100+ Free BCS Islamic History & Culture Practice Questions

Prepare for the BCS Written Post-Related Islamic History & Culture, Subject Code 191, Total Marks 200 exam with instant access — no signup required.

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Key Facts: BCS Islamic History & Culture Exam

191

BPSC subject code for Islamic History & Culture

BPSC BCS written syllabus

200 marks

Post-related written paper (Part I 100 + Part II 100)

BPSC BCS written syllabus

4 hours

Duration used for BPSC 200-mark written papers

Longstanding BPSC sitting practice; confirm current routine

50% aggregate

Written qualifying standard on the 900-mark written exam

BPSC BCS examination page

Tk. 200 / Tk. 50

50th BCS application fee (general / reduced categories)

50th BCS circular reporting (Prothom Alo, citing PSC)

632–661

Khulafa Rashidun (pious caliphs) in the official syllabus

BPSC Islamic History & Culture syllabus

1258

Sack of Baghdad by Halaku Khan ending the Baghdad caliphate

BPSC Islamic History & Culture syllabus

BPSC Subject Code 191 is a 200-mark, 4-hour descriptive post-related paper (Part I Arabia and caliphates; Part II Muslim India to 1857). Written merit uses the 900-mark written total (50% aggregate on the BPSC page) plus viva; this page offers 100 English MCQs as a study aid, not an official-paper simulation.

Sample BCS Islamic History & Culture Practice Questions

Try these sample questions to test your BCS Islamic History & Culture exam readiness. Each question includes a detailed explanation. Start the interactive quiz above for the full 100+ question experience with AI tutoring.

1In pre-Islamic Arabia, what did the Ayyam al-Arab primarily commemorate?

A.Written commercial contracts of Quraysh caravans

B.Genealogies of the Abyssinian garrison in Yemen

C.Seasonal pilgrimage calendars of the Kaaba

D.Inter-tribal battles and heroic days preserved in poetry

Explanation: Ayyam al-Arab, the 'Days of the Arabs,' were the remembered tribal wars of Jahiliyyah Arabia—such as Basus or Dahis and al-Ghabra—kept alive in qasida poetry rather than in state archives. They illustrate a society organized by kinship honour, not by a central government.

2Which statement best describes the political organization of the Hijaz on the eve of Islam?

A.A standing imperial bureaucracy centered on Sanaa

B.A Persian satrapy administered from Ctesiphon

C.Stateless tribal sheikhdoms without a unifying monarchy

D.An elected city-state league modeled on Medina's later ummah

Explanation: Pre-Islamic Hijaz had no territorial state. Authority rested with tribal shaykhs, customary hakam arbitration, and Quraysh prestige at Makkah. Islam later supplied the first durable supra-tribal polity in that region.

3Makkah's prosperity before Islam rested chiefly on which economic pattern?

A.Irrigated grain estates in the Hijaz wadis

B.Caravan transit trade linking Yemen with Syria

C.Large-scale pearl diving in the Red Sea

D.State-minted gold coinage of the Quraysh

Explanation: Quraysh wealth came from organizing caravans on the north–south route between Yemen (and the Indian Ocean) and the Syrian markets, together with the sanctuary traffic of the Kaaba. The Hijaz itself was too arid for a grain-export economy.

4Which geophysical contrast best explains why Yemen, unlike the Hijaz, could support kingdoms before Islam?

A.Yemen received monsoon rainfall and had highland agriculture

B.Yemen sat on a navigable inland sea connected to the Nile

C.The Hijaz was forested while Yemen was true desert

D.Yemen's coast was ice-free, allowing year-round grain fleets to Europe

Explanation: Southwestern Arabia catches Indian Ocean monsoon moisture, so terraced highland farming and frankincense production could sustain Himyar and earlier South Arabian states. The Hijaz is rain-shadow desert whose towns lived off wells, pilgrimage, and transit trade.

5What was the dominant religious pattern of pre-Islamic Makkah?

A.State Zoroastrianism imposed by Sasanian governors

B.Exclusive Jewish monotheism of the Quraysh clan

C.Buddhist monastic cults around the Zamzam well

D.Polytheism centered on the Kaaba, with Hubal and tribal idols

Explanation: Jahiliyyah Makkah housed the Kaaba as a tribal sanctuary with Hubal and many clan idols, plus residual hanif monotheists and some Christian and Jewish presence in Arabia. Quraysh identity was not an exclusive revealed monotheism before the Prophet's call.

6The fair of Ukaz is historically important because it shows that pre-Islamic Arabia combined trade with which other activity?

