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The Five Pillars of Islam

Do you believe in existence of perfectionism? Actually there is no existence of this concept at any level, field or human law, man is imperfect and so all his work, inventions, theories and laws, that’s the human nature, today I’ll talk about perfect law, it’s Islam.

Islam is the only perfect law, simply because Allah Almighty who created this world set it, if we follow the orders and rules of Islam, we reach our destination (success and heaven). Let’s talk about the basic orders of Islam (five pillars of Islam):

The Five Pillars Of Islam
The Five Pillars Of Islam (Picture source: Al Azhar Quran Teaching)

1-Shahada: The first and most important pillar, it’s the core of Islam, to be Muslim is to believe that there is no God but Allah who isn’t like anyone or anything, has no children or father, created all world, and to believe that prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is the last messenger of Allah, shahada isn’t about the letters of the sentence, it’s about the belief in Allah’s power and control. Declaration of faith makes you free from enslavement of anybody except Allah. At this point you become totally free and incredibly strong.

2-Prayer (Salat): The second pillar and it’s called the backbone of Islam due to its importance and greatness, there are five obligatory prayers each day they are like stations to charge your power and clear your sins. Performance of Al-Salah properly purifies the souls of people and prevents them from doing bad things, Allah says: (Recite what has been sent down to you of the Book, and establish the prayer, Prayer forbids indecency and dishonor, The remembrance of Allah is greater, and Allah knows what you do.) [Al-‘Ankabut-45]. {Related useful apps: (Athan Pro: iOS / Android) and (Salat Learning: iOS / Android)} {You can also check prayer times directly on our website: AthanPro.com}.

3-Zakat: The third pillar is to pay known percentage of your money (2.5%) to the poor and needy. This islamic obligation purifies the hearts of both poor and rich people. It achieves social justice and creates cooperative, cohesive, productive society, Allah says: ((take zakat from their wealth in order to purify them and sanctify them with it ) [Taubah- 103].

Zakat: The third pillar
Zakat: The third pillar (Picture Source: SeekersHub)

4-Fasting during Ramadan: fasting (sawm) is the fourth pillar. Every adult healthy Muslim should fast the month of Ramadan which is the9th month of Islamic calendar. Islamic fasting is to give up eating, drinking and copulation from Fajr Athan until Maghreb Athan. Fasting is a holy worship that has a great special reward from Allah. It has a lot of moral and physical benefits. This imposition is exempted from ill people who can’t fast and women at the period of menstruation and puerperium, Allah says: (Fast) a certain number of days, but if any one of you is ill or on a journey let him (fast) a similar number of days later on; and for those who are unable (to fast), there is a ransom the feeding of a needy person. Whosoever volunteers good, it is good for him; but to fast is better for you, if you but knew).[ Al Baqarah-185]

5-Hajj: It is the fifth pillar of Islam, Muslims do hajj by visiting Allah’s house (holy kaaba ) in Mecca to perform rites of pilgrimage as Allah ordered, it was imposed at the 9th hijri year, it’s imposed only on Muslims who are physically and financially able to afford cost and difficulty of travel. You have to perform this duty once in your entire life if you are healthy adult having enough money to go to Mecca, perform hajj and return without causing any harm to your family or putting them in financial distress, Allah Almighty says: ” Pilgrimage to the House is a duty to Allah for all who can make the journey, And whosoever disbelieves, Allah is Rich, independent of all the worlds” [Aali ‘Imran-97]. Hajj has great reward, Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:” The Messenger of Allah said: ” (The performance of) ‘Umrah is an expiation for the sins committed between it and the previous ‘Umrah; and the reward of Hajj Mabrur (i.e., one accepted) is nothing but Jannah” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

We should know clearly that the five pillars of Islam aren’t merely for the purpose of worship; they aim to connect Muslims with their creator to fix them, Allah Almighty created man from both body and soul, each with its requirements and needs that must be met to reach a state of balance and to live in peace and happiness. Caring for the needs of the body and neglecting the soul disturb this balance. Also, caring for the soul at the expense of the body causes the same imbalance, so the worships imposed to feed and stabilize the soul mainly without neglecting the body benefits, At the community level these worships support and strengthen the relations between members of the Muslim community.

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