Unit 5 — The Madina Charter

Complete Solved Exercises

Textbook: English 9, KP Textbook Board — Unit 5, pp.41–49
(pp.50–54 are a separate Revision block covering Units 1–5 — solved in its own file.)
Theme: Harmony / peaceful co-existence
Grammar: Tenses — present perfect continuous and past perfect continuous
Writing: Comparison, summary with the help of mind-map, translation

⚠ Note for the teacher: the Table of Contents lists this unit's grammar as "present and past continuous tense," but the actual grammar section on pp.48–49 teaches the present perfect continuous (has/have + been + V-ing) and the past perfect continuous (had + been + V-ing). Teach what the unit actually contains.

COMPREHENSION (pp.45–46)

A. Answer the following questions

1. Why did the Holy Prophet (S.A.W) abolish the tribal distinction in Medina?
When the Prophet (S.A.W) migrated to Medina, the city was inhabited by different sections of people — the Muhajireen (Refugees), the Ansar (Helpers), the idol worshippers and the Jews. In order to create harmony and co-operation among them, the Prophet (S.A.W) abolished the tribal distinction and grouped all the inhabitants of Medina under one general name, Ansar or Helpers. He knew that the goodwill and support of all sections of people were necessary for the creation of an Islamic state, and that tolerance was necessary when different communities lived together.

2. What did the UN adopt unanimously?
In 1948 the General Assembly of the United Nations unanimously adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This declaration proclaims the religious, personal, civic, political, economic, social and cultural rights of human beings. It was approved on 10 December 1948 and made public, and it contains thirty points in all.

3. How do we know that Islam is the protector of Human Rights?
We know this because the clauses of the Madina Charter — drafted by the Holy Prophet (S.A.W) more than fourteen hundred years ago — were later incorporated into the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the UN in 1948. The Charter had already announced the great principles of civic equality, freedom of worship, and religious and racial tolerance. The fact that the modern world had to adopt the very same principles shows that Islam is the greatest protector of human rights.

4. Define tolerance and give examples from the text.
Tolerance means a fair and objective attitude towards those whose religion, customs or way of life differ from our own; it is the willingness to accept and live peacefully with people who are different from us.

Examples from the text:

• The Prophet (S.A.W) abolished the tribal distinction and united all the inhabitants of Medina under one name.
• The Charter declared that the Muslims, the Jews and other communities should be free to profess their own respective religion and perform religious ceremonies.
• Individual and personal offences of a trivial nature by a non-Muslim were to be treated as individual matters, and no general liability was to fall on his whole community.
• The oppressed should be protected, and bloodshed, murder and violence were declared Haram in Medina.
• Quaid-e-Azam followed the same principle in 1947: "You may belong to any religion, caste or creed — we are all equal citizens of one state."

5. We must always honour our words. Why?
We must always honour our words because a promise is a trust, and the whole order of society depends upon people keeping their agreements. The Madina Charter itself was an agreement: all the communities that signed it were bound to defend any signatory who was attacked, and to refer all disputes to the Prophet (S.A.W) for decision. If the signatories had not honoured their words, the Charter would have been worthless and peace in Medina would have collapsed. Moreover, honouring one's word is a moral duty in Islam — a person who breaks his promise loses the trust of others and his own honour. The Holy Prophet (S.A.W) was called Sadiq and Ameen (the truthful and the trustworthy) precisely because he always kept his word.

6. Write an account of an act of tolerance you have shown / seen.
(A personal answer. Model:)

In our locality there is a small Christian family living among Muslim neighbours. Last Christmas some boys of the street began to make fun of them as they were going to church. My elder brother stopped the boys at once and reminded them that in the Madina Charter the Holy Prophet (S.A.W) had guaranteed every community the right to profess its own religion and perform its ceremonies. He then walked with the family to the end of the street. Later our whole family sent them a cake. The neighbours were deeply touched, and since that day the two families have helped each other in every difficulty. This taught me that tolerance costs us nothing but wins us everything.