A.Annual election of a Hijazi high king

B.Poetic contest and inter-tribal truce during sacred months

C.Compulsory conscription into a Quraysh standing army

D.Minting of the first purely Arabic gold dinar

Explanation: Ukaz, near Makkah, was a famous Jahiliyyah fair where tribes traded under the protection of sacred months and competed in poetry. It is evidence of economic integration without a territorial state.

7Which social bond did Jahiliyyah Arabs rely on most to protect life and property?

A.A paid urban police under the Kaaba priesthood

B.Sasanian cavalry garrisons in every Hijazi oasis

C.Written Roman-style citizenship in municipia

D.Asabiyya of the tribe and the duty of blood-revenge

Explanation: Without a public law-state, security came from lineage solidarity (asabiyya) and the threat of tha'r (blood-revenge). The Prophet's later Madinan reforms and farewell sermon targeted that cycle of vengeance.

8Why did the incense and spice caravan axis make the Hijaz geopolitically sensitive before Islam?

A.It supplied iron ore that armed both Byzantine and Sasanian field armies

B.It was a Nile canal that Quraysh toll-farmed for the patriarch of Alexandria

C.It was the only overland link between South Arabian aromatics and Syrian–Mediterranean markets

D.It carried Chinese silk exclusively under a Quraysh monopoly recognized in Constantinople

Explanation: Frankincense and related South Arabian goods moved north toward Syria, so wells and towns of the Hijaz sat on a corridor watched by Byzantium, Persia, and Abyssinia. Quraysh rose as brokers on that axis, which later shaped Makkan opposition to a new prophetic community that threatened their sanctuary-and-trade order.

9According to the traditional sirah, where did the Prophet Muhammad receive the first revelation?

A.The Kaaba's inner chamber

B.Mount Uhud outside Madinah

C.The oasis of Hudaybiyyah

D.The cave of Hira near Makkah

Explanation: The sirah places the first call in the cave of Hira (Jabal al-Nur) outside Makkah, associated with the command Iqra' brought by Jibril. That event is the syllabus's starting point for the Makkan career.

10What did the Second Pledge of al-Aqabah uniquely add that made the Hijra possible?

A.A promise that Yathrib would mint coins in the Prophet's name

B.A pledge of armed protection so the Prophet and Muhajirun could relocate to Yathrib

C.An agreement that Makkah's idols would be left untouched for ten years

D.A commercial monopoly on the Syrian caravan for the Ansar

Explanation: The first Aqabah pledge was a religious commitment; the second, by a larger Yathrib delegation, added military protection (bay'at al-harb). That security guarantee is what allowed the Hijra from Makkah to Yathrib/Madinah.

About the BCS Islamic History & Culture Exam

BCS Written Post-Related Islamic History and Culture (Subject Code 191) is a 200-mark descriptive paper used in the Bangladesh Civil Service written stage for relevant technical/professional and dual-cadre applicants. Part I covers pre-Islamic Arabia, the Prophet's career, the Khulafa Rashidun, Umayyad and Abbasid caliphates, and religious beliefs and law. Part II covers sources, the Muslim presence in India from Sind through the Delhi Sultanate and Mughals, and the Company's rise through Plassey, Buxar, the Grant of Diwani, and 1857. Official answers are written, often in Bangla or English as the sitting permits. This free bank is an English-language MCQ study adaptation of the BPSC syllabus—not an official translation, format simulation, or substitute for essay practice.

Assessment

Post-related 200-mark written paper for technical/professional-cadre and dual-cadre BCS applicants, split equally as Part I (100 marks: pre-Islamic Arabia, Prophet Muhammad, Khulafa Rashidun, Umayyads, Abbasids, beliefs and law) and Part II (100 marks: sources, pre-Muslim India, Sind and Ghaznavid–Ghorid conquest, Delhi Sultanate, Mughals, Company ascendancy, 1857). Official items are descriptive. This bank is an English-language MCQ study adaptation, not an official translation or substitute for writing practice. BCS recruitment is three-stage: preliminary screening (marks not in final merit), 900-mark written (50% aggregate pass on the BPSC page, plus per-paper minima), and viva. The BPSC page lists viva at 200 marks with a 50% pass; news from the 47th BCS onward has reported a 100-mark viva. Confirm the current circular.

Time Limit

4 hours

Passing Score

50% aggregate on the 900-mark written examination (BPSC page); per-paper minima also apply as set by BPSC. Confirm the current circular.

Exam Fee

Tk. 200 general (50th BCS); Tk. 50 for ethnic-minority, persons-with-disabilities, and third-gender applicants; no separate written or viva fee. Confirm the live circular. (Bangladesh Public Service Commission (BPSC))

BCS Islamic History & Culture Exam Content Outline

50%

Part I — Arabia, Prophet, caliphates, and beliefs (100 marks)

Pre-Islamic Arabia (Ayyam al-Arab, society, trade, environment); Prophet Muhammad's Makkan and Madinan career through the farewell sermon; Khulafa Rashidun 632–661; Umayyads 661–750; Abbasids 750–1258 including the 1258 sack of Baghdad; five pillars, Qur'an, Hadith, four Sunni schools, and major theological groups.

