The five pillars of ISLAM
Al hamdulilahi rabil aa lamin ! All praises are due to Allah (SWT) Who has created us and made Islam our religion, a religion of Peace, Truth, Justice, guidance, Forgiveness, Mercy, to quote but these qualities. May peace and Blessings of Allah be upon the noblest and the most virtuous of the prophets, Prophet Muhammad (saw).
Dear readers, Allah (SAW), thanks to His infinite Mercy has made Islam our religion through our beloved prophet Muhammad, whom He chose and sent as a messenger with the Kor’an to guide all mankind from the darkness to happiness and success in this world life and in the Hereafter. Such is the glad tiding he received from Lord, the Creator for us. Allah, the Merciful said: “I have not sent you, but a mercy for mankind”. Islam is certainly our religion and consequently it becomes a must for all the Muslims in general to know and understand that this religion involves a number of elements, known as “THE PILLARS OF ISLAM”, and that they must absolutely accept and practice as believers.In fact, the Deen of Allah is built up on five (5) pillars. The prophet Muhammad(saw) said in a hadith that :”Islam is built up on five pillars;1 SHAHADA(Declaration of faith,2) Performing prayers,3)Giving Zakat, or Alms,3)Fasting the month of Ramadan,5)Performing pilgrimage to Makka, if you have got the means”. Reported by Boukhary and Muslim.These are the five pillars of Islam which represent the conditions to be accepted and believed in before becoming a Muslim. Looking at these pillars of our Deen, Sahada appears to be the first of them. This position shows the importance of that pillar. In fact; God incites and invites mankind to take steps towards knowing Him. In reality, prior to any worship, Allah (swt) priorities the notion of knowledge. In other words, our Lord wants us to know Him better before we start worshipping Him. That said, man has to undertake a journey that leads him toward knowing Allah, Who created him. And this journey, if well undertaken will result in him knowing his Lord and therefore how to effectively worship Him. However, the journey will not be a successful one except that the traveller is guided by the Qur’an, which is the word of Allah. From this point of view, it can clearly be seen that the importance of knowledge highlighted by God through the declaration of faith in Islam. It therefore appears that one cannot effectively practice Islam if he or she is ignorant of Allah Who revealed it. That is the reason why this Hadith Kudsi was revealed to the prophet (saw):”Do know me before you worship ME. And how can you effectively worship ME if you do not know ME?” Thus, knowing Allah (saw) and his religion is an obligation upon all Muslim men and women. That said, the real significance of Shahada is the recognition and the acceptance of Allah, with no condition, as the Lord, the Creator of mankind, Jinns and the whole Universe, including all that it contains. This belief implies that God is the Lord Who exclusively deserves to be worshipped. It, consequently excludes any forms of polytheism. In this regard, Allah says: “Verily Allah forgives not that partners should be set up with Him (in worship), but He forgives except that (anything else) to whom He wills; and whoever set up partners with Allah (in worship), he has indeed invented a tremendous sin”.S4, V48.
