IGCSE Islamiyat: Living the Muslim Life — Revision Notes

Condensed for the final weeks. For the full explanation, use the Living the Muslim Life study guide.

The Five Pillars

Pillar	Meaning
Shahadah	Declaration of faith — belief in one God and in Muhammad as His Prophet
Salah	Five daily prayers
Zakat	Annual almsgiving, traditionally 2.5% of qualifying savings
Sawm	Fasting during Ramadan
Hajj	Pilgrimage to Makkah, once in a lifetime if able

Shahadah is the foundation, because accepting it is what makes a person a Muslim; the other four are practices that follow from that belief. Questions on “which pillar is most important” reward that reasoning rather than a bare assertion.

Salah

Five prayers daily: Fajr (dawn), Zuhr (midday), Asr (afternoon), Maghrib (sunset), Isha (night).

Wudu — ritual washing before prayer, expressing purity of body and intention.

Prayer is performed facing the Qiblah (the direction of the Ka’bah in Makkah), on a clean surface, in sequences of movements and recitations called rak’ahs.

Friday prayer (Jumu’ah) is congregational, held at the mosque, and includes a khutbah (sermon). Its significance is communal — it unites the community and provides teaching, which individual prayer does not.

Significance: regular remembrance of God, discipline, equality (all stand in rows regardless of status), and unity across the world through the shared direction and timing.

Zakat and Sawm

Zakat purifies wealth and reduces inequality. It is an obligation rather than voluntary charity — sadaqah is the voluntary form. Distinguishing the two is a common question.

Sawm — fasting from dawn to sunset during Ramadan: no food, drink or marital relations. Exemptions apply to the young, elderly, ill, pregnant, nursing and travelling.

Significance: self-discipline, empathy with the poor, spiritual focus, and the commemoration of the first revelation of the Qur’an, which occurred in Ramadan — Laylat al-Qadr, the Night of Power.

Zakat applies only above the nisab threshold, a minimum level of qualifying wealth — below it, no payment is due. This condition is a common omission worth noting explicitly.

Hajj

Performed in Dhul-Hijjah. Key rites: Ihram (state of purity and simple white garments), Tawaf (seven circuits of the Ka’bah), Sa’i (walking between Safa and Marwah), standing at Arafat, stoning the pillars at Mina, and the sacrifice.

The white ihram garments carry the central meaning: all pilgrims dress identically, so wealth and status are invisible and all stand equal before God. That symbolism is what “explain the significance of Hajj” answers should reach.

Standing at Arafat is the essential rite, commemorating the Prophet’s Farewell Sermon.

Articles of faith

Six beliefs shape the Muslim worldview: tawhid (the oneness of God), belief in the angels, the revealed books, the prophets, the Day of Judgement, and al-qadr (divine decree).

Tawhid is the foundation, and its opposite — shirk, associating partners with God — is the gravest sin. Its practical consequences run through everything: worship directed to God alone, no intermediaries, and the equality of all believers before Him.

Festivals

• Eid-ul-Fitr — marks the end of Ramadan; charity (Zakat-ul-Fitr) is given before the prayer.
• Eid-ul-Adha — during Hajj; commemorates Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice his son. The qurbani meat is traditionally shared in three parts — family, relatives, and the poor.

Daily life and worship

Du’a — personal supplication, distinct from the prescribed, fixed-form Salah; it can be offered in any words, at any time.

The mosque functions as more than a place of prayer — it is also a centre of learning and community life, hosting the Friday khutbah and everyday teaching.

Daily conduct is shaped by halal (permitted) and haram (forbidden): dietary rules, honesty in trade, the prohibition of interest, and duties towards parents, neighbours and the needy.

Sources of authority

The Qur’an — the direct word of God, revealed to Muhammad through the angel Jibril. The Sunnah and Hadith — the practice and sayings of the Prophet, which explain and apply the Qur’an.

The relationship matters: the Qur’an gives the command to pray but not its detailed form; the Sunnah supplies that. This is why both sources are needed and why Hadith authenticity is carefully assessed.

Exam traps

• Confusing Zakat (obligatory) with sadaqah (voluntary).
• Confusing Eid-ul-Fitr with Eid-ul-Adha.
• Describing a practice without explaining its significance.
• Giving the pillars without saying why Shahadah is foundational.
• Omitting Qur’anic or Hadith support where the question asks for it.
• In evaluation questions, giving one viewpoint only — both sides and a judgement are required.
• Omitting the nisab threshold when explaining who must pay Zakat.
• Treating shirk as a minor matter rather than the gravest sin.
• Confusing du’a (personal supplication) with the prescribed, fixed-form Salah.

Self-test

1. Name the Five Pillars.
2. Why is Shahadah considered foundational?
3. Distinguish Zakat from sadaqah.
4. What is the significance of the ihram garments?
5. How do the Qur’an and Sunnah relate as sources of authority?
6. Name the six Articles of Faith, and explain why tawhid is described as the foundation.
7. Distinguish du’a from Salah, and explain the significance of the nisab threshold.

Answers: 1. Shahadah, Salah, Zakat, Sawm, Hajj. 2. Accepting and declaring it is what makes a person a Muslim; the other pillars are practices that follow from that belief. 3. Zakat is an obligatory annual payment on qualifying wealth; sadaqah is voluntary charity given at any time in any amount. 4. All pilgrims wear identical simple white garments, so wealth and social status are indistinguishable and all stand equal before God. 5. The Qur’an gives the commands, while the Sunnah and Hadith show how the Prophet applied them in practice, supplying detail the Qur’an does not specify. 6. Tawhid, angels, books, prophets, the Day of Judgement, and al-qadr; tawhid is foundational because every other belief and practice follows from and is shaped by the oneness of God, and its opposite, shirk, is considered the gravest sin. 7. Du’a is personal, informal supplication offered in any words at any time, while Salah is the fixed, prescribed form of prayer performed five times daily; the nisab is the minimum level of wealth above which Zakat becomes due, so a Muslim with wealth below it owes no payment.