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What is Islam? Basic Principles of Being Muslim

What is Islam?

What is Islam? Islam is a beautiful religion which is complete in all aspects. It provides guidance in every wake of life. The meaning of Islam is “to surrender”. Therefore it means to completely submit before One God. That is to say that, to completely submit one’s self before the will of God. In Islam, no one can force a Non Muslim to convert. Love and kindness is what spread Islam not cohesion.

Basic Principles of Being Muslim

The morals and teachings of Islam are very close to human nature. As a human already possess the qualities of empathy, sympathy and kindness embedded in their soul. The people belonging to this religion are called Muslims. The most vital and basic belief of the Muslims is that there is only one God; Allah (SWT) and that Muhammad (S.A.A.W) is the last prophet.

These two points are very crucial in being a Muslim. For example, if a person doesn’t believe either of these two things, they are exempted from Islam. Furthermore the Muslims all lead their life according to their Holy Book; Quran and Hadith. Basically, the Hadith is the sayings of the last Prophet (S.A.A.W).Therefore it is compulsory to act on them too. Muslims believe that this book was bestowed on their last prophet Muhammad (S.A.A.W). All queries of life have been extensively discussed in the Quran.

Islam Preaches Peace

Although the Muslims believe in the existence of the other books i.e. Bible, Gospel, and Torah. They only follow the Quran. The basic message of Islam is peace. Islam is not a violent religion as it preaches forgiveness. It deems it far better to forgive your opponent than to take revenge. Islam emphasizes the rights of neighbors, blood relations, relatives and even the common stranger. The only religion which protects the rights of every human. Islam claims that only the kind will enter Paradise.

Hell and Heaven

Muslims believe in life after death. Not only believe that but also believe that they will be held accountable for every task. Along with that Muslims believe the concept of reward and punishment. If you are righteous and live this life by the commandments of Allah you will enter Paradise. Otherwise you will enter hell. This they believe will be the ultimate eternal life.
The five main pillars of Islam, which a Muslim has to believe and follow, are:

1. Shahadah

This is just a proclamation that you have accepted that Allah is one true God and that Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) is his last Prophet. This is the most basic and important step for entering the realm of Islam. As it requires a person to believe and accept with the entire body and soul.

2. Salah/Prayer

In Islam it is obligatory after the age of seven to offer prayers. In these prayers you recite the verses from the Quran. As the Quran is in Arabic, the prayer is also in Arabic. The Azaan is the call to prayer, from the mosque. It alerts the Muslims that the time of prayer is now. The prayers take place according to the position of the sun.
There are five prayers in a day. Those are:
a•  Fajr(Morning Prayer)
b•  Zuhr(Noon Prayer)
c•  Asr(Afternoon Prayer)
d•  Maghreb(Sunset Prayer)
e•  Isha (Night Prayer)

It is mandatory for Muslims to offer these prayers daily. In Islam, they believe there will be Day of Judgment. On that day the deeds of all people will be questioned on. Moreover they also believe that they will be questioned if they maintained their prayers. These prayers keep the Muslims from evil and remind them of God.

3. Zakat/Alms

The third pillar in Islam is Zakat/Alms.Islam can be called a humanitarian religion as well. As it prompts the people to help the less fortunate.Zakat is not compulsory for those who are not financially stable. However people who are financially able are required to give a specific amount of money to the needy. Therefore this ensures that the rich don’t keep getting rich and that there is flow of money. Zakat is necessary on valuable items, for example on gold, silver etc. That is to say that if that item has been in your possession for a year. Only then you are required to give a certain percentage of its value of the poor. Mostly people give their Zakat in the month of Ramzan; which is considered holy for them. As it was the month the Quran was descended on the Prophet (S.A.A.W).

4. Sawm/fasting

The fourth pillar of Islam is fasting. It is mandatory for Muslims of abstain from eating during Ramzan. The fast for Muslims lasts from dawn to dusk. During this time frame, Muslims must refrain from anger, vulgarity, gossip and food. Therefore they must spend their time in remembrance of Allah only.
Muslims take a meal before starting the fast called as Sahar. The meal which is used to break the fast is Iftar. The main purpose of the fast is to make the Muslims conscious of their blessings. That is to say, to make them realize how fortunate they are and to invoke a feeling of empathy towards the destitute. Allah has promised great reward for these fasts.

5. Hajj / Pilgrimage

The pilgrimage to Mecca, once in a lifetime, is an obligation on every financially able person. In Hajj, you have to perform specific acts and devote all your time to Allah. Therefore you have to leave all the thoughts of the world behind. Hajj is performed during the month of Dhu al-Hijjah. In hajj you must be in the state of Ihram. Ihram is the state a Muslim must be in before crossing the Miqat (The pilgrimage boundary).This is done by performing the necessary washing and cleansing rituals. In addition they wear the prescribed attire. During the days of Hajj you will perform acts only for the sake of Allah.

In days of Hajj you will circle the Kaaba and perform Tawaaf. The Muslims will visit many historical Islamic places. Furthermore they will throw stones at the walls called Jamarat in the city of Mina. These rituals are sacred and obligatory.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I hope to have shed some light on the basic points of Islam and answered some of your queries. Islam is a beautiful and vast religion and can’t be condensed into one article. Therefore I urge you to do more research, if this article interested you. Please feel free to comment down below!

Eid in Islam Eid al Fitr Eid ul Adha and Eid Milad un Nabi

Eid in Islam Eid al Fitr Eid ul Adha and Eid Milad un Nabi S A A W

Eid is the name of celebration in the Muslim world. There are three kinds of Eid celebration. One is Eid ul Fitr which comes as a reward after the fasting in the month of Ramadan. Then there is Eid ul Adha which is a remembrance of the sacrifice made by Hazrat Ibrahim (AS). Last but not the least is the celebration of Eid Milad un Nabi which celebrates the birth and arrival of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon Him).

