Cambridge IGCSE · 0493 · Data 2020–2025
Most-tested topics in IGCSE Islamiyat
Just 3 chapters — The life and importance of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), The period of rule of the Rightly Guided Caliphs and their importance as leaders, The history and importance of the Qur'an — carry about 60% of all the marks. Revise those first.
Based on 48 real Cambridge past papers and 8,128 tagged marks, 2020–2025. Ranked by marks, not guesswork.
Historical counts from past papers — not an exam prediction. Download the data (CSV)
Revise these first
The topics that carry the most marks, highest first. Each opens the free past-paper questions.
- 1Practise →The life and importance of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)Every year
- 2Practise →The period of rule of the Rightly Guided Caliphs and their importance as leadersEvery year
- 3Practise →The history and importance of the Qur'anEvery year
- 4Practise →3.4 The Prophet's actions and character6% of marksThe life and importance of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)Every year
- 5Practise →7.4 Main achievements and difficulties5% of marksThe period of rule of the Rightly Guided Caliphs and their importance as leadersEvery year
- 6Practise →The life and importance of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)Every year
- 7Practise →5.1 Individual conduct5% of marksMajor teachings in the Hadiths of the ProphetEvery year
- 8Practise →The Articles of Faith and the Pillars of IslamEvery year
See the full breakdown — all 34 topics across 8 chapters
The life and importance of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)
26% of marks- 3.5 The Prophet as an example for individuals and communitiesEvery year658 marks · 47 qs
- 3.4 The Prophet's actions and characterEvery year448 marks · 32 qs
- 3.2 Activities in Makka and experiences with opponentsEvery year406 marks · 29 qs
- 3.3 Activities in Madina and leadership of the communityEvery year378 marks · 27 qs
- 3.1 Main events from birth to the call to prophethoodEvery year168 marks · 12 qs
- 3.6 Significance as Seal of the Prophets and last Messenger of GodRecurring56 marks · 4 qs
The period of rule of the Rightly Guided Caliphs and their importance as leaders
20% of marks- 7.1 Main events of the rules of the four CaliphsEvery year476 marks · 34 qs
- 7.4 Main achievements and difficultiesEvery year420 marks · 30 qs
- 7.2 Policies in maintaining and expanding the stateEvery year308 marks · 22 qs
- 7.3 Approaches to leading the communityRecurring238 marks · 17 qs
- 7.5 Significance as examples of leadership and models for government todayEvery year182 marks · 13 qs
The history and importance of the Qur'an
14% of marks- 2.5 The significance of the Qur'an as the basis of thought and action in IslamEvery year472 marks · 44 qs
- 2.3 The major themes of the Qur'anEvery year318 marks · 33 qs
- 2.4 The Qur'an in legal thinking (relationship with Hadith, ijma and qiyas)Recurring154 marks · 11 qs
- 2.1 The revelation of the Qur'an to the Prophet (610-632)Every year126 marks · 9 qs
- 2.2 The compilation of the Qur'an under the Rightly Guided CaliphsRecurring98 marks · 7 qs
Major teachings in the Hadiths of the Prophet
9% of marks- 5.1 Individual conductEvery year402 marks · 39 qs
- 5.2 Life in the communityEvery year360 marks · 36 qs
The history and importance of the Hadiths
9% of marks- 6.6 The Hadiths in legal thinking (relationship with Qur'an, ijma and qiyas)Recurring210 marks · 15 qs
- 6.5 The major themes of the HadithsEvery year172 marks · 17 qs
- 6.7 The significance of the Hadiths in thought and action in IslamEvery year136 marks · 11 qs
- 6.4 Testing reliability of a Hadith (isnad and matn)Every year98 marks · 7 qs
- 6.1 The compilation of the Hadiths and the earliest collectionsRecurring70 marks · 5 qs
- 6.2 The main musnad and musannaf collections (six Sunni and four Shi'a)One-off28 marks · 2 qs
- 6.3 The main compilers and their activitiesOne-off14 marks · 1 qs
The Articles of Faith and the Pillars of Islam
8% of marks- 8.3 The Five Pillars of Islam (shahada, salat, zakat, sawm, hajj)Every year382 marks · 29 qs
- 8.1 The Six Articles of Faith (God, angels, books, prophets, predestination and decree, Resurrection and the last day)Every year236 marks · 19 qs
- 8.2 Jihad in its range of meanings (physical, mental and spiritual)Recurring28 marks · 2 qs
Major themes of the Qur'an
8% of marks- 1.1 God in himselfEvery year244 marks · 26 qs
- 1.2 God's relationship with the created worldEvery year238 marks · 26 qs
- 1.3 God's MessengersEvery year156 marks · 15 qs
The first Islamic community
6% of marks- 4.3 The leading Companions (Ten Blessed Companions, Scribes, Emigrants and Helpers, the four Rightly Guided Caliphs in the Prophet's lifetime)Every year308 marks · 22 qs
- 4.1 The Prophet's wivesEvery year98 marks · 7 qs
- 4.2 The Prophet's descendants and the ImamsRecurring42 marks · 3 qs
Turn the data into practice
Every topic above is drawn from real Cambridge IGCSE Islamiyat papers, tagged to the syllabus. Students can drill the high-frequency topics in the free bank; teachers can turn any of them into a ready-to-print worksheet in seconds. Or explore the full six-year trends in the interactive records.