B. Choose the correct answer

Note on Q3: profess means to declare and practise a faith openly. Among the four phrasal verbs, give up (to renounce or abandon) is its true opposite. Own up = confess; put up = tolerate; take up = begin or adopt — take up is actually a synonym of profess, not its opposite.
Note on Q4: the Declaration says the exact opposite — "Nobody has any right to hurt us or to torture us."

C. Use the following words in sentences of your own

VOCABULARY (p.47)

A. Search the text for the phrases meaning the same as:

Teacher's guideline (from the book): idioms do not translate literally from one language to another. Urdu equivalents:

• kith and kin → عزیز و اقارب / رشتہ دار
• through thick and thin → ہر حال میں / اچھے بُرے وقت میں

WRITING (p.47)

A. Compare the Madina Charter with the UN Human Rights Charter

The Madina Charter and the UN Charter of Human Rights

The Madina Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are two great documents that aim at protecting human dignity, yet they are separated by more than thirteen centuries.

Similarities. Both documents begin from the same principle — that all human beings are equal and deserve protection. Likewise, both guarantee freedom of religion: the Madina Charter declared that "the Muslims, the Jews and other communities of this republic should be free to profess their own respective religion," and in the same way the UN Declaration states that all rights belong to everybody, whatever our differences are. Both forbid cruelty: the Charter declared bloodshed, murder and violence to be Haram in Medina, and similarly the Declaration says that nobody has any right to hurt us or to torture us. Both also insist on the protection of the weak — the Charter ordered that "the oppressed should be protected," while the Declaration says that mothers, children, the old, the unemployed and the disabled all have the right to be cared for. Both, finally, make everyone equal before the law and lay a duty of collective defence and mutual responsibility on all members of the community.

Differences. On the other hand, there are clear differences. The Madina Charter was drafted by the Holy Prophet (S.A.W) about 1400 years ago for the city-state of Medina, whereas the UN Declaration was adopted on 10 December 1948 for the whole world. The Charter was a binding treaty among the communities of one city and referred all disputes to the Prophet (S.A.W) for decision; in contrast, the UN Declaration has thirty articles and is a statement of ideals rather than an enforceable treaty. The Charter drew its authority from divine revelation, while the Declaration rests on the agreement of member states.

Conclusion. The most striking fact is that the modern world, after centuries of bloodshed, arrived at exactly the principles that Islam had already given to mankind. The incorporation of the clauses of the Madina Charter in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights proves that Islam is the greatest protector of human rights.

B. Develop a mind map and write down the summary of the lesson

Mind map — The Madina Charter

                    Freedom and safety
                            |
   Love and peace ---- THE MADINA CHARTER ---- Religious harmony
                     /          |          \
        Patience and      Humanity and     Common
         tolerance          justice      nationality

Summary

When the Holy Prophet (S.A.W) migrated to Medina, the city was inhabited by different sections of people: the Muhajireen or Refugees, who had abandoned the ties of kith and kin to follow him; the Ansar or Helpers, the new converts of Medina who had helped him through thick and thin; and the idol worshippers and the Jews. To create harmony and co-operation, the Prophet (S.A.W) abolished the tribal distinction and grouped all the inhabitants under one name, and then drafted a document known as the Madina Charter. Its main points were that all the communities signing it would form one common nationality; that if any signatory were attacked, the others would defend him collectively; that the Muslims, the Jews and other communities would be free to profess their own religion; that a trivial personal offence by a non-Muslim would not make his whole community liable; that the oppressed should be protected; that bloodshed, murder and violence would be Haram in Medina; and that all disputes would be referred to the Prophet (S.A.W). The importance of the Charter lies in the fact that it announced the great principles of civic equality, freedom of worship, and religious and racial tolerance. The same principle was voiced by Quaid-e-Azam in 1947. In 1948 the UN unanimously adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the incorporation of the clauses of the Madina Charter in it shows that Islam is the greatest protector of human rights.

