THE ELEMENTS OF ISLAM
(Excerpts Only)

By: Shaykh Fadhlalla Haeri

Chapter 3
The Fundamentals of Islam

And [as for] the believing men and the believing women, they are guardians of each other; they enjoin good and forbid evil and keep up prayer and pay the poor-rate, and obey Allah and His apostle; Allah will show mercy to them, surely Allah is Mighty, Wise.

Qur`an 9:71

Based on self-discipline, Islam provides a complete way of transacting with oneself and with creation. If the individual is humble, in submission and in harmony with God's decree -- which encapsulates both the visible and invisible worlds -- then his or her behavior will at all times be constructive and appropriate. ...

The Din is based first on acceptance of and submission to God. This is called Islam. Then follows the application of all the Islamic teachings so that faith and trust in Allah (in English, we call Him God) govern every action and intention. This step is called iman. When Islam and iman have taken hold so that a person behaves and acts in the knowledge that although they do not see God, God sees their every act and intent, then the state of ihsan has been reached.

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The outer practices of the Din of Islam are founded upon the affirmation (Shahadah) of the ultimate truth that there is only one God, and that Muhammad is a Prophet of God. After a time this declaration becomes a firm belief, an experienced certainty, and a spiritual 'looking-glass' through which one sees all outer realities in their multiplicity. With this vision the faithful will realize how all these experiences and creations emanate from one source, and that to retain this clear focus one must remain within the prophetic bounds that protect one from confusing and misleading distractions.

Establishing oneself within the arena of the prophetic code of conduct begins with regular, timely acknowledgement of the One and Only All-Encompassing Creator through the practice of prayer (Salât). The unique form of this prayer was revealed to the Prophet. Salât is to be performed at least five times a day and is regarded as the noblest and supreme act of virtue. The other obligatory acts include alms-giving (Zakat), regular fasting (Sawm), the obligatory fast being the month of Ramadan, and pilgrimage ( Hajj ). The minimum amounts or percentage of wealth given as Zakat are fixed, there being no limit on the maximum amounts. Fasting is a great vigil that purifies the physical body, refines one's higher senses, and deepens sensitivity towards all creation. Pilgrimage is the symbolic act of abandoning the world, returning to it only after having shed all one's desires. The ritual of Hajj brings a deep and populous cross-section of humanity together in one spot at a specific time in order to glorify the One Creator.

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The Creed (Shahadah)

The testimony that there is no god but Allah, and that Muhammad is the Messenger of God, begins on the tongue. It is confirmed by the purified and sincere heart until it becomes the pivotal point in one's life, leading to personal transformation. The creed means witnessing that every situation emanates from the One Source and that one is always therefore dependent on that Source for guidance, knowledge, protection and direction.

The proclamation and realization of 'la ilaha illa 'Llah' (there is no god but Allah) and 'Muhammadun rasulu 'Llah' (Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah) form the very foundation of the Din. From One Essence have come numerous attributes and actions. The path of enlightenment is rooted in the truth that God is the Only Source of life, and of all creational manifestation culminating in the human being, who is in potential God's representative in this world.

Thousands of messengers and prophets in different communities, tribes and nations and at different times in history have proclaimed the same reality with appropriate rules and laws governing interactive behavior. ...

The final seal of all these Messengers is the Prophet Muhammad. According to the Qur`an this message is not for any specific people nor for any specific time or geographical area, but for the posterity of all humanity. This last message of Islam encompasses all other prophetically revealed messages with the fullest dimension of perfected outer laws that can be applied by everyone wherever and whenever.

All vital acts of worship in Islam are based on the Qur`an and the prophetic practices (Sunnah), especially those established during the last years of the Prophet's life in Medina. These acts possess numerous understandable benefits as well as more subtle values and meanings. ...

Prayer (Salat)

The primary act of worship in Islam is that of prayer. The Qur`an enjoins all the faithful to 'keep up prayer; surely prayer is a timed ordinance for the believers' (4:103). Muslims from earlier days based their prayer on the prophetic practice of five prayers during the three periods of the day: daybreak, noon and mid-afternoon, after sunset and at night. The prayer is preceded by a simple ritual washing (wudu), which symbolizes purification of the limbs (actions) and renunciation of any action other than that which is based an the intention to worship and know God.

The Salat is performed in a precise order based on three specific postures: standing, bowing and prostrating. These three movements are considered the fundamental pillars of the practice of Salat, and each position possesses inner meanings. While one stands in wonderment and adoration, one is calling upon the mercy of God. When one realizes the immensity of divine power one is so awe-struck that one bows in the face of such majesty. And finally one disappears from existence -- all that is other than God -- by prostrating oneself. In prostration one's individual profile and locus of sensory experience (the face) is obliterated in the dust of the earth. As all sensual awareness recedes, inner awareness is enhanced.

