Give five actions which Muslims perform according to the Sunnah.

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (Oct/Nov 2023). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. [1] Pray five times per day
2. [1] Perform ablution (wudu)
3. [1] Follow the Five Pillars (credit each example)
4. [1] Actions following the character of Muhammad (pbuh) (credit each example)
5. [1] Actions of humbleness and piety
6. [1] Examples: speaking gently and kindly; taking time to perform prayers with focus and concentration; the specific actions and parts of prayer such as bowing (ruku), prostration (sajdah) and so on.
7. [1] Credit any reasonable examples.
8. [10] Mark according to the AO1 – 10-mark levels of response marking grid for knowledge and understanding.
9. [Content] Answers may include some of the following ideas, but all valid material must be credited.
10. [Content] The Sunnah is one of the primary sources of Islamic law, second only to the Qur'an, the word of God. To establish the Sunnah, Hadith categorised as strong are used, to ensure that they are authentic and therefore can be used as authoritative sources to make legal rulings.
11. [Content] Examples of how strong Hadith might be used could be given. For example, the Qur'an informs Muslims of their duty to pray; Hadith inform them how and when to pray based on the Sunnah of Muhammad (pbuh). Many strong Hadith record the details of the positions of prayer, the actions for preparation, the times of the day based on the exact position of the sun and the light and so on. Credit examples where given.
12. [Content] The Hanafi school of jurisprudence was founded before Bukhari had made his Hadith collection. Imam Hanifa accepted Hadith as strong if they had three narrators or more and that the character of those narrators was consistent with the Hadith they narrated. In other words, they acted as they preached. This gave the Hadith credibility for use as the second source of law after the word of God, the Qur'an.
13. [Content] The Maliki school of thought was based on the habits and practices of the people of Medina who had preserved the Sunnah with thousands of Hadiths. They used Hadiths together with the living traditions of the Medinans.
14. [Content] The Shafi'i school of thought used the categorisation of Hadith and used authentic, strong Hadith to try to resolve small differences in practice between Hanafi and Maliki schools which came earlier than Shafi'i. Imam Shafi'i wrote in his book, Risala, that strong Hadith were as important as the Qur'an for use in establishing legal rulings in his school of fiqh.
15. [Content] Hanbali scholars developed this school of thought at the same time as Bukhari was collecting Hadith. Imam Hanbal used many Hadith including both strong and some weak Hadith to make his justifications.
16. [10] Mark according to the AO2 – 10-mark levels of response marking grid for analysis and evaluation. Answers may refer to any religious theory or teaching. Candidates may propose, analyse and evaluate some of the following arguments. All relevant arguments must be credited.
17. [Definitions] Introductions might briefly define what weak Hadith are, according to their classification in terms of subject matter (matn) and chain of narrators (isnad).
18. [To what extent] Weak Hadith may be used to support and promote good actions, and with good intentions: to worship God and promote good actions consistent with the Qur'an and Sunnah. Muslims should be rewarded according to their intentions.
19. [To what extent] In support, a weak Hadith might support established Hadith, in discussion by Islamic scholars.
20. [To what extent] Weak Hadith can still be used provided their content is consistent and not in contradiction to strong Hadith. Some Hadith are only weak because one piece of information, such as a gap in the chain is missing, not because the Hadith subject is wrong.
21. [To what extent] Weak Hadith may be used provided their use is qualified. In other words, the teacher should make clear that there are issues with this Hadith and not make rulings claiming the Hadith is certain.
22. [To what extent] Weak Hadith might be the only source available on a certain topic or issue, therefore their use might be better than nothing.
23. [To what extent] However, the use of weak Hadith could potentially lead to errors in the practice of religion or lead a Muslim away from true worship and risk mistakes and corruption. Muslims are aware that people in the past forgot their revelations and were led astray over time, so are insistent that Islam is not changed in any way by any mistakes in interpretation.
24. [To what extent] The Hadith collectors rejected the use of weak Hadith. Imam Muslim, one of the Hadith collectors, condemned the use of weak Hadith and said that people should stick to using strong ones.
25. [To what extent] There is no need to use weak Hadith when all necessary meanings can be found in authentic Hadith. Leaving aside weak Hadith avoids issues of doubt.
26. [Conclusions] Conclusions should make a personal judgement about the issue bearing in mind the arguments made, and clearly state if weak Hadith might be used in any circumstances and if so, to what extent.