The First Degree of Islam - Part One

Introduction

The five pillars of Islam are: Testifying that there is no deity worthy of worship but Allah and that Muhammad is His Messenger; performing prayer, paying Zakat, fasting in the month of Ramadan, and Hajj.

Shahadah 

Testifying that there is no deity worthy of worship save Allah and that Muhammad is His Messenger. The first part of the testimony means that there is no rightful deity on earth or in the heavens besides Him alone. He is the only true God, and all deities besides Him are false ones. It also means purifying all acts of worship for Allah alone and keeping them away from others besides Him.

The utterer of this statement cannot benefit from it until he has two things:

• To say it out of belief, knowledge, conviction, and love for it

• To disbelieve in all that is worshipped besides Allah. Whoever says this statement and does not disbelieve in all that is worshipped besides Allah, this statement will not benefit him.

Testifying that Muhammad (PBUH) is the Messenger of God means to follow him in all that he commands, to believe in all that he informs, to abstain from all that he prohibits and warns against, and to worship Allah with only what he legislates.

One must also know and bear it in mind that Muhmmad (PBUH) is Allah’s Messenger to all people, that he is only a slave of Allah and should therefore not be worshipped, but rather be obeyed and followed, that he is only a slave of Allah and should consequently not be worshipped, but rather be obeyed and followed., that whoever follows him enters Paradise and whoever disobeys him enters Hell.

One must also know and bear it in mind that, Islamic injunctions in matters of belief, acts of worship which are commanded by Allah, system of law and issues of legislation and morals in area of building a family, or in area of allowing or forbidding things, cannot be received except through this noble Prophet for he is the Messenger of Allah, who conveys His Law to mankind.

Prayer

Prayer is the second pillar of Islam. It is rather the pillar of Islam, for it is the link between man and his Lord. He repeats it five times a day, with which he renews his faith, purifies himself from stains of sin, and which stands between him and obscene things and sins. When he wakes up from sleep in the morning, he appears in front of his Lord pure and clean before he starts engaging in matters of this world.

He magnifies his Lord, affirms His absolute right to be worshipped by prostrating, standing, and bowing down to Him five times each day. Before he starts performing this prayer, he must purify his heart, body, clothes, and place of his prayer. The Muslim must perform this prayer congregationally with his fellow Muslims – if that is easy for him – while they all face their Lord with their hearts and face the honoured Ka’abah, the House of Allah, with their faces.

Prayer has been prescribed in the best form in which the Creator requires His creation to worship Him; for it contains His glorification with all parts of the body; from word of the tongue, deeds of the hands, legs, head, senses and all other parts of his body; each part taking its share of this great act of worship.

The senses and limbs take their portion from it, and the heart also takes its share. Prayer comprises exaltation to Allah, praising him, glorifying Him, and extolling Him. It also contains giving the testimony of the truth, recitation of the Quran, standing in front of his Lord who controls him, then humiliating oneself for Him in this position by begging Him with devotion and seeking His nearness.

He then goes to bowing position, prostration, and then sits down, all in submission, humility, and showing helplessness in front of His Greatness and His Might. The heart of this slave becomes broken, his body becomes humble, and all his limbs surrender with humility to his Lord. He then concludes his prayer by giving thanks to Allah and praising Him, and invoking peace and blessings on His Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), and finally asks his Lord for the good things in this world and the Hereafter.

Zakah

Zakah – obligatory charity – is the third pillar of Islam. The rich Muslims must pay Zakah from their wealth. It is a very small part of his wealth that he gives to the poor and needy, and others among those who are entitled to it.

Muslims must pay Zakah to its due recipients willingly. He should neither remind the recipient of that nor harm in whatever way on account of it. He must pay it seeking the pleasure of Allah, not desiring by that any recompense or thanks from men. He should rather pay it for the sake of Allah, not for showing off or for any fame.

Paying Zakah brings blessings and gladdens the hearts of the poor, the destitute and the needy. It prevents them from begging, and it is a compassion for them and protection against negligence and poverty that could have afflicted them if they were left by the wealthy. Paying Zakah when it is due is a quality of generosity, magnanimity, altruism, philanthropy, and compassion. 

It also means freeing oneself from traits of stingy, avaricious, and valueless people. It is by Zakah that Muslims support one another, that the wealthy show mercy on the poor, so that there will not remain in the community, if this rite is properly implemented, a poor, a subdued debtor, or a traveller who has no more provisions with him.