Salat or prayer is the second pillar of Islam which immediately follows the declaration of faith. In fact, after one has known God, through His diverse creatures and recommendations (following His recommendations and staying away from all that He has forbidden),one can immediately understand the essence of his existence on earth. This is not but to obey and worship his Lord through the channel of His revealed religion which is Islam. In addition to that he or she must love and obey to the prophet Muhammad (saw) whom God chose to preach and propagate the Deen Al Islam. He is our prophet who taught the Ummat the five daily prayers, after he had received them from Allah. Therefore, five daily prayers have been made compulsory for all Muslims. These are: 1)Salatu Subh or the prayer of Dawn,2) Salau Zuhr or the prayer of mid-day,3) Salatul Asr or prayer of afternoon,4) Salatul Magrib or prayer of Dusk,5)Salatul Isha or prayer of the night. Again, observing these five daily prayers is obligatory as well as their prescribed times. The revelation of the Almighty is clear on that point when He says: “….Verily As-salat (the prayer) is enjoined on the believers at fixed hours”.S4,V103. However, as for the non-observance or giving up Salat, the prophet (saw) said the following: “the only difference between them (the disbelievers) and us is As-salat. And whoever gives it up, has disbelieved”. This Hadith highlights once again the importance of prayer in Islam. That said, it can be asserted that salat represents the identity of the Muslim man or woman. In the same way, the fact of abandoning prayer will make him/ her a disbeliever. Moreover, As-salat is not without merits for its performers. As merits, performing Salat on a regular basis brings the Muslim closer to the Lord by forgiving his/her sins, purifying their souls and feeding them in spirituality. This is confirmed by our truthful prophet (s.a.w) who, when addressing his companions about the merits of prayer said: “the five daily prayers are similar to a mild and abundant river that flows by the door of each of you and in which you bathe five times a day. And each bath you take purifies you of your impurities. In other words, by observing salat regularly and correctly, you get rid of sins and better your behaviour”.
Zakat, third pillar of Islam is defined, according to the Arabic language as “purification”. It is the fact for the Muslim to pay alms (Sadaqah) out of his /her wealth to the benefit of the poor and the needy. It is about deducting from one’s net economy a percentage destined to the poor, and once a year. This is a divine recommendation from Allah in order to purify your belongings. Zakat has been prescribed by Allah through this verse: “Take zakat (Alms) from their wealth in order to purify them and sanctify them with it…”S9, V103. Zakat or Sadaqat or Alms can be paid out of money, gold, crops or in nature. Zakat is compulsory as are Shahada and prayer.
Sawm or fasting the month of Ramadan is known to be the fourth pillar of Islam. This is a period of thirty (30) days, during which all Muslim men and women are recommended to observe fasting from dawn to dusk. It is also a month of penitence and devotion to Allah’s worship. Allah, the Merciful made the following revelation about this holy month: “O you who believe As-Sawm (fasting) is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may become Al-Muttaqum (the pious)”. S2.V183. The month of Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It is also a blessed month during which the Mercy and Forgiveness of Allah are closer to the believers. In fact, this is a month where the Lord gives opportunities to the believers to perform as many as good deeds in order to increase their Hassanaat and therefore, gain the paradise. That is the reason He raised one night in this month (the night of Kadar or Destiny), which is worth more than a thousand month of worship. Read sourate 97, verse 2-3.
Hajj or pilgrimage to Makkah is the fifth and the last pillar of the Deen Al Islam. Performing Hajj is a duty to be carried out by all Muslim men and women for those who have the means (finance, health). In this regard, Allah said: “… And the Hajj (pilgrimage to Makkah) to the House (Ka’bah) is a duty that mankind owes to Allah, those who can afford the expenses”. S3, V97. This is a spiritual journey to the House of the Al-Mighty Allah, and must be performed at least once in every muslim’s lifetime. Prophet Muhammad said: “pilgrimage is prescribed once in every believer’s lifetime. But whoever performs it more than once has done optional deeds. Dear brothers and sisters, the five pillars mentioned above are the pinnacle of our religion. They remain the sine qua non for embracing the Deen. Whoever, rejects one of them cannot be regarded as Muslim. Elsewhere, another aspect narrowly linked to Faith is Practice. As we all know, having faith in Allah cannot be effective until it is joined with practice. Now that we are familiar with the fundamental five pillars of Islam, the next step is to practise each and every pillar of them.We must remember that our Faith in Allah will be vain and useless if it is not joined with practice (worship Allah as recommended by Him). Allah said: “By Al-Asr (the time). Verily man is in loss, Except those who believe (in Islamic Monotheism) and do righteous good deeds, and recommend one another the Truth and recommend one another patience”. S103, V1-3.
May Allah help us understand better our Deen and may He make it easier its practice for us!
Translation: By Diomande
