Islamic Studies (CSS compulsory scope)
A CSS-tuned map of the Islamic Studies compulsory paper: syllabus scope, primary sources, foundational doctrines, and how examiners test them.
What the FPSC Actually Examines
In the Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC) CSS scheme, Islamic Studies is a 100-mark compulsory paper carrying 20 marks of objective MCQs and 80 marks of subjective/essay-type questions. Non-Muslim candidates may opt for Ethics in its place under the FPSC rules notified for the competitive examination. The paper is doctrinal and civilizational, not theological polemics: examiners reward command of primary sources, defined concepts, and the capacity to apply Islamic principles to modern problems of governance, economy, and human rights.
The Hierarchy of Primary Sources
The paper is built on the recognized hierarchy of sources (usul al-fiqh):
- The Qur'an — revealed over roughly 23 years (610–632 CE), comprising 114 surahs. Candidates must distinguish Makki revelation (largely 610–622 CE, themes of tawhid, eschatology, moral reform) from Madani revelation (622–632 CE, themes of law, statecraft, jihad, social legislation).
- The Sunnah — the Prophet Muhammad's (PBUH) sayings, actions, and tacit approvals, codified in the six canonical Sunni collections (Kutub al-Sittah): Sahih al-Bukhari (d. 870 CE), Sahih Muslim (d. 875 CE), and the four Sunan.
- Ijma (consensus of qualified scholars) and Qiyas (analogical reasoning) — the third and fourth agreed sources among the four Sunni schools: Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i, Hanbali.
Core Doctrinal Building Blocks
Retain the architecture of belief and practice as testable units. Tawhid (the absolute oneness of God) is the axis of the worldview; Risalah (prophethood, sealed by the Prophet Muhammad per Qur'an 33:40, Khatam al-Nabiyyin); and Akhirah (the Hereafter). The Five Pillars — Shahadah, Salah, Zakat, Sawm, and Hajj — anchor practice; Zakat in particular is examined as an instrument of economic redistribution, fixed at 2.5% on qualifying wealth above nisab.
The paper repeatedly returns to the Misaq-e-Madina (Charter of Medina, 622 CE) as the first written constitution establishing a pluralistic ummah, and to the Khutba Hijjat-ul-Wida (Farewell Sermon, 632 CE) as the foundational charter of human rights — abolishing racial superiority, usury, and blood feuds, and affirming the sanctity of life, property, and women's rights. Memorize these two documents with dates; they are perennial fodder for both MCQs and essays.