In The Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
This brief survey of the Islamic concepts and fundamentals has been written on the suggestion of my esteemed friend and brother in Islam H.E. Sayyed Yusuf Hashim Al-Rifai of Kuwait. He felt that there was need for a booklet written in English dealing with the substance of Islamic concepts and fundamentals, leaving out their procedural details. This being only a brief introductory survey, it would lead the seeker after more knowledge to acquaint himself with more details separately. I saw several such booklets written in Arabic, which he had got printed and was making available to the public free of charge. I concurred in the noble idea of making something of similar size on Islam available in English free of charge, and wrote out this brief survey during the short period of my stay in Kuwait. I hope and pray it will serve the purpose in view.
S.Mohammed Jamil.
INTRODUCTION
All praise is due to Allah the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe who fully knows the inner-most and hidden thoughts and motives in the hearts of all and who created mankind so that they might know and purposefully obey Him (1) and thereby develop their personality and gain benefits from His celestial light. The details of this purposeful obedience and understanding are spread out in the Holy Quran. The basic foundation of all the directions and guidance is the proclamation and the need of understanding the fundamental unity and supreme oneness of the Almighty Creator and the necessity of single minded and complete devotion and submission to His August presence unmixed with the association of any person or thing with His most High Personality in the exercise of His Omnipotent and Omniscient will or as an object of worship in any form whatsoever.
(1) “I created the Jinn and humankind only that they might worship me”
Surat 51 (Adh-Dhariyat) Verses 56.
The basic overt manifestation of man’s devotion to his Creator lies in the Salat, which comprehends and comprises the active devotion and submission of all parts of his body and soul. The elementary and basic understanding of Allah is gained through this prayerful communion and the knowledge of the contents of the Holy Quran and practical compliance with the directions contained therein. Allah has directed in the Holy Quran that people should approach and learn from the people who have understanding and that verily those who have understanding and those who have not are not equal. The Holy Prophet (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) has stated that man should run after knowledge (of Allah’s truths) even if he has to proceed therefore to distant places like China. The Holy Prophet, (peace be upon him) has also proclaimed that it is not correct for the ignorant to rest contented with his ignorance nor for the possessor of knowledge to rest contented with the amount of knowledge already gained. Therefore, the search for correct and basic knowledge and more knowledge regarding one’s Creator and His objectives and regarding one’s own beginning and destination and the correct manner of one’s journey onwards is both edifying and an active expression of devotion to Allah, for it is through this effort that man attains understanding of his Creator and Sustainer.
Before we go into some detail of the various aspects and requirements of Islam, it seems desirable to give a brief definition of Islam and the background of its basic concepts.
Literally and substantially, Islam means surrender to and submissive communion with the Almighty Creator of this earth and of the entire universe that is a surrender in all phases of life to the direction of the Almighty Creator.
Fundamentally Islam proceeds on the factual basis that nothing in the world is an accident but everything is designed and governed by laws in every detail. Neither the earth nor the moon nor any other stars nor their movements in absolutely set directions and speeds are accidents. The life in infinite variety of forms, and in millions of species of animal and plant life, everyone of the species being complete in itself in design and provision for its maintenance and reproduction – all these are not accidents but are all subject to laws, and form part of an infinitely vast coordinated set of universes created and controlled by one Supreme Authority, Designer, Sustainer and Creator.
It would be evident that only that which has life can give life. Only one who has unlimited power to see, to speak, to hear, to think, to make and unmake, to discriminate between good and evil, to have emotions of love, justice, generosity, etc. can give these capacities to human beings and to other species; and the wisdom, knowledge and powers of the Creator of this unlimited variety of coordinated creation must be and are unlimited. He is omniscient and omnipotent.
This living and creating and sustaining authority may be called by the name Allah, Elahi or other names, but necessarily he must be one and not a billion, or a million or a thousand or ten or three creators; but one and only one the self sufficient, omnipotent creator and sustainer Allah.
Another cardinal principle of Islam is the high role allotted to man both inherently and in his dynamic capacity as the representative of the Creator on this earth, and the concomitant fundamental principle that all the human creation of what ever race, color or country, are all equal individually, socially and in the eyes of the Creator. The only difference which Islam admits and proclaims in one arising out of the individual member being good or evil, and the measure of his obedience or disobedience, loyalty or
disloyalty to the Creator. Otherwise all human beings wherever they may be and whatever be their race, color, language or country are equal in every way, socially as well as individually.
Man has according to Islam, has been created on a very high pedestal as the agent and viceregent of the Creator and he has been given this life for the development of his personality in the circumstances in which he may be placed from time to time and therein to bring out the best in himself. He has been given the will to move, to think and to act, and as a dutiful person he has to exercise his discretion within the limits of the regulations indicated. Everything in this world has been created for him, and he has been directed to utilize them to the best advantage in accordance with the laws and principles enunciated.
He has also been provided with the best of the physical equipment, both in his own person and in the surrounding environment of infinite variety, composition and beauty.
Every single item of this environment is a complete entity with all its objectives and methodology, and man is to develop his personality, physical, intellectual and spiritual by looking at them, exploring them, understanding them, working with them, and on them, tracing their interdependence and relationship with the Almighty Creator.
Bereft of this fundamental attitude and spiritual and cultural understanding, man gets lost in the mere exploration of the environment and of its utilization for his personal ends, and in the so called materialism which inevitably leads to a topsy-turvy condition of deep social conflicts, anarchy, and destruction of all real culture. Indifference to the Creator and His laws, and non-submission to them is tantamount to their denial with all its consequences, direct and indirect.
