IGCSE Islamic Studies Topics by Exam Board: Full List

IGCSE Islamic Studies – currently offered by Cambridge International Education (CIE) (opens in a new tab) and Pearson Edexcel (opens in a new tab) – covers the religion, history and culture of Islam. While CIE’s topics focus more on close study of the Qur’an and Hadith, Pearson Edexcel leans more towards modern application and the global Muslim community.

This article includes an official and complete breakdown of the topics you need to revise for IGCSE Islamic Studies. We’ve summarised the subject content from both exam boards to show you exactly what you need to know, and we’ll explain how to use topic lists to revise effectively.

Key Takeaways

• Two exam boards currently offer IGCSE Islamic Studies: CIE and Pearson Edexcel 

• Avoid revising unnecessary content by only focusing on your exam board’s topics

• Use topic lists to create a revision plan and organise your notes

Why It's Important to Know Your Exam Board

Although subject content often overlaps across exam boards, each exam board has a different syllabus. This means that the same subject can be taught very differently in one exam board compared to another, with varying topics, skills and assessment methods.

Knowing exactly which topics your exam board covers means you can create a focused revision plan. You won't waste time studying content that won't be tested, and you'll know exactly what to expect when it comes to exams.

CIE and Pearson Edexcel are the two exam boards currently offering IGCSE Islamic Studies. Both exam boards cover similar content, such as the Prophet Muhammad and the early Muslim community, but they have different set passages and assessment methods. The course is known as Islamiyat for CIE and Islamic Studies for Pearson Edexcel.

CIE IGCSE Islamic Studies (Islamiyat) Topics (0493)

The subject content below is from the CIE 2026-27 syllabus (opens in a new tab):

1.Major themes of the Qur’an

• Allah in Himself, His relationship with the created world and His messengers

• Importance of the major themes of the Qur’an in Muslims’ lives today

2.History and importance of the Qur’an

• Revelation of the Qur’an to the Prophet, 610-32 

• Account of the compilation of the Qur’an under the Rightly Guided Caliphs 

• Major themes of the Qur’an and its significance as the basis of all thought and action in Islam

• Use of the Qur’an in legal thinking, its relationship with the Hadiths, consensus (ijma) and analogy (qiyas)

3.Life and importance of the Prophet Muhammad

• Main events of the Prophet’s life, from his birth to his call to prophethood, his activities in Makkah and Medina, his experiences and conflicts with others and his leadership

• The Prophet’s character and actions as examples for individual Muslims and Muslim communities

• The Prophet’s significance as Seal of the Prophets and last Messenger of God

4.The first Islamic community

• The Prophet’s wives and descendants, including his children, grandchildren and the direct line recognised among Shi‘a Muslims as Imams 

• The Prophet’s leading Companions, including the Ten Blessed Companions; his Scribes; the major characters who surrounded him in his ministry; the Emigrants and Helpers; the four Rightly Guided Caliphs during his lifetime

5.Major teachings in the Hadith of the Prophet

• Passages relating to individual conduct and life in the community

6.History and importance of the Hadiths

• History of the compilation of the Hadiths and earliest collections, including musnad and musannaf

• Main compilers and their activities, including methods based on examination of the chain of transmitters (isnad) and the text (matn) to test a Hadith’s reliability

• Main features of the six collections of Sunni Hadiths and the four collections of Shi‘a Hadiths

• Major themes of the Hadiths and their significance in thought and action in Islam

• Use of the Hadiths in legal thinking, their relationship with the Qur’an, ijma and qiyas

7.The period of rule of the Rightly Guided Caliphs and their importance as leaders

• Main events of the rules of the four Caliphs, including achievements and difficulties they encountered 

• Policies in maintaining and expanding the state, and approaches to leading the community

• Significance as examples of leadership

• Importance of their rules as models for government today

• Importance as examples for Muslim communities in their relations with other states

8.The Articles of Faith and the Pillars of Islam

• The Six Articles of Faith: God, angels, books, prophets, God’s predestination and resurrection

• Jihad in its range of meanings: physical, mental and spiritual

• The Five Pillars of Islam: shahada, salat, zakat, sawm and hajj

The table below shows which topics come up in each paper:

You’ll also be given Qur’an and Hadith passages for special study, which you can find in appendices 6 and 7 of the syllabus.

