The short answer
This Islamic quiz has ten questions on the five pillars, the Quran, prayer and the prophets, and every answer is explained with its source. Each question rests on a Quran verse or a hadith graded sahih (sound), and the answers table links each one to the lesson that teaches it.
How does this Islamic quiz work?
Pick an answer to see whether it is right and why. The explanation names where the answer comes from: a verse of the Quran, or a hadith with its collection, number and grade. Without scripts, every answer shows under its question. Nothing is scored on a board and nothing is saved. Say you are on the sofa with a cousin, comparing results: pick, read the reason, move on.
The ten questions stay with the basics. Points that scholars discuss are left out, because a quiz cannot do them justice. For a question about your own situation, ask a scholar you trust.
Writing the quiz showed which questions the sources answer directly and which need a lesson first. Each answer is checked against the record it names, and the explanations point to the lesson that teaches it.
Ten questions on the basics
Ten quick questions. Pick an answer; each one explains itself.
1According to Sahih al-Bukhari 8 (graded sahih), the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, said Islam is built on how many things?
Answer: Five. Five: the testimony of faith, prayer, zakat (charity), Hajj (the pilgrimage) and fasting in Ramadan, in the order this wording gives them. The Arabic does not use the word "pillars"; it says Islam is built on five. Source 1
2In the hadith of Jibril (the angel Gabriel, peace be upon him), recorded in Sahih Muslim 8 (graded sahih), the six articles of faith answer which question?
Answer: What is iman?. Asked about iman (faith), the Prophet named belief in Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers, the Last Day, and the decree, its good and its bad. The five pillars answer the question about Islam. Source 2
3Which surah comes first in the written order of the Quran?
Answer: Al-Fatihah. Al-Fatihah is surah 1, and its second verse is "Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds". Al-Baqarah is surah 2 and Al-Ikhlas is surah 112.
4In which month does Al-Baqarah 2:185 say the Quran was revealed?
Answer: Ramadan. The verse begins "The month of Ramadan in which was revealed the Quran", and goes on to say "whoever of you is present, let him fast the month". Fasting in Ramadan is one of the five.
5Which surah begins with the words "Say: He is Allah, the One!"?
Answer: Al-Ikhlas. Al-Ikhlas 112:1 begins "Say: He is Allah, the One!". The surah has four verses in the Tanzil text. Al-Kafirun and An-Nas also open with "Say", but with different words.
6Which verse tells believers, "When you rise up for prayer, wash your faces"?
Answer: Al-Maidah 5:6. Al-Maidah 5:6 says "When you rise up for prayer, wash your faces", then names the hands up to the elbows, the head and the feet up to the ankles. The same verse covers what to do if you do not find water.
7In Sahih al-Bukhari 631 (graded sahih), what did the Prophet tell the young men who had stayed with him to do about prayer?
Answer: Pray as you have seen me praying. Malik ibn al-Huwayrith, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that after twenty days the Prophet sent the young men back to their families and told them: "pray as you have seen me praying" (English: sunnah.com). The report adds that one of them should call the adhan (the call to prayer) when the time comes and the eldest should lead. Source 3
8Which two prophets, peace be upon them, does Al-Baqarah 2:127 name as raising the foundations of the House (the Kaaba)?
Answer: Ibrahim and Isma'il. Ibrahim and Isma'il. The translation on this site gives their names as Abraham and Ishmael: "Abraham and Ishmael were raising the foundations of the House". The verse has Abraham asking Allah to accept it from us.
9Surah Yunus names the people of Prophet Yunus, peace be upon him, in Yunus 10:98. What English name does the translation on this site give them there?
Answer: Jonah. Jonah. The verse speaks of the people who believed, "as did the folk of Jonah", and says that "We drew off from them the torment of disgrace".
10Besides "the messenger of Allah", which title does Al-Ahzab 33:40 give Muhammad?
Answer: The Seal of the Prophets. Al-Ahzab 33:40 says "he is the messenger of Allah and the Seal of the Prophets". The prophets lesson covers this verse.
What are the answers, and where can you learn more?