Man starts with a clear slate, which he either decorates or disfigures by his actions and attitude of life. He does not start as a condemned individual but is placed on a high pedestal with rich equipage around.
For man’s guidance in the great work of the development of his personality, the Almighty Creator has from the outset, been sending prophets in various regions and groups of people. When the world tolerably developed its means of communications, a universal set of regulations for the guidance of man was afforded, and it was ensured that this universal set of regulations for human guidance remains immune from alterations and interpolations. The Quran is the only book in the world which from the very beginning of revelations has been read daily and regularly by the faithful in the daily five-times prayers and is memorized by hundreds of thousands of people in more than fifty countries of the world, both Arabic and non-Arabic speaking.
The details of the regulations and principles adumbrated in the Quran were actually worked out by the universal Prophet in practical life in full to act as a beacon light and model to mankind in the various phases and branches of human life, personal, family, social and political. Islam thus specifically proclaims that while the Almighty Creator provided an almost unlimited variety of articles to man for his physical existence in the matter of food, clothing, housing, transport, medicines etc., He has similarly provided means for man’s cultural and spiritual existence and development by guidance delivered to mankind through His Prophets who are no more than human beings except that they act as the recipients of a light for transmission to the people around through their pure model life as human being. This light received through the prophets is called revelation and, after the introduction on a considerable scale of the art of writing, was in the circumstances of the case, reduced to writing. These writings in the course of time got mutilated or lost, and Prophets followed each other from time to time to renovate the guidance sent to mankind. And lastly, as indicated above, a universal set of regulations was sent through the last of the prophets, Muhammad, in the form of a permanent and complete book, covering every phase of life. But this prophet also was a creation of the Lord and a human being though of course hallowed by being the recipient and transmitter both by precept and example of the universal light of mankind for all time to come.
A corollary to the cardinal principle of the development of his personality by man is the fact that every individual person is responsible and answerable for his actions, good and bad, and that justice must in the end prevail. Islam specifically insists on the idea of personal responsibility of every individual for his actions, good and bad, and on the transcendental view of life in which full justice for his actions good and bad will be afforded. Without this factual personal responsibility of every individual for his actions and the administration of justice on the basis of that responsibility, and with man, the supreme creation on this earth living a life of personal whims and irresponsibility, the creation of this earth, with all the infinite and wonderful equipment around would be reduced to a mockery and purposelessness instead of the factual and inevitably high purposefulness of this mightily organized Universe.
The idea of the atonement of the sins of mankind by the sacrifice furnished by an individual however great, is repugnant to the idea of responsibility and development of personality started above, and is therefore unacceptable.
With the above background of Islamic concepts we come to the fundamental Islamic concepts themselves. They are dealt with briefly in the form of questions and answers for convenience of reference by the casual reader.
Fundamental concepts of Isalm
Question: What are the fundamental priorities for a Muslim to know?
Answer: There are three fundamental priorities for every person to know. (a) his Creator, (b) the tentes of his religion, and (c) the prophet through whom the message of his Creator was received and who showed the factual interpretation thereof through the practical working of the laws in all branches of life.
Question: What is the standard acceptable religion?
Answer: It comprises faith, firm and pure, in the Almighty Creator, free from doubt or pollution by association of others with Him and total submission to, and compliance with the divine laws revealed to the Prophets for transmission to mankind, and this is called Islam. There is, and there can be, only one true religion.(1)
Anything other than the true religion can only be deviations or distortions and is therefore necessarily unacceptable. Any person following a way of life other than Islam would be the loser in the hereafter.
In this connection it is necessary to state that Islam makes no difference between the religion of the clergy and the religion of the laity, the religion for the Brahman and the religion for the Sudra, the religion of the monk and the religion of the Industrialist, businessman or the administrator, or the military; the religion
(1) (i) Religion with Allah is Islam (surrender to His will)
(Surat 3, Al-i -imran Verse19)
(ii) And whoso seeketh as religion other than Islam (Surrender to Allah) it will not be accepted from him, and he will be a loser in the hereafter.
(Surat 3 Al-i-imranVerse 85)
of a particular nation or geographical unit and for the religion or religions for the rest. It has already been stated that Islam does not brook any differentiat-ion between peoples of different colors, races or countries. Not only in words but also in actual practice it has never permitted any such distinctions at any time or any place. What is here being brought out is that the religion and disci-pline of life is the same within the different classes of people as well, e.g. clergy or laity, monks or people engaged in the ordinary pursuits of life. In Islam thereis no enforced celebacy or renunciation or restrictions or exalted condemnatory position for any class of people. The law and the discipline, the permissible and the non-permissible is the same for everybody and for members of all the nations of the world. If that were not so, it would not be the standard, it would not be the universal, it would not be the divine religion meant equally for all human life. Such distinctions are but another form of the obnoxious caste system which through sacred scriptures has subsisted until the oretically scrapped by man-made law but is still operative in some parts of the world.
Question: What are the characteristics of a Muslim?Answer: A Muslim is one who lives a life of submission to Allah’s commandments in a full and proper manner and who does not cause injury or anxieties to anyone and particularly to fellow Muslims through his tongue or hands, deceitful actions or envy.
Question: What are the fundamentals of Iman (faith)?
Answer: The fundamentals of Iman are (a) sincere and authentic vouchsafing by heart of faith in Allah and His prophet and commandments. (b) clear declaration thereof by the tongue and (c) an unequivocal determination to comply with the revealed injunctions and prescriptions. The component parts of Iman of faith are embodied in the following Kalimah :
(I do believe in Allah, in His angels, in the revealed Books, in the Prophets, in the day of Resurrection and Judgment and the determination of good and bad, resting in the hands of Allah the Most High, and in there being a resurrection of life after death).
