Shahadah
The
First Pillar of Islam is that a Muslim believe and declare
his faith by saying the Shahadah (lit. 'witness'), also known as
the Kalimah:
La ilaha ila Allah; Muhammadur-rasul Allah.
'There is no god but Allah; Muhammadis the Messenger of Allah.'
This
declaration contains two parts. The first part refers to God
Almighty, the Creator of everything, the Lord of the Worlds; the
second part refers to the Messenger, Muhammad (pbuh) a prophet and a human
being, who received the revelation through the Archangel Gabriel,
and taught it to mankind.
By sincerely uttering the Shahadah the Muslim acknowledges Allah as the sole Creator of all, and the Supreme Authority over everything and everyone in the universe. Consequently the Muslim closes his/her heart and mind to loyalty, devotion and obedience to, trust in, reliance on, and worship of anything or anyone other than Allah. This rejection is not confined merely to pagan gods and goddesses of wood and stone and created by human hands and imaginations; this rejection must extend to all other conceptions, superstitions, ideologies, ways of life, and authority figures that claim supreme devotion, loyalty, trust, love, obedience or worship. This entails, for example, the rejection of belief in such common things as astrology, palm reading, good luck charms, fortune-telling and psychic readings, in addition to praying at shrines or graves of "saints", asking the dead souls to intercede for them with Allah. There are no intercessors in Islam, nor any class of clergy as such; a Muslim prays directly and exclusively to Allah.
Belief in the prophethood of Muhammad (pbuh) entails
belief in the guidance brought by him and contained in his Sunnah
(traditions of his sayings and actions), and demands of the
Muslim the intention to follow his guidance faithfully. Muhammad (pbuh) was also
a human being, a man with feelings and emotions, who ate, drank
and slept, and was born and died, like other men. He had a pure
and upright nature, extraordinary righteousness, and an
unwavering faith in Allah and commitment to Islam, but he was not
divine. Muslims do not pray to him, not even as an intercessor,
and Muslims abhor the terms "Mohamedan" and
"Mohamedanism".
Prayer
(Salah), in the sense of worship, is the Second Pillar of
Islam. Prayer is obligatory and must be performed five times
a day. These five times are dawn (Fajr), immediately after noon
(Dhuhr), mid-afternoon ('Asr), sunset (Maghrib), and early night
(Isha'). Ritual cleanliness and ablution are required before
prayer, as are clean clothes and location, and the removal of
shoes. One may pray individually or communally, at home, outside,
virtually any clean place, as well as in a mosque, though the
latter is preferred. Special is the Friday noon prayer, called
Jum'ah. It, too, is obligatory and is to be done in a mosque, in
congregation. It is accompanied by a sermon (Khutbah), and it
replaces the normal Dhuhr prayer.
There
is no hierarchical clerical authority in Islam, no priests or
ministers. Prayers are led by any learned person who knows the
Qur'an and is chosen by the congregation. He (or she, if the
congregation is all women) is called the imam. There is also no
minimum number of congregants required to hold communal prayers.
Prayer consists of verses from the Qur'an and other prayers,
accompanied by various bodily postures - standing, bowing,
prostrating and sitting. They are said in Arabic, the language of
the revelation, though personal supplications (Du'ah) can be
offered in one's own language. Worshippers face the Qiblah, the
direction of the Ka'bah in the city of Makkah.
The
significance of prayer lies in one's maintaining a continuous
link to God five times a day, which helps the worshipper avoid
misdeeds if he/she performs the prayers sincerely. In addition it
promotes discipline, God-consciousness and placing one's trust in
Allah alone, and the importance of striving for the Hereafter.
When performed in congregation it also provides a strong the dead
souls to intercede for them with Allah. There are no intercessors
in Islam, nor any class of clergy as such; a Muslim prays
directly and exclusively to Allah.
Belief in the prophethood of Muhammad (pbuh) entails
belief in the guidance brought by him and contained in his Sunnah
(traditions of his sayings and actions), and demands of the
Muslim the intention to follow his guidance faithfully. Muhammad (pbuh) was also
a human being, a man with feelings and emotions, who ate, drank
and slept, and was born and died, like other men. He had a pure
and upright nature, extraordinary righteousness, and an
unwavering faith in Allah and commitment to Islam, but he was not
divine. Muslims do not pray to him, not even as an intercessor,
and Muslims abhor the terms "Mohamedan" and
"Mohamedanism".
ZakahHelping
(Zakah), in the sense of helping poor, is the Third Pillar of
Islam. Prayer is obligatory and must be perfot "Of their
wealth, take alms so you may purify and sanctify them."
[9:103] The word Zakah means purification and growth. Our
possessions are purified by setting aside that portion of it for
those in need. Each Muslim calculates his or her own Zakah
individually.
