Lecture 4 Part 2

General Overview of Islam

Islam

Arkan al-Islam is the pillar of the religion which is called Islam. A pillar is a support, something that holds up a structure; hence everything else in Islam depends on these five pillars.

Islam means submission to Allah’s Will, and hence it demands action, either internal or external, in accordance to the Will of the Creator. As Aisyah RA said, “The character of the Emissary of God SAW was the Qur’an.”

Thus the whole purpose of Islam is about following and emulating the actions and deeds of our beloved Prophet Muhammad SAW, as he said “I was sent only to perfect the noble qualities of character.”

The First Pillar; The Shahadah:


The first pillar is the fundamental act upon which all Islamic activity depends. It is to acknowledge verbally that one accepts the reality of Allah SWT and the prophecy of Prophet Muhammad SAW. Hence, the latter part is also including an acceptance of the Message that was brought by Prophet Muhammad SAW, which is al-Qur’an.

It is the most basic act of being a Muslim, that is simply to say the two sentences, “There is no god but God” (la ilaha illa’llah) and “Muhammad is God’s Messenger” (Muhammadun rasul Allah), with the words “I bear witness that” (ashhadu an) are added before each sentence.

“God bears witness that there is no god but He-and the angels, and the possessors of knowledge-upholding justice; there is no god but He, the Inaccessible, the Wise,” (3:18). “The religion before God is Islam……” (3:19).

The Second Pillar; Salat:


Salat or ritual prayer comes as second most important after shahada. But for a Muslim it is the most fundamental act; the Prophet SAW said that salat is the “centerpole” of the religion, suggesting the image of a tent with a single pole holding it up in the middle and with other poles as secondary supports.

In the Qur’an, there are at least four forms of salat:

1. Allah SWT and the angels perform a salat whereby they bless His servants: “It is He who performs the salat over you, and His angels, that He may bring you forth from the darknesses into the light,” (33:43).
2. All creatures in the heavens and the earth perform salat as the expression of universal islam: “Have you not seen that everyone in the heavens and the earth glorifies God, and the birds spreading their wings? Each one knows its salat and its glorification,” (24:41).
3. Every Muslim performs the salat, which is to say that the term is applied to one of the specific forms of worship revealed to all the Prophets: “And We delivered [Abraham], and Lot…….And We gave him Isaac and Jacob as well, and everyone We made wholesome …… And We revealed to them the doing of good deeds and the performance of the salat,” (21:71-73).
4. In the most common usage of the term, salat refers to the specific form of ritual that is the second pillar of Islam: “Recite what is sent of the Book by inspiration to thee, and establish regular Prayer: for Prayer restrains from shameful and unjust deeds, and remembrance of God is the greatest (thing in life) without doubt. And God knows the (deeds) that ye do,” (29: 45).

Hence, a salat that is performed with a total humility (خشوع) would prevent that individual Muslim from any shameful and unjust deeds.

Moreover, salat is a way of purifying oneself physically and spiritually, as in the Prophet SAW said, “Tell me, if one of you had a river at his door in which he washed five times a day, would any of his filthiness remain?” The people replied, “Nothing of his filthiness would remain.” He said, “That is a likeness for the five salats. God obliterates sins with them.”

The Third Pillar; Zakat:


It is commonly translated as “alms tax”, and is defined as a certain percentage of one’s acquired property or profit for the year that is paid to the needy, “The alms are only for the poor and the needy, and those who collect them, and those whose hearts are to be reconciled, and to free the captives and the debtors, and for the cause of Allah, and (for) the wayfarers; a duty imposed by Allah. Allah is Knower, Wise,” (9:60).

In another verse, “And the believers, men and women, are protecting friends one of another; they enjoin the right and forbid the wrong, and they establish worship and they pay the poor-due, and they obey Allah and His Messenger. As for these, Allah will have mercy on them. Indeed Allah is Mighty, Wise,” (9:71). “Of their goods, take alms, that so thou mightest purify and sanctify them; and pray on their behalf,” (9: 103).

Hence, zakat is also a way of purification from one’s sins; even the word itself has the meaning of purity, justness, integrity, honesty etc.

The Fourth Pillar; Fasting:

Fasting or sawm is to abstain from eating, drinking, sexual intercourse and other things that break the fast, with the intention of worshipping Allah SWT from the first crack of dawn (Fajr) until the setting of the sun (Maghrib) during the month of Ramadhan.

“O you who believe! Fasting has been made obligatory upon you just as it was made obligatory upon those who were before you, so that you may have Taqwa,” (2:183).

Fasting is an ibadah that is done strictly between the individual Muslim and Allah SWT, since nobody would know that he is fasting unless he said so. It is a way of disciplining the one who fasts from his idle desires, as the Prophet SAW said, “When any of you is observing sawm (fasting) on a day, he should neither indulge in obscene language nor should he raise his voice; and if anyone reviles him or tries to quarrel with him, he should say, I am observing fast.” Fasting will help a person to curb his anger, and be more patient and tolerant.

The Prophet SAW said, “Five things break the fast of the faster-lying, backbiting, slander, ungodly oaths, and looking with passion.”

The Fifth Pillar: Hajj:

Hajj is a pilgrimage to the Masjidil Haram in Mecca beginning on the 8th and ending on the 13th day of the last lunar month, Dhu’l-Hijjah. Muslims are required to make Hajj once in their lifetimes, but only if they have the means to do so.

“And Hajj to the House (Ka’bah) is a duty that mankind owes to Allah, those who can find a way there,” (3:97).

“For Hajj are the months well-known. If anyone undertakes that duty therein, let there be no obscenity, nor wickedness, nor wrangling in the Hajj. And whatever good ye do, (be sure) God knoweth it. And take a provision (with you) for the journey, but the best of provisions is right conduct. So fear Me, O ye that are wise,” (2:197).

The Prophet SAW said, “Whoever makes pilgrimage (Hajj) to this House (the Ka’bah) and he does not have sexual intercourse, nor does he commit any transgressions, he will come out of his sins just like the day that his mother gave birth to him.”