S16 E13: The One About GCSE RE Islam beliefs Angels and Holy books

This episode is going to cover Angels, their nature and role, including Jibril and Mika’il. The holy books: Qur’an: revelation and authority, the Torah, the Psalms, the Gospel, the Scrolls of Abraham and their authority. 

4-markers

Explain two ways in which belief in angels influences Muslims today

One influence is to understand Allah's imminence as Angels show that Allah is still involved in the universe.
For example, they perform different duties for him.
Another influence is to read the Quran because Angel Gibrel revealed the Quran to Prophet Muhammad
This happened on the Night of Power

Explain two ways in which the belief in Mikhail influences the Muslims today.

One influence is to thank Allah because Mikhail provides rain and food.
This allows humans to be nourished.
Another influence is to have hope because Mikhail sends rewards on behalf of Allah.
A Muslim would receive these rewards in this life or the next.

Explain two ways in which belief in holy books influences Muslims.
One influence is to follow the teachings of the Quran because the Quran teaches about Tawhid.
This is the final book of Allah
Another influence is to learn about previous prophets because books before the Quran may have lessons from other prophets Muslims can learn from.
For example the gospels of Jesus

Explain two ways in which the belief in the gospel influences a Muslim today.
The first one I could say is that it helps a Muslim learn from the life of Jesus which is in the gospel.
This is because the gospel may have lessons from prophet which we can learn from.
Another influence you should believe in Tawheed, that's my third mark.
This is because many Muslims would believe that believe about the Trinity was added to the gospel so they would reject this.

6-markers

Explain two Muslim teachings about the nature of angels. Refer to sacred writings or another source of belief and teaching in your answer

One belief is that angels do not sin because they're no free will. Therefore cannot disobey Allah.
The Qur'an says,  They do not disobey the commands they receive from Allah.
This shows that angels always obey whatever orders them, so they cannot sin.
Another belief is that the angels are special beings.
Muslims believe there are spiritual beings made from light who can come in different forms.

Explain two Muslim teachings about the role of angels. Refer to sacred writings or another source of belief and teaching in your answer

One role is to reveal messages to prophets.
Angel Gibril is the Angel of revelation whose role is to communicate Allah's words to the prophets.
For example, the Prophet Muhammad.
The Quran says Gibril brings down the revelation.
This shows that Gibril revealed the Quran to Prophet Muhammad.
Another role is that angels distribute Allah's rewards to people.
Angel Mikhail is the Angel of mercy, and his role is reward humans in this life or the next.

Explain two Muslim teachings about Gibril. Refer to sacred writings or another source of belief and teaching in your answer
One belief was that Gibral appeared to Mary as a human.
He revealed to her that she was pregnant and will give birth to Isa Jesus.
Another belief is that Gibril is the Angel of revelation.
He communicates the words of Allah to the prophet Muhammad.
The Quran; says Gibril brings down the revelation.
This shows that Gibril revealed the Quran to Prophet Muhammad.

Explain two Muslim teachings about holy books. Refer to sacred writings or another source of belief and teaching in your answer
One belief is that it is one of the six articles of faith in Sunni Islam.
It is the belief th