The Qur`an describes those who are faithful as being in a perpetual state of Salat (70:23). It is not the ritual that is implied here but what the regular ritual imparts in outer action to the person of inner serenity and appropriate orientation.

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Fasting (Sawm)

O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you, as it was for those before you, so that you may guard [against evil].

Qur`an 2:183

Fasting was practiced in all those communities which had a Messenger or Prophet. The fasting described in the Qur`an involves abstention from all intake of food or drink from dawn to sunset during one specific month of the year (Ramadan, the ninth month of the Muslim year). The Prophet fasted regularly throughout the year and recommended that all Muslims should do so. During the last years of his life it is known that he fasted for at least three days of every month.

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The benefits of the fast are numerous, ranging from physiological to mental and spiritual benefits, bringing about greater awareness and sensitivity towards oneself and creation.

Charity (Zakat)

And keep up the prayer and pay the poor-rate and whatever good you send before yourselves, you shall find it with Allah; surely Allah sees what you do.

Qur`an 2:110

The root of the word Zakat means to purify and to increase. Charity or alms-giving is obligatory to every Muslim. Originally Zakat was a tax levied on a certain quantity of specified items, such as wheat, barley, dates, raisins, gold, silver and cattle. When a threshold in the quantity of these goods was exceeded then Zakat became obligatory.

In the present-day world where most people's income takes the form of money rather than the above-mentioned goods, most Muslims pay the equivalent of around two and a half per cent of their income in Zakat as a precaution.

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Additional charity and alms-giving is of course encouraged by the Qur`an and Sunnah, and there are no set limits. Muslims are enjoined to share whatever they have with others -- the Prophet says: 'He is not a Muslim who sleeps in a town where there are hungry people.' In today's world where communication and mobility have created a global village the present equivalent of a town of yesteryear is the whole world. It is therefore the duty of every Muslim to share and care for all humanity, because nowadays we are aware of their plight.

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Pilgrimage (Hajj)

And pilgrimage to the House is incumbent upon people for the sake of God Alone, [upon] everyone who is able to undertake the journey to it ...

Qur`an 3:97

The Arabs have performed a ritual pilgrimage around the Ka'bah in the sacred precinct in Mecca from time immemorial. Christians, Jews and many others also brought their offerings and joined in circumambulating the Ka'bah. The Prophet performed the full Islamic Hajj only once and that was during the last year of his life.

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... the fast walk between the two hillocks called Safa and Marwa (symbols of caution and hope), relating to the flight of Hagar, the Prophet Abraham's wife, in her search for water for her son Ishmael. One of the inner meanings of this enactment is a replay of what we do every day of our lives thinking that our desired object of salvation lies somewhere else we constantly run hither and thither.

On the eighth day of the month of Hajj the pilgrim must stand on the hill of Arafat a few miles to the east of the Ka`bah from around midday until sunset. Arafat comes from the word meaning 'common knowledge' or 'naturally understandable'. The word in Arabic for 'good deed' is also derived from the same root. Yet another related word is 'irfan, which means gnosis or knowledge of God. To gather with the mass of humanity on the hills of Arafat, asking for enlightenment and salvation, is the highest act of worship.

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Apart from the spiritual benefits to the individual, Hajj is also a major social, cultural and political market-place of universal proportion. It is here that all Muslims meet, greet, interact and embrace each other. The physical and symbolic point of unity, the Black Stone, witnesses and records their parting kiss.

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Please also see "Pilgrimage of Islam -- Encompassing the Five Schools of Though"

Struggle in the Way of Good (Jihad)

Whoever strives hard, he strives only for his own soul; most surely God is Self-sufficient, above need of the worlds.

Qur`an 29:6

Striving, struggling and doing one's best in order to achieve a worthy objective are all necessary conditions for human improvement and development. The root word of jihad is derived from the verb meaning to strive, struggle and exert the utmost energy.

Enjoined upon all Muslims, jihad has a hierarchy starting from the Greater jihad , which is against oneself and one's lower tendencies (ranging from lust to greed and all other animalistic inclinations). The Greater jihad is self-purification and inner preparation for the appropriate condition that will lead to correct inspiration and guidance from within - a prelude to greater awakening and enlightenment.

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Enjoining Good and Forbidding Evil

I swear by Time, Most surely man is in loss, except those who believe and do good and enjoin on each other truth sort enjoin on each other patience.

Qur`an 104:1-3