5

Mark scheme

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

1. [10] (a) Bilal ibn Rabah: he was originally from Ethiopia and he was a slave. After conversion he suffered harsh persecution at the hands of his master, being laid on the hot sand for days; despite this he did not give up his faith; he was one of the slaves freed by Abu Bakr; he migrated to Madina and fought in all the battles. In Madina he was appointed as the first muezzin Abdullah ibn Zayd had a dream that he narrated to the Prophet, and the Prophet asked him to narrate it to Bilal and asked him to give the call to prayer because he had a beautiful voice. At the Battle of Badr he killed his former master, and fought at Uhud and Khandaq; he gave the adhan after the Conquest of Makka, and after the death of the Prophet he was so grief stricken he refused to call the adhan again and left Madina; he went to Damascus and died there. Ja'far ibn Abi Talib: he was the son of Abu Talib and so the cousin of the Prophet; he was an early convert to Islam, and went in the second delegation that migrated to Abyssinia; there he was a spokesperson for the Muslims and spoke to the Negus when the Quraysh accused the Muslims of abandoning their people; he replied saying before Islam they were uncivilised and Islam called them to One God, speaking the truth and refraining from bloodshed; he also recited a portion of sura Maryam; he was generous and became known as 'the father of the poor'; he fought at the Battle of Mut'a and died there. Salman al-Farsi: from Isfahan in Persia, he grew up a Magian, became a Zoroastrian priest in charge of a fire temple; he left his family to join a Christian group and travelled around the Middle East visiting and learning from various priests; one of them told him about the Prophet Muhammad being the final messenger; Salman found a group of Arab leaders to take him to Madina, but half way there they made him a slave and sold him to a Jew, who eventually took him to Yathrib; he lived as a slave there and then heard the news of the Prophet's arrival in Madina; he found the signs of the priest to be true about the Prophet and submitted to Islam; the Prophet and companions helped him buy his freedom from slavery; the Prophet himself planted the date plants; at the Battle of Khandaq he had the idea of digging the trench; he was unique in that he was well versed in Christianity, Zoroastrianism and Islam; he was the first person to translate the Qur'an into a foreign language, translating parts of it into Persian; he is said to have died during the reign of the Caliph 'Uthman.
2. [4] (b) Candidates could offer a variety of reasons, but should try to explain their significance. They could say, e.g. that whilst slavery was permitted, it was to show that there is a preference for people to be free, and if you can aid in freeing someone you should. It was also to show that even though someone had been a slave, or was from another land/country, that their status in faith was the same as everyone else, and that they should be treated equally. The equality of humans and their place in the ummah is emphasised over their colour, ethnicity or background. These former slaves were given prominence in the community to highlight this equality. Better candidates could also say that this is significant for Muslims now who may not treat other Muslims the same because of their background, ethnicity or social status.