Key Idea: Islamic ethics follows an order: the Qur'an, Hadith, Sunnah, and interpretation of the Ulema. And it operates in two jurisdictions — sharia, divine law, and qanun, secular law — arranged differently in every country, which is why "Islamic law requires" is inaccurate without a school or a state attached.
Tested as
- Where ethical guidance comes from, and who interprets
- Jihad; family law; dress; banking; blasphemy
- Whether religious law can govern a modern state
Watch for
- Defining jihad by its use in news coverage
- Treating one garment as the Islamic requirement on dress
- Claiming Islam forbids banking
Use
- Akhlaq; sharia and qanun; riba
- Jihad — the gloss is struggle
- Ulema, mufti, qadi, schools of law
| Item | What the guide says |
|---|---|
| Sources | Authority of the Qur'an, Hadith, Sunnah and interpretation of the Ulema |
| Akhlaq | Moral conduct and moral principles |
| Principles | Love for human beings, protection of the weak, respect for elders |
| Jihad | Key concept: struggle. Ethical practice: jihad as moral struggle. Transgression: jihad of the sword |
| Two laws | Sharia (divine law) and qanun (secular law) — qanun examples: votes for women, education, commercial law |
| Family law | Marriage, divorce, custody, inheritance |
Important: The key-concept gloss is one word: struggle. It is not the Arabic for war. Jihad as moral struggle is listed under ethical practice, alongside love for human beings and protection of the weak. Jihad of the sword is listed separately under transgression, where Muslim jurists developed conditions on when force is permitted and how it is conducted. The word is used in public argument in ways many Muslims reject, including by groups Muslim scholars have condemned. Report both entries and the dispute; define the term by neither usage alone.
Examine how Islamic ethics addresses a question the sources do not mention.
🔒 Model answer plan
See the mark-by-mark plan — for / against / judgement, with marking guidance — in study mode.
Discuss the relationship between religious and secular law in Muslim-majority states.
🔒 Model answer plan
See the mark-by-mark plan — for / against / judgement, with marking guidance — in study mode.
Name the four sources of Islamic ethical authority. The Qur'an, the Hadith, the Sunnah, and the interpretation of the ulema — in that order.
What is the key-concept gloss for jihad? Struggle. The guide lists jihad as moral struggle under ethical practice, and jihad of the sword separately under transgression.
Distinguish sharia from qanun. Sharia is divine law; qanun is secular law. The guide's qanun examples are votes for women, education and commercial law; family law is its sharia example.
How does the guide frame dress? As modesty — the principle — and the issue of different types of veiling, such as the hijab, as the practices that express it. Muslims differ on what it requires.
Exam tips
- Jihad means struggle. Start there, give both of the guide's entries, and note the dispute.
- Name a school or a country. "Islamic law requires" without one is the commonest error here.
- On dress: principle, range, argument — and no verdict.
- Islamic banking is the syllabus's best worked example of applying old teaching to something new.