Pearson Edexcel IGCSE Islamic Studies Topics (4IS1)

Pearson Edexcel only has one exam paper – Paper 1: Islamic Studies – worth 100% of your grade. You’ll be examined on the following topics:

Section A: the life, teachings and achievements of the Prophet Muhammad

• Personal aspects of the Prophet’s life: ancestry and early years leading to his future work as Allah’s messenger 

• The Revelation of the Qur’an: the ‘Night of Power’, compilation and importance of the revelation to Muslims

• The Prophethood of Muhammad: ‘Seal of the Prophets’, establishment of Islam and opposition in Makkah

• Opposition and Hijrah: the boycott and Mi’raj, the plot to kill the Prophet, flight to Medina and the Prophet’s supporters, companions and helpers

• The Sunnah of the Prophet: recording, importance and role in establishing Islamic belief and practice

• Teachings and example of the Prophet on specific issues: social and economic justice, human rights, relationship with people of other religions and respect for mothers and women

• The Prophet as leader: establishing the Shari’ah, consolidation and expansion of Islam after the Hijrah, the Prophet’s treatment of opponents and prisoners and his relationship with other communities and countries

• Battles fought by the Prophet: the reasons for and importance of Badr, Ohud, Trench and Khyber

• The Prophet’s final acts and achievements: final pilgrimage and sermon, achievements in society, religion and politics and events of the Prophet’s death in Medina

Section B: the key beliefs, practices and features of the early Muslim community founded by the Prophet

• Nature of belief in Allah: Allah’s oneness, attributes and characteristics shown in the Qur’an, shirk and nifaq

• Risalah: nature, importance and roles of the prophets before Muhammad

• Holy books of Islam: Tawrat, Zabur, Injil and the Scrolls of Abraham

• al-Qadr: how predestination and free will relate to the ‘Day of Judgment’, evil and suffering

• Akhirah: teachings about life after death in the Qur’an

• Malaikah: nature and importance of principal angels in Islamic belief

• Shari’ah: the Qur’an and Sunnah as principal sources, related sources of law (ijma and qiyas), the difference between halal and haram and the five rulings

• Islamic etiquette, attitude and manners: in relations with others, attitudes to lying and harmful speech and eating

• The early leaders of the Muslim community: importance, roles and achievements of early Islamic leaders after Muhammad’s death 

Section C: living the Muslim life today

• Shahadah: its recitation and how it is used in practice

• Salah: its performance in the home and at the mosque, Friday prayer and exemptions from it

• Sawm: fasting during Ramadan, exemptions from it and the importance of Laylat al-Qadr for Muslims today

• Zakah and Khums: the global importance of giving to those in need

• Hajj: its origins, key actions, benefits, challenges and exemptions

• Jihad: its origins, greater versus lesser jihad and conditions for declaring lesser jihad

• Islamic festivals: Eid-ul-Adha, Eid-ul-Fitr and Ashura

• Marriage and family: ceremonies relating to birth and death, and how procreation strengthens the Ummah

• Muslim citizenship and religious and political leadership: responsibilities, challenges and models of leadership from the Prophet and his successors

Your set passages from the Qur’an and Hadith can be found in Appendix 5 of the syllabus (opens in a new tab).

How to Use Topic Lists for Revision

Create a revision plan

Print or write out your topics into a checklist. Use the traffic light system (opens in a new tab) to prioritise weaker areas, and tick each area off as you revise. Seeing progress is really motivating, and it stops you from accidentally skipping anything important.

Organise your notes and flashcards by topic

Separating your notes and flashcards according to topic will make it much easier to find information quickly.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to revise all IGCSE Islamic Studies topics for the exam?

CIE tests you on topics 1-4 for Paper 1 and 5-8 for Paper 2. Pearson Edexcel tests you on all topics in one exam paper.

Are these topics the same across all exam boards?

No. Though the content does overlap, CIE and Pearson Edexcel have different topics, set passages and assessment structures. Make sure you only revise the topics from your chosen exam board.

How do I know which topics I struggle with most?

Depending on your exam board, complete CIE or Edexcel past papers and check how you did against the mark scheme. You can then use the traffic light system to prioritise revising whichever areas you scored the lowest in.

Do all topics come up in every exam paper?

Not for CIE, but they do for Pearson Edexcel.

CIE Paper 1 tests you on topics 1-4, and Paper 2 is on topics 5-8. Pearson Edexcel only has one paper that tests you on all three sections of content: A, B and C.

Final Thoughts

Using topic lists to structure your IGCSE Islamic Studies revision means you'll know exactly what to study, and how to allocate your time between each area.

Bookmark or print this page, and use it as your roadmap. Work through each of the topics, tick them off as you go, practise answering past paper questions, and persevere to improve your knowledge and skills for your exams.

References

• How to Use the Traffic Light System to Improve Your Marks (opens in a new tab)

• CIE Islamiyat (opens in a new tab)

• Pearson Edexcel Islamic Studies (opens in a new tab)