Choose any two of the following passages from the Qur'an, and: (1) قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ النَّاسِ، مَلِكِ النَّاسِ، إِلَهِ النَّاسِ، مِن شَرِّ الْوَسْوَاسِ الْخَنَّاسِ الَّذِي يُوَسْوِسُ فِي صُدُورِ النَّاسِ مِنَ الْجِنَّةِ وَ النَّاسِ (i) 1. Say: I seek refuge with the Lord of mankind, 2. The King of mankind, 3. The God of Mankind, 4. From the mischief of the whisperer who withdraws, 5. Who whispers into the hearts of mankind, 6. Among jinns and among mankind. (Sura 114) (ii) إِذْ قَالَ اللهُ يَا عِيسَى ابْنَ مَرْيَمَ ادْكُرْ نِعْمَتِي عَلَيْكَ وَعَلَى وَالِدَتِكَ إِذْ أَيَّدتُكَ بِرُوحِ الْقُدُسِ تُكَلِّمُ النَّاسَ فِي الْمَهْدِ وَكَهْلاً وَإِذْ عَلَّمْتُكَ الْكِتَابَ وَالْحِكْمَة وَالتَّوْرَاةَ وَالإِنجِيلَ وَإِذْ تَخْلُقُ مِنَ الطِّينِ كَهَيْئَةِ الطَّيْرِ بِإِذْنِي فَتَنفُخُ فِيهَا فَتَكُونُ طَيْرًا بِإِذْنِي وَتُبْرِىءُ الأَكْمَهَ وَالأَبْرَصَ بِإِذْنِي وَإِذْ تُخْرِجُ المَوتَى بِإِذْنِي وَإِذْ كَفَفْتُ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ عَنكَ إِذْ جِئْتَهُمْ بِالْبَيِّنَاتِ فَقَالَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا مِنْهُمْ إِنْ هَذَا إِلَّا سِحْرٌ مُّبِينٌ (ii) Then will Allah say: ‘Jesus son of Mary! Recount my favour to you and to your mother. Behold! I strengthened you with the holy spirit, so that you spoke to the people in childhood and in maturity. Behold! I taught you the Book and Wisdom, the Law and the Gospel. And behold! You make out of clay, as it were, the figure of a bird, by my leave, and you breathe into it and it becomes a bird by my leave, and you heal those born blind, and the lepers, by my leave. And behold! You bring forth the dead by my leave. And behold! I restrained the Children of Israel from you when you showed them the clear signs, and the unbelievers among them said: 'This is nothing but evident magic.' (Sura 5.110) (iii) إِنَّا أَعْطَيْنَاكَ الْكَوْثَرَ فَصَلِّ لِرَبِّكَ وَانْحَرْ إِنَّ شَانِئَكَ هُوَ الْأَبْتَرُ (iii) 1. To you have We granted abundance. 2. So pray to your Lord and sacrifice. 3. For he who hates you, he will be cut off. (Sura 108)

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (Oct/Nov 2018). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. [4] Sura 114: The main themes are: God as refuge; God as Lord; God as Protector. Candidates will develop these themes in their own way, e.g., saying that only He can help in times of need, in this case from jinn and men. People should seek help only from Him; He created everything so controls everything, even mischief makers. It's a warning of those who whisper evil/bad ideas to humans, and then disappear and leave them on their own; God is a protector from these things; it is one of the suras of protection.
2. [4] Sura 5.110: The main themes are, God and His prophets; that humans need God; that God gives signs to humankind. Candidates will develop these themes in their own way, e.g., saying that God gives guidance to His prophets to help them, in this case Jesus got the holy spirit, the Book and the wisdom, the Law and the Gospel; humans can do great things but only with God's permission, 'by my leave'; God gives humankind signs through prophets of His existence, which separates those who believe and those who don't.
3. [4] Sura 108: The main themes are: God's mercy; God's generosity; His relationship with the Prophet Muhammad. Candidates will develop these themes in their own way, e.g., saying in His mercy, God granted the Prophet success, and because of this the Prophet and all Muslims should continue to worship God even in times of difficulty. God remains near to His prophets. It was also revealed as a consolation to the Prophet and foretold the destruction of his opponents.
4. [4] Sura 114: Through these verses Muslims get to know the kind of evils/mischief they have to be wary of. This means they should be aware of what's happening to them so they can recognise the signs of mischief. Praying and doing good deeds strengthens reliance on God. Reciting this sura with the other 'quls' is a source of protection. God is the King so it is Him who people should seek refuge with.
5. [4] Sura 5.110: These teachings reaffirm for Muslims the prophethood of Jesus and the power of God. Humans are capable of great feats but it is God who gives permission for these; moon landings, space travel etc. Muslims should use these as signs of God's grace and believe in His power to control everything and allow things to happen. They should therefore remember Him often, by praying, supplicating or doing good deeds, etc. to ensure they are counted as believers.
6. [4] Sura 108: The teachings give an insight into how the relationship between God and the Prophet has lessons for Muslims. Muslims today are that future generation of followers that was given to the Prophet, and so this sura gives hope to people in times of need. Future hope is also given with the promise of the Kawthar in paradise. God always intervenes in times of difficulty, so Muslims should always remember to look to Him for help and support, and not feel disheartened in times of difficulty, e.g. during illness or oppression. Muslims should remain steadfast despite the difficulties or mockeries that they face.