Question: What are the fundamental tenets of Islam?
Answer: T here are five fundamental tenets of Islam, namely:
1) An unqualified assertion that there is no creator, sustainer or power except Allah; and that Mohammed is His Prophet and the transmitter to mankind of His message.
2) Proper and due performance of the prescribed Salat.
3) Due payment of the Zakat.
4) Due observation of fasting in the month of Ramadhan.
5) And the performance of Haj by all those who are capable of doing so.
Question: What is the meaning and implication of “La ilaha illallah?”
Answer: The meaning and implication of the Kalimah “La ilaha illallaha” is that there is no authority worthy of being worshipped or regarded as the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe or having any inherent powers except the Almighty Allah. The implications of La Ilaha Illallaha are indicated in the following Kalimah:
(There is no authority worthy of being worshipped or regarded as the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe or having any inherent powers except Allah. He is alone; He has no associate of any description, to Him belongs all sovereignty and to Him go all praises; He it is who is the Giver and Taker of life; all good of whatever description lies in His hands and He has power to do everything.)
A further authoritative indication of the implication of “La iIllaha illallaha” is given in the holy verse:
Thee only do we worship and from Thee alone do we seek help. (1).
Question: What are the Angels?
Answer: Angels are celestial spiritual creations of Allah who are invisible to human beings and who are Allah’s unseen agents in the universe. They do not eat or drink or sleep in the manner that we know, and they constantly keep in close touch with the Almighty Allah through thikr and complete submission and never for a moment deviate from His commandments.
(1) Surat 1, Al-Fatihah, Verse 4.
Question: What are the Holy Books sent as revelations by Allah?
Answer: Allah has sent revelations through His Prophets from the very beginning, but most of them have been completely lost or got mutilated through lapse of time. The Holy Quran has specifically mentioned three books previously revealed viz., the Tawrah, the Zaboor and the Ingeel, and has referred generally to other books e.g.
Suhuf Ibrahim. These books were revealed or addressed to different groups of people living in the respective regions. When the means of communication and the art of writing had developed sufficiently, a book for universal guidance of mankind was revealed to the last of prophets, Prophet Mohammed, (Sallallaho Alaihe wa Sallam.) This universal book for the all time guidance of mankind, viz, the Quran, was made by Almighty Allah immune from manipulations, mutilations, or alterations through the divine arrangement of the memorization of every word and line of it from the very beginning of Islam, and through its recitation by every member of the faithful community in their prescribed five time daily prayers. Thus the Holy Quran is the only extant Holy book, every word of which is fully authentic and exactly as revealed to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and is thus secure from any manipulations. There are hundreds of thousands of Muslims spread out in the various countries of the world who can recite the whole book as revealed to the Holy Prophet, word by word: The written form of the book with every letter of the words enumerated and checked up is kept in every Muslim household in various parts of the world in the same script and this is in addition to the factual memorization and continual recitation of it in the five-time daily prayers. The authenticity of the Holy Quran as coming down to us and revealed to the Holy Prophet is thus beyond question and would remain so far all the time to come. The inimitability of any portion of the text of the Holy Quran has been a standing challenge and is by itself among others a proof of its divine origin.
Question: Who are the Rusul (Prophets) in whom the Muslims must believe?
Answer: The number of Allah’s prophets in the various countries of the world and at various times from the earliest, is not known to us and is necessarily very large. The
Holy Quran has specifically stated that Allah has given the name of a few only of the prominent prophets and has not mentioned the bulk of them. The fact that all true religion in the world has been essentially one and the same, has also been categorically stated in the Quran and the basic common concepts if this religion have been clearly enumerated therein. The development of details from time to time does not affect the essential unity of the message revealed from time to time. The disappearance or mutilation of those messages with the lapse of time, has been one of the main causes of successive revelations through prophets, one after another, until the revelation of the final message for universal guidance of mankind through the last of the prophets, Prophet Mohammed (Sallallaho Alaihe wa Sallam) and the vouchsafing of the authenticity of the message for all time rendered the sending of any further prophets and books unnecessary.
Question: What is the idea of predestination and fate in Islam?
Answer: The position of predestination and fate in Islam is that Almighty and All-knowing Allah has complete knowledge of what is going to happen in future and how it is going to happen. At the same time He has given full freedom to man to select his way of life including his reactions to the changing conditions and circumstances in which he is placed for the testing and development of his personality. The personality of a man is made or unmade not by the results produced in the world outside himself but by the manner of the exercise of his will and his choice in the selection of alternatives, good or bad both being open to him. If his choice and the exercise of his will is good i.e. in accordance with the standards and regulations set by his Creator, his personality develops and moves towards strength and purity. What is going to happen in the future as a result of the diverse factors around is known to and determined by only his Creator, but man is responsible for the choice which he makes between obedience and disobedience of directions. Man’s knowledge or belief that no good can come and no harm can be prevented without the knowledge or will of Allah and his consequent desire and determination not to deviate from the orders and standards of conduct set and prescribed by Allah is the making of his personality and is his responsibility. The knowledge and belief that no harm can come and nothing can happen without the determination of Allah has been the most potent factor for infusing bravery among Muslims and their standing firm in the face of tremendous odds and even in the face of certain death. Man’s action in the reverse direction viz., acting without faith and in an unprincipled vacillating manner is the unmaking and destruction of his personality for which he would receive punishment unless he realizes his mistakes in time and prays for forgiveness. Allah’s knowledge of what line of action a particular man will take is a different matter altogether and cannot be put as an excuse for his evil actions or for injury to, or destruction of his personality.
Question: a) What is the day of Judgment and b) What is the necessity therefore?
