| PILLARS
OF ISLAM
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ISLAMIC CREED: It
is mentioned in Sahih Bukhari
“Narrated Ibn Umar (r.a.) That Allah’s Messenger
(pbuh) said: Islam is based on (the following) five (principles):
1. To testify that none has the right to be worshipped
except Allah and that Muhammad (pbuh) is the slave and messenger
of Allah.
2. Iqamat-as-salaah (to perform prayers)
3. To pay Zakaat
4. To perform Hajj (i.e. Pilgrimage to Makkah)
5. To Observe Saum (i.e. fast) during the month of Ramadhaan
(Sahih Bukhari Vol. 1, Book of Imaan, Chapter 1, Hadith
8) |
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TESTIMONY OF FAITH:
The First Pillar of Islam i.e. to declare, proclaim, testify
and to bear witness that no entity or deity is worthy of
worship, devotion, obedience and submission except Allah
(swt) and to bear witness that Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is
the last and final Messenger of Allah. This pillar of faith
has already been discussed in the Pillar of Imaan. |
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SALAAH:
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The
second Pillar of Islam is Salaah.
Salaah is usually translated in English as prayer.
To pray means to beseech or to ask for help. In
Salaah we Muslims do not merely ask for help from
Almighty Allah but we also praise Him and receive
guidance from Him. I personally prefer describing
it as programming towards righteousness. To elaborate,
consider that during salaah, after Surah Fatiha,
an Imaam may recite:
O ye who believe!
Intoxicants and gambling,
(Dedication of) Stones,
And (divination by) arrows,
Are an abomination
Of Satan’s handiwork;
Eschew such (abomination),
That you may prosper.
(Al Qur’an 5:90)
Allah (swt) guides us, through this verse of the
Qur’an, which is recited by the Imaam during
salaah, that we should not imbibe intoxicants, we
should not indulge in gambling, idol worship or
fortune telling. All these are Satan’s handiwork
and we should abstain from these if we wish to prosper.
The English word ‘prayer’ does not
denote the complete meaning of Salaah in its full
and true sense.
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Prayer
restrains you from shameful and unjust deeds.
It is mentioned in the Qur’an:
Recite what is sent
Of the book by inspiration
To thee, and establish
Regular Prayer: for prayer
Restrains from shameful
And unjust deeds;
And remembrance of Allah
Is the greatest (thing of life)
Without doubt. And Allah knows
The (deeds) that ye do.
(Al Qur’an 29:45)
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Five
times Salaah for healthy souls.
For a healthy body, human require about three meals.
In a similar manner for a healthy soul, it is required
that we offer Salaah a minimum of five times every
day.
Our Creator Allah (swt) has prescribed salaah for
human beings for a minimum of five times a day in
Surah Isra Chapter 17 Verse 78 and in Surah Taha
Chapter 20 Verse 130.
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The Prostration
is the most important part of Salaah:
The most important part of Salaah is the ‘Sujud’
i.e. Prostration.
i. It is mentioned in the Qur’an:
“O Mary! Worship thy lord devoutly,
Prostrate thyself, and bow down (in prayers)
With those who bow down.”
(Al Qur’an 3:43)
ii. O ye who believe:
Bow down, prostrate yourselves,
And adore
our Lord; and do good;
That ye may prosper.
(Al Qur’an 22:77)
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Similarities:
One of the types of Prayers in Hinduism
is 'Shashtang'
There are various different types of prayers and
modes of worship in Hinduism. One of the types is
‘shashtang’. The word ‘shashtang’
is made up of ‘Sa’ and ‘Asht’
which means eight and ‘Ang’ which means
‘parts of the body’. Thus, shastang
is a mode of worship touching eight parts of the
body. The best way a person can do this is like
Muslims who prostrate in their Salaah touching their
forehead, nose, two hands, two knees, and two feet.
Idol Worship is prohibited in Hinduism:
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Idol worship, which is very common amongst
the Hindus, is prohibited in Hinduism. It
is mentioned in Bhagavad Gita Chapter 7 verse
20:
“Those whose intelligence has been
stolen by material desires they worship
demigods i.e. idols.(Bhagavad Gita 7:20)
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It is
mentioned in Svetashvatara Upanishad chapter
4 verse 19 As well as in:
“There is no image of Him”
(Svetashvatara Upanishad 4:19)
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It is
mentioned in Yajurved Chapter 32 Verse 3
“There is no image of Him”
(Yajurved 32:3)
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It is
also mentioned in
Yajurveda Chapter 40 verse 9
“They enter darkness those
who worship natural things (for e.g. air,
water, fire, etc.). They sink deeper in
darkness those who worship sambhuti i.e.
created things (for e.g. table, chair, car,
idol etc.)
(Yajurved 40:9)
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ZAKAT:
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ZAKAAT MEANS
PURIFICATION AND GROWTH
Zakaat is the third pillar of Islam, which
means purification and growth.
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2.5% IN CHARITY
Every rich Muslim who has a saving which is
more than the minimum level called ‘Nisaab’
which is 85 gms of gold, should give 2.5% of his excess
wealth in charity every lunar year.