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

This episode of the Army Podcast is sponsored by Reimagining Education, an organization dedicated to making learning inspiring, relevant, and future focused. Just like this podcast, they're passionate about exploring life's big questions and helping both students and teachers thrive. Find out more at reimaginingeducation.uk. A huge thank you to Reimagining Education for supporting the podcast. Welcome to the RE Podcast, the first dedicated RE podcast for students and teachers. My name is Louisa Jane Smith and this is the R.E. Podcast. The podcast for those of you who think RE is boring, which it is, and I'll prove it to you. In this series, I am taking you through GCSE RE, focusing on AQA, Islam and Christianity. We are looking at key content and key exam skills you need to be successful in teaching GCSCRE or sitting an exam in it. So if you are a teacher of GCSC RE or a student of GCSC RE, I hope this is helpful to you. As a teacher, you might be new to teaching GCSCRE or just new to this spec. You might be returning after a break, or we might just need a little bit of a refresh or reinvigoration. Or maybe you're a teacher from a different subject area and want to feel more confident. As a student, you might use this series to consolidate what you've already learned in lessons, or help you prepare for some exams that are coming up, or maybe you've moved schools or had a period of absence and want to catch up with what you've missed. Maybe you're a parent and want to support your child in their revision. Whatever your reason for listening, I hope this is helpful for you. I've already done a series on Christian beliefs as well as one on Christian practices. Now we are moving on to Islam beliefs. If you have listened to my general introduction to paper one, you know that you will have to do an entire question on Christian beliefs, including a multiple choice question, a short one-mark answer, a four marker, a six marker, and a twelve marker. And then another entire question on Christian practices, and you'll have to do one of these entire questions on Islam beliefs. We've already done the six articles of faith, the five roots of the Suladin, the nature of Allah, Prophethood, and Imamate for the Islam belief section of the GCSE. This episode is going to focus on the belief in angels, their nature and their role, specifically Jibril and Mikhail. Then we are going to look at the holy books in Islam, the revelation and authority of the Quran, the Torah, the Psalms, the Gospels, the Scrolls of Ibrahim, and all of their authority. And I want to make sure that we have two key ideas, a quote and some influences on each of these key beliefs. So let's start with the nature and role of angels in Islam. So what are angels? They are spiritual beings created from elements of light. So they are special beings. They gave God's messages to the prophets, and they watch over humans. And belief in angels is one of the six articles of faith in Sunni Islam, but it is not one of the five roots of a Suladin in Shia Islam. That does not mean Shia Muslims don't believe in angels, just that it's not one of their five core beliefs. So what about some key beliefs about angels? Well, one belief is that angels are made of light. So in Islam generally, humans are said to be made of earth or clay, and angels are made of light, and they can come into different forms to specific prophets. So they can come in the form of themselves, they can come in the form of humans sometimes or in different ways. Another key belief about angels in Islam is that they do not have free will, so they can't sin. So they don't. So whatever God tells them to do, they just automatically obey it. So that is a very key belief of angels in Islam. So if a Muslim believes in angels, how are they going to be influenced by that? Well the first influence is to be obedient to Allah's messages, because angels give messages to prophets from Allah. It's just going to be logical for a Muslim to then obey Allah's messages because they believe in angels. The second influence links to one of the aspects of God, which is to understand Allah's immanence. Allah's imminence, if you remember from our episode on the nature of Allah, is the idea that Allah is with humans in the universe, working with the universe today. Now, although angels are not God, they can do God's work for him in some instances. So when angels are doing certain things for the universe, like helping the universe run or giving messages to prophets, that's Allah Himself showing his imminence. So those are our two influences. And a quote about angels from the Quran is, they do not disobey the commands they receive from Allah, which again talks about the idea that angels have no free will. So in Islam, there are many, many angels, but there are only two that you have to know for your exam. So the first one that you have to know about is Angel Jibril. So you might have heard of Angel Gabriel. In Christianity, it's the same angel. In Arabic, it's Jibril, so the angel Jibril. So again, let's look at some key beliefs about Jibreel in Islam. Jibreel is the angel who dictated the Quran to Prophet Muhammad. So he's the one who revealed the Quran to Prophet Muhammad. So you can use your knowledge of prophethood and holy books here. Jibreel is also the angel that revealed the previous holy books to other prophets. Also, Jibril is someone who is an angel who on Judgment Day will be involved in the weighing of deeds as