Read the following text passages, then answer the questions which follow. Qur'an 25.68-70 Those who invoke not, with Allah, any other god, nor slay such life as Allah has made sacred except for just cause, nor commit fornication; and any that does this (not only) meets punishment. (But) the Penalty on the Day of Judgment will be doubled to him, and he will dwell therein in ignominy,– Unless he repents, believes, and works righteous deeds, for Allah will change the evil of such persons into good, and Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. Hadith 18, Repentance 'Abdullah bin Umar bin Al-Khattab reported that: The Prophet (pbuh) said, “Allah accepts a slave's repentance as long as the latter is not on his death bed (that is, before the soul of the dying person reaches the throat).” [At-Tirmidhi]

Mark scheme

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

1. [1] (a) Muslims are warned against associating others with God (shirk), which is an unforgivable sin.
2. [1] (a) Murder of a person without reason is severely condemned in Islam.
3. [1] (a) Muslim couples are forbidden from committing adultery and non-married people from committing fornication.
4. [1] (a) For those who have sinned on earth, they will have a severe punishment on the Day of Judgement.
5. [1] (a) However, Muslims are encouraged to repent and to stop committing sinful acts.
6. [1] (a) They are also advised to do good deeds, so that God can replace their bad deeds with the good ones and reward them rather than punish them.
7. [10] (b) Candidates might start explaining the Hadith which shows how important it is for Muslims to repent to God. Even if people have sinned their whole life, and they turn to God in sincere repentance just before dying, they will be forgiven.
8. [10] (b) The Prophet (pbuh) has encouraged Muslims to repent (tawbah). In a Hadith he says: 'All sons of Adam sin, the best of these sinners are those who repent.' This shows that it is human nature to sin, Satan will make sin attractive to humans, so they fall into that which God has forbidden. But that does not mean that all humans are doomed to go to hell, God in His clemency has shown them the way out and it is to repent.
9. [10] (b) In another Hadith he says that God has 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.” This means that Muslims should not feel that they have sinned too much, and they have reached a point where they will not be forgiven, all they need to do is to repent sincerely, and they will attain God's forgiveness.
10. [10] (b) The Prophet (pbuh), himself who is the model par excellence, used to repent a lot. In a Hadith in Sahih Bukhari, he says: 'By Allah, I seek forgiveness from Allah and I repent to Him more than seventy times in a day.' The reasons for him repenting even though he did not commit sins is because he knew that God loves the act of repenting and that is why he encouraged Muslims to do so.
11. [10] (b) In another Hadith the Prophet (pbuh) has explained how humans should not despair if they sin: 'By Him in Whose Hand is my life, if you were not to commit sin, Allah would sweep you out of existence and He would replace (you by) those people who would commit sin and seek forgiveness from Allah, and He would have pardoned them.'
12. [10] (c) Candidates could start by saying that God has made paradise as an incentive for worshippers to worship him and has made hell as a deterrent from committing sin and disbelieving in him.
13. [10] (c) The fear of God's punishment is a motivation for Muslims to do good deeds and to keep away from sins. The Qur'an abounds in warnings against the hellfire which is the ultimate destination of the wrongdoers.
14. [10] (c) 'Unless I proclaim what I receive from Allah and His Messages: for any that disobey Allah and His Messenger, for them is Hell: they shall dwell therein for ever.' (Qur'an 72.23)
15. [10] (c) The punishment of God is also shown as a disgrace which Muslims will want to avoid at all costs. 'Know they not that for those Who oppose God and His Apostle, Is the Fire of Hell?– Wherein they shall dwell. That is the supreme disgrace.' (Quran 9. 63).
16. [10] (c) However, Muslims should be more hopeful of God's forgiveness as mentioned in the Qur'an: Say: 'O my Servants who Have transgressed against their souls! Despair not of the Mercy of God: for God forgives all sins: for He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. (Qur'an 39.53)
17. [10] (c) In the Hadith the Prophet (pbuh) has said that even if a person comes with sins that reach the sky, he will still be forgiven by God.
18. [10] (c) Muslims are aware of God's punishment just as they know that God can be very forgiving. Their fear of being punished should be balanced by the hope that they will be forgiven.
19. [10] (c) In a Hadith the Prophet (pbuh) has said: 'Had the believer known of all the punishment which is present with Allah, no one (of them) would long for paradise. And had the non-believer known of all the Mercy which is in the Hands of Allah, no one (of them) would lose hope of entering Paradise.'
20. [10] (c) Ibn Qayyim has a famous quote regarding this issue: “The heart on its path to Allah the Almighty is like a bird, where love is its head, and fear and hope are its wings.
21. [10] (c) Some scholars say that when a person is in a state of safety and wellbeing, he should have more fear than hope. Likewise, when a person is gravely ill, preparing to depart the worldly life, he should have more hope than fear.
22. [10] (c) The Prophet (pbuh) once entered upon a young man on his deathbed and asked him: How do you feel? The young man replied, “By Allah, O Messenger of Allah, I have hope in Allah and I fear for my sins", The Messenger (pbuh) replied, “never do these two feelings (of hope and fear) come together in the heart of a servant except that Allah grants the servant that which he hopes for and saves him from that which he fears.'
23. [10] (c) Conclusion: A conclusion could be drawn that it is important to strike a balance between the two, a person should not feel so safe from the punishment of God as to fall into sin, nor should they despair from God's mercy if they are sinful.