Answer: a) Life in this world is essentially a test life to enable man as a vice-regent of Allah to bring out the best in himself in the different and changing circumstances of his existence here. The ultimate results of this test life are to be given after it is over, not only for the individual but also for the society in which he leads his essentially dynamic existence. The day on which the Judgment on the individual of mankind will be accorded is called the day of Judgment and is the basic idea of Islam preached by all the previous prophets and finally and deeply underlined by the last of them, Prophet Mohammed (Sallallaho Allaihe Wa Sallam). It is after the results are announced on the day of judgment that the successful man’s life as the vice regent of Allah would begin in its immense proportions.
b) The expectation or certainty of receiving rewards for good deeds and punishments for evil action, in whatever forms the rewards or punishments may be, is the most potent factor for determining man’s conduct, besides being the logical and natural corollary of the necessary and basic idea of justice. The idea of justice is nothing else than demand for due conformity of man’s action to the prescribed laws. Deviations from or action against the physical laws of the universe instantly produce unpleasant results. Man some times is led to think that there are no corresponding by binding social cultural and spiritual laws, the non-observance of which would produce similarly unpleasant results. This obviously is not the case and to correct this mistaken notion and to provide guidance to mankind, the Almighty and Benign Creator sent prophets revealing social, cultural, and spiritual laws for man and indicating the unpleasant consequences of deviation there from, both immediate and ultimate. The immediate consequences of deviations from the social and cultural laws are partly provided by the administrative authorities, but of necessity, their reach is fractional and frequently doubtful. Neither the man who commits a thousand murders or other heinous crimes and gets scores of men to do likewise, nor the man who saves, sustains, or purifies a thousand lives or more, nor he who does other unseen things good and bad, gets or can get adequate justice at the hands of the administrative authorities. Substantially, it is the attachment to the unseen Creator and Sustainer of mankind Who knows and sees everything and the consequent promptings of conscience and traditions there under that determine the healthy working of man as a social being.
The extent to which this attachment is strong and these convictions are deep and active among a substantial section of the community; to that extent there is a practical assurance against social disintegration. But the idea of the ultimate and unfailing scientific and correct justice for man’s individual actions static and dynamic, personal and social can only rest with the Omnipotent and Omniscient Allah. To provide man with a free choice of the development of his personality, free justice for his actions good and bad, is not provided immediately, but is postponed till after the completion of the test life.
Question: What is “Ehsan” and who are the “Mohsineen”?
Answer: “Ehsan” is to worship Allah and conduct oneself in life as if one is himself seeing Allah or, if that feeling or consciousness not be possible, to worship Allah and conduct himself in life with the assurance that Allah is seeing him. “Mohsineen” is the name given by Allah to those Muslims who humbly and devotedly conduct themselves in life in the manner mentioned above.
Question: Why has worship of Allah been ordained and prescribed?
Answer: Man has been created as Allah’s vice regent on earth and Allah has ordained His worship by man in the various phases and spheres of life so that man’s life may be disciplined and purified and he should through discipline and worship, understand and recognize and be in communion with his Creator, Sustainer and Master.This worship is not confined to what are called rituals but covers the entire field of life.This worship (or lack of worship) includes the manner in which a person conducts himself in the society, as a dynamic agent for the good and correct things in life (or vice versa),
in his attitude towards and dealings with others. Compliance with the divine orders relating to human activity in the various fields of life as explained and worked out practically by His prophet is the comprehensive meaning of worship. The whole edifice of worship and discipline may be stated to stand on five pillars, viz., (1) a true comprehension of faith as described in the foregoing pages (2) a proper performance of Salat (3) the due payment of Zakat (4) the proper observance of fasting for the month of Ramadan and (5) the performance of Haj by people who have capacity to do so. These pillars are absolutely fundamental to the edifice, and provide the necessary gateways to the different parts of it and each one of the pillars is a definite structure in itself but does not comprise the whole building.
We have already briefly dealt with the first item or pillar of faith. Now we shall briefly deal with the rest of the four pillars in the order stated.
SALAT
Question: What is “Salat” and what is its importance in the life of the individual and of the community?
Answer: Salat is the overt means of man’s worshipful connection with and complete submissive devotion to his Creator and Sustainer and is the most direct and effective means of deriving power, guidance, and solace from the All-knowing, Omnipotent Master. Salat has been prescribed by Allah for granting man unlimited benefits of a comprehensive nature, individually and socially. It acts as a sustainer of man intellectually, spiritually and socially.
Salat with its five-time daily prescription affords to the individual and enforces upon him a regular course of physical cleanliness and purity of mind, and a regular gathering of the faithful in a spirit of unmistaken collaboration for carrying out the purposes of Allah in complete humility as His humble creatures.
The prescribed Salat not only provides the correct relationship between man and his Creator and the means to benefit from his Creator in a hundred ways and at every moment of his life, it also incidentally provides the Muslim individual and the whole Muslim community with a basic common time-table and the basic structure of the Muslim society on which to organize their lives. The Salat if properly performed as prescribed is the greatest, easiest and the surest means for personal cleanliness, of body and mind, disciplined life, invigorated and uplifted by contacts with the Almightily Creator and moving throughout the daily course of business of whatever description in the consciousness of His Omnipotent omniscient Presence
By making this congregational Salat compulsory five times a day for every member of the faithful, Allah has provided mankind with a steel frame for their society, alike for the basic small units of residential or working neighborhoods, and for the townships, and for the annual international gatherings of the brotherhood at Mecca.
Quite evidently Salat is of such fundamental importance in Islam that anyone willfully omitting Salat from the normal routine of his life is not deemed a true Muslim at all.
