P2-HAD-10 Major teachings in the Hadiths Paper 2, Question 1 · compulsory
Hadith 10 — Caring for the widow and the poor
This Hadith places sustained care for widows and people in poverty beside major acts of worship. Social welfare is not secondary to religion; patient service can carry the reward of striving, night prayer and fasting.
Compulsory Question 1 Hadith 10 Life in the community
Syllabus connection
- P2.T1.b3 What each passage teaches about what Muslims should believe
- P2.T1.b4 What each passage teaches about how Muslims should act
- P2.T1.b5 Study with reference to the original Arabic text as well as the English translation
- A2.10 Hadith 10: Care for widows and the poor Group (editorial): Community
Learn the material
Learning objectives
Key vocabulary
- sa'i
- One who actively works, strives or manages another's affairs.
- armala
- A widow, especially someone facing loss of support.
- miskin
- A person in poverty or serious need.
- qiyam al-layl
- Standing in voluntary prayer at night.
- kafala
- Ongoing support, care and responsibility.
Before you start
Answer from memory before opening the answers.
- Which teaching group has this course placed the Hadith in?
- What does Paper 2 Question 1(a) ask you to explain?
- What does part (b) ask you to do differently?
- Which short phrase best carries this Hadith's central instruction?
Check your answers
- Life in the community. This is an editorial teaching group; several Hadiths connect with both groups.
- What the Hadith teaches Muslims to believe or understand.
- How Muslims put the teaching into action through concrete practice.
- السَّاعِي عَلَى الْأَرْمَلَةِ وَالْمِسْكِينِ.
The lesson
The prescribed Hadith
السَّاعِي عَلَى الْأَرْمَلَةِ وَالْمِسْكِينِ كَالْمُجَاهِدِ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ، أَوِ الْقَائِمِ اللَّيْلَ الصَّائِمِ النَّهَارَ.
One who manages the affairs of the widow and the poor man is like the one who exerts himself in the way of Allah, or the one who stands for prayer in the night or fasts in the day.
Prescribed Hadith 10 · Appendix 2 · recorded by al-Bukhari or Muslim in their Sahih collections (many by both)
Central teaching
It praises sustained, dignified care for widows and people in poverty as a major act of worship comparable to demanding devotional effort.
Instruction → belief → action
| Teaching point | Evidence or focus | Development |
|---|---|---|
| Care must be active and sustained | The one who works for the widow and the poor person. | The sa'i does more than feel sympathy; they manage needs and continue helping. |
| Social service is worship | Like one who prays at night and fasts by day. | The comparison with striving, fasting and night prayer gives care high spiritual value. |
| Vulnerability creates communal responsibility | The one who works for the widow and the poor person. | Widowhood and poverty can expose people to financial, social and emotional harm. |
| Dignity matters | Like one who prays at night and fasts by day. | Support should empower and protect, not humiliate or control the recipient. |
Do not copy the translation as your answer
Part (a) rewards the teaching behind the words. Name the instruction, explain the belief or principle it rests on, and develop its scope.
Context and chronology
The Hadith uses three demanding comparisons to raise the status of care: striving in Allah's way, night prayer and daytime fasting.
Do not reduce the lesson to giving money. The Arabic sa'i suggests active, continuing management of another person's welfare.
Source discipline
Use the prescribed wording and secure context. Do not invent a narrator, occasion, collection number or historical detail merely to make the answer sound learned.
People, places and events
- Widows, who may face grief, reduced income and social vulnerability.
- People in poverty, whose material and practical needs require sustained support.
- The carer or organiser who works consistently on their behalf.
Qur'an and Hadith evidence
Learn short phrases that can be placed inside an explanation. English quotation is acceptable; accurate use matters more than length.
السَّاعِي عَلَى الْأَرْمَلَةِ وَالْمِسْكِينِ
The one who works for the widow and the poor person.
Sa'i indicates sustained active care.
كَالْقَائِمِ اللَّيْلَ الصَّائِمِ النَّهَارَ
Like one who prays at night and fasts by day.
Social care is given the status of demanding worship.
Significance
- Allah rewards service to vulnerable people as a major form of devotion.
- Worship includes both direct acts towards Allah and duties towards people.
- Community members are responsible for preventing abandonment and destitution.
- Consistent care can be more demanding than a single donation.
These are the beliefs and principles for part (a). The examination asks what the Hadith teaches, not only what its words say.
