Question 4 — Islam (20 marks)
In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful, ...to You alone do we turn for help.
Guide us along the straight path.
Qur’an 1:2–6
To what extent does this quotation express the distinctive Islamic answer to the enduring
questions of human existence?
Question 4 — Islam
Criteria
• Presents a sophisticated, thorough response considering how the
quotation expresses the ways in which Islam provides a distinctive
response to the enduring questions of human existence
• Supports the interpretation with detailed, relevant and accurate
information concerning significant people/schools of thought, AND/OR
ethics AND/OR significant practice
• Uses relevant and accurate terminology in a cohesive response
• Attempts to present a reasoned response considering how the
quotation expresses the ways in which Islam provides a distinctive
answer to the enduring questions of human existence
• Supports the interpretation with accurate information concerning
significant people/schools of thought, AND/OR ethics AND/OR
significant practice
• Uses relevant terminology in a well-structured response
• May attempt a limited response considering how the quotation
expresses the ways in which Islam provides a distinctive answer to the
enduring questions of human existence
• Supports the interpretation with relevant information concerning
significant people/schools of thought, AND/OR ethics AND/OR
significant practice
• Attempts to use relevant terminology in a largely descriptive structured
response
• Presents a general response with some information about significant
people/schools of thought, AND/OR ethics AND/OR significant practices
• May use relevant terminology
• Makes general statements about Islam
• Provides limited relevant detail
Marks
17–20
13–16
9–12
5–8
1–4
Sample Answer
The world Islam is derived from the Arab word ‘salaam’ which means peace. The beliefs of Islam
greatly impact the lives of Muslims as they strive to explore the enduring questions of human
existence. Rabi’a al-Adawiyya, a significant Muslim mystic, the practice of Hajj and the Muslim
ethical teachings in the area of bioethics all assist to guide the Muslim adherent ‘along the straight
path.’
Rabi’a al-Adawiyya was an important figure in Islam as a mystic and model of Sufism. She lived
c.713 – 801 CE in Basra [Iraq]. She is described by some Muslims as being a Saint of Islam and
was the first in a long line of female Sufi mystics. She is regarded as a figure to emulate in terms of
lifestyle and relationship with Allah. She was important as a teacher and interpreter of concepts
and became a spiritual guide. She believed in renouncing the world and its associated attractions
and temptations and promoted total submission to Allah. She worked to spread the messages of
Islam, and encouraged Islamic adherents to integrate their faith into every aspect of their lives. Her
writings and artistry, particularly her poetry, remain known today as they were in her time.
Her strict adherence to her faith so impressed her master that she was eventually set free. The
stories associated with Rabi’a had and still have an important effect on Muslims. They describe a
believer renouncing the world ‘In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful’ and the world’s
associated attractions and temptations promoting total submission to Allah saying ‘They block the
way to Allah’. She is the model of one who understands that it is Allah who will ‘guide us along the
straight path.’ Her teachings were seen as radical and significantly contributed to the progression
of Islam. She taught through the example of her life and through her writings and poetry. Rabi’a’s
writing is mystical and describes visions of God, Heaven, beauty and love. They describe her
singular desire to know God. ‘My Lord, if I worship You from fear of hell, burn me in hell, and if I
worship You from hope of Paradise, exclude me thence, but if I worship You for Your own sake,
then withhold not from me Your eternal beauty.
She challenged the norm of Muslim/Arab practice, choosing to remain celibate. Mysticism was not
an accepted practice in Islam; that Rabi’a became a spiritual guide for others is evidence of her
impact. Rabi’a radically encouraged others to seek intimate union with Allah. To even try to attain
such union was previously outside the beliefs of Islam. Rabi’a’s primary legacy is her role as a
model for Sufism. She is described by some Muslims as being a Saint of Islam. Rabi’a gave herself
to the task of communicating with Allah. Coming from a life of subservience, she was brave to
spread the teachings of Allah. She expressed the strict Muslim concept of not having desires or
wants or needs of any kind, other than serving Allah. She was important as a teacher and
interpreter of concepts. She did not spread the message of Islam in a large-scale activity, rather
she directed her message towards individuals. Large-scale preaching was prescriptive and limiting,
whereas her effective methods urged her audience to think.
The Hajj is a six day pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, and spiritually significant surrounding
sites, in which pilgrims (known as Hajji) partake in a series of activities at these locations, recalling
key religious events that have taken place there, engaging with and expressing the key beliefs of
their faith. Therefore, by undertaking the Hajj, Muslims are expressing their faith in Allah by
completing their duty to him.
