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Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (Oct/Nov 2017). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. [10] (a) For this answer an account should be given about the events of the actual journey; only brief mention should be made about events before the Prophet left Makka and his arrival in Madina. The year is 622; in Makka there was a plot to assassinate the Prophet; Quraysh met at Dar al-Nadwa; a man from each tribe was sent to kill the Prophet; Jibril came giving the Prophet God's permission to migrate; Muslims had already started to migrate; Abu Bakr, ‘Ali and the Prophet were left; the Quraysh came to the Prophet's house to kill him at night, (8.30); the Prophet told 'Ali to sleep in his bed; the Prophet came out of his house and threw dust at the assassins, (36.9); Abu Bakr went with him; they took refuge in Cave Thawr; Abu Bakr went in to make sure it was clean and safe; Abu Bakr's foot was stung by an insect; they stayed in the cave three nights; Abu Bakr's son and daughter visited them; the Quraysh set a price of 100 camels for their capture; some reached the mouth of the cave; the Prophet reassured Abu Bakr; Suraqa almost caught up with them, but his horse kept stumbling; they stopped in Quba and stayed there for four days; they established a mosque; 'Ali caught up with them here; they arrived in Madina and the people welcomed the Prophet; he stayed with Ayyub al-Ansari; his camel showed them the place to build his mosque.
2. [4] (b) The best answers will be those that can draw out the similarities or differences between the Prophet's migration and the event(s) they choose to write about. They could say, e.g. that the migration is similar to the migration of some Muslims now, because Muslims now in some parts of the world are facing persecution and threat of death and are having to find other places to live; that many Muslims who have migrated were welcomed to the new country. Or they could say e.g. that the migration is not similar to Muslims now because Muslims now usually don't have people going after them to kill them; that Muslims now face dangers that the Prophet did not face, such as travelling further distances without food and water; that Muslims are not always welcome in the places they are migrating to.