WAEC Islamic Studies 2018 past questions

Checked by the Skolra question team · Last updated 23 October 2026

Ten questions from the 2018 WAEC Islamic Studies paper, with answers and explanations. We hold 54 questions from this paper, and the Skolra app has all of them.

WAEC Islamic Studies 2018 questions and answers

1. 1.The total number of takbirat in the first rak'ah of salatul'id is
   1. A
      Nine
   2. B
      Seven
      Correct
   3. C
      Five
   4. D
      Three
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: B

   Seven is correct. Salatul 'Id (the Eid prayer) has extra takbirat beyond an ordinary salah. The Prophet (SAW) is reported (Abu Dawud, on the authority of 'Aishah) to have said takbir seven times in the first rak'ah and five times in the second. The first of these seven is the takbiratul-ihram (the opening takbir that starts the prayer) and the remaining six are said before the imam begins reciting Suratul-Fatihah.

2. 2.Muhammad (SAW) was attract to Khadijah because of his
   1. A
      his good looks and youthful charm
   2. B
      his wealth and high social status in Makkah
   3. C
      his honesty and trustworthiness in business dealings
      Correct
   4. D
      his noble lineage from the Banu Hashim clan
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: C

   Correct answer: his honesty and trustworthiness in business dealings.

   Before marriage, Khadijah (RA) was a wealthy Makkan merchant who needed a reliable agent to run her trade caravan to Syria. She entrusted the goods to Muhammad (SAW), sending her servant Maysarah along with him. Muhammad (SAW) conducted the trade with such honesty, fairness and skill that the caravan returned with far greater profit than usual, and Maysarah reported his excellent, upright conduct back to Khadijah. It was this trustworthiness — the same quality that had already earned him the title Al-Amin ("the trustworthy one") among the people of Makkah — that impressed Khadijah and led her to send a proposal of marriage to him.

3. 3.The verse lam yalid wa lam yalad is followed by
   1. A
      Say: He is Allah, the One and Only
   2. B
      And there is none co-equal or comparable unto Him
      Correct
   3. C
      Say: I seek refuge in the Lord of the Daybreak
   4. D
      Allah, the Eternal, the Absolute, to Whom all creatures turn for their needs
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: B

   The quoted line, "Lam yalid wa lam yulad" (He begets not, nor is He begotten), is verse 3 of Suratul-Ikhlas (Chapter 112), a surah every candidate must know by heart.

4. 4.A recipent of Zakat according to Qur'an 9:60 is the
   1. A
      orphan
   2. B
      widow
   3. C
      physically challenged person
   4. D
      wayfarer (stranded traveller)
      Correct
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: D

   Qur'an 9:60 names exactly eight categories of people entitled to receive Zakat: the poor (al-fuqara), the needy (al-masakin), those employed to administer Zakat, those whose hearts are to be reconciled (new converts), those in bondage (to be freed from slavery), those in debt (al-gharimin), those striving in the cause of Allah (fi sabilillah), and the wayfarer — a traveller stranded far from home with no means to continue his journey (ibn as-sabil).

5. 5.Which of the following is not an atonent for intentionally breaking of Ramadan fast ?
   1. A
      Giving out annual Zakat
      Correct
   2. B
      Feeding sixty poor persons
   3. C
      Fasting for two consecutive months
   4. D
      Freeing a slave
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: A

   In Islamic jurisprudence, a person who intentionally breaks the Ramadan fast without a lawful excuse must perform a specific kaffarah (atonement), taken one at a time in order:

   1. Freeing a slave, or if that is not possible,
   2. Fasting for two consecutive months, or if that is not possible,
   3. Feeding sixty poor persons.

   These three are the recognised atonements prescribed in the Hadith for deliberately invalidating the fast. Giving out annual Zakat is not one of them — Zakat is a separate, independent pillar of Islam, an obligatory yearly charity calculated on a Muslim's accumulated wealth, and it has nothing to do with repairing a broken fast. That is why it is the correct answer to "which of the following is NOT an atonement".

