Describe the main events in the Prophet's life before he was granted prophethood.

Mark scheme

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

1. [10] (a) Candidates should write a detailed narrative elaborating on the points mentioned below. He was born in the year of the elephant; his parents were Amina and Abdullah; as with the custom of the time, he was sent to the desert with a wet nurse; Halima Sa'adia narrates that they had good fortune with the arrival of the Prophet in their household, and asked that he stay with them another two years; during this time, the incident of the angels coming to clean his heart happened; Halima returned him to his mother; his mother died when he was six on her way back from Yathrib; his grandfather looked after him and then Abu Talib when he was eight; he went on trade journeys with Abu Talib and this is where Bahira the monk saw him; he picked up arrows in the sacrilegious wars, and was present at the subsequent Fudul confederacy; he was employed by Khadija to go on a trade journey to Syria and on account of his honesty she sent a marriage proposal to him; he helped resolve the issue of the fixing of the black stone; he spent longer periods in the cave of Hira and, at the age of 40, the angel Jibril came with the first revelation.
2. [4] (b) Candidates can agree or disagree, and relevant answers that try to justify their choice should be credited. They could agree and say, e.g. that his uncle was important for taking him on trade journeys with him, which helped him to learn the trade that would provide for his family later on, and also because of what Bahira told Abu Talib, he had a protector when the Muslims went through difficult times in Makka. Khadija helped to give him financial independence which allowed him more time for meditation. They could disagree and say, e.g. that they were not important because the Prophet was protected and guided by God, shown by the incident of the two angels coming to wash his heart, or that his parents and grandparents died when he was young so they were not of help for him in his prophethood.