Exam guide

The Tarjama-tul-Quran paper of class 11 carries 50 marks and 2 hours 30 minutes. It covers four surahs: Al-Baqarah, Aal-e-Imran, Al-Anfal and At-Tawbah. Section A is on the printed question page and is collected after 15 minutes; Sections B and C are answered in the separate answer sheet in the remaining 2 hours 15 minutes (40 marks).

What the 2026 papers actually asked

There was no Tarjama-tul-Quran paper in 2025, so the evidence is the three 2026 sets (B, A and D) and the FBISE model paper. The tables below group every question by surah and set. Use them to see the pattern, not to guess exact questions: the same topic comes back in a different form.

Section A: the 10 MCQs

Notice the balance: every set has two MCQs from each surah (Set A has three from Al-Anfal and one from Aal-e-Imran) and two word MCQs. Almost all are one-fact questions: a date, a number, a name, a place or a meaning.

Section B (a): the 2-mark short questions

Al-Baqarah supplies the most short questions (virtues of Ayat-ul-Kursi and the last two ayat, the opening beliefs, Adam (AS), the cow), but every set also asks the name, number of ayat and date of at least one of Badr, Uhud, Tabuk or Mutah. Each OR pairs two different surahs, so a student who knows only two surahs well can still choose.

Section B (b) and (c): words and ayat

The ayat are always famous ones from the four surahs, and some return: 2:151 came in Set D and the model paper, 8:29 in Set A and the model paper, and the word «يَسْئَلُوْنَ» in both Set B and Set D. See the high-yield list in section 8.

Section C: the long questions

Every long question came from the 25 selected topics and every 2026 one has a final part on lessons, guidance, benefits or harms (2 marks). Four of the twelve 2026 choices were battles (Badr, Uhud, Hunayn and Tabuk), so prepare the battles first. The model answers are in unit 5.

The paper has 50 marks in 150 minutes, so roughly 3 minutes a mark, but the marks are not equal in effort: an MCQ takes a minute, a long answer takes half an hour. The plan below follows the model paper: Section A first (15 minutes on the question page), then 135 minutes for Sections B and C. Practise it once with a timer.

Rules that save marks

• Never let one question steal another's time. When the minutes for a part are over, stop, leave a few lines and move on. A half-written long answer still earns marks for what is written, a blank one earns none.
• Choose between the two sides of an OR at once, by asking which you can answer with the most ticked points, and write the question number exactly as printed, for example Q.2 (a)(iii).
• In the long answers, plan the numbered headings first (2 minutes), because the examiner marks organisation as well as content.
• Write the guidance part (2 marks) in every long question. It is the easiest 2 marks and the one most often skipped when time runs out.
• If you finish Section A early, do not use the extra time there: the MCQ page is collected at 15 minutes, so check it and then begin Section B.

Section A is 10 marks in 15 minutes: 8 MCQs on the introduction and occasion of revelation of the surahs and 2 on the 80 words. Every MCQ in the three 2026 sets and the model paper tests one fact. So the winning method is two things: know the fact sheet below, and use elimination when memory fails.

The fact sheet for the 8 MCQs

Where sources differ on a figure (for example 313, 314 or 317 at Badr) the common figure is the one the papers use: 313.

A method for every MCQ

Elimination in practice: examples from the 2026 papers

The 2 word MCQs

These test the 80 selected words (unit 6). Three habits help. First, learn each word with its person and tense: «تُحِبُّوْنَ» is you love, and the options in Set A also offered they love, they dislike and you dislike, so only the person tells you which is right. Second, expect the options to be meanings of other words from the list, so recall the meaning before reading them. Third, learn the meaning as the list gives it: «يَظُنُّوْنَ» is they are certain here (not they think), and «دَابِرَ» is root (not a veil or impurity).

Each short question is 2 marks and carries an OR. Two marks mean two points an examiner can tick. A paragraph of five sentences gains nothing over two exact, labelled points, and a vague answer loses both marks. Some questions are printed with the split 1+1 (for example, which battle and how many martyred): then give one line for each half.

What to write for each kind of question

Virtues (fazail): the authentic references

A virtue question wants the content of a hadith and, for the second mark, its source. Use only these well-known, authentic reports, paraphrased in your own words, and never invent a hadith or a collection. If you are not sure of the collection, write the meaning and say the hadith is reported by the Prophet (ﷺ).

