SS101-Islamic Studies

Sections 1 and 4
Take-Home Mid-Term Exam

Submission deadlines:

1. First deadline: 5 pm, Tuesday, 7th April 2020 (bonus marks: 10% of max marks)
2. FINAL deadline: 5 pm, Friday, 10th April 2020

Attempt any two questions! Each question carries 10 marks.

1 “The biography of a person tells us something about that person. But often, it tells us more
about the biographer.”
a. What do you think about this statement?
b. Support your thoughts with reference to the biography of Prophet Muḥammad (PBUH).
Compare at least two specific events in the life of the prophet as discussed by Asma
Afsaruddin and Ibn Isḥāq, and discuss the differences in each of these two biographies to
illustrate your answer.

Note: Excerpts from Ibn Isḥāq’s Sīra Rasūl Allāh have been uploaded with this assignment.
You can look at the table of contents and trace relevant passages.

2 Carefully read the blogs written by SherAli Tareen and Shabana Mir. They share some
thoughts on matters pertaining to the academic study of Islam/Religion. Write your own
“blog” – of a similar length – engaging with the matters they raise and responding to the
positions they arrive at. In other words, share your own thoughts on the subject of “academic
study of Islam/Religion” while engaging with theirs.

3 Historical records tell us that canonization or standardization of the Qurʾānic text was not a
straightforward and unanimous project. In this respect, Farid Esack discusses “variant
codices”, “Shiʿa view on the collection and standardization”, and “variant readings”, for
example.
a. Give a brief account of each of these three topics which complicate our understanding of
the process of standardization of Qurʾānic text.
b. How are variant codices and variant readings similar to or different from each other? In
other words, what is the relationship between the two?
c. Optional question with bonus points (there is no right or wrong answer): How do you
make sense of variant codices, Shiʿa view, and variant readings, considering that
prevailing belief about Qur’anic text is that of an unchanging and fixed divine text?

4 “Theological ideas arise within certain social and political contexts. In other words, particular
social and political circumstances or crises give rise to certain theological positions.” Write an
essay on theological ideas of Kharijis, Shiʿites, and Qadaris, with the aim of commenting upon
the preceding statement.