50%

Part II — Muslim India from Sind to 1857 (100 marks)

Sources; pre-Muslim India; Arab Sind, Ghaznavids, Ghori and Tarain; Mamluks, Khaljis, Tughlaqs, Sayyids, Lodis, and Sher Shah; Mughal polity, religion, art, and decline; Company wars at Plassey and Buxar, the Grant of Diwani, and the 1857 war ending Mughal rule.

How to Pass the BCS Islamic History & Culture Exam

What You Need to Know

Passing score: 50% aggregate on the 900-mark written examination (BPSC page); per-paper minima also apply as set by BPSC. Confirm the current circular.
Assessment: Post-related 200-mark written paper for technical/professional-cadre and dual-cadre BCS applicants, split equally as Part I (100 marks: pre-Islamic Arabia, Prophet Muhammad, Khulafa Rashidun, Umayyads, Abbasids, beliefs and law) and Part II (100 marks: sources, pre-Muslim India, Sind and Ghaznavid–Ghorid conquest, Delhi Sultanate, Mughals, Company ascendancy, 1857). Official items are descriptive. This bank is an English-language MCQ study adaptation, not an official translation or substitute for writing practice. BCS recruitment is three-stage: preliminary screening (marks not in final merit), 900-mark written (50% aggregate pass on the BPSC page, plus per-paper minima), and viva. The BPSC page lists viva at 200 marks with a 50% pass; news from the 47th BCS onward has reported a 100-mark viva. Confirm the current circular.
Time limit: 4 hours
Exam fee: Tk. 200 general (50th BCS); Tk. 50 for ethnic-minority, persons-with-disabilities, and third-gender applicants; no separate written or viva fee. Confirm the live circular.

Keys to Passing

Work through all 100 available questions
Review every answer and explanation
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BCS Islamic History & Culture Study Tips from Top Performers

1Write Part I essays as cause-and-effect (Hira to Hijra; Ridda to Siffin; mawali to Abbasid da'wa), not as undated name lists.

2Preserve official names from the BPSC syllabus: Khulafa Rashidun, Hajjaj b. Yusuf, Halaku Khan, Din-i-Elahi, Grant of Diwani.

3For Part II, be ready to contrast Aibak with Iltutmish, Alauddin's markets with Muhammad b. Tughluq's projects, and Plassey with Buxar.

4Treat 1258 and 1857 as turning-point essays: sack of Baghdad and the formal end of Mughal sovereignty.

5After MCQ drill, outline 12–15 full written answers under timed conditions; the official paper is descriptive.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is BCS Written Islamic History and Culture?

It is the Bangladesh Public Service Commission post-related written paper, Subject Code 191, totaling 200 marks. It is sat by technical/professional-cadre and dual-cadre BCS candidates whose post-related subject is Islamic History and Culture. The official syllabus splits 100 marks for Part I (Arabia and the caliphates) and 100 marks for Part II (Muslim India through 1857).

Is the official paper multiple choice?

No. The official BPSC paper is a 200-mark descriptive written examination. This bank is a free English-language MCQ study adaptation of the published syllabus. It is not an official translation, a format simulation, or a substitute for practising long answers.

How long is the paper and what is the pass rule?

BPSC 200-mark written papers are sat in 4 hours in longstanding sitting practice; confirm the current routine. The BPSC page requires 50% aggregate on the 900-mark written examination, and per-paper minima also apply as set by the Commission.

Does this practice set replace Bangla or English essay practice?

No. Use these MCQs to lock names, sequence, and cause-and-effect so written answers stay factually tight. You still need to practise full essays on topics such as Hudaybiyyah, Umar's administration, Alauddin's markets, Akbar's religious policy, and the Grant of Diwani.

What fee is charged for the written paper?

There is no separate written or viva fee. One BCS application fee covers the cycle. For the 50th BCS, reporting cites Tk. 200 for general candidates and Tk. 50 for ethnic-minority, persons-with-disabilities, and third-gender applicants via Teletalk. Confirm the live circular.

How does viva marking work?

The BPSC examination page still lists viva voce at 200 marks with a 50% pass, with a board chaired by a Commission Chairman or Member. News from the 47th BCS onward has reported a 100-mark viva, and the Commission has discussed reducing it further. Read the circular in force for your cycle.

100+ Free BCS Islamic History & Culture Practice Questions

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