The Umayyad Dynasty

9 Grade 10 Religious Education (IRE) questions on The Umayyad Dynasty, with worked marking schemes. 9 questions are available on this topic in full.

1. Question 1

   1 mark

   While preparing notes on the rise of the Umayyad Dynasty, a Grade 10 learner reads that Muslim historians called the year 661 CE 'Am al-Jama'a (the Year of Unity). Which event gave the year this name?

   A. The arbitration that followed the Battle of Siffin

   B. Hassan ibn Ali's handing over of power to Muawiya

   C. The defeat of the Kharijites at Nahrawan

   D. The oath of allegiance taken for Yazid as heir

   (1 mark)

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2. Question 2

   4 marks

   In 750 CE the Umayyad caliph Marwan II was defeated by the Abbasids at the Battle of the Zab, bringing Umayyad rule in the east to an end. Describe two factors that led to the decline of the Umayyad Dynasty. (4 marks)

   (4 marks)

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3. Question 3

   5 marks

   Muawiya ibn Abu Sufyan is remembered both as an able administrator and as the caliph who changed the way leaders were chosen.

   (a) Outline three ways in which Muawiya ibn Abu Sufyan strengthened the administration of the Muslim state. (3 marks)

   (b) Explain why Muslim historians criticise his nomination of his son Yazid as successor. (2 marks)

   (5 marks)

   Marking scheme

   (a) Any three of the following, 1 mark each (3 marks): - Established a postal and intelligence service (barid) linking the capital to the provinces. - Set up a registry or seal office (diwan al-khatam) to prevent forgery of official documents. - Built the first Muslim navy (begun while he was governor of Syria) to defend the coast and extend Muslim rule. - Formed a bodyguard and police force (shurta) to keep law and order. - Moved the capital to Damascus, a well-organised base close to his loyal army. - Appointed capable governors, e.g. Ziyad ibn Abihi in Iraq, who restored peace and order. - Kept experienced clerks and an efficient system of tax collection and record keeping. (b) Any two of the following, 1 mark each (2 marks): - It introduced hereditary succession (rule passing within one family), replacing the consultation (shura) and choice used for the rightly guided caliphs. - Yazid was widely regarded as unfit to lead because he lacked piety and experience. - The nomination caused opposition and conflict, including the tragedy of Karbala (680 CE), in which Husayn ibn Ali was killed. - It turned the caliphate into a kingdom, a pattern followed by later dynasties.

4. Question 4

   3 marks

   During a group discussion on the selected Umayyad caliphs, learners prepare a chart on Abdulmalik ibn Marwan (ruled 685-705 CE). Outline three contributions of Abdulmalik ibn Marwan to the development of Islam. (3 marks)

   (3 marks)

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5. Question 5

   1 mark

   At a museum in Mombasa, a guide shows Grade 10 learners an early gold dinar that carries only Arabic Qur'anic phrases and no images of rulers. Under which Umayyad caliph were such purely Islamic coins first minted?

   A. Umar ibn Abdulaziz

   B. Abdulmalik ibn Marwan

   C. Al-Walid ibn Abdulmalik

   D. Muawiya ibn Abu Sufyan

   (1 mark)

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6. Question 6

   6 marks

   A Grade 10 learner preparing a class presentation notes that the Umayyads, a clan once opposed to the Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H.), came to lead the Muslim state within thirty years of his death. Explain three factors that led to the rise of the Umayyad Dynasty in 661 CE. (6 marks)

   (6 marks)

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7. Question 7

   1 mark

   In a class debate on Umar ibn Abdulaziz, a learner argues that he won the loyalty of the mawali (non-Arab converts to Islam). Which of his reforms most directly removed a grievance of the mawali?

   A. Ending jizya payments by new converts

   B. Withdrawing the army from Constantinople

   C. Stopping the cursing of Ali in Friday sermons

   D. Ordering the official collection of Hadith

   (1 mark)

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8. Question 8

   4 marks

   During a debate, a learner says: "The Umayyads turned the caliphate into a kingdom, so Muslims today owe them nothing."

   (a) State one fact that supports the first part of the learner's statement. (1 mark)

   (b) State three achievements of the Umayyads which show that the second part of the statement is not justified. (3 marks)

   (4 marks)

   Marking scheme

   (a) Any one of the following (1 mark): - Muawiya nominated his son Yazid, making succession hereditary. - Rulers were chosen within one family instead of through consultation (shura). - Later caliphs lived in palaces with court ceremony and luxury like kings. (b) Any three of the following, 1 mark each (3 marks): - Diacritical and vowel marks were added to the Qur'anic script, helping millions of non-Arab Muslims recite it correctly to this day. - Umar ibn Abdulaziz ordered the official written collection of Hadith (through Abu Bakr ibn Hazm and Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri), preserving the Sunnah. - Islam spread to North Africa, Spain, Central Asia and Sind, where large Muslim communities still live. - Arabic became the language of administration and scholarship, uniting Muslims of many nations. - Lasting Islamic architecture such as the Dome of the Rock and the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus is still used and admired. - Islamic coinage and an organised administration became models for later Muslim states. - Umayyad Spain later became a centre of Islamic learning from which knowledge spread to Europe. - Some rulers, notably Umar ibn Abdulaziz, set an example of just and pious leadership.

9. Question 9

   6 marks

   A Grade 10 class draws a chart showing that, by about 715 CE, Umayyad rule stretched from Spain in the west to the Indus valley in the east.

   (a) Name the commander who led the Muslim army into:

   (i) Spain (al-Andalus) in 711 CE; (1 mark)

   (ii) Sind in 711-712 CE. (1 mark)

   (b) Explain two ways in which this territorial expansion contributed to the spread of Islam. (4 marks)

   (6 marks)

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