Give an account of the Prophet's life up to the time the revelations began.

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (Oct/Nov 2014). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. [10] Candidates should write a detailed narrative elaborating on any of the points mentioned below. He was born in the year of the elephant; his parents were Amina and Abdullah; as with the custom of the time, he was sent to the desert with a wet nurse; Halima Sa'adia narrates that they had good fortune with the arrival of the Prophet in their household, and ask he stay with them another two years; during this time the incident of the angels coming to clean his heart happened; Halima returned him to his mother; his mother died when he was six on the way back from Yathrib; his grandfather looked after him and then Abu Talib when he was eight; he went on trade journeys with Abu Talib and this is where Bahira the monk saw him; he picked up arrows in the sacrilegious wars, and was present at the subsequent Fudul confederacy; he was employed by Khadija to go on a trade journey to Syria and on account of his honesty she sent a marriage proposal to him; they had six children together; he helped resolve the issue of the fixing of the black stone; he spent longer periods in the cave of Hira and at age of 40 the angel Jibril came with the first revelation.
2. [4] Candidates could choose one or two events from the life of the Prophet and explain how he was not swayed by falsehood and would only exemplify good character, even when under pressure from others. By losing his parents at young age he was growing up to be independent. Despite living in age of immorality, he was known as 'al-amin', the trustworthy. Candidates could explain how when Muslims today can be under pressure to be dishonest in business or become less committed to their prayers, they can remain the example of the Prophet and look up to his steadfastness in very challenging circumstances and use this as a model to follow. These are just some examples, candidates could offer their own but must give a reason to explain what they have written.