part of the judgment process that takes place in the Islamic belief, and we will look at that next episode. So a bit more about Jibril. Let's look at two key beliefs. So Jibril is known as the angel of revelation. As I mentioned a moment ago, Gibril's role, his main role, is to deliver Allah's message to certain prophets, and those prophets will then deliver the message to the people. A second thing that Jibril's quite famous for in the Quran is that he was the one who told Mary that she was pregnant with Jesus or Issa. He came in the form of a human being, and Jibril told her, You are now pregnant with Jesus and you'll give birth to this great person. Remember, these stories are in the Quran, so you can use them as your source of authority and evidence in your six and twelve mark questions. So that's our two beliefs about Angel Jibril. So if a Muslim believes in Jibril, what is that gonna make them do in terms of an influence? So the first influence of believing in Jibril is that they would basically read the Quran. Jibril is the one who revealed the Quran to Prophet Muhammad, so therefore they are gonna read the Quran. Number two, of course they're always going to be remembering Judgment Day because again they know that Jibril will be involved in that day. So they're gonna make sure that as a Muslim, that Judgment Day is constantly on their mind, that when they do any good action or bad action, they're gonna be reminded of that by Jibril on Judgment Day, who will be assisting God in weighing up the deeds. What does the Quran say about Jibril? Gibril brings down the revelation. A very clear quote there about the role of Gibril. The second angel you have to know about is Angel Mikail or Michael. So Mikhail, who is he exactly? He's an angel who gives spiritual and material help to humans, and again, on judgment day, like Jibril, is going to be involved in the weighing of the deeds when the person is judged. So two things about Mikael. Number one, he is referred to as the angel of mercy. So Mikael is the one that when Allah rewards humans in this life or the afterlife, he is the one that gives that reward. And number two, he's also seen as a friend to humanity. He's the one that gives the earth rain. Now obviously the earth cannot survive without water and rain, because the crops won't grow and therefore you won't get any food. And therefore we won't have any food. It therefore clearly shows Mikhail's role as the angel of mercy, because he is the friend of humans, and without his friendship towards humans and the rain he gives and the mercy given from him, the universe cannot function. So that is a very important role for Angel Mikhail, which we can also link to the nature of Allah as merciful. So if a Muslim believes in Mikhail, what are the influences on their life? Well, firstly, a Muslim is going to be thankful to Allah for his help. They're going to thank him for all the blessings he gives because Angel Mikail is the one who helps deliver these. And number two, they're also going to be aware of Mikhail and his role on Judgment Day. When they do a good action or a bad action, they're going to be aware and conscious that they're going to be judged on it one day, and Mikhail is going to be involved in that judgment. A quote about Mikhail is from the hadith of Prophet Muhammad. He says Mikhail is in charge of the plants and the rain. So again, emphasizing the idea that Mikhail is needed for our food and for our ecosystems to work and for us to have nourishment. So in formal questions, how could angels come up? So three simple ways. You could be asked to explain two ways in which belief in angels influences Muslims today. Or you could be asked specifically about Gibril or Mikhail and how individually they might influence a Muslim today. So the first example you've got angels in general, and the second and third example is specifically about angel Jibril or Mikail. I'd advise you to try these questions and give yourself a time limit of about four minutes, or give them to your teacher, to mark. So now I'm going to have a look at how I might answer that first question, explain two ways in which a belief in angels influences Muslims today. Now, here I don't have to speak about a specific angel because it's asking about angels in general. But I can speak about a specific angel if I want to. It's quite an open question. And actually, I think it's easier to speak about individual angels than it is to talk about angels generally. The only thing I have to make sure is that I clearly explain the influence. So what does it make a Muslim do, think, feel, believe? So here's my model answer. Explain two ways in which a belief in angels influences Muslims today. One influence is to understand Allah's imminence as angels show that Allah is still involved in the universe. That's one mark. We use the word understand there because understanding is an influence. Let's develop this. For example, they perform different duties for him in the universe. So I've explained how this belief helps a Muslim, which is the influence to understand Allah's imminence because Allah has picked angels to do certain duties for him. Second, another influence is to read the Quran because Angel Jibreel revealed the Quran to Prophet Muhammad. That's my third mark. This happened on the night of power. So I've developed that simple explanation. So you can see that in this one I've picked Jibril specifically and I've used him as an example of how he influences a Muslim to read the Quran. Even though the