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Page last edited on 15 March, 2003
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The Pillars Of the Islamic Faith
This section explains the 5 obligatory duties upon a Muslim
which are considered the pillars of Islamic faith. The performance of these
duties, inculcating complete surrender to God, forms a powerful spiritual
mechanism for building morally strong individuals and a community equipped to
overcome the evil impulses (eg. lusts for illegal wealth, power, sex, etc) and
establishing a socio-economic order based on purity, justice, equality and
brotherhood in letter and spirit.
These 5 pillars of faith are explained below:-
Confession of Faith (arabic=Shahadah)
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"I bear witness that there is no god but God.
And I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of God."
(In arabic="Ash-hadu-an-La-ilaha-illa-llah.
wa-Ash-hadu-anna-Muhammad-ur-Rasool-allah")
The willful acceptance and utterance of the above statement as a
statement of truth is the condition which makes a person a Muslim and so is
called the 'confession of faith' or the 'declaration of faith'.
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Prayers (arabic=Salaat)
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Every Muslim is required to pray at five designated times of the
day.
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Charity (arabic=Zakaat)
Zakaat is the Annual Tax on Wealth/Charity for the
Poor Or The Purification Tax. Each
year Muslims who have assets over and above their outstanding debts,
assets of roughly $1400 in cash or commercial goods and commodities,
must voluntary pay two and one-half percent of such assets to the poor. Read the following
articles:
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A Brief Introduction to Zakat
- A short and precise introduction to what Zakat is,
essentially for the basics.
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Zakat in the Qur'aan and Sunnah
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ZAKAT
(Alms, The Poor's due) Explained in more detail. Zakat
represents the unbreakable bond between members of the community, whom
prophet Mohammad described to be "like the organs of the body, if
one suffers then all others rally in response."
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Fasting (arabic=Sawm)
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Every capable Muslim is required to Fast from dawn to dusk in
the month.
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Pilgrimage (arabic=Hajj)
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Every Muslim of sufficient means is required to perform the
pilgrimage to Mecca once in his/her lifetime.
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This
section is being updated...
 NEVER PLEAD IGNORANCE:
by
Harun Yahya
People
sometimes plead ignorance of some faith-related facts: Be sure you
don't.
112
PAGES WITH 74 PICTURES IN COLOUR
Never
plead ignorance ...of Allah's evident existence, ...that everything was created
by Allah, ...that everything you own was given to you by Allah for your
subsistence, ...that you will not stay so long in this world, ...of the reality
of death, ...that the Qur'an is the Book of truth, ...that you will give account
for your deeds, ...of the voice of your conscience that always invites you to
righteousness, ...of the existence of the hereafter and the day of account,
...that hell is the eternal home of severe punishment, ...and of the reality of
fate.
* pbuh - Peace be upon him; It is a
Muslim practise to convey prayers of peace whenever the name of Prophet Muhammad
(pbuh) and other prophets is taken. |
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