Choose any two of the following passages from the Qur'an, and: (i) لَهُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الأَرْضِ وَهُوَ الْعَلِيُّ الْعَظِيمُ تَكَادُ السَّمَاوَاتُ يَتَفَطَّرْنَ مِن فَوْقِهِنَّ وَالْمَلَائِكَةُ يُسَبِّحُونَ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّهِمْ وَيَسْتَغْفِرُونَ لِمَن فِي الْأَرْضِ أَلا إِنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ (i) 4. To Him belongs all that is in the heavens and on earth: and He is most high, most great. 5. The heavens are almost rent asunder from above them, and the angels celebrate the praises of their Lord, and pray for forgiveness for beings on earth: Behold! Verily Allah is He, the oft-forgiving, the most merciful. (Sura 42.4-5) (ii) وَالضُّحَى وَاللَّيْلِ إِذَا سَجَى مَا وَدَّعَكَ رَبُّكَ وَمَا قَلَى وَالْآخِرَةُ خَيْرٌ لَكَ مِنَ الْأُولى وَلَسَوْفَ يُعْطِيكَ رَبُّكَ فَتَرْضَى أَلَمْ يَجِدْكَ يَتِيمًا فَآوَى وَوَجَدَكَ ضَالًّا فَهَدَى وَوَجَدَكَ عَائِلًا فَأَغْنَى فَأَمَّا الْيَتِيمَ فَلَا تَقْهَرْ وَأَمَّا السَّائِلَ فَلَا تَنْهَرْ وَأَمَّا بِنِعْمَةِ رَبِّكَ فَحَدِّتْ (ii) 1. By the glorious morning light, 2. And by the night when it is still, 3. Your Lord has not forsaken you, nor is He displeased. 4. And truly the Hereafter will be better for you than the present. 5. And soon your Lord will give you so that you will be pleased. 6. Did He not find you an orphan and give you shelter? 7. And He found you wandering, and He gave you guidance. 8. And He found you in need, and made you independent. 9. Therefore, do not treat the orphan with harshness, 10. Nor drive the beggar away; 11. But tell about the bounty of your Lord! (Sura 93) (iii) إِذْ قَالَ اللهُ يَا عِيسَى ابْنَ مَرْيَمَ ادْكُرْ نِعْمَتِي عَلَيْكَ وَعَلَى وَالِدَتِكَ إِذْ أَيَّدتُّكَ بِرُوحِ الْقُدُسِ تُكَلِّمُ النَّاسَ فِي الْمَهْدِ وَكَهْلاً وَإِدْ عَلَّمْتُكَ الْكِتَابَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ وَالتَّوْرَاةَ وَالإِنجِيلَ وَإِذْ تَخْلُقُ مِنَ الطِّينِ كَهَيْئَةِ الطَّيْرِ بِإِذْنِي فَتَنفُخُ فِيهَا فَتَكُونُ طَيْرًا بِإِذْنِي وَتُبْرِىءُ الأَكْمَهَ وَالأَبْرَصَ بِإِدْنِي وَإِذْ تُخْرِجُ المَوتَى بِإِذْنِي وَإِذْ كَفَقْتُ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ عَنكَ إِذْ جِئْتَهُمْ بِالْبَيِّنَاتِ فَقَالَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا مِنْهُمْ إِنْ هَذَا إِلَّا سِحْرٌ مُّبِينٌ (iii) 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)

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (May/June 2016). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. [4] (a)(i) The main themes are that His Majesty and greatness is being confirmed; God is the Creator; forgiveness and guidance are given from God to humanity. Candidates will develop these themes in their own way, e.g. saying the heavens are almost torn apart due to His greatness above them; He is the owner of everything because He created it; the angels pray for the guidance of humans on earth, as it is God who is the forgiving, the merciful.
2. [4] (a)(ii) The main themes are God as companion; He helps His prophets, in this case the Prophet Muhammad; it teaches being grateful to God. Candidates will develop these themes in their own way, e.g. it is God who helps in need, so when distressed, Muslims should turn to Him; this sura is directed to the Prophet himself showing how God helped him, in this case with shelter, guidance and independence; gives message of being kind and helpful to others in need, like orphans and beggars, and realising that a person's benefits all come from thanking God.
3. [4] (a)(iii) 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 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. These are examples candidates can write about; they should be credited for other, relevant answers. Candidates should show how the theme(s) they choose is distinctive in that passage. The best answers will have a few themes with development.
4. [4] (b)(i) The importance here is that God tells humankind of His power and control over all things, so they should remember that they do not have any power in comparison. God is Merciful, even when Muslims have committed wrong actions, so Muslims have someone to turn to in times of need. As God is merciful to humankind, they in turn should be grateful and also try to be forgiving of others, even if they have been hurt or injured.
5. [4] (b)(ii) These themes tell humans to not worry when others tease them; God gave blessings to the Prophet Muhammad, despite people saying that he had been forgotten by God. Muslims should look at their own lives to see their blessings and not think they have been given nothing; they should not constantly want more than what they have. They should be grateful to God through prayers, giving charity and helping those less fortunate than themselves and they should make people aware of the ways in which God helps them.
6. [4] (b)(iii) 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. Candidates can mention other points with examples or personalising passages about their own/Muslims' lives. This could take them higher up the levels.