question asks me about angels in general, I can still pick a specific angel like I did in the second paragraph. Or I can speak about them generally like I did in the first paragraph, how angels in general can influence a Muslim. And just note that I am using the he pronouns, so angels are male. What about this one then? Explain two ways in which the belief in Mikhail influences Muslims today. So here I have to talk specifically about Mikhail, not about angels in general. So one influence is to thank Allah because Mikhail provides rain and food. There's a clear influence that's clearly linked to Mikhail. This allows humans to be nourished. So I've developed this influence for the second mark. Another influence is to have hope because Mikhail sends rewards on behalf of Allah. Second influence. A Muslim would receive these rewards in this life or the next. That's the second influence developed and in detail, so that gets me a four out of four, because both of them link specifically to Mikhail. Now for six mark questions regarding angels. There are lots of different variations of the question. You can be asked about the nature of angels or the role of angels, or you could be asked about specific angels, gibriel or mikhail, which are the two in the specification. So again, you have to make sure you know two things about angels in general, their nature, two things about their role, and two things specifically about gibriel and mikail. In a six mark situation, we have to explain two beliefs, use a source, and then apply it to the question. So do have a go at some of the six mark questions, giving yourself a time limit of about five minutes. So you can pause the episode here and have a go at them. We're now going to have a look at one model answer and we're going to choose the question, explain two Muslim teachings about the nature of angels, refer to sacred writings or another source of belief and teaching in your answer. So this question is asking you about the nature of angels. The nature of something means the way something is. So in the same way as you could be asked about the nature of Allah, what is Allah like, here it's asking you what the angels are like. So here I'm not going to talk about what they do as such. I'm going to talk about what they're like. So let's see how I answer this question. So explain two beliefs about angels, refer to sacred writing or another source of belief and teaching in your answer. One belief is that angels do not sin because they have no free will. So that is two marks right there because it's a simple explanation and a development. The Quran says, there's my source, they do not disobey the commands they receive from Allah. This shows that angels must always obey whatever Allah orders them so they cannot sin. So now I've got four marks. One developed point worth two marks. My relevant source is the third mark, then I apply that source to my point. I'm telling you what the source means, what the quote means in relation to the point I made. Right, the second paragraph. Another belief is that the angels are special beings. Muslims believe there are spiritual beings made from light who can come in different forms. So that second paragraph will bring it up to a perfect six out of six marks. Two things about the nature of angels. The first paragraph is about them not being sinful, the second paragraph is about them being spiritual beings who are special, who come in different forms. And what about a question on the role of angels? So here it's not asking you about their nature, like the previous question, because that's about what they are like. This is about their role, i.e. what they do. It's really important that you read the specific wording of the question to ensure your answer is relevant to the actual question. It might be a good idea in the exam to underline the hinge words, i.e. the most important words like angel, mickail, nature, role, etc. So if we are doing explain two beliefs about the role of angels, I can either speak about angels in general, what they do, or I can speak to specific angels and write about their role, which is what I'm going to do. One role is to reveal messages to prophets. Angel Jibril is the angel of revelation whose role is to communicate Allah's words to the prophets. For example, Prophet Muhammad. So that's my first two marks there, as it's a developed point. The Quran says Jibril brings down the revelation. That's my third mark. Now I must apply that quote to my point. This shows that Jibril revealed the Quran to Prophet Muhammad. Nice simple application there, so four marks for that first paragraph. Another role is that angels distribute Allah's rewards to people. That's my fifth mark. Angel Mikael is the angel of mercy, and his role is to reward humans in this life or the next. So you can see there again a perfect six out of six answer. I've given two roles of angels, picking two specific angels. But again, I can talk about angels generally here as long as I talk about their role. A final example is if you get asked about an angel specifically. So in this specification, you've got to know Jibril and Mikhail, and you can be asked about them specifically. So again, it's not just enough to know about angels in general, you have got to know about these two specific angels and at least two things about each of these angels so that you can answer a six-mark question on them. So let's practice that one now. Explain two Muslim teachings about Jibril. Refer to sacred writings or another source