For
most purposes this involves the payment each year of 2.5% of
one's capital, provided that this capital reaches a certain
minimum amount that which is not consumed by its owner. A
generous person can pay more than this amount, though it is
treated and rewarded as voluntary charity (Sadaqah). This amount
of money is provided to bridge the gap between the rich and the
poor, and can be used in many useful projects for the welfare of
the community.
Historically
the pillar of Zakah became mandatory on Muslims form the second
year after the Hijrah, 622 C.E. It is mentioned more than thirty
times in the Qur'an, usually in the same breath as Salah. So
important is this pillar that one is not considered a part of the
Islamic brotherhood if one ignores this obligation.
The
Fourth Pillar of Islam is fasting. Allah prescribes daily
fasting for all able, adult Muslims during the whole of the month
of Ramadan, the ninth month of the lunar calendar, beginning with
the sighting of the new moon. Exempted from the fast are the very
old and the insane. On the physical side, fasting is from first
light of dawn until sundown, abstaining from food, drink, and
sexual relations. On the moral, behavioral side, one must abstain
from lying, malicious gossip, quarreling and trivial nonsense.
Those
who are sick, elderly, or on a journey, and women who are
menstruating, pregnant, or nursing are permitted to break the
fast, but must make up an equal number of days later in the year.
If physically unable to do so, they must feed a needy person for
each day missed. Children begin to fast (and to observe the
prayers) from puberty, although many start earlier.
Although
fasting is beneficial to the health, it is regarded principally
as a method of self-purification. By cutting oneself off from
worldly pleasures and comforts, even for a short time, the
fasting person gains true sympathy for those who go hungry
regularly, and achieves growth in his spiritual life, learning
discipline, self-restraint, patience and flexibility.
In
addition to the fast proper, one is encouraged to read the entire
Qur'an. In addition, special prayers, called Tarawih, are held in
the mosque every night of the month, during which a whole section
of the Qur'an (Juz') is recited, so that by the end of the month
the entire Qur'an has been completed. These are done in
remembrance of the fact that the revelation of the Qur'an to
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was begun during Ramadan.
During
the last ten days - though the exact day is never known and may
not even be the same every year - occurs the Night of Power
(Laylat al-Qadr). To spend that night in worship is equivalent to
a thousand months of worship, i.e. Allah's reward for it is very
great.
On
the first day of the following month, after another new moon has
been sighted, a special celebration is made, called 'Id al-Fitr.
A quantity of staple food is donated to the poor (Zakat al-Fitr),
everyone has bathed and put on their best, preferably new,
clothes, and communal prayers are held in the early morning,
followed by feasting and visiting relatives and friends.
There
are other fast days throughout the year. Muslims are encouraged
to fast six days in Shawwal, the month following Ramadan, Mondays
and Thursdays, and the ninth and tenth, or tenth and eleventh of
Muharram, the first month of the year. The tenth day, called
Ashurah, is also a fast day for the Jews (Yom Kippur), and Allah
commanded the Muslims to fast two days to distinguish themselves
from the People of the Book.
While
fasting per se is encouraged, constant fasting, as well as
monasticism, celibacy, and otherwise retreating from the real
world, are condemned in Islam. Fasting on the two festival days,
'Id al-Fitr and 'Id al-Adha, the feast of the Hajj, is strictly
forbidden.
HajjThe
Fifth Pillar of Islam is to make a pilgrimage (Hajj) to
Makkah, in Saudi Arabia, at least once in one's lifetime. This
pillar is obligatory for every Muslim, male or female, provided
that he/she is physically and financially able to do so.
Prerequisites for performing the Hajj are to be a Muslim, to be
free, to be an adult or mature enough, to be of sound mind, and
to have the ability to afford the journey and maintain one's
dependents back home for the duration. The reward for the Hajj is
nothing less than Paradise.
The
Hajj is the ultimate form of worship, as it involves the spirit
of all the other rituals and demands of the believer great
sacrifice. On this unique occasion, nearly two million Muslims
from all over the globe meet one another in a given year.
Regardless of the season, pilgrims wear special clothes (Ihram) -
two, very simple, unsewn white garments - which strips away all
distinctions of wealth, status, class and culture; all stand
together and equal before Allah (God).
The
rites of Hajj, which go back to the time of Prophet Abraham who
built the Ka'bah, are observed over five or six days, beginning
on the eighth day of the last month of the year, named
Dhul-Hijjah (pilgrimage). These rites include circumambulating
the Ka'bah (Tawwaf), and going between the mountains of Safa and
Marwah, as Hajjar (Abraham's wife) did during her search for
water for her son Isma'il. Then the pilgrims stand together on
the wide plain of Arafah and join in prayers for God's
forgiveness, in what is often thought of as a preview of the Last
Judgment. The pilgrims also cast stones at a stone pillar which
represents Satan. The pilgrimage ends with a festival, called 'Id
al-Adha, which is celebrated with prayers, the sacrifice of an
animal, and the exchange of greetings and gifts in Muslim
communities everywhere.
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