Model short answers

• Which verse is called the chief of verses and what is its virtue? (Set B, 1+1) Ayat-ul-Kursi (Al-Baqarah: 255) is called the chief of the verses of the Quran (Tirmidhi). Its virtue: it is the greatest ayah of the Quran (Sahih Muslim), and whoever recites it before sleeping is guarded by an angel from Allah until morning (Sahih Bukhari).
• What is the excellence of the last two verses of Surah Al-Baqarah? (Set D and model paper) The Prophet (ﷺ) said that whoever recites them at night, they suffice him (Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim). They were also given to the Prophet (ﷺ) on the night of Mi'raj (Sahih Muslim).
• When did Badr take place and what was its outcome? (Set A, 1+1) Badr took place on 17 Ramadan 2 AH. About 313 Muslims defeated a Quraish army of about 1,000 and their leaders were killed or captured; Allah called it Yaum al-Furqan (8:41).
• What reason is given for not writing Bismillah at the start of Surah At-Tawbah? (Set B) First, according to Hazrat Uthman (RA), the surah was treated as a continuation of Al-Anfal because its subject resembled it. Second, scholars say Bismillah is a message of mercy, whereas this surah opens with the declaration of disassociation from the polytheists (9:1).
• Which battle is described in detail in Surah Aal-e-Imran and how many companions were martyred? (Set B, 1+1) The battle of Uhud (Shawwal 3 AH); 70 companions were martyred, among them Hazrat Hamza (RA), Sayyid-ush-Shuhada.
• What was the number of soldiers in the battle of Mutah? (Set D) About 3,000 Muslims faced a Roman army of about 100,000 to 200,000 (Jumada al-Ula 8 AH).

Q.2 (b) gives five words from the 80 selected words and asks for their meanings, one mark each. It is the cheapest 5 marks in the paper, because you only need the meaning learnt from the list. Every word asked in 2026 and in the model paper is in the table below; the full 80 are in unit 6.

Some words came twice: «يَسْئَلُوْنَ» was in Set B and Set D. The same word can also appear in more than one surah: «يُنْفِقُوْنَ» is in the list for both Al-Baqarah and Al-Anfal.

How to write the answers

Q.2 (c) has three questions of 3 marks each, every one with an OR. In each, an ayah is printed with its Urdu and English translation, followed by one to three parts. In 2026 the surah name and ayah number were printed beside the ayah in Set B (for example, Al-Baqarah 119); do not depend on that, because the model paper did not print them. This part tests SLO I-11-A-03: understand the ayah from its translation.

How the questions are set

The marks of each part tell you how many points to write: 1 mark is one point, 2 marks two points, 3 marks three points. Some parts say 'any two' or 'any three': then write exactly that many, because a long list gets no extra marks.

A step-by-step method

Worked mini-examples from the 2026 papers

In each example the ayah is printed first. Read the translation, find the answer in its words, and compare with the model answer.

Example 1: Al-Baqarah 119 (Set B, 1+2)

• (a) Which characteristics of the Prophet (ﷺ) are mentioned? (1) He is sent with the truth as a bringer of good news and a warner.
• (b) What will not be asked of him? (2) He will not be asked about the companions of Hellfire: (1) his duty is only to convey the message with glad tidings and warning; (2) he is not responsible for those who reject it, each one answers for himself.

Example 2: Al-Anfal 46 (Set B OR, 1+2)

• (a) What has been ordered? (1) To obey Allah and His Messenger (and not to dispute, and to be patient).
• (b) What if the order is not followed? (2) (1) They would lose courage; (2) their strength would depart. Disputing among themselves, as the Muslims were told at Badr, brings weakness and defeat.

Example 3: Al-Anfal 41 (Set A OR, 3 marks)

• For whom is the khums (one fifth)? (3) The one fifth of the spoils is for: (1) Allah (for His cause) and the Messenger (ﷺ); (2) his near relatives; (3) the orphans, the needy and the traveller. The other four fifths go to the fighters. Background: the surah was revealed after Badr, called Yaum al-Furqan in this ayah.

Example 4: Aal-e-Imran 14 (Set A, 3 marks)

• In which temporary things has attraction been placed? (3) In women, sons, heaped-up gold and silver, fine branded horses, cattle and tilled land. All of it is only the enjoyment of worldly life, while the best return is with Allah. (Six things are listed; any three clear points earn the 3 marks, so write four to be safe.)

Example 5: Aal-e-Imran 134 (Set B OR, 3 marks)

• What qualities of the doers of good are mentioned? (3) (1) They spend in ease and in hardship; (2) they restrain their anger; (3) they pardon people. Allah loves the doers of good.

Example 6: At-Tawbah 2 (Set D OR, 1+1+1)

• (a) How much time was given to the polytheists? (1) Four months, to travel freely in the land.
• (b) How is Allah's power described? (1) They cannot cause failure to Allah, that is, no one can escape Him.
• (c) What punishment is announced? (1) Allah will disgrace the disbelievers. Context: this followed the declaration of disassociation (9:1 to 3) made at the Hajj of 9 AH.