Question: What are the basic rules regarding the correct performance of Salat?
Answer: These are briefly stated below, classified under the heads concerned
.a) Preparation for Salat:
i) Physical cleanliness of the body and of clothes.
ii) Performance of wodhu.
In addition to the general cleanliness of the body and clothes a Muslim must before the performance of Salat do his wodhu and this consists of:
1) Washing of the hands up to the elbows and of the face, by pouring water thereon
three times or only once if water be scarce.
2) Similar gargling of the mouth and washing the nose.
3) Massaging of the head and ears with water and
4) Washing of the feet up to the ankles with water.
The water used for washing the hands should not be used for washing the face or for gargling but should be fresh for each part of the body. The wodhu once performed can be deemed to last until one urinates, breaks wind, goes to stool or happens to sleep or has sexual intercourse or wet-dreams (in either of which latter two cases a bath will be necessary but it is better if a fresh wodhu is done before each congregational Salat).
iii) Taking a bath in case of a wet dream or sexual intercourse or the completion of
the monthly-course or postnatal bleeding in the case of women.
iv) Proper covering of the body.
This can be put under two categories: the minimum and the desirable. For the men the minimum is to cover the body from the belly to and inclusive of the knee. The desirable for the men is to cover their shoulder and arms up to the wrist and their legs slightly above the ankles and to cover their heads.
For the women the minimum is to cover their heads and foreheads, their necks, shoulders, arms up to their wrists and breasts down to and including their ankles. And the desirable is to have an additional wrapping over their shoulders and breasts. In fact these are the normal standards of propriety of dress prescribed for men and women at times other than prayers as well.
v) Athan is a necessary preparation for all the five-time congregational prayers. It is a
call to the faithful to come to Salat. The prescribed Athan is a natural, simple and effective introduction and invitation to the Salat.
vi) Number and timing of the congregational Salats and the number of Rakats in each.
A) The number of the prescribed daily congregational Salat is five viz.
Salatul Fajr 2
Salaruzzohr 4
Salatul Asr 4
Salatul Maghrib 3
Salatual Isha. 4
And their timings are as follows:
1- Salatul Fajr: After day break and before sunrise;
2- Salatuzzohr: Immediately after exact midday and before the sun casts a shadow of anything equal to its length.
3- Salatual Asr: After the sun has begun casting shadow of anything equal to its length and before sunset.
4- Salatul Maghrib Immediately after sunset and until the lasting of twilight approximating an hour and one-quarter; and
5- Salatul Isha: After the close of twilight up to the earliest signs of daybreak usually an hour and one quarter before actual sunrise. Usually the best time to offer these prescribed congregational Salats is the commencement thereof.
B) The number of the compulsory Rakats in the above mentioned five prescribed congregational Salats and the number of additional Rakats separately performed optionally before or/and after the congregational Salat is indicated below: -
Type of the Prescribed prescribed number of Usual Usual
Congregational prayer Rakats. additions additions
Before after the congregational congregational
Salat Salat
Salatul Fajr 2 2 --
Salatuzzohr 4 4 2
Salatul Asr 4 2 --
Salatul Maghrib 3 -- 2
Salatual Isha. 4 2 + 3
Question: Why is the prescribed Salat performed in Arabic?
Answer: Islam is a universal religion, a religion for the whole of mankind, and its followers form an international community of brothers from the very beginning. The declaration: “The believers are naught else than brothers”, (1) is unqualified and intended to be a factual and permanent reality. There is no exclusiveness, geographical or racial. All the faithful, all the loyal and obedient servants of Allah wherever they may be and whatever their colors are equal in the eyes of Allah and are must behave as brothers and close friends. They must have a common culture, a common platform and a common language of inter-communication. Arabic has been this common language from the very beginning of Islam.
(1) Surat 49, The Private Apartments, Verse 10.
During the last thirteen hundred years there have been more books written in Arabic on Islam and Islamic literature by Arabs and in non-Arab countries than by Arabs in Arab countries. For the last two hundred years the missionaries and imperialist powers have been trying to disrupt this state of affairs by exercising subtle but persistant pressure on Muslim countries to work on materialistic, geographical and parochial lines in everything, even in language, script and religion. They have failed because of the inimitable incontrovertibly divine Quran and because of the prescribed common Salat. But the Satanic disruptive efforts continue in the name of regionalism and nationalism, misguiding through their sophisticated agents the unwary, the thoughtless, and the de-Islamized materialist. But every true Muslim throughout the expanding world of Islam knows that any attempt to render Salat into the local language of any country would totally cut adrift not only the social body but the spiritual identity and universal cosmopolitan entity and real meaning of Islam.
This prescribed congregational Salat is performed in Arabic. The Holy Quran, the inimitable word of Allah is recited in Arabic. So also the personal Salat with its inimitable comprehensiveness and holy devotion. That also has to be performed in Arabic. Prayers thereafter or before it fall in a separate category and can be spoken and expressed in any language. Is lam is a universal religion in point of fact and not in theory. It is a religion based on international equality and brotherhood irrespective of race, color or country and again in a point of fact and not in theory. The five-time prescribed congregational Salat is among other things the pivotal link in this important point of the universality of the religion and the factual international equality and brotherhood of man. For the attainment of this high objective the learning of or familiarization with a common language is a comparatively small effort. The whole world cannot show a single instance other than Islam of a race-free or color free international civilization with completely free intermarriages and cultural, spiritual and social equality of a class-free, color-free society as has been seen from the beginning of Islam for the last fourteen hundred years throughout the world. The fundamental basic core of this truly international civilization has been the five-time congregational Salat in which the local man as well as the traveller, national and international participates. The Holy Quran is of course the central focal point on which everything revolves. This inimitable transcendental divine book has been translated in scores of languages but its beauty and comprehensive and superb divinity is not translatable and each word and each letter of the Holy Quran has been preserved as it was revealed, through its daily use, five times a day in every Rakat in every Salat. Nothing can replace either its beauty or its divine effects; and so millions of people in non-Arabic countries have memorized the whole book and can and do recite it by heart from one end to the other.
