Islamic Pillars

This pillars are presented in Hadith (Prophet saying) "Islam is based on five requirements :

Testifying that "Allah is One and Muhammed is His Prophet" , Prayer Poor Due Fasting the month of Ramadan and , Pilgrimage to Mecca for these who can afford it."

ACTS OF WORSHIP

Central to the Islamic teachings and way of life are various obligatory acts of worship (ibadat) which are often referred to as the "Five Pillars of Islam." These consist of:

(1) the declaration of faith, "I bear witness that there is no deity except God and I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of God," (2) the prescribed prayers, (3) fasting during the month of Ramadan, (4) the poor-due, and (5) the pilgrimage to Mecca.

While the aim of each of these acts of worship is the remembrance and glorification of God Most High, it must be emphasized that God's majesty and glory do not depend in the slightest degree upon the praise or even acknowledgement of His creatures, for He is absolutely independent of His creation and free of all needs; rather it is man who needs these recurrent forms of worship to keep his contact With his Lord and his vision of the true Reality clear and strong. The Purpose of the Islamic worships is, therefore, to strengthen the individual's faith and sense of submission to God, to solidify his character, to discipline him for his role as God's faithful servant and steward on earth, to make it possible and easy for him to live in the manner ordained by God. And to reinforce the ties of brotherhood and affection among Muslims.

These acts of worship require the participation of all aspects of man's nature - his soul, his mind, his feelings and his body with its various needs and appetites, and his time, energies and possessions as well-and thus they are the worship by the total human individual of God Most High. It will also be seen that the various forms of worship are prescribed at various time intervals. For example, the declaration of faith is to be always present in the mind and heart of the Muslim and to be uttered again and again with the tongue during his daily prayers. The prayers are to be performed five times daily every day of one's life after attaining puberty, and even more often if one desires to strengthen his relationship with God further and come nearer to Him. Fasting is for a full month every year, while the poor-due is to be calculated and paid once yearly, and the pilgrimage is to be performed once in a lifetime if possible (the latter two are obligations only on those Muslims who meet certain required conditions, as will be seen presently).

These two aspects of the Islamic worships-the involvement in them of the total human being and the prescription of them at different recurring intervals-make them extremely unique and complete expressions of man's total dependence upon God and submission to His will, his utter humility and creatureliness before the greatness of the Creator, and his desire to serve and obey Him alone.

These acts of worship are obligatory upon all Muslims no matter where they may happen to live, whether they are institutionalized in a Muslim society or one happens to be a single Muslim living far away from any Muslim community. It is the collective obligation of Muslims to provide the means and facilities for carrying out these duties faithfully. Each of these acts of worship is prescribed in the Holy Qur'an, and each is performed in the manner in which the Prophet (peace be on him), who is the example for all Muslims of every time and place, himself performed them.

In this section we will discuss the concepts and significance of the various Islamic worships. 1. Declaration of Faith (Shahadah)

"Islam is based on five things: the testimony that there is no deity except God and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger, the observance of prayer, the payment of the poor-due, the pilgrimage, and the fast during Ramadan." (Hadith)

The first of the acts of worship is to believe with the heart and declare with the tongue that there is no deity except God and that Muhammad is the Messenger of God. This is expressed in the words"Ashaduan la ilaha illa Allah wa ashaduanna Muhammadan Rasool Allah" (I bear witness that there is no deity except God and I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of God).

Here, as we saw earlier, the word "deity" is used in the broad sense which the Arabic word ilah conveys: that is, anyone or anything who is worshipped to whom one's love and devotion are given and one's goal is directed; it also denotes that Being in Whom is vested ultimate authority and the right to prescribe and legislate, Whose words or commands are considered binding, and Who alone is worthy to be obeyed. Thus it becomes clear that this declaration has a far broader meaning than the words convey in English. It is, in effect, a proclamation that the one who believes and utters it cancels from his heart loyalty, devotion, obedience, submission to and worship of anything other than God, the Praised and Exalted-not merely of man-made idols of wood or stone, but also of any conceptions ideologies, ways of life, desires, loves, preoccupations and authority- figures which claim his supreme devotion, loyalty,obedience and worship.

Similarly, "Muhammadan Rasool Allah," although it is a very brief, terse statement, denotes a whole train of thought beyond the mere words as they are rendered into English. This proclamation of belief in Muhammad as God's Messenger is simultaneously a proclamation of belief in the guidance which that Prophet (peace be on him) brought to mankind-God's final and complete guidance for all humanity- and at the same time implicitly a statement of the intention to faithfully follow that guidance.

 

Main Page	Contact Us	Links	About Us	Site Map