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THE
FAITH AND PRACTICE |
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During the earliest decades after the death of the Prophet, certain basic features of the religio-social organization of Islam were singled out to serve as anchoring points of the community's life and formulated as the "Five Pillars of Islam." The Five Pillars are
known in Arabic as ARKAN AL-ISLAM, the five duties incumbent on every
Muslim. They are: shahadah
, the Muslim profession of faith; salat
, or ritual prayer, performed in a prescribed manner five times each
day; zakat, the alms tax levied to
benefit the poor and the needy; sawm
, fasting during the month of Ramadan; and hajj,
the major pilgrimage to Mecca._ To these five, the
Khawarij sect added a sixth pillar, the jihad or holy war, which,
however, was not accepted by the general Muslim community. The profession of faith must be recited at least once in one's lifetime, aloud, correctly, and purposively, with an understanding of its meaning and with an assent from the heart. From this fundamental belief are derived beliefs in: (1) angels (particularly Gabriel, the Angel of Revelation), (2) the revealed Books (the Qur'an and the sacred books of Judeo-Christian revelation described in the Qur'an), (3) a series of prophets (among whom figures of the Judeo-Christian tradition are particularly eminent--although it is believed that God has sent messengers to every nation), and (4) the Last Day (Day of Judgment) which includes a concept of the resurrection of men.
There is disagreement among Islamic scholars, however, as to whether some passages about prayer in the Muslim sacred scripture, the Qur'an, are actually references to the salat. Within Muhammad's lifetime five ritual prayers, each preceded by ablution, were observed: salat al-fajr (dawn), az-zuhr (midday), al-'asr (afternoon), al-maghrib (sunset), and al-'isha' (evening). Under such special circumstances as illness, a journey, or war, a modification or limited postponement of these salats is allowed. Though individual performance of salat is permissible, collective worship in the mosque has special merit. With their faces turned in the direction of the shrine of the Ka'bah in Mecca, the worshipers align themselves in parallel rows behind the imam, or prayer leader, who directs them as they execute the rak'ahs (physical postures coupled with Qur'anic recitations). On Fridays, instead of the prayer just after noon, a congregational prayer (salat al-jum'ah) is offered; it includes two sermons (khutbah) delivered from the pulpit. Special congregational prayers are offered in the middle of the morning on the two festival days ('ids), one immediately following the month of fasting, Ramadan, and the other following the pilgrimage, or hajj. Although not
obligatory, individual devotional prayers, especially during the night,
are emphasized and are a common practice among pious Muslims.
On
Friday in every Islamic community the Imam calls the faithful to
prayer with the following words:
The zakat is levied on five categories of property--food grains; fruit; camels, cattle, sheep, and goats; gold and silver; and movable goods--and is payable each year after one year's possession. The tax levy required by religious law varies with the category. Recipients of the zakat include the poor and needy, the collectors themselves, and "those whose hearts it is necessary to conciliate"-- e.g., discordant tribesmen, debtors, volunteers in jihad (holy war), and pilgrims. Under the caliphates, the collection and expenditure of zakat was a function of the state. It became progressively more difficult, however, to regulate the zakat effectively or collect it in full as secular taxation increased. In the modern Muslim world it has been left up to the individual, except in such countries as Saudi Arabia, where the Shari'ah (Islamic law) is strictly maintained. The Qur'an and Hadith (sayings of Muhammad) also stress sadaqah, or voluntary almsgiving, which, like zakat, is intended for the needy.
Ramadan in Islam, is the holy month of fasting, the ninth month of the Muslim year, in which "the Qur'an was sent down as a guidance for the people" (Qur'an 2:185). In its religious function, the month is similar to the Jewish Yom Kippur inasmuch as both constitute a period of atonement; Ramadan, however, is seen less as atonement and more as an obedient response to a command from God. Muslim ordinance
prescribes abstention from food, drink, and sexual intercourse from dawn
until dusk throughout the month. The beginning and end of Ramadan are announced when one trustworthy witness testifies before the authorities that the new moon has been sighted; a cloudy sky may, therefore, delay or prolong the fast. In the Qur'an, the development of the Ramadan fast, which is one of the five Pillars, or basic institutions, of Islam, may be traced from the injunction to fast on 'Ashura' , the 10th of Muharram, probably once identical with the Jewish Day of Atonement. This injunction was abrogated by a command to fast during Ramadan (2:184).
