List the Six Articles of Faith and give an account of what any two of them teach.

Mark scheme

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

1. [10] 4(a) A straightforward question to which a descriptive response is needed. Candidates need to list the Six Articles of Faith namely: Belief in God; angels; revealed books; prophets; life after death and Day of Judgment; and divine decree. From the Six Articles of Faith they need to choose any two and write an account of what belief in them contains. The following is a brief account of all the Six Articles of Faith is given as guidance, indicating what could be expected in answers. ∞ Belief in God means that a Muslim believes in His existence, that He is the Lord, the Creator and the Sustainer and none share His authority. Only He is entitled to worship and that He has the most beautiful names and attributes, that He is unique and no evil or deficiency can be attributed to Him. 8 The second belief in angels is about belief in their existence, as creations of God who have no right to be worshipped, belief in the names by which they are identified in the Qur'an and Sunna, and belief in the tasks assigned to them in the Qur'an. ∞ Belief in revealed books is that God sent them to various prophets and that they contained the words of God. Muslims also believe that, other than the Qur'an, all previous books are not in their original form. 8 Belief in prophets is that a prophet was sent to every nation, they were the best of humanity, their role was to convey God's message. Respect and obedience to them is due and that Muhammad (pbuh) is the seal of prophets. 8 The fifth Article believes that this world will come to an end with the command of God after which humanity will be raised again. Humankind will be accountable before God and will be rewarded or punished depending on their deeds. ∞ Belief in divine decree entails that God has foreknowledge which is all inclusive, everything is recorded and happens by God's will. God's complete knowledge over every matter does not reduce human responsibility. Both Articles selected by the candidate need to be covered in detail for a good mark.
2. [4] 4(b) A range of reasons could be given. It could be said that prophets were sent to guide humanity to the worship of their Creator, they were sent as warners, to clarify to humans the purpose of creation, to show the righteous path, providing practical examples, conveying the teachings of God. A few points could be given or one or two well developed ones. All answers need to be credited according to the evaluation offered.