The Holy Books and Angels
On this paper a belief only pays when you can say where it comes from. The holy books are the sources you cite, and the one thing angels cannot do - choose - is the reason a person's conduct is answerable at all.
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Where does your evidence come from? ⚖️
On this paper you are not asked to list beliefs. You are asked what a Muslim should do about war, about forgiveness, about justice - and to **support the answer**. A belief only earns marks when you can say where it comes from. **That is what the holy books are for here.** The Kutub are the sources a Muslim's argument is grounded in, and knowing which one carries the most authority, and why, is the difference between an assertion and evidence. The angels do a second job, and it is easy to miss. Muslims believe angels **cannot choose** - they carry out Allah's will exactly. Human beings can. That single contrast is why a person's conduct is answerable at all, and why a question about how someone should act has a subject.
Your toolkit, compactly 🗂️
You need these as tools to reach for in an argument, not as a list to recite:
Match each belief to what it lets you argue
- Muslims believe the Qur'an has been preserved unchanged
- Muslims believe Jibril brought the revelation from Allah
- Muslims believe angels cannot choose to disobey
- Muslims believe Izra'il takes each soul at its appointed time
- so it is the source to cite first when the two disagree
- so what it teaches is held to come from Allah rather than from human opinion
- so it is human beings, who can choose, whose conduct is answerable
- so the timing of death is held to rest with Allah, not with any person
Which source, and why it outranks 📚
Muslims believe that ALL the holy books were genuine revelations from Allah. The Tawrat, the Zabur, the Injil and the Sahifah are not regarded as false books, and a Muslim would not describe them that way. **The Qur'an holds the highest authority because Muslims believe it alone has been preserved unchanged** since it was revealed, in the language in which it was revealed. That is not a piece of trivia about the books. **It is the reason a Muslim citing the Qur'an is citing the strongest evidence available**, and it is what you should say when you use it. **So the move in an answer is three-part.** State the view. Give the belief. Then attribute it and name the source: "Muslims believe X, which is taught in the Qur'an, the source Muslims hold to have been preserved unchanged." The third part is the one candidates leave out, and it is where the marks are.
Which one is evidence? 🔍
An interactive activity.
You have room for one citation ❓
You are arguing that a Muslim would treat life as belonging to Allah rather than to any person. Which reference supports that best, and why?
- Surah 32:11, on the angel of death: Muslims believe the soul is taken at the time Allah appoints
- Surah 57:27, on the Injil: it shows that Allah has revealed guidance before
- No reference: the point is obvious enough from the belief itself
- Any surah number, since examiners do not check the reference itself
The one thing angels cannot do 🕊️
This is the contrast that makes the whole Area of Study possible, and it is usually skipped. Belief in angels is held in common across Sunni and Shi'a Islam, and it is one of the Six Beliefs.
Which TWO follow? ✅
Given that Muslims believe angels have no free will and human beings do, select the TWO conclusions that follow.
- Human beings are answerable for what they choose to do, in a way angels are not
- Guidance matters, because a being that can choose can choose badly and needs something to choose by
- Angels are morally better than human beings, since they never do wrong
- Angels should be honoured with worship because of their obedience
The core you must be able to state 📝
Muslims believe the Tawrat was revealed to _____ and the Zabur to Dawud, and that the Injil was revealed to _____. The _____ was revealed to Muhammad and holds the highest authority, because Muslims believe it alone has been _____ unchanged. The angels, or Malaikah, have no free will, which is why it is _____ beings whose conduct is answerable.
Build one evidenced paragraph 🪜
An interactive activity.
One of these misuses a source 🚫
An interactive activity.
Three decisions in an evaluation 🧭
An interactive activity.
Your turn ✍️
An interactive activity.