Significance in practice
For part (b), use setting → action → effect. Specific practice is stronger than saying “Muslims should follow it”.
| Setting | Action | How this applies the Hadith |
|---|---|---|
| Financial support | Provide regular, reliable help through trusted channels. | A household gains stability rather than a one-off gesture. |
| Practical care | Assist with forms, transport, childcare or access to services. | Complex needs are managed rather than merely acknowledged. |
| Dignity | Ask what support is wanted and protect confidentiality. | The vulnerable person remains an agent, not a public project. |
| Community planning | Create funds and volunteer systems that continue beyond emergencies. | Care becomes dependable and shared. |
Connections with other topics
| Source or topic | Connection |
|---|---|
| Hadith 11 | Both command long-term care for people whose normal protection has been weakened. |
| Hadith 16 | The single body should respond when one member suffers poverty or bereavement. |
| Hadith 5 | Practical help is a form of daily sadaqa. |
Common misconceptions
Students often think A small one-off donation fully applies the Hadith.
In fact It may help, but the wording praises sustained effort in managing welfare.
Students often think Helping means making decisions for the person.
In fact Good care protects dignity, consent and independence wherever possible.
Students often think Social work is less religious than prayer.
In fact The Hadith deliberately compares it with major devotional effort.
What the examiner wants
AO1: what you must know
- Know the complete set translation and the meaning of the key Arabic terms.
- State the central instruction accurately: It praises sustained, dignified care for widows and people in poverty as a major act of worship comparable to demanding devotional effort.
- Develop at least three underlying beliefs or principles.
- Use a short phrase from the Hadith as evidence rather than copying the whole translation.
- Give balanced coverage across the two Hadiths you choose.
The Hadith teaching answer
Paper 2 Question 1 asks two different things from Paper 1. Part (a) asks what the Hadith teaches Muslims to believe. Part (b) asks how they put it into action — which needs concrete, practical examples.
- The instruction
- Simply and directly: what is the Prophet ﷺ telling Muslims to do?
- The belief behind it
- What this shows about Allah, or about what a believer is.
- The action
- Concrete practice — in the home, the community, and everyday life.
- Today
- A real, specific example a student could actually give.
AO2: what you must understand
Part (b) needs actions. Each example should show who does what, in which setting, and how it expresses the teaching.
Financial support
Action: Provide regular, reliable help through trusted channels. Effect: A household gains stability rather than a one-off gesture.
Practical care
Action: Assist with forms, transport, childcare or access to services. Effect: Complex needs are managed rather than merely acknowledged.
Dignity
Action: Ask what support is wanted and protect confidentiality. Effect: The vulnerable person remains an agent, not a public project.
Community planning
Action: Create funds and volunteer systems that continue beyond emergencies. Effect: Care becomes dependable and shared.
Worked examination example
Weaker response
The Hadith teaches that only money given to widows counts as worship.
Why it is weak: it distorts or narrows the teaching and gives no developed belief or practical action.
Stronger response
Care must be active and sustained: the sa'i does more than feel sympathy; they manage needs and continue helping. Social service is worship: the comparison with striving, fasting and night prayer gives care high spiritual value. Vulnerability creates communal responsibility: widowhood and poverty can expose people to financial, social and emotional harm. Dignity matters: support should empower and protect, not humiliate or control the recipient.
Why it is stronger: it identifies several teachings, develops them and remains within the wording's limits.
Practise
Guided practice
- Reduce the Hadith to one accurate instruction.
- Select three belief or principle statements from the teaching table.
- Attach one short phrase from the Hadith to each developed point.
- Turn two applications into setting → action → effect sentences.
- Correct one misconception without using vague language.
Before you write, answer these
- What is the instruction?
- What belief or principle lies behind it?
- Which exact action proves application?
The examination gives roughly a third of a page for a 4-mark answer. Aim for a short, dense paragraph — no introduction needed. Your work saves automatically in this browser.
Independent practice
- Write a 90–120 word part (a) explanation without looking.
- Write two separate part (b) examples from different settings.
- Compare this Hadith with Hadith 11 in one similarity and one difference.
- Explain why the first misconception is wrong.
The examination gives roughly a third of a page for a 4-mark answer. Aim for a short, dense paragraph — no introduction needed. Your work saves automatically in this browser.
Check your understanding
Answer each question, then check it. Every option is explained — including the ones that are wrong — so read the feedback even when you were right.
Write a full answer
Exam-style practice question
Four Hadiths are printed in the examination. Practise choosing the two you can explain and apply most evenly.
Hadiths set for this practice
- Hadith 10 — this lesson
- Hadith 11 — Care for orphans
- Hadith 16 — Unity of the community
- Hadith 1 — Sincerity (nasiha)
Exam-style practice question
Important: Question 1 is marked as a whole
Question 1 is marked as a whole. Both of your chosen passages are read together and given ONE mark out of 4 for part (a), and ONE mark out of 4 for part (b). This means balance matters: an excellent answer on one passage and a thin answer on the other is limited by the overall impression. Choose two passages you can develop equally well.
