if he does not show mercy, as proven by the Hadith: A man asked the Prophet, 'Do you think if I pray the five prescribed prayers, I fast the month of Ramadan, and I uphold what is lawful and unlawful without adding anything to it, will I enter Paradise?' The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, 'Yes.' The man said, 'By Allah, I will not add anything to it.' (Muslim)
21. [1] Thus, Muslims are required only to obey God, being merciful is of the domain of God.
22. [1] Candidates should come to a judgement in conclusion on whether belief in God's mercy is connected with how Muslims interact with others or they should have this belief irrespective of the way they treat others.