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(From the hadith collection of Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmidhi and Bayhaqi) What are the ‘Five Pillars’ of Islam? They are the framework of the Muslim life: faith, prayer, concern for the needy, self-purification, and the pilgrimage to Makkah for those who are able. 1- FAITH There is no god worthy of worship except God and Muhammad is His messenger. This declaration of faith is called the Shahada, a simple formula which all the faithful pronounce. In Arabic, the first part is la ilaha illa’Llah – ‘there is no god except God’; ilaha (god) can refer to anything which we may be tempted to put in place of God – wealth, power, and the like. Then comes illa’Llah (except God), the source of all Creation, and the second part of the Shahada is Muhammadun rasulu’Llah: ‘Muhammad is the messenger of God’. A message of guidance has come through a man like ourselves. 2- PRAYER Salat is the name for the obligatory prayers, which are performed five times a day, and are a direct link between the worshipper and God. There is no hierarchical authority in Islam, and no priests, so the prayers are led by a learned person who knows the Quran, chosen by the congregation. These five prayers contain verses from the Quran, and are said in Arabic, the language of the Revelation, but personal supplication can be offered in one’s own language. Prayers are said at dawn, noon, mid-afternoon, sun-set and nightfall, and thus determine the rhythm of the entire day. Although it is preferable to worship together in a mosque, a Muslim may pray almost anywhere, such as in fields, offices, factories, and universities. Visitors to the Muslim world are struck by the centrality of prayers in daily life. 3- THE ‘ZAKAT’ One of the most important principles of Islam is that all things belong to God, and that wealth is therefore held by human being in trust. The word Zakat means both ‘purification’ and ‘growth’. Our possession are purified by setting aside a proportion for those in need, and, like the pruning of plants, this cutting back balances and encourages new growth. Each Muslim calculates his or her own Zakat individually. For most purposes this involves the payment each year of two and half percent on one’s capital. A pious person may also give as much as he or she pleases a Sadaqa, and dos so preferably in secret. Although this word can be translated as ‘voluntary charity’ it has a wider meaning. The Prophet (pbuh) said: ‘Even meeting your brother with a cheerful face is charity’. The Prophet (pbuh) said: ‘Charity is a necessity for every Muslim’. He was asked: ‘What if a person has nothing?’ The Prophet (pbuh) replied: ‘He should work with his own hands for his benefit and then give something out of such earnings in charity’. The Companions asked: ‘What if he is not able to work?’ The Prophet (pbuh) said: ‘He should help poor and needy persons’. The Companions further asked ‘What if he cannot do even that?’ The Prophet (pbuh) said ‘He should urge others to do well’. The Companions said ‘What if he lacks that also?’ The Prophet (pbuh) said ‘He should check himself from doing evil. That is also charity’. 4- THE FAST Every year in the month of Ramadan, all Muslims fast from first light until sundown, abstaining from food, drink, and sexual relations. Those who are sick, elderly, or on a journey, and women who are pregnant or nursing are permitted to break the fast and make up an equal number of days later in the year. If they are physically unable to do this, they must feed a needy person for every day missed. Children begin to fast (and to observe the prayer) from puberty, although many start earlier. Although the fast is most beneficial to the health, it is regarded principally as a method of self-purification. By cutting oneself off from worldly comforts, even for a short time, a fasting person gains true sympathy with those who go hungry as well as growth in one’s spiritual life. 5 PILGRIMAGE (Hajj) The annual pilgrimage to Makkah – the Hajj – is an obligation only for those who are physically and financially able to perform it. Nevertheless, about two million people go to Makkah each year from every corner of the globe providing a unique opportunity for those of different nations to meet one another. Although Makkah is always filled with visitors, the annual Hajj begins in the twelfth month of the Islamic year (which is lunar, not solar, so the Hajj and Ramadan fall sometimes in summer, sometimes in winter). Pilgrims wear special cloths: simple garments which strip away distinctions of class and culture, so that all stand equal before God. The rites of the Hajj, which are of Abrahamic origin, include circling the Ka’ba seven times, and going seven times between the mountains of Safa and Marwa as did Hagar during her search for water. Then the pilgrims stand together on the wide plain of Arafa and join in prayers for God’s forgiveness, in what is often thought of as a preview of the Last Judgement. In previous centuries the Hajj was an arduous undertaking. Today, however, Saudi Arabian Government provides millions of people with water, modern transport, and the most up-to-date health facilities. The close of the Hajj is marked by a festival, the Eid al-Adha, which is celebrated with prayers and the exchange of gifts in Muslim communities everywhere. This, and Eid al-Fitr, a feast-day commemorating the end of Ramadan, are the main festivals of the Muslim calendar. Dose Islam tolerate other beliefs? The Quran says: God forbids you not, with regards to those who fight you not for (your) faith nor drive you out of your homes, from dealing kindly and justly with them; for God loved those who are just. (Quran, 60:8) It is one function of Islamic law to protect the privileged status of minorities, and this is why non-Muslim places of worship have flourished all over the Islamic world. History provides many examples of Muslim tolerance towards other faiths: when the caliph Omer entered Jerusalem in the year 634, Islam granted freedom of worship to all religious communities in the city. Islamic law also permits non-Muslim minorities to set up their own courts, which implement family laws drawn up by the minorities themselves. What do Muslims think about Jesus? Muslims respect and revere Jesus (pbuh), and await his Second Coming. They consider him one of the greatest of God’s messengers to mankind. A Muslim never refers to him simply as ‘Jesus’, but always adds the phrase ‘upon him be peace’. The Quran confirms his virgin birth (a chapter of the Quran is entitled ‘Mary’), and Mary is considered the purest woman in all creation. The Quran describes the Annunciation as follows: ‘Behold’ the Angel said, ‘God has chosen you, and purified you, and chosen you above the women of all nations. O Mary, God gives you good news of a word from Him, ‘whose name shall be the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, honored in this world and the Hereafter, and one of those brought near to God. He shall speak to the people from his cradle and in maturity, and shall be of the righteous’. She said: ‘O my Lord! How shall I have a son when no man has touched me?’ He said: ‘Even so; God creates what He will. When He decrees a thing, He says to it “Be!” and it is’. (Quran, 3:42-7) Jesus (pbuh) was born miraculously through the same power which had brought Adam (pbuh) into being without a father: Truly, the likeness of Jesus with God is as the likeness of Adam. He created him of dust, and then said to him, ‘Be!’ and he was. (Quran, 3:59) During his prophetic mission Jesus (pbuh) performed many miracles. The Quran tells us that he said: I have come to you with a sign from Lord: I make for you out of clay, as it were, the figure of a bird, and breathe into it and it becomes a bird by God’s leave, and I heal the blind, and the lepers, and I raise the dead by God’s leave. (Quran, 3:49) Neither Muhammad (pbuh) nor Jesus (pbuh) came to change the basic doctrine of the belief in One God, brought by earlier prophets, but to confirm and renew it. In the Quran Jesus (pbuh) is reported as saying that he came: To attest the law which was before me? And to make lawful to you part of what was forbidden you; I have come to you with a sign from your Lord, so fear God and obey Me. (Quran, 3:50) The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said: Whoever believes there is no god but God, alone without partner, that Muhammad (pbuh) is His messenger, that Jesus is the servant and messenger of God, His word breathed into Mary and a spirit emanating from Him and that Paradise and Hell are true shall be received by God into Heaven. (Hadith from Bukhari) |