(a) Choose any two of the Hadiths above. Explain what teachings they contain for Muslims to believe. [4] AO1
(b) Explain how Muslims can put these teachings into action. [4] AO2
Written by this course to match the style and demand of the examination. It is not a Cambridge question.
Plan your answer
Before you write, answer these
- Which two Hadiths can I develop equally well?
- For each, what is the instruction and what beliefs lie behind it?
- What short wording can I use as evidence?
- Which two practical actions are specific and realistic?
- Have I divided time and space evenly?
Out of scope here: Copying the translations, giving only personal opinion, or describing general importance without concrete action.
The examination gives roughly a third of a page for a 4-mark answer. Aim for a short, dense paragraph — no introduction needed. Your work saves automatically in this browser.
Indicative answer
Show an indicative answer Write yours first — you will learn more
Part (a) — Hadith 10
Care must be active and sustained: the sa'i does more than feel sympathy; they manage needs and continue helping. Social service is worship: the comparison with striving, fasting and night prayer gives care high spiritual value. Vulnerability creates communal responsibility: widowhood and poverty can expose people to financial, social and emotional harm. Dignity matters: support should empower and protect, not humiliate or control the recipient.
Part (a) — Hadith 11
‘I and the man who brings up an orphan will be in paradise like this.’ And he pointed with his two fingers, the index finger and the middle finger. This teaches the central principle of Care for orphans and should be developed from its own lesson.
Part (b) — practical action
Financial support: Provide regular, reliable help through trusted channels. A household gains stability rather than a one-off gesture.
Practical care: Assist with forms, transport, childcare or access to services. Complex needs are managed rather than merely acknowledged.
Other answers are equally valid
- Marks are awarded for what is correct. Nothing is deducted for errors or omissions.
- Credit is given for valid answers that go beyond the syllabus and the mark scheme.
- It is entirely possible to reach the highest level using different information or a different argument from the one shown here.
- Answers are judged against the levels of response, not against a checklist of required points.
Marking guidance reference
Important: Question 1 is marked as a whole
Question 1 is marked as a whole. Both of your chosen passages are read together and given ONE mark out of 4 for part (a), and ONE mark out of 4 for part (b). This means balance matters: an excellent answer on one passage and a thin answer on the other is limited by the overall impression. Choose two passages you can develop equally well.
| Level | Marks | What the examiner is looking for |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | 4 |
|
| 3 | 3 |
|
| 2 | 2 |
|
| 1 | 1 |
|
| 0 | 0 |
|
What moves an answer up: The clearest difference between Level 3 and Level 4 is comprehensiveness, development, and quotation. Level 3 "may quote"; Level 4 is "likely to quote".
| Level | Marks | What the examiner is looking for |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 3–4 |
|
| 1 | 1–2 |
|
| 0 | 0 |
|
What moves an answer up: The whole AO2 distinction is discussion versus description. A factually excellent but purely descriptive paragraph cannot reach Level 2.
Note that AO2 has two levels, not four. Some older textbooks and revision guides still show a four-level scale for part (b); that scale is out of date.
Self-assessment checklist reference
Judge your answer as a whole against the levels above, not by counting points. An answer can reach the top band using different material from the indicative answer.
Consolidate
Lesson summary
- It praises sustained, dignified care for widows and people in poverty as a major act of worship comparable to demanding devotional effort.
- Allah rewards service to vulnerable people as a major form of devotion.
- A strong part (a) answer explains the instruction and the belief behind it rather than copying the translation.
- A strong part (b) answer gives specific, realistic actions and explains how each action applies the teaching.
- Both selected Hadiths are marked together, so balanced treatment is essential.
Retrieval flashcards
Further revision task reference
- Create a one-page card with the Arabic opening, complete translation, one instruction, three beliefs and three actions.
- Retrieve it after 24 hours, one week and one month.
- Complete an eight-minute Question 1 practice pairing it with Hadith 11.
- Replace any vague action with a named setting, action and effect.
Before you write, answer these
- Which belief is secure?
- Which action is too vague?
- Which Arabic phrase can I recall accurately?
The examination gives roughly a third of a page for a 4-mark answer. Aim for a short, dense paragraph — no introduction needed. Your work saves automatically in this browser.
Your progress is saved in this browser only. Use My progress to export it if you change device.
Why this would reach the top band
The response distinguishes belief from action, develops the teaching instead of copying it, and gives realistic applications. Other accurate teachings and examples can reach the same level.