Quranic Passages- -Frequently asked Questions

I dedicate this posting to all of  my students of Aitchison College 

Quranic Passages (Paper 1, Q: 1)

Frequently Asked Questions 

Q.1 what should be included in the main theme of the Quranic passages?

Main theme is the central idea of the passage, around which the whole passage revolves. There can be more than one theme. Just like in Urdu, there is Markazi khayal, the only difference is theme can be more than one. This part requires:

·        Teaching

·        Lessons

·        Belief

·        Theme
 As for the meaning of reflection ,it means how the sura talks about the themes in a particular manner e.g. Sura 112 talks about the themes of God in Himself, His Oneness, His uniqueness which may be different to the way its talked about in other suras.

Q.2 How many themes are there of the Quranicc Passages?

There are 15 passage total in the syllabus. They are further divided into three major themes and each has five passages in it.

1.      Allah in Himself

2.      Allah’s relationship with His Created World

3.      Allah’s Messenger

Q.3 How many Passages are set in the paper and how many to attempt?

There are three quranic passages set in the paper and the candidates have to attempt any two. Each passage is of [4] marks.

Q.4 there are three major themes of Quranic Passages. Is it necessary that passage will set in the paper from each part of them?

This is not necessarily true. It is sole discretion of the examiner to set the quranic passage out of any three phases. So students should not take risk and he should go through all the Quranic passages.

Q.5 Can we give reference in (a) part of the question?

Yes. References are always acknowledged. But reference should be relevant and should make sense. Vague or unclear reference cannot score high.

Q.6 What should be the length of the answer?

There is no hard and fast rule for the prescribed length of the answer. Each part contain 2 marks and it should not be more than 5 lines: each line containing 8-10 words. Examiner will not mark the quantity but he is more inclined towards the quality of the work.

Q.7 What is distinctive way (part b)?

It means the uniqueness of the passage. How differently and beautifully Allah has described or explained the things in the passage. This include:

·        How does the Quran explain it

·        What example or analogy it uses

·        How similar themes are mentioned in the Quran

·        Example either from Quran or hadis

Another way of answering part (b) questions is to reflect upon their meaning to Muslims e.g. it helps Muslims to understand the nature of God,it removes doubt about God having partners. 

Q.8 Is it necessary to give reference in part (b)?

Yes. Examiner always looking for an answer of good understanding of the passage which also requires cross comparison or contrast. An appropriate reference or quote will definitely earn the candidate good score.You can give refences in both parts as long as they are relevant to the answer.

Q.9 How many references should be given?

Minimum one and maximum two references should be given to make your answer worth scoring in the eyes of the examiner.

Q.10 In specimen paper, each part of the question carries [4] marks while we are taught it as of [2] marks.

Yes this is right. A candidate has to attempt two Quranic passages out of three and the question is divided into two parts: (a) and (b). it means that the candidate has to attempt two (a) and two (b) parts. The examiner prefers to check both (a) parts together and both (b) parts together and he will award the marks out of [4]. So it is strongly recommended to the candidates to attempt both (a) parts together (one after another) and both (b) parts together (one after another) to facilitate the examiner in checking.