The Hajj begins on the 8th Day of Thul-Hijjah at Meequat, where pilgrims bathe and enter the state
of Ihram by dressing in conservative white clothing, denoting purity and equality. After officially
beginning the Hajj, pilgrims travel to Mecca, the home of the Ka’ba, the holiest site in Islam, where
they undergo the ritual of Tawaf. Tawaf involves circling the Ka’ba seven times, expressing
obedience and totals submission to Allah, the quintessential element of Islam, as prescribed in the
Qu’ran. The pilgrims come, announcing their presence to God, the Lord of the Ka‘ba, with the cry,
‘At your service, Lord God.’ This stage completed at Mecca also includes drinking from the well of
Zam Zam, commemorating the well opening in the desert that saved Hajar and Is’mail from dying
of first. This is an expression of one of the principal beliefs of Islam; that if the adherents submit
fully to Allah, he will provide for them. Another ritual, Sa’i, involves walking between Safa and
Marwah, emulating the journey of Hajar’s search for water, again reaffirming that Allah will provide
for all Muslim adherents.
The journey continues at Mina, where pilgrims spend the night in tents, reading the Qu’ran, praying
and reflecting on their journey so far as well as what is to come. The Hajji then travel to the Mount
of Mercy, located in the Plain of Arafat, which is said to be the location that Adam and Eve asked
for Allah’s forgiveness and were subsequently forgiven. By replicating this story and standing on
the Mount in a public proclamation of faith, Muslim adherents are expressing their profound belief
in Allah and submitting to him.
Arafat is also the location for the Festival of Sacrifice, or ‘Id-ul-Adha’. In this stage of the Hajj,
pilgrims must sacrifice an animal or pay for an animal to be sacrificed on their behalf in order to
display their commitment and obedience to Allah, again affirming their submission to Allah. The
purpose of this ritual is to encourage Muslims to model their lives on the example of Ibrahim who
embodies total submission to Allah, a key belief in Islam. After the Plain of Arafat, pilgrims travel to
Muzdalifah where they collect 49 or 70 stones that use to stone the three pillars at Mina in a ritual
known as Jamraat which commemorates Ibrahim’s refusal to give in to the devil when he saved his
son Isaac from being sacrificed. This is a public expression of Islam’s rejection of the devil in
accordance with their principal beliefs. The Hajj concludes with a return to Mecca, where the Tawaf
is then completed again, reminding the individual once again of the diversity of Islam but also of
the unity that the Hajj creates as Muslims gather together with no distinctions between race,
nationality, gender and age.
The Hajj is a highly significant practice in Islam and an essential vehicle for the expression of the
principal beliefs of Islam, particularly submission to Allah, as it involves a series of rituals that
commemorate a significant event within the core beliefs of Islam. At the end of Hajj, the pilgrim
becomes much closer to Allah, confident that they were able to complete this very important tenet
of their religious tradition because they did so ‘In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most
Merciful...’
In Islam, ethical practice is defined by Allah. The principles for decision making in Islam derive
mainly from the Qur’an, the Hadith, and the Sunnah. There are also secondary sources of Shari’a,
or Islamic law. These may include respected scholars. According to Islamic bioethics there must be
courtesy in all human relations and transactions. One has responsibilities to one’s neighbours and
a duty of care, even to animals. Muslims apply the basic principles of fiqh (which literally means
understanding) to broader issues, forming the basis for the development of legal opinions on a
range of problems as they strive to answer the enduring questions of human existence. In Islam,
life is sacred: every moment of life has great value, even if it is of poor quality. The saving of life is
a duty and the unwarranted taking of life is a grave sin. The Qur’an affirms the reverence for
human life: ‘… that whoever slays a soul, unless it be for manslaughter or for mischief in the land, it
is as though he slew all men; and whoever keeps it alive, it is as though he kept alive all men.’ And
it is this passage that legitimises medical advances in saving lives and justifies the prohibition of
both suicide and euthanasia: ‘… to protect human life in all stages and under all circumstances, ….
To be …, an instrument of God’s mercy...’ Oath of the Muslim Doctor.
It is clear that these three aspects of Islamic life, when lived ‘In the name of God, Most Gracious,
Most Merciful’ all combine to guide the adherent ‘along the straight path’ as they strive to live their
lives as ‘the distinctive Islamic answer to the enduring questions of human existence’.