C. Read the passage and answer the following questions

Passage: "When the Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) migrated to Medina, this city was inhabited by different sections of people. They were the faithful followers of Muhammad (S.A.W) who had abandoned the ties of kith and kin and followed him. They were known as Muhajireen or 'Refugees'. The new converts of Medina who had helped the Prophet (S.A.W) through thick and thin were known as Ansar or 'Helpers'."

I. State whether the reference in the first sentence is anaphoric or cataphoric.
It is an anaphoric reference. The phrase "this city" points back to the noun Medina, which has already been mentioned earlier in the same sentence. Anaphoric reference means a word refers back to an idea already introduced in the text.

II. Locate at least two transitive and two intransitive verbs.

III. What is the main idea of the passage?
The main idea is that when the Holy Prophet (S.A.W) migrated to Medina, the city was inhabited by different groups of people, chiefly the Muhajireen — his faithful followers who had given up their relatives and homes for his sake — and the Ansar, the new converts of Medina who had helped him through every difficulty.

IV. Identify the tense of the passage.
The passage is written mainly in the past tense. The simple past is used for the completed actions (migrated, was, were, known), and the past perfect is used for actions completed before them (had abandoned, had helped).

LISTENING & SPEAKING (p.47)

Task: Share with the class your point of view about peaceful co-existence.

Model response:

In my opinion, peaceful co-existence means living side by side with people of different religions, languages and customs without hatred or fear. It does not mean that we give up our own beliefs; it means that we do not force our beliefs on others. The Holy Prophet (S.A.W) showed us how this is done. In Medina he did not expel the Jews or the idol worshippers; instead he made them partners in one charter and guaranteed them freedom of worship and equal protection of the law. Today the world badly needs this lesson. Wars, terrorism and hatred have destroyed millions of lives simply because people could not tolerate difference. If we learn to respect one another, settle our disputes by dialogue and protect the weak, we can live together in harmony as the people of Medina once did.

GRAMMAR (pp.48–49)

Theory (as given in the book)

Present Perfect Continuous Tense

Expresses an action that started in the past and still continues in the present.
Structure: has / have + been + present participle (V-ing)

• The word since is used when the exact starting point of the action is known — since Monday, since 3 p.m., since 2012.
• The word for is used to express the duration of the action — for three hours, for six months, for five years.

Examples: He has been teaching in this school for three years. · They have been using their car for five years. · She has not been studying her books for five days. · Have you been going to your college since 2012?

Past Perfect Continuous Tense

Describes an ongoing action that started in the past and continued for some time in the past, then stopped.
Structure: had + been + present participle (V-ing)

Examples: She had been studying in that university since 2008. · He had not been eating vegetables for three years. · Had you been helping your parent for two years?

A. Use the words in brackets to write an answer in the present perfect continuous tense

B. Make past perfect continuous tense by using the correct form of the verb

Memory aid: for + a length of time (for ten hours, for three years, for 90 minutes); since + a point in time (since 2008, since high school, since Monday).

GLOSSARY (p.45 — as given in the book)

THE MAIN CLAUSES OF THE MADINA CHARTER — quick revision table

LIKELY EXAM QUESTIONS

1. Why did the Holy Prophet (S.A.W) abolish the tribal distinction in Medina?
2. Write any five main points of the Madina Charter.
3. In what does the importance of the Madina Charter lie?
4. What did the UN adopt unanimously, and when?
5. How do we know that Islam is the protector of human rights?
6. Define tolerance and give examples from the text.
7. Compare the Madina Charter with the UN Human Rights Charter.
8. Write the summary of the lesson "The Madina Charter" with the help of a mind map.
9. Explain the phrases "kith and kin" and "through thick and thin".
10. Define the present perfect continuous and past perfect continuous tenses with their structures and examples. When do we use since and when for?