Choose any two of the following passages from the Qur'an. (i) بَدِيعُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ أَنَّى يَكُونُ لَهُ وَلَدٌ وَلَمْ تَكُن لَهُ صَاحِبَةٌ وَخَلَقَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ وَهُوَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ ذَلِكُمُ اللَّهُ رَبُّكُمْ لا إلهَ إلا هُوَ خَالِقُ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ فَاعْبُدُوهُ وَهُوَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ وَكِيلٌ لا تُدْرِكْهُ الْأَبْصَارُ وَهُوَ يُدْرِكُ الأَبْصَارَ وَهُوَ اللَّطِيفُ الْخَبِيرُ Sura 6.101-103 101. To Him is due the primal origin of the heavens and the earth: how can He have a son when He has no consort? He created all things, and He has full knowledge of all things. 102. That is Allah, your Lord! there is no god but He, the Creator of all things: then worship Him: and He has power to dispose of all affairs. 103. No vision can grasp Him, but His grasp is over all vision: He is above all comprehension, yet is acquainted with all things. (ii) افرأَ بِاسْمِ رَبِّكَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ خَلَقَ الْإِنسَانَ مِنْ عَلَقٍ اقْرَأْ وَرَبُّكَ الأَكْرَمُ الَّذِي عَلَّمَ بِالْقَلْمِ عَلَّمَ الْإِنسَانَ مَا لَمْ يَعْلَمْ Sura 96.1-5 1. Read! in the name of your Lord, who created, 2. Created man out of a clot of congealed blood: 3. Proclaim! And your Lord is most bountiful, 4. He who taught by the pen, 5. Taught man what he did not know. (iii) إِذْ قَالَ اللهُ يَا عِيسَى ابْنَ مَرْيَمَ ادْكُرْ نِعْمَتِي عَلَيْكَ وَعَلَى وَالِدَتِكَ إِذْ أَيَّدتُكَ بِرُوحِ الْقُدُسِ تُكَلِّمُ النَّاسَ فِي الْمَهْدِ وَكَهْلَا وَإِدْ عَلَّمْتُكَ الْكِتَابَ وَالْحِكْمَة وَالتَّوْرَاةَ وَالإِنجِيلَ وَإِذْ تَخْلُقُ مِنَ الطِّينِ كَهَيْئَةِ الطَّيْرِ بِإِذْنِي فَتَنفُخُ فِيهَا فَتَكُونُ طَيْرًا بِإِذْنِي وَتُبْرِىءُ الأَكْمَهَ وَالْأَبْرَصَ بِإِذْنِي وَإِذْ تُخْرِجُ المَوتَى بِإِذْنِي وَإِذْ كَفَقْتُ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ عَنكَ إِدْ جِئْتَهُمْ بِالْبَيِّنَاتِ فقَالَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا مِنْهُمْ إِنْ هَذَا إِلَّا سِحْرٌ مُّبِينٌ Sura 5.110 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 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.'

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (Oct/Nov 2023). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. Sura 6.101-103 (Allah in Himself): God's power is shown as He is the only one to control the heavens and the earth. Everything originates with Him.
2. Sura 6.101-103 (Allah in Himself): He has knowledge of everything, so although humans cannot understand Him, He understands everything in creation.
3. Sura 6.101-103 (Allah in Himself): People should turn to God. He is the One who has the power to help humans, and He hears and sees all that they do, therefore they should worship Him and pray to Him to reward their actions.
4. Sura 96.1-5 (Allah's relationship with the created world): God is the Creator which is shown in this Sura through the way humans were created from a clot of blood.
5. Sura 96.1-5 (Allah's relationship with the created world): He gives creation what they need, in this case, knowledge of God. This shows His generosity.
6. Sura 96.1-5 (Allah's relationship with the created world): Being the first revelation was the beginning of Islam and prophethood.
7. Sura 96.1-5 (Allah's relationship with the created world): There is an emphasis on the importance of knowledge and the knowledge that God gives to humankind.
8. Sura 5.110 (Allah's messengers): God's assistance and guidance to His prophets, in this case Jesus, was helped by the holy spirit, the Book and the wisdom, the Law and the Gospel.
9. Sura 5.110 (Allah's messengers): Jesus performed miracles but only with God's permission, “by my leave”.
10. Sura 5.110 (Allah's messengers): God supports Prophets in their mission by giving them miracles.
11. Sura 5.110 (Allah's messengers): Prophets' face opposition and persecution. In this case Jesus was rejected with claims of magic.
12. Sura 6.101-103: These teachings emphasise the importance of tawhid for Muslims and that there is only one God worthy of worship.
13. Sura 6.101-103: Humankind is asked to worship Him as it says in this passage that only He can fulfil their needs, so Muslims should be careful to pray and fast, etc to fulfil their obligation to Him, and turn to Him only.
14. Sura 6.101-103: He also sees and hears all that humankind does, so Muslims should keep this in mind in all that they do and say. In a world where there are lots of distractions, this Sura could remind Muslims that they should always remember their Creator as the ultimate authority over their affairs.
15. Sura 96.1-5: The importance of this Sura is that it allows humans to understand how God created them from nothing.
16. Sura 96.1-5: Seeking knowledge is encouraged and so humankind should try their best to learn throughout their lives, especially religious knowledge so they can get to know their Lord. Each subject, RE, science, etc has a value to it and can help humans get closer to God.
17. Sura 96.1-5: It also helps Muslims understand how prophethood and Islam started, and they should reflect upon what God has sent down for them to help them live their lives. Therefore, they should be grateful to God.
18. Sura 5.110: These teachings reaffirm for Muslims the prophethood of Jesus and the power of God.
19. Sura 5.110: The teachings show humans are capable of great feats, but it is God who gives permission, strength and assistance for these; moon landings, space travel, etc.
20. Sura 5.110: 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.