ZAKAT
Salat has been mentioned in the foregoing pages as the most outstanding pillar of Islam after the Shahadeh or solemn declaration that there is no God and no real power except Allah and that Mohammed (S.A.W.S.) is His Prophet. Now we come to the third most important pillar viz., Zakat. In fact Allah has specifically stated in the Holy Quran that the declaration of acceptance of Islam of only those persons can be accepted who fully comply with the provision regarding the performance of the five-time congregational prayers and the due payment of Zakat. It is for this reason that the great Caliph Abu Bakr (upon who are Allahs blessings) actually waged Jehad against those persons or tribes who wavered or refused to give Zakat.
“But if they repent and establish regular Salat and pay the Zakat then they are your brothers in religion. Thus we detail revelations for those who understand”. (1)
This Zakat is only the minimum prescribed by law for a Muslim. Much more to the society around is expected of a Muslim to win the grace of Allah and this fact is repeated in numerous verses of the Holy Quran.
“Those who in charity spend their wealth by night and by day, secretly and openly, have their reward with their Lord, and on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve”. (2)
“Go forth, light-armed and heavy-armed, and strive with your wealth and your lives in the way of Allah! That is best for you if you but knew.” (3)
1. Surat 9, Repentance, Verse 11.
2. Surat 2, The Cow, Verse 274.
3. Surat 9, Repentance, Verse 41.
A Muslim’s life, on the material side, is to be led on the above principles, and Zakat is only the minimum payment prescribed by law, without which payment a Muslim would not remain a Muslim. In the earliest centuries of Islamic State Zakat used to be collected and disbursed by the State in accordance with the prescribed requirements.
In course of time, many of the Muslim governments left the payment of the Zakat to the initiative of the private individuals. When the Zakat was paid to, and disbursed by the State, the optional Sadaqat and assistance to relatives, neighbours or friends were of course administered personally by the donors, and the Holy Quran has specifically provided the manner in which such assistance should be rendered. The assistance and donations should be given with enthusiasm and in a spirit of devotion and with a feeling of certainty that the person who gives is the real gainer by the transaction.
The Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) used sometimes to refuse the donations from hypocritical subscribers who were known for their doubtful devotion.
“O Ye who believe, Render not vain your almsgiving by reminders of your generosity or by injury, like him who spendeth his wealth only to be seen of men and believeth not in Allah and the Last Day.” (1)
“The likeness of those who spend their wealth in Allah’s way is as the likeness of a grain which growth seven years, in every year a hundred grains, Allah given increase manifold to whom He will. Allah is All-Embracing, All-Knowing”. (2)
It would be seen that if the prescribed Zakat and the specifically suggested donations, the rate of which is not prescribed, are given and the prescribed spirit thereof is
1. Surat 2, The Cow Verse 264.
2. Surat 2, The Cow Verse 261..
observed, then the welfare requirements of the needy in all the localities would be met in a suitable and dignified manner, creating harmony and love among the various classes of the community and at same time purifying and developing the personalities of the individuals living in it. It is the donor who is expected to seek out quietly the proper recipient and feel obliged to him for having accepted his assistance thus enabling him to gain Allahs blessings.
This is the spirit in which the payment of Zakat and other donations is to be made. The Holy Prophet was the embodiment of mercy and affection for all the world. His followers are expected to follow him and be the reflection of his personality for the localities and environments in which they live, and should serve the people around humbly and to the best of their capacity. This is specifically provided for in the Holy Quran.
Question: What is Zakat?
Answer: Zakat is the name given to payment in kind or money which a Muslim of means must pay either directly or through the State to the persons specified in the Holy Quran. The object thereof is on the one hand to assist the welfare work but mainly to purify the personality of the giver of Zakat.
“Take alms of their wealth wherewith thou may purify and sanctify them.” (1)
Question: What is the prescribed annual rate for Zakat ?
Answer: The annual rate of Zakat prescribed is 2.5%.
(1) Surat 9, Repentance Verse 103.
Question: Among whom and for what purpose is the Zakat to be distributed and utilized?
Answer: Zakat is distributed among the categories of Muslims, and for the objectives stated below:
1. The poor Muslims to relieve want and distress; 2. The needy Muslims for the supply of implements for earning their livelihood; 3. Those whose hearts are inclined towards Islam viz., the new converts for the purpose of consolidation of their attachment and to enable them to settle down and meet their immediate needs, 4. The Muslims in debt, for the purpose of freeing them from their liabilities incurred under difficult and pressing circumstances; 5. The Muslim wayfarers stranded away from their home; 6. The Muslim employees appointed for the collection or disbursement of Zakat; 8. Those engaged in the path of Allah to defray the expenses for the defense and propagation of Islam.
Question: What condition must be complied with for the fulfillment of the obligation of Zakat?
Answer: Zakat must be given to the State for the purposes noted above or be distributed privately on a personal basis for the purposes enumerated above with the express intention (or Niyyat) of fulfilling the obligation of Zakat. In fact in such payment it must be ensured that the recipient becomes the absolute owner of what is passed on to him as Zakat.
