The First Degree of Islam - Part Two

Fasting

It is to fast in the month of Ramadan from dawn to sunset. The fasting Muslim abandons food, drink, sexual intercourse, and similar things as an act of worship for Allah and curbs his soul from fulfilling its desires. Allah has relieved the sick, the traveller, the pregnant woman, the nursing mother, and a woman who has just delivered a baby from fasting. He ordained for each of them rules that suit him or her.

In this month, a Muslim curbs his self from his desires and this act of worship will bring his soul out of the animal-like world to a world similar to that of angels who are near to Allah. The situation of a fasting Muslim may reach a stage where he thinks like someone who does not need in this world more than to achieve the pleasure of Allah.

Fasting enlightens the heart, makes one renounce the world, encourages the one to seek what is with Allah, and reminds the wealthy of the poor ones and their conditions so that their hearts may have sympathy for them and know that they are living in the favour of Allah and therefore should increase in gratitude to him.

Fasting purifies the soul and creates in it the fear of Allah. It makes individuals and the society feel the control of Allah on them in bliss and hardship and in public and secret; where the society spends a whole month observing this act of worship and being conscious of its Lord; while being spurred by the fear of Allah, the Exalted, by a belief that Allah knows what is hidden and secret, that man will inevitably stand before Him a day in which He will him about all his deeds: minor and major.

Hajj

It is the pilgrimage to the House of Allah in Makkah. It is obligatory on every Muslim who is adult, sane and capable, who possesses or can afford to hire means of transportation to Makkah and also possesses what is sufficient for him to live on throughout his journey with a condition that his provision should be an excess of the provision of those who are his dependents. He should also be sure that the road is safe and must ensure the sincerity of his dependents while he is away. Hajj is compulsory once in a lifetime for whoever is able to perform it.

One who intends to do the Hajj should repent to Allah so that his soul can be free from the filth of sins. When he reaches Makkah and other holy sites, he carries out he rites of Hajj as an act of worship and glorification for Allah. He must know that the Ka’abah, as well as other sites, should not be worshipped beside Allah, for they neither benefit nor harm. He should also know that had Allah not commanded the Muslims to embark on the Hajj pilgrimage to that House, it would not have been proper for any Muslim to do that.

In the Hajj pilgrimage, the pilgrim wears two white garments. The Muslims gather from all parts of the world at one place, wearing one garment and worshipping one God, with no difference between the leader and the led; the rich and the poor; the white and the black. All are creatures of Allah and His slaves. There is no superiority for a Muslim over another Muslim except by piety and good deeds.

By Hajj, Muslims achieve cooperation and mutual recognition, they remember the Day that Allah will raise all of them and gather them at a single place for reckoning, they thereby prepare for what is after death through acts of obedience to Allah.

Worship in Islam

It is to worship Allah in meaning and reality. Allah is the Creator, and you are the creature; you are the slave, and He is the One whom you worship. If that is the case, man must then follow the Straight Path of Allah in this life and follow His Law and the Path of His Messengers. Allah has ordained great laws for His slaves, like belief in His Oneness, performing prayers, paying Zakah, observing fasting, and performing Hajj.

However, the above-mentioned are not the only acts of worship in Islam. Worship in Islam is more comprehensive with deeds and sayings, apparent or hidden. So, every work or saying that you do or say that Allah loves and is pleased with is worship. Even every good habit that you do, intending to please Allah, is worship.

Your good relationship with your father, family, spouse, children, and neighbours, if you seek that by the pleasure of Allah, is worship. Your good conduct at home, in the market, and office, done for the sake of Allah, is worship. Fulfilling the trust, being truthful and just, abstention from harming others, giving assistance to the weak, earning from lawful means, spending for family and children, consoling the poor, visiting the sick, feeding the hungry, and aiding the wronged are all acts of worship if done for the sake of Allah.

Conclusion

So, all deeds that you do either for yourself, family the society, or your country in which you intend to win the pleasure of Allah are acts of worship. Even to fulfill your passion lawfully is worship if you do that with a good intention. The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said the following:

• “Even if any one of you satiates his sexual desires, that is an act of charity. The Companions said, ‘O Messenger of Allah! Would any of us satiate his lust and still get a reward?’ He answered, ‘Tell me, if he has done that unlawfully, would he not have sinned? Likewise, if he does it lawfully, he would get a reward.” (Sahih Muslim 1006)

• “Every Muslim must pay charity. He was asked, ‘What if he does not find what to pay charity with?’ He said, ‘He works with two hands, benefits himself by that, and then pays charity. ‘He was asked again, ‘But how if he is not able?’ He said, ‘He should assist the needy who are wronged. ‘He was again asked, ‘But how if he is not able?’ He answered, ‘He enjoins all that is good.’ And he was asked once more, ‘But how, if he is not able to do that?’ He answered, ‘He refrains from doing evil, for that also is for him, an act of charity’. (Sahih Bukhari 1445 and Sahih Muslim 1008)