Example 7: Aal-e-Imran 7 (Set D, 2+1)

• (a) What kinds of verses are there in the Quran? (2) (1) Precise verses (muhkamat), whose meaning is clear; (2) unspecific or allegorical verses (mutashabihat).
• (b) What is the foundation of the Book? (1) The precise verses (muhkamat). Those with deviation in their hearts follow the allegorical ones, while those firm in knowledge say: all of it is from our Lord.

Example 8: At-Tawbah 20 (Set D OR, 1+2)

• (a) Who are the great people in the sight of Allah? (1) Those who believed, emigrated and strove in the cause of Allah.
• (b) Which types of jihad are mentioned? (2) (1) With their wealth; (2) with their lives.

Example 9: Al-Baqarah 151 (Set D and model paper, 3 marks)

• What duties of the Messenger (ﷺ) are mentioned? Write any three. (3) (1) He recites the ayat of Allah to the people; (2) he purifies them (tazkiyah); (3) he teaches them the Book and wisdom; (4) he teaches what they did not know. (Write three; the fourth is extra.) For the model paper's question, what position is described: the Messenger sent from among them as reciter, purifier and teacher.

Example 10: At-Tawbah 128 to 129 (model paper, 2+1)

• (a) Which qualities of the Prophet (ﷺ) are mentioned? (2) (1) He is from among them (a man like them); (2) your suffering grieves him and he is anxious for your good; (3) he is kind and merciful to the believers. Any two clear points earn the 2 marks.
• (b) What consolation was given if the disbelievers turn away? (1) The Prophet (ﷺ) is told to say: Allah is sufficient for me, there is no deity except Him, I rely on Him, He is the Lord of the Great Throne.

Sometimes the ayah in Q.2 (c) is one you have not memorised. Do not panic: every ayah in the paper comes with its translation, and the translation always carries clues, such as a name, an event or a command. Match the clues with the signature words and themes of each surah below. They also help you decide which of the two ayat of an OR you can answer.

Al-Baqarah (the cow)

Aal-e-Imran (the family of Imran)

Al-Anfal (the spoils of war)

At-Tawbah (repentance, Al-Bara'ah)

Using context clues

If you are still not sure

• Answer from the translation. The answer to almost every part is in the printed words, so the parts can be answered even without knowing the surah.
• Write the general lesson and the general context safely: for example, this ayah is from a Madani surah and teaches obedience, patience, unity or spending in the cause of Allah. Add the context only if you are sure of it.
• Do not guess a number or a name (for example how many ayat, or which battle). A wrong specific fact can cost more than a safe general line.
• Do not write a surah or ayah reference unless you are sure of it; a wrong reference is worse than none.
• Never leave a part blank. A reasoned answer from the ayah's meaning earns some marks, a blank earns none.

These 30 ayat are chosen from three sources: the ayat the 2026 papers and the model paper already printed, the ayat that the 2026 shorts and long questions are built on, and the famous ayat of the four surahs that carry the 25 selected topics. A paper never repeats itself exactly, but it comes back to the same ayat in a new form: 2:151 and 8:29 were asked in two papers each. Learn the meaning of each ayah, the answers to the likely parts, and its context.

The FBISE Assessment Framework gives teachers and paper setters 13 rules for writing sacred names and terms. They apply to the paper and to your answers: the Quran is a book of respect, and missing honorifics are a visible fault. The table follows the framework's list in order; the English forms are the ones printed in the English paper.

Allah's name and the Quran

• Write Allah's name in full and with respect: Allah (Ta'ala). Never write God, and never shorten the name.
• Write the Holy Quran or Quran Majeed, with a capital Q in English, not just the book.
• Quote Quranic words only when you are sure of every letter. A mistake in Arabic is worse than no Arabic: the ayah is already printed with its translation in Section B (c), so in the answers write the meaning, and quote only a key word in guillemets or quotation marks, such as the word «التَّقْوٰى».
• Write the heading of an answer in your own words; never write on the question paper's ayah or cross out the printed text.

Ayah and hadith references

Put the reference in brackets at the end of the point it supports, as the notes of this site do. Give the surah name and the number; the number alone is acceptable only when the surah is clear from the question. A correct reference shows the examiner you know where the point comes from.

Every ayah on this site is shown with the Arabic text, an Urdu translation and an English translation. The notes you see in the surahs and the model answers use the same translations, so you can compare them with the printed paper.

Words you will meet