of belief and teaching in your answer. One belief was that Gibril appeared to Mary as a human. He revealed to her that she was pregnant and will give birth to Isa or Jesus. That's my first paragraph worth two marks for a developed point. There's no source there or application, so I must do this in my second paragraph, which I'm going to do now. Another belief is that Jibril is the angel of revelation. He communicates the words of Allah to the Prophet Muhammad. The Quran says Jibril brings down the revelation. This shows that Jibril revealed the Quran to Prophet Muhammad. So notice that this paragraph is similar to my previous answer, to the previous question about the role of angels. I use the Jibril paragraph here because I'm speaking about Jibril here. He's the angel of revelation. So you can see in the second paragraph a developed point about Gibril, which is two marks. I've got the source there about Jibril, which is the third mark, and then apply it at the end for the fourth mark. If we think about 12 markers, we could get a question like belief in angels is the most important Muslim belief. Or you could get one saying that belief in angels is no longer relevant for Muslims in today's society. So have a go at planning that answer or writing it in timed conditions and give yourself about 15 minutes to do that. The second part of this episode is going to be on holy books. As part of the Islam belief section of the AQA specification, you have to know about holy books, specifically the Quran, its revelation and authority, as well as the authority of some other holy books in Islam. And the first holy book that Muslims believe in is called the Scrolls of Ibrahim. So this is a holy book or source of authority that were individual revelations to Prophet Ibrahim that were written out on parchment but have perished or been destroyed. So this is a book or a revelation that came before the Quran and given to Prophet Ibrahim. So two key beliefs we have about the scrolls of Ibrahim. The first belief is that it was revealed to Prophet Ibrahim, but is now a lost piece of scripture. There is no trace of it whatsoever. And the second belief is that it had the message of Toheed included in the scrolls, because obviously all the prophets preach that same message of Toheed. If a Muslim believes in the scrolls of Ibrahim, what are the influences? The first influence would be to try and understand the message of Prophet Ibrahim. So even though there is no kind of copy or excerpt of that script whatsoever, A Muslim would still try to understand it. This is a piece of scripture that could help a Muslim understand about the life of Prophet Ibrahim. And secondly, it could also help them to understand the nature of Allah. That scroll would have contained teachings about the nature of Allah, but it would also help Muslims understand that Allah did provide revelation to the Prophets before Prophet Muhammad. Now the Quran does speak about the scrolls of Ibrahim itself. It says, the hereafter is better and more lasting. This is in the form of books, the scrolls of Ibrahim. So here the Quran is teaching that the afterlife is better and is forever. So remember that quote for later when we look at Akira, the afterlife. And Allah is saying in the Quran that this is something He revealed to Prophet Ibrahim in the scrolls. So you've got here the Quran quoting from the scrolls of Ibrahim. A second holy book that's in Islam are called the Psalms. And the Psalms is a holy book or source of authority which contains sacred prayers and poems written by King Daud or King David, who was also a prophet of Allah. So this is a book that's got key teachings about the nature of Allah and how Prophet Dahud or Prophet David spoke to God in Islam. Just like in Christianity in a sense, Prophet Dahud spoke to God in a very beautiful way because he had a really beautiful voice. So two key beliefs about the Psalms of David or the Psalms of Dahud. The first is that it was revealed to Prophet Dahud. This is a key belief in itself. And number two, the Psalms of Dawud had messages of Tahid from the prayers. So the way that Prophet Dawud spoke to Allah or spoke to God would emphasize the belief in the oneness of God. If a Muslim believes in the Psalms, how would that influence them? Well a Muslim would understand how Prophet Dawud spoke to Allah and maybe learn how to speak to Allah themselves. And number two, again it would help a Muslim understand the nature of Allah. And the Quran speaks about giving Dawud the Psalm. So the Quran says we gave Dawud the Psalms. So the Quran is acknowledging the fact that this was revealed to Prophet Dawud. The third holy book in the Muslim belief is the Torah. This is the scripture given by God to Prophet Musa on Mount Sinai. Two key beliefs about the Torah. It was revealed to Prophet Musa. Obviously that is a key belief. But number two, it had the clearness of Tahid, but maybe it was corrupted by human hands and is no longer seen as the word of God. So even though the Torah exists in Jewish synagogues and Jewish people follow it, Muslims would see that it is not the original Torah that was revealed to Prophet Musa, because maybe human hands got involved and changed some of the messages, and that's what the Quran teaches. But it's worth pointing out here that this is the reason why there are many similarities between Jewish and Muslim practices, specifically their food laws, because the Torah is a source of authority for Muslims. So if a Muslim believes in the Torah, how could