BISMILLAH, HIR-RAHMAN, NIR-RAHIM BOARD EXAMINATION STUDY GUIDE 4th Grade Edition Revision: E CAUTION: Just memorizing the answers in this Study Guide is no guarantee for passing the examination; other questions from within the syllabus may also be asked Muslim Community Center’s Weekend Schools Muslim Community Center (M.C.C.) Muslim Education Center (M.E.C.) 4380 N Elston Avenue 8601 N Menard Street Chicago, IL 60641 Morton Grove, IL 60053 Board Examination Study Guide – 4th Grade Edition Revision: E REVISION HISTORY REVISION DESCRIPTION OF CHANGE AUTHOR DATE E Updated Qur’an & Arabic Language section: Clarified Examination Committee 2/26/09 Vocabulary words by providing for an addendum, added requirements for du’as, updated surahs list, and clarified explanation for the Meaning and Understanding section. Added a note of caution on the front page against just memorization of the answers in this guide. D In Seerah/History, added 7 questions to the 4th grade Examination Committee 3/31/06 section and 1 question to the 9th grade section. In Akhlaq, added a total of 32 questions to the 4th, 7th and 9th grade sections. In Imaan & Ibadaat, added a total of 4 questions to the 7th and 9th grade sections. Added Appendix 1 to provide an example of Qur’an & Arabic Language questions that may be asked in the examination. Made minor modifications in language to the Introduction as well as to a few questions spread across all sections for better clarity. C Added a total of 33 questions to Seerah/History (4th & 7th Examination Committee 3/7/02 grades only) section. Added a total of 63 questions to Iman, Ibadaat and Akhlaq (all grades). Revised Qur’an and Arabic Language section. Reduced font size from 12 to 10 in most sections to save paper. B Made minor changes in the Introduction. Re-worded a Examination Committee 2/10/01 few questions to avoid confusion. Corrected typographical errors. A Initial Release Examination Committee 3/11/00 MCC’s Weekend Schools Chicago, IL and Morton Grove, IL 2 Board Examination Study Guide – 4th Grade Edition Revision: E TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 4 1.1 What is the Board Examination? ............................................................................................................4 1.2 Board Examination Preparation .............................................................................................................4 1.2.1 Theology (Iman, Ibadaat & Akhlaq) and Seerah/History................................................................4 1.2.2 Nazirah/Tajwid ....................................................................................................................................5 1.2.3 Qur’an...................................................................................................................................................5 1.3 Acknowledgments.....................................................................................................................................5 2. SEERAH/HISTORY................................................................................................. 6 2.1 Fourth Grade ............................................................................................................................................6 3. THEOLOGY (IMAN, IBADAAT AND AKHLAQ) ................................................. 19 3.1 Fourth Grade IMAN & IBADAAT.......................................................................................................19 3.2 Fourth Grade AKHLAQ........................................................................................................................28 4. NAZIRAH/TAJWID............................................................................................... 31 4.1 Fourth Grade ..........................................................................................................................................31 5. QUR’AN AND ARABIC LANGUAGE.................................................................... 32 5.1 Fourth Grade ..........................................................................................................................................32 MCC’s Weekend Schools Chicago, IL and Morton Grove, IL 3 Board Examination Study Guide – 4th Grade Edition Revision: E 1. INTRODUCTION This Study Guide has been compiled to help the students of the Weekend Schools of Muslim Community Center (MCC) prepare for the Board Examination. As already announced, a Board Examination will be administered to all students in the 4th, 7th and 9th grades. The students will have to pass this Board Examination to be eligible for promotion to the next higher grade. Parents of students in these three grades are urged to go over this introductory chapter with their child before proceeding to the relevant subject specific material in the following chapters. 1.1 What is the Board Examination? The Board Examination, which is intended to standardize and improve the quality of education at the Weekend Schools of MCC, will be administered in May/June of each academic year in lieu of the Final (2nd Semester) Examination that is usually administered towards the end of each academic year. The Board Examination is only for the students in 4th, 7th and 9th grades; students of all other grades will have their usual Final (2nd Semester) Examination. The Academic Council for the Weekend Schools of MCC has formed the Board of Examinations that will supervise the Examination Committee in-charge of administering the Board Examination. The students will be tested in the following subjects for this examination: 1) Seerah/History 2) Theology (currently called Iman, Ibadaat and Akhlaq) 3) Nazirah/Tajwid 4) Qur’an The Board Examination will be a comprehensive examination. In other words, students will be tested in all the material taught in the school from 1st grade through the student’s present grade. For example, a 4th grader would be tested in material taught in grades 1 through 4, a 7th grader would be tested in material taught in grades 1 through 7, and a 9th grader would be tested in material taught in grades 1 through 9. Another important difference between the usual Final Examination and the Board Examination is that the examination may be set and graded by someone other than the student’s regular teacher. Also, the Board Examination will be a common examination across all the Weekend Schools of MCC. In other words, the students of a particular grade in one school would be administered the same examination as their counterparts in the other schools. 1.2 Board Examination Preparation This section gives an overview of this Study Guide and provides information that would be helpful in preparing for the Board Examination. Since we anticipate that the preparation for this examination would take several months, parents are advised to have their child start preparing early. Note: If the words “4th Grade Edition” or “7th Grade Edition” appear in the header of each page of this Study Guide, sections pertaining to 7th and/or 9th grades may not be included in this edition of the guide. 1.2.1 Theology (Iman, Ibadaat & Akhlaq) and Seerah/History The subject that has been known as Theology to most students and parents in the past has been renamed as Iman, Ibadaat and Akhlaq. This renaming has not changed the content of the course. This change is independent of the Board Examination. The format of this Study Guide reflects this change. Thus, the chapter for Theology in this Study Guide has been split into two sub-sections called “Iman and Ibadaat” and “Akhlaq”. Since the change is relatively new, the word Theology will also be used in this guide to avoid confusion. The Seerah/History and Theology (Iman, Ibadaat & Akhlaq) questions that will be asked in the Board Examination will be similar (in content) to the list of questions provided in Chapter numbers 2 & 3 of this Study Guide. The actual examination questions may not be identical (word for word) to the ones provided herein; they may be twisted around to test the student’s understanding of the material. In order to answer the actual examination questions successfully, the students would need to understand the underlying material instead of simple memorization of the answers provided herein. MCC’s Weekend Schools Chicago, IL and Morton Grove, IL 4 Board Examination Study Guide – 4th Grade Edition Revision: E Chapter #s 2 and 3 are subdivided into sections pertaining to 4th, 7th and 9th grades. The 4th graders’ examination questions will be from the material provided in the 4th Grade section. Since this will be a comprehensive examination, some of the 7th graders’ examination questions will be from the material provided in the 4th Grade section, while the majority of their questions will be from the material in the 7th Grade section. Similarly, some of the 9th graders’ examination questions will be from the material provided in the 4th Grade and 7th Grade sections, while the majority of their questions will be from the material provided in the 9th Grade section. With the exception of those questions that ask a student to recite something, the examinations for both subjects will be written examinations (not oral) for all the three grades. The correct answers for all the questions are underlined in this Study Guide. In the examination, in case of multiple choice questions, the student is expected to circle/select only one, most correct and/or complete, answer. In case where