6. 6.The name al-Furqun implies that the Qur'an is a
   1. A
      standard that distinguishes truth from falsehood
      Correct
   2. B
      light that illuminates the believer's heart
   3. C
      reminder for those who reflect
   4. D
      guidance given to the whole of mankind
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: A

   Al-Furqan is one of the names given to the Qur'an, and it literally means "The Criterion" or "The Distinguisher". It describes the Qur'an as the standard that distinguishes truth from falsehood, and separates right from wrong, and the lawful from the unlawful. This is why Chapter 25 of the Qur'an is itself named Surah Al-Furqan.

7. 7.The total number of Chapters in the Qur'an is
   1. A
      99
   2. B
      124
   3. C
      114
      Correct
   4. D
      104
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: C

   The Qur'an is made up of 114 chapters, called Surahs, arranged from the longest (Suratul Fatihah as the opening) through to the shortest (Suratun Nas) near the end.

   So the correct total number of Surahs (chapters) in the Qur'an remains 114.

8. 8.Bashirah's encounter with muhammad (SAW) was important because it
   1. A
      it made Abu Talib abandon the trade journey to Syria at once
   2. B
      it converted him to Christianity before his call to prophethood
   3. C
      it made the Quraysh accept him as a prophet while still a boy
   4. D
      it confirmed the signs of prophethood foretold about him in earlier scriptures
      Correct
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: D

   As a boy of about twelve, Muhammad (SAW) travelled with his uncle Abu Talib's trade caravan to Syria. At Busra, a Christian monk named Bashirah (Bahira) saw signs he recognised from his religious books — a cloud shading the boy and trees bending to shelter him — and on meeting him found the seal of prophethood between his shoulders.

9. 9.Describe the circumstances that made cUthmān b. cĀffān earn the title Dhu-Nurayn.
   1. A
      He donated two wells and an orchard to the Muslim community at Madinah during a time of scarcity
   2. B
      He married two daughters of the Prophet (SAW), Ruqayyah and, after her death, Umm Kulthum
      Correct
   3. C
      He migrated twice during his life, first to Abyssinia and later to Madinah alongside the Prophet's followers
   4. D
      He personally financed two major military expeditions, Tabuk and Hunayn, from his own wealth
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: B

   Dhu-Nurayn means "the possessor of the two lights". cUthmān b. cAffān earned this unique title because he married Ruqayyah, a daughter of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW). When Ruqayyah died, the Prophet gave cUthmān her sister, Umm Kulthum, in marriage as well. No other companion ever married two daughters of a Prophet, one after the other, which is why he alone was honoured with this title.

10. 10.Suratul Qadr (Q,97:1) is in connection with
    1. A
       the Hijrah of the Prophet (SAW) from Makkah to Madina
    2. B
       the Isra' and Mi'raj (the Night Journey and Ascension of the Prophet)
    3. C
       the revelation of the Glorious Qur'an on the Night of Power (Lailatul Qadr)
       Correct
    4. D
       the conquest of Makkah (Fathu Makkah)
    Show answerHide answer

    Answer: C

    Suratul Qadr (Chapter 97 of the Qur'an) opens with the verse: "Indeed, We sent the Qur'an down during the Night of Decree" (Q. 97:1). This surah is specifically about the first revelation of the Glorious Qur'an to Prophet Muhammad (SAW) while he was in the cave of Hira, on a night called Lailatul Qadr (the Night of Power/Decree), which falls within the last ten nights of Ramadan.

    So the correct link for Suratul Qadr is the night the Qur'an's revelation began.

The questions come from past JAMB, WAEC and NECO papers. We use software to help write the answer options and explanations, and every answer is checked twice before it goes on the site. How we check

Spotted a wrong answer? Tell us from the app or on the contact page and we check it.

Practise all 54 questions we hold from the 2018 paper, on a timed CBT screen

Every question has the answer and an explanation, in the Skolra app.

Download for WindowsDownload for Mac

About the app · Skolra for Windows · Skolra for Mac