Zakat is obligatory on all Muslims who have in their possession for one complete year gold of the minimum weight of seven and a half tolas or silver of the minimum weight of fifty two tolas or commercial or industrial property of that value including camels, cattle, goats, articles of trade etc.,
It may be observed here that Zakat is levied only on Muslims. Non-Muslim residents in a Muslim State are exempt there-from. This fact is often ignored by non-Muslim critics of Jezia which is a corresponding tax, on a much smaller scale and scope, levied on the non-Muslims living in a Muslim state. It should be pointed out that the non-Muslims are exempt from rendering military service which may be compulsorily demanded from a Muslim. The salutary nature of such exemptions both from the moral and from the administrative point of view would be clear to any thoughtful person.
FASTING IN THE MONTH OF RAMADHAN
Islam, as the divine light of guidance for man, is the religion of a disciplined development of a vigorous personality, and fasting is one of the necessary means towards the achievement of this end. Far from weakening a person, it enables him to get connected with and draw more from the unseen Power close to him and within him but otherwise not physically apparent to him. In fact Allah has ordered specifically in the Holy Book that the faithful should draw assistance in their problems from Salat and from fasting.
It has further been stated that fasting has a direct connection with a disciplined conduct of life and the achievement of the purposes of the Holy Quran.
“O ye who believe! Fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you, that ye may (learn) self-restraint”. (1)
“The month of Ramadan in which was revealed the Quran, a guidance for mankind, and clear proofs of the guidance, and the criterion (of right and wrong). And whosoever of you is present, let him fast the month, and whosoever of you is sick or on a journey, let him fast the same number of other days. Allah desireth for you ease; He desireth not hardship for you; and He desireth that you complete the period, and that you should glorify Allah for having guided you and that perchance ye may be grateful”. (2).
1. Surat 2, The Cow, Verse 183.
2. Surat 2, The Cow, Verse 185.
With the above introductory remarks we come to the basic information regarding the Ramadan fasting given in the form of questions and answers for convenience of reference.
Question: What items of abstinence are specifically comprised in the act of fasting?
Answer: Fasting requires one to abstain from (a) eating or drinking anything however small (b) smoking (c) having sexual intercourse or otherwise committing any intentional act of discharge of semen in any manner. This abstinence must be observed from the break of dawn (about 11/2 hours before actual sunrise) to sunset.
Question: Does the above mentioned abstinence in respect of the items stated complete the requirement of the discipline of fasting?
Answer: No. The above constitute only the necessary negative aspects of fasting. On the positive side, it is necessary that particular care is taken to see to the meticulous performance of congregational salat at the prescribed times and similarly to avoid any act in contravention of any specific orders of Allah. In this connection, it may be mentioned that in addition to the normal prescribed congregational Salat in the month of Ramadan the Salatul Tarawih is particularly prescribed after the Isha Salat.
Question: Give a brief description of the Salatual Tarawih.
Answer: This Salat is performed just like other congregational Salawat; the difference being that it is performed in batches of two Rakats each up to a desirable maximum of 20 Rakats and a minimum of 8 Rakats.
Question: On whom is the observation of fasting obligatory?
Answer: The observation of fasting is obligatory on all Muslims, men and women, after the age of puberty, excepting the insane and the invalid. The invalid, including men and women too old or feeble to bear the hardships of a fast have to be declared as such by a proper physician for the exception to be conscientiously valid. At the same time they have to pay for each day of the fast omitted a Sadaqa equal to the feed of a poor person per day.
Question: Under what circumstances can one defer or postpone the observation of fast?
Answer: Fast can be postponed to a subsequent period:
a) If one is so sick that the observation of fast is likely to increase one's sickness
b) in the case of a woman (i) during the monthly period or post natal bleeding
(ii) if she is suckling a child and there is serious reduction in the supply of milk by fasting
c) in the case of a traveler who has reason to fear that fasting will render the journey too difficult.
It should be noted that in each case mentioned above the fast should preferably be performed or resumed as soon as the cause which prompted the postponement has disappeared.
Question: What is the significance of fasting?
Answer: As observed before, the main objective of fasting is the development of personality and consolidation of self-discipline. By foregoing meals and drinks etc. for the whole of the day and slightly longer, one incidentally comes to realize personally the pangs of hunger which other persons in destitute circumstances may sometimes perforce be undergoing and this may induce the development of a proper sympathetic attitude among the comparatively well-to-do. This may be a good thing but it is an incidental outcome of fasting and not the main objective.
Again fasting is a very good thing for physical health and results in all round overhaul and rationing of the various constituent parts of the body, but again this is not the main objective. The main objective lies in the habit of self-control that fasting fosters and develops and enables one to raise high in the conduct of day to day matters so that one is able to save oneself from being an easy victim to temptation, and the chances of committing sins are thereby greatly reduced.
HAJ
Haj is one of those fundamental institutions in Islam which have maintained on a basis of international uniformity the spirit of complete submission to Allah’s commandments and divine pleasure as summarized in these magically brief devotional words:
“Here am I, O Lord, to carry out Your pleasure, here am I. Here am I O Lord to receive your pleasure. There is no one who is Your associate. Verily all praises for all things go to You, and all the benedictions, gifts and favours come from You. To You belongs all the sovereignty and there is no one who is Your associate.”
During the Haj, the Haji or pilgrim is expected to repeat these far-reaching beautiful and sacred words from the bottom of his heart day by day, hundreds of times until the completion of the Haj, and then to live up to this declaration the rest of his life.
Haj is not only the agency for the performance of this noble and fundamental function. It is also the means of the achievement of a host of other important objectives:
a) It is a factual rehearsal and commemoration of the manner in which the great patriarch of the prophets, Ibrahim, and his wife Hajer and his son Ismail, singly and together, placed themselves completely and devotedly at the disposal and pleasure of their divine Creator and Sustainer. No risks or sacrifices were too great in their devoted relationship with their Creator and Sustainer. And their Creator and Sustainer did not let them be destroyed through the tests and ordeals set for them but rather made them and their conduct a model for the generations and the centuries to follow.