All ten answers are here with their sources, each beside the built lesson that teaches it.
| Question | Answer | Source | Lesson |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 How many things Islam is built on | Five | Sahih al-Bukhari 8, graded sahih | The five pillars of Islam explained |
| 2 The question the six articles answer | What is iman? | Sahih Muslim 8, graded sahih | Six articles of faith explained |
| 3 The first surah | Al-Fatihah | The Tanzil text, surah 1 | Al-Fatihah: the lesson |
| 4 The month of revelation | Ramadan | Al-Baqarah 2:185 | The five pillars of Islam explained |
| 5 The surah that begins "Say: He is Allah, the One!" | Al-Ikhlas | Al-Ikhlas 112:1 | Surah Al-Ikhlas: the lesson |
| 6 The verse on washing before prayer | Al-Maidah 5:6 | Al-Maidah 5:6 | How to perform wudu |
| 7 What the young men were told about prayer | Pray as you have seen me praying | Sahih al-Bukhari 631, graded sahih | How to pray Salah |
| 8 Who raised the foundations of the House | Ibrahim and Isma'il | Al-Baqarah 2:127 | Prophet Ibrahim: the lesson |
| 9 The English name for Yunus's people in the translation | Jonah | Yunus 10:98 | Prophet Yunus: the lesson |
| 10 The title in Al-Ahzab 33:40 | The Seal of the Prophets | Al-Ahzab 33:40 | The prophets in Islam |
If one answer surprised you, read the lesson in its row. For one place to go next, read the five pillars lesson: questions 1 and 4 draw on it, and it links to the lesson on wudu.
Questions people ask
Is there an Islamic quiz with answers in English?
Yes. This quiz is in English, and after you pick an answer it shows whether you were right and gives the reason with its source. All ten answers are also listed in a table with the lesson that teaches each one.
Is there an Islamic quiz for kids?
Yes, there is a separate Islamic quiz for kids: eight short questions in plain words, each answer explained and linked to a lesson. This quiz is not written for children. Some questions use Arabic words and surah names, so a parent or teacher can read them aloud and talk through each explanation. Your score shows on screen only, and nothing is saved.
What does the Islamic quiz cover?
Ten questions on the five pillars, the six articles of faith, the first surah, the month of revelation, a surah by its opening words, washing before prayer, a hadith on praying, and three questions on the prophets.
Where do the answers come from?
Each question rests on a Quran verse or on a hadith graded sahih: Sahih al-Bukhari 8, Sahih Muslim 8 and Sahih al-Bukhari 631, each graded sahih. Points on which scholars differ are left out.
Sources
Every claim on this page comes from one of these. Gradings are reported with the scholar's name; we do not grade hadith ourselves.
- 1
Ibn 'Umar reported the Prophet saying that Islam is built on five: testifying that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, establishing the prayer, giving zakat, Hajj and fasting in Ramadan.
Sahih al-Bukhari 8 Book 2, Hadith 1
Authentic: in Sahih al-Bukhari
- 2
In the hadith of Jibril, a man asked the Prophet about Islam, and he answered: to testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, to establish the prayer, give zakat, fast Ramadan and make Hajj to the House if you are able to find a way to it; asked about iman (faith), he answered: to believe in Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers, the Last Day, and the decree, its good and its bad.
Sahih Muslim 8 Book 1, Hadith 1
Authentic: in Sahih Muslim
- 3
Malik ibn al-Huwayrith, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that the Prophet, sending the young men who had stayed with him for twenty days back to their families, told them to teach their families and order them to do good, and added: pray as you have seen me praying, and when the time for prayer comes, one of you should call the adhan and the eldest of you should lead.
Sahih al-Bukhari 631 Book 10, Hadith 28
Authentic: in Sahih al-Bukhari
- Q
Quran text and English for the verses the questions use (Al-Fatihah 1:2, Al-Baqarah 2:127 and 2:185, Al-Maidah 5:6, Yunus 10:98, Al-Ahzab 33:40, Al-Ikhlas 112:1 and the openings of Al-Kafirun and An-Nas), from the Tanzil text and the adapted Pickthall translation.
Tanzil Project Uthmani text, CC BY 3.0. English: adapted from Marmaduke Pickthall's translation (1930), modernised and checked against modern translations.
Next
- The five pillars of Islam explainedYour next lesson
- Six articles of faith explainedExplainer
- How to perform wudu: illustrated stepsPractical guide
- Prophet stories quiz: learn from each answerQuiz
- Quran meanings quiz: practise understandingQuiz
- Islamic quiz for kids: eight questionsQuiz
- Start at AlifThe hub
For your own situation, ask a scholar you trust.
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