AQA GCSE Religious Studies Islam Paper 3 2025 Mark Scheme

Download the official AQA GCSE Religious Studies (Short Course) Section 3 Islam mark scheme for the June 2025 examination series (8061/3/MS). This examiner-approved PDF contains the complete official marking guidance used by AQA examiners for assessing the June 2025 Islam examination, including indicative content, level-of-response descriptors, accepted teachings, examiner commentary, and assessment-objective guidance.

The mark scheme provides detailed official answers and marking criteria for every question in the June 2025 GCSE Religious Studies Islam paper. Topics covered include the Five Roots of Usul ad-Din in Shi’a Islam, Tawhid, the holy books of Islam, the Prophet Ibrahim, monotheism, Hajj, Eid al-Adha, Qurbani, sacrifice, obedience to Allah, heaven (Jannah), Allah’s mercy, divine justice, omnipotence, the 99 Names of Allah, and Muslim beliefs about the nature of God.

Students can use this official AQA mark scheme to understand exactly how marks are awarded in GCSE Religious Studies examinations, improve exam technique, strengthen evaluative writing, and develop accurate use of Islamic terminology and Qur’anic teachings. The document explains how AQA examiners assess AO1 knowledge and AO2 evaluation skills across multiple-choice questions, short-answer responses, source-based explanations, and extended 12-mark evaluative essays with SPaG assessment.

The mark scheme includes detailed examiner guidance for the 12-mark evaluation question discussing whether the best way to describe God is as omnipotent (all-powerful). Students can study official arguments supporting Allah’s supreme power and control over creation, alongside alternative views emphasising Allah’s mercy, compassion, omnipresence, moral perfection, and the significance of the 99 Names of Allah in understanding God’s nature.

Source material and references included in the mark scheme feature Qur’anic teachings and Hadith quotations about Jannah, divine mercy, and Allah’s power, including references such as Qur’an 18:31, Qur’an 55:54–55, and Sahih Muslim teachings about Paradise. The document also explains how examiners credit references to sacred writings and authoritative Islamic teachings in 5-mark explanation questions.

Teachers, tutors, homeschool educators, revision providers, and intervention programmes can use this official mark scheme for mock-exam marking, classroom walkthroughs, retrieval practice, essay-planning sessions, examiner-style feedback, and GCSE Religious Studies revision aligned directly with official AQA assessment methodology.

This official PDF contains 11 pages and follows the final Version 1.0 AQA release for the June 2025 GCSE Religious Studies Islam examination. Ideal for 2026 GCSE Religious Studies revision, self-marking, independent study, and improving exam performance using authentic examiner guidance.

This document is designed for Year 10 and Year 11 students studying AQA GCSE Religious Studies (Short Course), especially learners preparing for Islam examination topics in the 2026 exam series. It is particularly valuable for students improving understanding of Islamic beliefs, Qur’anic teachings, evaluative writing, and examiner expectations for AO1 and AO2 responses.

It is also highly useful for GCSE Religious Studies teachers, private tutors, revision centres, homeschool educators, intervention programmes, and schools delivering the AQA Religious Studies specification. Teachers can use the mark scheme for examiner-style assessment, guided marking activities, classroom revision sessions, retrieval practice, and mock-exam feedback using official June 2025 AQA examiner guidance.