Introduction to Eid ul Fitr

Islam is a world’s second largest religion with 1.8 billion followers around the globe. The followers of Islam are known to be Muslims. There are five pillars of Islam which Muslims are obligated to follow. These are:

1. Shahada: Trusting and understanding that God is one. This is declaration of faith
2. Prayer: Every Muslim is obligated to pray five times a day.
3. Zakat: Charity (giving money in the name of God)
4. Hajj: Pilgrimage to Makkah (once in lifetime)
5. Fasting during the Holy month of Ramadan.

Month of Ramadan

Ramadan is a month in Islamic calendar where Muslims from all over the world are obligated to fast. The time for fast starts after eating sehri which is a meal eaten at dawn and then iftar which is a meal eaten late in the evening. After this whole month of fast one develops patience and tolerance to abstain from all evils and control hunger pangs. Ramadan is a special time in the Islamic calendar because after Ramadan we are rewarded with a festival known as Eid ul Fitr is the Eid in Islam most popular.

During this Eid Fitrana is paid which is some charity given to the poor. Islam always gives the poor and needy their share and helps them partake in the celebration of Eid. Next important part is the prayer for which there is no Azan. Muslims men and young boys pray early in the morning in an open space. Women and girls can also pray but mostly the gathering is of male members. They all greet each other after prayer. Special meals like sheer (vermicelli in milk) along with many other dishes are prepared to serve relatives and friends who come home to pay Eid greetings. Mostly people wear new clothes on this occasion and children are given Eidi (some money) as a gift of Eid.

Eid ul Adha

Eid ul Adha has an Islamic history in itself. Hazrat Ibrahim (AS) (a prophet) once had a dream that he has to sacrifice his most precious belonging in the name of Allah. Hazrat Ibrahim got worried on this dream since his most precious belonging was his son Hazarat Ismael (AS). He could not decide what to do so he tells his son all that he had dreamt. Hazrat Ismael immediately responded that he should sacrifice him in the name of Allah for no one should be more dear to him than Allah. When Hazrat Ibrahim was ready to sacrifice his beloved son he blindfolded himself for it was very difficult for him to do so. However upon opening his eyes he saw a sheep that was slaughtered and his son smiling next to it.

Hazarat Ibrahim thanked Allah and since then 10th Zil Haj is the day when Muslims are supposed to sacrifice an animal in remembrance of this event. Like Eid ul Fitr in Eidul Adha, there is a morning prayer after which everyone greet Eid, sacrifice and animal and distribute it in three parts; one part for the poor, one for relatives and friends and one for themselves.

Eid Milad un Nabi S A A W

Eid Milad un Nabi S A A W is a special day for Muslims since it marks the birth of Prophet (Peace be upon Him). On this day of 12 Rabbi ul Awwal milad congregations are arranged where people recite the Holy Quran, read out translations of verses from Quran, say Naat and tell stories of Prophet from Holy books. On this day shops and streets are lit up and people distribute something sweet to the neighborhood and friends.

However there is some controversy in Islam about the celebration of this particular day. Some Muslim scholars are of opinion that Muslims need not celebrate the birth of Prophet (Peace be upon Him) since it is not a festival told by Allah. Others believe that birth of Prophet is a day that needs celebration.

Hanafi School of Thought in Islam

Hanafi School of Thought in Islam

Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi are schools of interpretation of Islamic jurisprudence and Islamic law within the broader umbrella of Sunni following. Sunni following refers to following life example of the Prophet Muhammad(Peace be upon Him) and this makes up about 85 percent population of the Muslim today who are Sunnis.
The Hanafi seek answers by study of Quran, the Sunnah, Ijma and Qiyas. Ijma is an agreement of Islamic scholars on an issue related to Islamic law whereas Qiyas is a process whereby a deductive analogy is reached when Hadis are compared and contrasted with Quran, in order to apply a new injunction to a new circumstance or reach a new injunction

Different Schools of Thoughts

Now how exactly do you follow the Prophet (Peace be upon Him)? What did he say or do on certain occasions? Sometimes there are different interpretations about that. Often because there are different reports about what he did. There were great scholars in the past who had to sift all of these reports and think about what was the general practice of the Prophet? What was the exceptional practice? What was practice in which situation? And what does this all mean? What is the implication? What precedents were set? And how do you interpret those precedents?
So there were many great teachers in the past among which four have emerged with a large number of followers so they came to be known as the founders of Islamic jurisprudence; tough they did not intend to found schools yet came to be remembered. They were:

1. Ahmad Bin Humble
2. Imam Shafi
3. Anus Bin Malik
4. Abu Hanifa (Hanafi School of Thought)

A Need to Tolerate Differences

These are known as the Humbali school, the Shafi school, the Malaki school and the Hanafi school. They are all schools of interpretation of the Islamic law. These schools were so largely followed that in certain area that was the only school that was known. It became adopted as state law where Muslims were the majority ruling in power. Muslims then became comfortable in those regions following those laws.

Hanfi School of Thought

Now a days in our Cosmopolitan centers like in Toronto there are people representing all different schools. Some people are praying with a slight variation according to one school and some people are praying according to some other school which can sometimes lead to tension and misunderstanding. However if we step back we realize that all of these schools have Islamic legitimacy in Islamic history. We tolerate all of these differences.
Sometimes people get to the bottom of the issues and they want to debate all these points all over again and some think that there is no need to debate these finer points because if these points were clear from the start we would not have had these four different schools having different interpretations from the beginning.

Those who think that we should get back to the bottom of things and try to reconstitute the matter all over again are right in a way that issues on which modern questions are arising need to be addressed.