The hajj is the fifth of the fundamental Muslim practices and institutions known as the Five Pillars of Islam. The pilgrimage rite begins on the 7th day of Dhu al-Hijjah (the last month of the Islamic year) and ends on the 12th day. The hajj is incumbent on every Muslim who is physically and financially able to make the pilgrimage, but only if his absence will not place hardships on his family. A person may perform the hajj by proxy, appointing a relative or friend going on the pilgrimage to "stand in" for him or her. The pattern of pilgrimage rites was established by the Prophet Muhammad, but variations have arisen in it, and the stringent formal itinerary is not strictly adhered to by the mass of pilgrims, who frequently visit the various Meccan sites out of their proper order. When the pilgrim is about 6 miles (10 km) from Mecca, he enters the state of holiness and purity known as ihram and dons the ihram garments, consisting of two white seamless sheets that are wrapped around the body. The pilgrim cuts neither his hair nor his nails until the pilgrimage rite is over. He enters Mecca and walks seven times around the sacred shrine called the Ka'bah, in the Great Mosque, kisses or touches the Black Stone (Hajar al-Aswad) in the Ka'bah, prays twice in the direction of the Maqam Ibrahim and the Ka'bah, and runs seven times between the minor prominences of Mount Safa and Mount Marwah. On the 7th of Dhu al-Hijjah the pilgrim is reminded of his duties. At the second stage of the ritual, which takes place between the 8th and the 12th days of the month, the pilgrim visits the holy places outside Mecca--Jabal ar-Rahmah, Muzdalifah, Mina--and sacrifices an animal in commemoration of Abraham's sacrifice. The pilgrim's head is then usually shaved, and, after throwing seven stones at each of the three pillars at Mina on three successive days (the pillars exemplify various devils), he returns to Mecca to perform the farewell tawaf, or circling, of the Ka'bah before leaving the city.About 2,000,000 persons perform the hajj each year, and the rite serves as a unifying force in Islam by bringing followers of diverse background together in religious celebration. Once a believer has
made the pilgrimage he may add the title hajji to his name. Muslims orient themselves toward this shrine during the five daily prayers, bury their dead facing its meridian, and cherish the ambition of visiting it on pilgrimage, in accord with the command of God in the Qur'an. The cube-shaped structure, constructed of gray stone and marble, is oriented so that its corners roughly correspond to the points of the compass. The interior contains nothing but the three pillars supporting the roof and a number of suspended silver and gold lamps. During most of the year the Ka'bah is covered with an enormous cloth of black brocade, the kiswah. Located in the eastern corner of the Ka'bah is the Black Stone of Mecca, whose now-broken pieces are surrounded by a ring of stone and held together by a heavy silver band. According to popular legend, this stone was given to Adam on his expulsion from paradise in order to obtain forgiveness of his sins. Legend has it that the stone was originally white but has become black by absorbing the sins of the countless thousands of pilgrims who have kissed and touched it. Every Muslim who makes the pilgrimage is required to walk around the Ka'bah seven times, during which process he kisses and touches the Black Stone. When the month of pilgrimages (Dhu al-Hijjah) is over, a ceremonial washing of the Ka'bah takes place; religious officials as well as pilgrims take part. The early history of the Ka'bah is not well known, but it is certain that in the period before the rise of Islam it was revered as a sacred sanctuary and was a site of pilgrimage. The Qur'an says of Abraham and Ishmael that they "raised the foundations" of the Ka'bah. The exact sense is ambiguous, but Muslim legend has interpreted the phrase to mean that they rebuilt a shrine first erected by Adam of which only the foundations still existed. The Ka'bah has been destroyed, damaged, and subsequently rebuilt several times. In 930 the Black Stone itself was carried away by the fanatics of the Qaramitah sect and held almost 20 years for ransom. Early in his prophetic ministry Muhammad seems to have disregarded the Ka'bah, but, after his emigration to Medina and his difficulties there with the Jews, he changed the direction toward which the prayer is recited from Jerusalem to the Ka'bah. When he took Mecca (630), he caused the pagan idols within and surrounding the sanctuary to be destroyed and had the building cleansed of the pagan pictures covering its interior. The Ka'bah has been
the focal point of Muslim piety ever since.
Islam distinguishes four ways by which the duty of jihad can be fulfilled: by the heart, the tongue, the hand, and the sword. The first consists in a spiritual purification of one's own heart by doing battle with the devil and overcoming his inducements to evil. The propagation of Islam through the tongue and hand is accomplished in large measure by supporting what is right and correcting what is wrong. The fourth way to fulfill one's duty is to wage war physically against unbelievers and enemies of the Islamic faith. Those who professed belief in a divine revelation--Christians and Jews in particular--were given special consideration. They could either embrace Islam or at least submit themselves to Islamic rule and pay a poll and land tax. If both options were rejected, jihad was declared. Modern Islam places special emphasis on waging war with one's inner self. It sanctions war with other nations only as a defensive measure when the faith is in danger. Throughout Islamic history, wars against non-Muslims, even though with political overtones, were termed jihads to reflect their religious flavor. This was especially true in the 18th and 19th centuries in Muslim Africa south of Sahara, where religio-political conquests were seen as jihads, most notably the jihad of Usman dan Fodio, which established the Sokoto caliphate (1804) in what is now northern Nigeria.
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