WASSCE SHS
The life of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is the heart of Tarikh. A question usually wants one event, its cause, and the lesson, not the whole life from the birth.
Islamic Studies is the WASSCE elective WAEC Ghana lists as Islamic Religious Studies. It is not Christian Religious Studies, and it is not Religious and Moral Education. The life the paper asks about runs from the birth and the marriage, through the call, to the community at Madinah. The first revelation came while the Prophet was in retreat. The people of Makkah rejected the message, and the Muslims later made the Hijrah, the journey from Makkah to Madinah. At Madinah the Prophet built a community that prayed together, settled disputes, and defended itself.
Keep the events apart. Badr, Uhud and Khandaq are battles, and each has its own cause and lesson. Hudaybiyyah is a treaty, not a battle. The conquest of Makkah and the Farewell Pilgrimage come after that treaty. Name the event the question asked, then say what it shows. A retelling that starts at the birth has not yet answered a question about the Hijrah or about one battle. Do not invent a number of soldiers, a verse, or a date you cannot defend.
The Islamic Studies tips guide sets out the papers, how to answer a theme, and the mistakes that cost marks. WASSCE Islamic Studies tips
The name of the event and the lesson are a pair. "He migrated" with no cities is incomplete. The Hijrah is from Makkah to Madinah. Hudaybiyyah is an agreement. Do not call it a battle, and do not give its lesson to Badr. If the question says explain, the sentence must say why the event mattered, not only repeat the name.
These are practice questions in the style of the paper, with a model answer and a mark scheme. They are not a promise of what your paper will ask.
3 marks
(a) What was the Hijrah? (2 marks)
(b) Name the city the Prophet travelled to. (1 mark)
(a) The Hijrah was the journey of the Prophet and the Muslims from Makkah to Madinah, after the people of Makkah rejected the message.
(b) Madinah.
3 marks
Explain why it is a mistake to call Hudaybiyyah a battle. (3 marks)
Hudaybiyyah was a treaty, an agreement, not a fight. Badr, Uhud and Khandaq are the battles. Giving Hudaybiyyah the name of a battle mixes two kinds of event.
4 marks
State two events from the life of the Prophet, and one lesson from either event. (4 marks)
The Hijrah took the community from Makkah to Madinah. The Farewell Pilgrimage was his last pilgrimage. One lesson of the Hijrah is that the community could be rebuilt in a new city when Makkah would not accept the message.
More questions on this topic are inside glearn, marked as you answer, with the reason written out. The first ones need no account.
Practise Islamic Studies freeNo. Islamic Studies is the elective WAEC Ghana lists as Islamic Religious Studies. Christian Religious Studies is a different paper. The syllabus says they may not be taken together. Do not answer with a Gospel story.
The event the question names. Give the cause, what happened, and the lesson. A biography from the birth does not answer a question about the Hijrah, one battle, or the Farewell Pilgrimage. All WASSCE Islamic Studies past questions