Give five habits of the people of Medina from the time of the Prophet (pbuh).

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (May/June 2024). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. [1] (a) To pray five times a day, following the Sunnah
2. [1] (a) To recite the call to prayer (adhan) aloud
3. [1] (a) To repeat the lines of the adhan
4. [1] (a) To recite the adhan from a high place
5. [1] (a) The words and action of the call (iqamah) before prayer
6. [1] (a) The rituals of pilgrimage (Hajj) such as where to put on clothing (ihram)
7. [1] (a) To respect the scholars who were companions of Muhammad (pbuh)
8. [1] (a) To follow the Sunnah of Muhammad (pbuh) (credit any reasonable example)
9. [1] (b) Muhammad (pbuh) lived in Medina and left behind a city run according to the way he established. Many of the features of his Sunnah were followed by the people of Medina before they were written down in the Hadith.
10. [1] (b) Many of his companions (sahaba) lived in Medina and they remembered Muhammad (pbuh) and the Sunnah well. Their practices (urf) became the norm for the people who could always check with them if in doubt about any matter, amongst the large numbers of scholars who lived in the city.
11. [1] (b) As time went on, and companions died, many of their followers (tabi 'un) still carrying on practicing the Sunnah and passing on what they heard.
12. [1] (b) Umayyad Caliph Umar II sponsored the beginnings of the Hadith collections in Medina, due to the importance of the city for Islamic scholarship.
13. [2] (b) Imam Malik, founder of one of the four Sunni schools of jurisprudence (madhhabs), lived in Medina and treated the practices of the people of Medina as a source for Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh), because they practiced the Sunnah.
14. [1] (b) He considered that if many people in the city followed a tradition, it was a reliable source for the Sunnah, whereas if a single narrator passed down a tradition which was not followed by the people of Medina, then that tradition was questionable.
15. [1] (b) The other Sunni schools of thought and their founders, as well as the Jafari Shi'i school of thought following Imam Jafar, can all be traced to Medina in some way, be it the place where the Imams lived or visited and studied. However, the practices of the people were not considered a source for law (shariah) in their own right, but rather a source for Hadith and Sunnah which contributed to the Islamic law (shariah).
16. [1] (b) Ibn Taymiyyah and modern Islamic movements, such as the Salafi movement, look back to the practices of the companions and followers (salaf) in Medina, so they have significance, and may be interpreted directly by scholars today where there is no clear position in the Qur'an and Sunnah.
17. [1] (b) Those in Medina tended to follow the practices of Islamic law (shariah) established by the people, whereas those in Kufa, and the new ‘Abbasid capital of Baghdad followed rational methods to establish Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh) and Islamic law (shariah), and scholars made interpretations of both, as Islamic legal systems developed.
18. [1] (c) Muslims today may visit the city of Medina, especially the Prophet's Mosque, and some attend university there to study Islam. Many Muslims comment on the refinement of the people of Medina and their closeness to following the Sunnah of Muhammad (pbuh) with his influence over the city. It is an inspiration to many Muslims.
19. [1] (c) However, there is no requirement on Muslims to visit Medina and it is not part of the pilgrimage (Hajj). It could be argued that it is not important to visit Medina because it is more useful to make interpretations of Islam in the place where a Muslim spends their everyday life, at home. Some might consider it relevant to visit the Prophet's grave, after the habit of some in Medina.
20. [1] (c) Nevertheless, the habits of the people of Medina helped transmit the pilgrimage (Hajj), where to put on ihram, the rites for stoning the pillars and standing at Arafat.
21. [2] (c) The practices of the people of Medina helped form the law (shariah) and some put emphasis on them today. Some Muslims believe that the companions practiced Islam better than many Muslims today, in a purer form, and so to follow the habits of the people of Medina is helpful to restore the purity of Islam and guard against later innovations.
22. [1] (c) However, the companions spread out to different cities and those in Kufa tended to take a more rational approach. In any case, it could be argued that it is the Qur'an and the Sunnah that need following, rather than the habits of the people of Medina.
23. [1] (c) The Qur'an and Sunnah might be reinterpreted for today's world to address modern issues. Following Medina might not lead to any answers for those issues as the practices of the people in Medina focused on the issues of the day.
24. [1] (c) It could be debated how far Muslims might look to the habits of the people of Medina today as against those in Muhammad's day and the habits under the Rightly-Guided Caliphs and subsequently. A distinction could be drawn between different time periods.
25. [2] (c) The question asks to discuss the relevance for Muslims today, so answers should discuss this and consider what Muslims need to guide them nowadays, possibly giving examples and relating them to the habits of the people of Medina.