they be influenced? So number one, it will help them understand the teachings of Prophet Musa himself. And number two, it will help them understand the nature of Allah. Even though the Torah in the form it is today might not be authentic for a Muslim, a Muslim can still read it and understand the nature of God and understand some parts of the life of Prophet Musa and learn from that. The Quran says, We send down the Torah in which was guidance and light. So the Quran praises the Torah at the time of being a book of guidance and a form of light, which symbolizes knowledge and wisdom. A fourth book that Muslims believe in is called the Gospel. Literally this means good news, and it's the good news about Esa or Prophet Jesus, who was a prophet of Islam. It's known as the Injil in Arabic. So let's look at two key beliefs of the Injil or the Gospel. The first belief is that it was revealed to Prophet Isa or Jesus, and number two it had the message of Tawheed but was corrupted. Again, a Muslim would believe that this gospel was given to Jesus and emphasized the message of Tawheed, the oneness of Allah, but that maybe other parts of it were changed where things like the Trinity, original sin, atonement, for example, were added, and that is the part that's in the Bible now. And so therefore this part may not be seen as the most authentic version of the gospel according to many Muslims. If a Muslim believes in the gospel, how would it influence them? Number one, of course, it can help Muslims understand the teachings of Prophet Isa or Jesus, and again it helps a Muslim understand the nature of Allah the way it should be. And the Quran again talks about Isa being given the gospel, again describing it as a guidance and a light in the same way as it describes the Torah. The final holy book of Islam is of course the Quran, and it is seen as the most important source of authority, revealed to Prophet Muhammad, and is the final revelation of God to mankind. So if we look at the previous books, Muslims believe that they were somehow changed or corrupted. This final book, the Quran, is uncorrupted. So number one, it's seen as a miracle. The Arabic language is so high level that at the time the Muslims and the people of Arabia could not comprehend how miraculous it was and how good it was. And number two, it is believed to be by Muslims as the direct word of Allah that has never been changed. If the previous holy books were changed, Muslims believe that this book will never be changed because it was protected by God from being changed. And it's really important you understand this difference in the level of authority that the different holy books have, because this is a classic question that often comes up in the exam. If a Muslim believes in the Quran, again it's so simple. The influence is going to be to read it regularly, and many Muslims do read the Quran regularly. And a second influence for a Muslim would of course be to follow its teachings, if it's the final book of the final prophet, and a Muslim would logically therefore follow the teachings of the Quran. And the Quran describes itself in many ways. One of the best quotes is that it describes itself as it was revealed as a guide for humanity. So the Quran is a guidebook for humans to follow if they are a Muslim. The Quran also says this is the book of which there is no doubt. And so this again shows the authority of the Quran as infallible, that hasn't been changed, that has no mistakes in it, that it can't be doubted. So how could you be asked about this in a four-mark question? So you could be asked about holy books in general, but you could also be asked about any of the specific five holy books and how they could influence a Muslim. So do have a go at writing a couple of these questions and give yourself a time limit of about four minutes to answer them. So how would I answer this question? Explain two ways in which a belief in holy books influences Muslims. So I could say one influence is to follow the teachings of the Quran because the Quran teaches about Tawheed. This is my first mark. This is the final book of Allah. This is my second mark. Another influence is to learn about previous prophets because books before the Quran may have lessons from other prophets Muslims can learn from. This is my third mark. For example, the Gospels of Jesus. So notice here in the first paragraph I picked one holy book, in the second paragraph I spoke about holy books in general. Both are absolutely fine because the question is to explain the influence of holy books generally for a Muslim. I could however be asked about a specific holy book. For example, explain two ways in which the belief in the Gospel influences a Muslim today. So I could say one influence is that it helps a Muslim learn from the life of Jesus which is written in the Gospel. This is because the Gospel may have lessons from a prophet of Allah which Muslims can learn from. This becomes a second mark. Another influence is belief in Torheed, which is the oneness of Allah. That's my third mark. This is because many Muslims would believe that ideas of the Trinity were added to the Gospels, so they would reject this. So you can see here that I've got two influences of believing in the Gospel, learning about Jesus and believing in Tawheed, because a Muslim may reject ideas of the Trinity that may be seen in the Gospel. So let's look at some six-mark questions. There are many variations that you could be asked about in this topic for a six-mark question. You