What is Islam
The religion of Islam is the acceptance of and obedience to the
teachings of God which He revealed to His last prophet, Muhammad
(PBUH).
What Are the Five Pillars of Islam?
The Five Pillars of Islam are the framework of the Muslim life.
They are the testimony of faith, prayer, giving zakat (support
of the needy), fasting during the month of Ramadan, and the
pilgrimage to Makkah once in a lifetime for those who are able.
1) The Testimony of Faith:
The testimony of faith is saying with conviction, “La ilaha illa
Allah, Muhammadur rasoolu Allah.” This saying means “There is
no true god (deity) but God (Allah), and Muhammad is the Messenger
(Prophet-PBUH) of God.” The first part, “There is no true god but
God,” means that none has the right to be worshipped but God alone,
and that God has neither partner nor son. This testimony of faith
is called the Shahada, a simple formula which should be said with
conviction in order to convert to Islam (as explained previously on
this page). The testimony of faith is the most important pillar of
Islam.
2) Prayer:
Muslims perform five prayers a day. Each prayer does not take more
than a few minutes to perform. Prayer in Islam is a direct link
between the worshipper and God. There are no intermediaries between
God and the worshipper.
In prayer, a person feels inner happiness, peace, and comfort, and
that God is pleased with him or her. The Prophet Muhammad said:
{Bilal, call (the people) to prayer, let us be comforted by it.}2
Bilal was one of Muhammad’s companions who was charged to call
the people to prayers.
Prayers are performed at dawn, noon, mid-afternoon, sunset, and night.
A Muslim may pray almost anywhere, such as in fields, offices,
factories, or universities.
(For detailed information on how to perform prayer, please refer to
the links at How to Perform Prayer or refer to the book entitled A
Guide to Salat (Prayer) by M. A. K. Saqib.3)
3) Giving Zakat (Support of the Needy):
All things belong to God, and wealth is therefore held by human
beings in trust. The original meaning of the word zakat is both
‘purification’ and ‘growth.’ Giving zakat means ‘giving a specified
percentage on certain properties to certain classes of needy people.’
The percentage which is due on gold, silver, and cash funds that have
reached the amount of about 85 grams of gold and held in possession for
one lunar year is two and a half percent. Our possessions are purified
by setting aside a small portion for those in need, and, like the pruning
of plants, this cutting back balances and encourages new growth.
A person may also give as much as he or she pleases as voluntary alms or
charity.
4) Fasting the Month of Ramadan:
Every year in the month of Ramadan,4 all Muslims fast from dawn until
sundown, abstaining from food, drink, and sexual relations.
Although the fast is beneficial to health, it is regarded principally
as a method of spiritual 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 his or her
spiritual life.
5) The Pilgrimage to Makkah:
The annual pilgrimage (Hajj) to Makkah is an obligation once in a
lifetime for those who are physically and financially able to perform
it. About two million people go to Makkah each year from every corner
of the globe. Although Makkah is always filled with visitors, the annual
Hajj is performed in the twelfth month of the Islamic calendar. Male
pilgrims wear special simple clothes which strip away distinctions of
class and culture so that all stand equal before God.
The rites of the Hajj include circling the Kaaba seven times and going
seven times between the hillocks of Safa and Marwa, as Hagar did during
her search for water. Then the pilgrims stand together in Arafa5 and
ask God for what they wish and for His forgiveness, in what is often
thought of as a preview of the Day of Judgment.
The end of the Hajj is marked by a festival, Eid Al-Adha, which is
celebrated with prayers. This, and Eid al-Fitr, a feast-day
commemorating the end of Ramadan, are the two annual festivals of the
Muslim calendar.
Basic Islamic Beliefs
1) Belief in God:
Muslims believe in one, unique, incomparable God, Who has no son nor
partner, and that none has the right to be worshipped but Him alone.
He is the true God, and every other deity is false. He has the most
magnificent names and sublime perfect attributes. No one shares His
divinity, nor His attributes. In the Quran, God describes Himself:
Say, “He is God, the One. God, to Whom the creatures turn for their
needs. He begets not, nor was He begotten, and there is none like Him.”
(Quran, 112:1-4)
No one has the right to be invoked, supplicated, prayed to, or shown
any act of worship, but God alone.
God alone is the Almighty, the Creator, the Sovereign, and the Sustainer
of everything in the whole universe. He manages all affairs. He stands
in need of none of His creatures, and all His creatures depend on Him
for all that they need. He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing, and the
All-Knowing. In a perfect manner, His knowledge encompasses all things,
the open and the secret, and the public and the private. He knows what
has happened, what will happen, and how it will happen. No affair occurs
in the whole world except by His will. Whatever He wills is, and whatever
He does not will is not and will never be. His will is above the will of
all the creatures. He has power over all things, and He is able to do
everything. He is the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, and the Most
Beneficent. In one of the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad , we are told
that God is more merciful to His creatures than a mother to her child.
God is far removed from injustice and tyranny. He is All-Wise in all of
His actions and decrees. If someone wants something from God, he or
she can ask God directly without asking anyone else to intercede with
God for him or her.
2) Belief in the Angels:
Muslims believe in the existence of the angels and that they are honored
creatures. The angels worship God alone, obey Him, and act only by His
command. Among the angels is Gabriel, who brought down the Quran to
Muhammad (PBUH).
3) Belief in God’s Revealed Books:
Muslims believe that God revealed books to His messengers as proof for
mankind and as guidance for them. Among these books is the Quran,
which God revealed to the Prophet Muhammad . God has guaranteed the
Quran’s protection from any corruption or distortion. God has said:
Indeed, We have sent down the Quran, and surely We will guard it
(from corruption). (Quran, 15:9)
4) Belief in the Prophets and Messengers of God:
Muslims believe in the prophets and messengers of God, starting with
Adam, including Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and Jesus
(peace be upon them). But God’s final message to man, a reconfirmation
of the eternal message, was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad .
Muslims believe that Muhammad is the last prophet sent by God, as God
has said:
Muhammad is not the father of any one of your men, but he is the
Messenger of God and the last of the prophets .. (Quran, 33:40)
Muslims believe that all the prophets and messengers were created
human beings who had none of the divine qualities of God.
5) Belief in the Day of Judgment:
Muslims believe in the Day of Judgment (the Day of Resurrection)
when all people will be resurrected for God’s judgment according
to their beliefs and deeds.
6) Belief in Al-Qadar:
Muslims believe in Al-Qadar, which is Divine Predestination, but
this belief in Divine Predestination does not mean that human beings
do not have freewill. Rather, Muslims believe that God has given
human beings freewill. This means that they can choose right or
wrong and that they are responsible for their choices.
The belief in Divine Predestination includes belief in four things:
1) God knows everything. He knows what has happened and what
will happen.
2) God has recorded all that has happened and all that will
happen.
3) Whatever God wills to happen happens, and whatever He wills
not to happen does not happen.
4) God is the Creator of everything.
Other sacred source other than Quran
What is/are the other sacred source othen than Quran ?
The only other sacred source other than Quran is Hadith (Hadeeth) which
mean Sunnah.
The sunnah (what the Prophet Muhammad said, did, or approved of) is the
second source in Islam. The sunnah is comprised of hadeeths, which are
reliably transmitted reports by the Prophet Muhammad’s companions of
what he said, did, or approved of. Belief in the sunnah is a basic
Islamic belief.