Prophet Mohammed (S.A.W.S) following the lines of action set by Prophet Ibrahim raised the standards of devotion and constancy in efforts and sacrifices to new and still higher levels of achievements and spread the light to all the countries around and made it dynamic and universal for all time to come. It was the complete submission and devotion of Prophet Ibrahim (may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) that made him what he was. It was the total identification of his complete self with the will of Allah as embodied in the Holy Quran that the Prophet Mohammed (S.A.W.S.) became the miraculous personality and shining light for all time to come. And anyone who approached him with Iman (faith) and got even a few minutes of his august and purifying company became proportionately a miracle in deeds and achievements. A thoughtful and wide-awake person going for Haj is reminded of these and other edifying things repeatedly during the course of his stay in the Holy Land.
b) The Haj provides a unique international gathering of men having altogether different mother tongues and local dialects but speaking one language in their five-time congregational gatherings and performing their Salat in a uniform pattern, standing and sitting together without the slightest reference to color, race, or country or class in life. Almost all read the Holy Quran in Arabic and read the translations available in their respective languages. Almost all get to have some knowledge of Arabic which is the common language for Muslims of the world. There being no priorities and no obstacles for anyone whatsoever, all participating persons and groups from various countries meet each other in a spirit of complete equality and brotherhood. Not only this; all and every one without exception are required to wear a uniform unsewn dress during the period of Haj and until the Haj prescriptions are over. There are no formalities and no obstacles; and informal meetings of people from different countries, races and colors are frequent, and gradually provide a uniformity and dovetailing of culture and understanding of each other’s condition.
c) Mecca Al Mukarrama is a place around which for scores of kilometers there are no plantations or trees and the city is surrounded by rows upon rows of barren hillocks of various heights and hues. Roads as we know them have been built by blowing up scores of rocky hillocks. Even for a considerable distance around Mecca there is hardly one kilometer of a straight road. Any thoughtful person would be surprised why and how the city came into existence. It was certainly a miracle initially caused by the miraculous sprouting up of water at the feet of Prophet Ismail (then an infant) and then through the reconstruction by Prophets Ibrahim and Ismail of the sanctuary for the worship of Allah. This sanctuary which was the first house in the world built for the worship of Allah has carried exceptional features which are abundantly noticeable to thoughtful persons.
“The First House (of worship) Appointed for men is that at Bakkah: Full of blessing and of guidance for all the people.” (1)
“O our Lord! I have settles some of my offspring in a valley without cultivation, by Thy sacred House; in order, O our Lord, that they may establish regular Prayer; so fill the hearts of people with love towards them, and provide them with fruits that they may be thankful.” (2)
(1) Surat 3, Al-I-ilmran, Verse 96.
Hence the growing up of the city in this otherwise barren place, hence the availability in this barren place of fruits of all kinds coming from north and south and now from east and west as well. The spiritual magnetism and benefits of the place around the Kaaba are great and varied but they are matters of personal experience. The details thereof do not come within the limited scope of this small introductory book. Suffice it to say that the simple act of sitting anywhere in the place around the holy sanctuary (Kaaba) facing it and meditating on the details of one’s own past life and what it should be in the future, and imploring Allah’s forgiveness,
(2) Surat 14, Ibrahim, Verse 37.
His mercy and His Light, would by itself be a very revealing experience, cleansing and regenerating ones spiritual outlook. If it is followed or preceded by “Tawaf” of the sanctuary in the manner prescribed, and Salat, the benefit accrued and even palpably realized during the course of even one day is great and immeasurably valuable.
EHRAM, TAWAF and SAYEE
Ehram, Tawaf and Sayee are essential portions of both Haj and Umra and an understanding of these items is essential for the proper performance of either.
Question: What is Ehram?
Answer: Ehram is the starting point for both Haj and Umra and the manner of its starting is of prime significance.
The act of adopting Ehram is the symbolical start of a journey of the pilgrim, away from his usual preoccupations and environmental, and towards his Creator and Sustainer. While stillliving a man cuts himself off as much as he can from his usual preoccupations and surroundings with a view to come within the ordit of divine presence and pleasure and abstains from several specified things which may be deemed luxuries or worldly and concentrates on his relationship with his Creator and Sustainer, repeating aloud or in undertones within his own hearing as often as convenient the previously mentioned declaration technically called Talbiah:
Here am I, Lord………………………….
Question: What things, otherwise permissible, become unlawful for those adopting Ehram?
Answer: The things that become unlawful for those adopting the Ehram and remain as such till the discipline of the Haj or Umra is over are:
1. Sexual intercourse or its preliminaries or approaches thereto.
2. Cropping or shaving or otherwise removal of hair from the body or filling or clipping of nails.
3. Wearing by men of any kind of sewn clothes or underwear, gloves or socks.
4. Using any perfumes or perfumed preparations on the body or the apparel.
5. Covering by men of head or face by headgear or in any other way.
6. Hunting of animals or aiding or abetting it.
TAWAF
Question: What is meant by Tawaf?
Answer: The performance of seven circuits round the sanctuary of Ka’aba (going round the Ka’aba).
Significance and meaning of Tawaf.
The Tawaf is somewhat like the hovering of a bird around the light that it loves and adores. In Holy Quran Allah the Most High has stated about His Divine Self:
“Allah is the Light of the Heavens and the Earth. The similitude of His Light is as a niche wherein is a lamp. The lamp is in a gl