could get one about holy books in general, so explain two Muslim teachings about holy books, or you could be asked about the specific holy books mentioned in the specification. So explain two Muslim teachings about the Quran or the Gospels or the Torah or the Scrolls of Ibrahim or the Psalms of David. So again, it's not enough for you to know just about holy books in general, and only one or two of them you could be asked about any of the holy books on the specification. So you must know about each one of them in enough detail to answer a six-mark question on it. So do give the episode a pause and answer one or more of these questions, giving yourself a time limit of about five minutes for each. We're gonna model this question. Explain two Muslim teachings about holy books. Refer to sacred writings or another source of belief and teaching in your answer. So this one I can talk about holy books in general, making sure I use a source of authority and apply it in at least one of my paragraphs. So one belief is that it is one of the six articles of faith in Sunni Islam. It is the belief that Allah revealed books to different prophets before the Quran. I get two marks there for a developed point telling me about belief in holy books. Notice I'm not answering in full sentences, so remember that little exam hack. Another belief is that the Quran is the most important source of authority for Muslims. It is seen as the final revelation from Allah, which has never been changed. The Quran says this is the book of which there is no doubt. This quote shows the Quran as the most important revelation because there are no mistakes in it. And that paragraph is worth four marks. So you've got two marks for a developed belief, one mark for the relevant source, and one mark for the application of that source to the question. So notice there in my first paragraph I've talked about holy books in general, and in the second paragraph, I picked a specific holy book, which is the Quran, and talked about that, which is okay to do as well. What about a question where I'm asked about the Torah specifically? So explain two Muslim teachings about the Torah, refer to sacred writings or another source of belief and teaching in your answer. So again, we have to make sure this kind of question doesn't trick any of you guys because many of you will know about the Quran in quite a lot of detail, but you actually have to know in just as much detail what Muslims believe about other books like the Torah or the Scrolls or the Injil or the Psalms. So let's have a look at what a model answer would look like on the Torah. One belief is that the Torah was revealed to Prophet Musa. It contained the messages that Allah wanted to give the Jewish people. So that is two marks there for a developed point. The Quran says, We sent down the Torah in which was guidance and light. That's my third mark for the thorse, for the source. This shows that the Torah was used at the time to receive guidance by Prophet Musa's followers. So that now becomes four marks for a developed point, a source, and an application of that source. Another belief is that the Torah is no longer the words of Allah. Muslims believe that some of the words and teachings were changed by humans, and that paragraph is worth two marks for a developed point, so totalling six out of six altogether. In terms of twelve markers, you might get something like the Quran is the most important holy book for Muslims today. Remember, it is going to be nearly impossible to argue that the Quran isn't the most important holy book in Islam, so I would advise not trying to argue that. You just need different points of view. So this could be what Sunni and Shia think. It could be different reasons why the Qur'an is the most important holy book. You could argue that all holy books are equally important as they are all revelations from Allah, and as the Quran makes no distinction between any of the prophets, it would be incorrect for a Muslim to distinguish between the holy books. It's also worth pointing out here the connection between Allah, angels, holy books, and prophets. Allah revealed his word to the prophets through the angels which are written down in the holy books. Understanding this connection can give you more to say in your twelve markers and help you approach the four and six mark questions more confidently. Hopefully, this gives you a little bit of a grounding in the belief in angels, their nature and role, specifically Gibriel and Mikhail, and the holy books in Islam, the revelation and authority of the Quran, the Torah, the Psalms, the Gospel, the Scrolls of Ibrahim, and their authority, as well as how to answer four and six mark questions. If you haven't already, take some time now to set a timer and have a go at some of the other four and six mark questions I mentioned. Take your answers into school for your teachers to mark. And blame me if they're moaning that you're giving them too much work to do. Next episode, we're going to look at, wait for it, predestination, human freedom, the day of judgment, Akira, the belief in life after death, human responsibility and accountability, and heaven and hell. Can't wait. I hope you can join me. This podcast is supported by ReimaginingEducation at reimaginingeducation.uk. My name is Louisa Jane Smith and this is the RE Podcast. The podcast for those of you who think RE is boring, which it is, I just proved it to you. But thank you so much for letting me help you get an even better grade in GCSD RE.