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IF ALL RICH GIVE ZAKAT NO
ONE WILL DIE OF HUNGER
If every rich human being gives Zakaat, then
poverty will be eradicated from this world. There will
not be a single human being who will die of hunger.
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ZAKAT ENSURES THAT WEALTH
DOES NOT CIRCULATE ONLY AMONGST THE RICH<
One of the reasons for Zakaat is mentioned in Surah
Al-Hashr
“In order that the wealth may not (merely)
circulate amongst the wealthy ….”
(Al Qur’an 59:7)
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CHARITY IN HINDUISM:
Charity is also prescribed in Hinduism.
i. In Rigved Bk. 10 hymn 117 verse 5
“Let the rich satisfy the poor implorer, and
bend his eyes upon a longer pathway. Richest come
now to one, now to another, and like the wheels of
cars are ever rolling.”
(Translation by Ralph Griffith)
“If it is expected of every rich man to satisfy
the poor implorer; let the rich person have a distant
vision (for a rich of today may not remain rich tomorrow).
Remember that riches revolve from one man to another,
as revolve the wheels of a chariot.”
(Translation by Satyaprakash Sarasvati & Satyakam
Vidhya Lankar) (Rigved 10:117:5)
ii. Charity has been prescribed in Bhagvad Gita in
several places including:
Chapter 17 verse 20 and
Chapter 16 verse 3 |
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SAUM – FASTING:
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Description
‘Saum’ or fasting, is the fourth pillar
of Islam. Every healthy adult Muslim is supposed to
abstain from eating and drinking, from dawn to sunset,
in the complete lunar month of Ramadhaan.
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FASTING PRESCRIBED FOR SELF-RESTRAINT:
The reason for fasting has been mentioned in the
Qur’an:
O ye who believe!
Fasting is prescribed to you
As it was prescribed
To those before you,
That ye may (learn) self-restraint.
(Al Qur’an 2:183)
Today the psychologists inform us that if a person
can control his hunger, it is very likely that he
will be able to control most of his desires.
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Fasting discourages alcoholism,
smoking and other addictions Fasting
for one complete month is a good opportunity for giving
up one’s wrong habits. If a person can abstain
from drinking alcohol, from dawn to sunset, he can
very well abstain from alcohol from the cradle to
the grave. If a person can abstain from smoking, from
dawn to sunset, he can very well abstain from smoking
from the cradle to the grave.
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Medical benefits
There are various medical benefits of fasting. Fasting
increases the absorption of the intestine; it also
decreases the cholesterol level.
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Fasting in Hinduism
There are different types and methods of fasting
in Hinduism. According to Manusmriti Chapter 6 verse
24
Fasting has been prescribed for a month for purification.
(Manusmriti edited by Dr. R. N. Sharma)
Fasting has also been prescribed in
Manusmriti chapter 4 verse 222
Manusmriti chapter 11 verse 204 |
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HAJJ – PILGRIMAGE:
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Description
Hajj is the fifth pillar of Islam. Every adult Muslim
who has the means to perform Hajj i.e. pilgrimage
to the holy city of Makkah should at least perform
Hajj once in his life time.
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Universal Brotherhood:
Hajj is a practical example and demonstration of
universal brotherhood. The Hajj is the largest annual
gathering in the world where about 2.5 million people
from different parts of the world gather, from U.S.A.,
from U.K. from Malaysia, from Indonesia, from India
and other parts of the world. All pilgrims wear two
pieces of unsown cloth, preferably white, such that
you cannot differentiate whether a person is rich
or poor, king or pauper. People of all races and of
all colours gather together in unity to worship the
One Creator.
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Pilgrimage in Hinduism
There are various places of pilgrimage in Hinduism.
One of the sacred places mentioned in
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Rigved, Bk. 3
hymn 29 verse 4 is “Ilayspad, which is situated
at Nabha prathvi.” ‘Ila’
means God or Allah, and ‘spad’ means
place, therefore Ilaspad means place of God.
Nabha means center and prathvi mean earth. Thus
this verse of the Veda prescribes pilgrimage
to a place of God situated at the center of
the earth.
Sanskrit-English dictionary by M. Monier Williams
(Edition 2002) states that Ilaspad is “Name
of a Tirtha” i.e. place of Pilgrimage
– however its location is not known.
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According to
the Qur’an:
The first House (of worship)
Appointed for men
Was that at Bakka
Full of blessing and of guidance
For all kinds of beings.
(Al Quran 3:96)
‘Bacca’ is another name for Makkah
and we know today that Makkah is situated at
the center of the earth.
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Later after seven
verses i.e. Rigved Bk. 3 hymn 29 verse 11
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is mentioned as ‘Narashansa’.
Thus we can conclude that this Ilayspad, place
of pilgrimage mentioned in Rigved is Makkah.
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Makkah is also
mentioned as Ilaspad i.e. Allah’s holy place
in Rigved Book 1 hymn 128 verse 1 |
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