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I AM A MUSLIMMY FAITH FUNDAMENTALS
By: Abu Ammar SalimI am a
Muslim
and I follow
Islam
as my religion. The very word Islam is derivedfrom the Arabic word
“SILM”
which means Peace and Islam means to submit to the willof God.
 
Its full connotation is
“Perfect peace that comes when one’s life issurrendered to God”.
The teachings of Islam are based on the principal of attainment of  peace and bring about equality in the society
.
Like Christianity and Jewish religions,Islam is also a divine religion that was revealed to the last Prophet
MUHAMMAD
(May peace and blessing of Allah be on him). The followers of Islam are called
Muslims
and presently it is followed by about 1.5 billion people in the world which is increasing by asizeable number each year. Islam is a misunderstood religion and projected by the mediaas a terrorist bunch of people whereas it is a religion of peace and every teaching of Islamleads its followers towards attaining peace and purity in life. The fact that the present rateof conversions into Islam, despite the misleading propaganda of the media, is a sign thatthe message of peace and equality is accepted by those who see to it with a logical andun-biased mind. Islam teaches peace, binds its followers to stay on the path to peace andits entire effort is to build a society based on equality, justice and peace.Every religion has a set of fundamental beliefs which distinguishes it from other religions. These beliefs form the foundation over which the entire religious structure issupported. These fundamentals or basic teachings are to be understood, believed and practiced so as to be a true follower. Islam has five faith pillars and they are,a.Eemaan. ( The Faith ) b.Salah.( The prayer)c.Saum. ( The Fasting)d.Zakat. ( The Alms)e.Hajj. ( The Pilgrimage)Let us now look into these five Pillars briefly and understand what Islam impliesto be and what it wishes its followers to become. Islam actually strives to build a societyof followers based on peace and equality for every one. It provides a complete code of conduct encompassing all essentials of the life and guides them towards betterment in theworldly life and reward in the life hereafter.
EEMAAN
.Eemaan is the Faith. This is most basic essential that must beunderstood with absolute clarity and also must sink deep within as the primary root of a plant. This is the conviction that must always be alive within a Muslim with every breathof his life till the end. This faith base gives rise to various other branches which wouldencompass the entire behavior pattern and supplement with a code of conduct for aMuslim society. All the acts and practices are based on this single basic fact of 
 
ONENESS OF ALLAH AND THE PROPHETHOOD OF MUHAMMAD
(May peace and blessing of Allah be on him).a.Oneness of Allah implies that1)He is one alone and there is none like Him and He alone is our Lord.2)He does not associate any partners and has sole sovereignty over everything in the universe.3)He is neither begotten nor begets.4)He is eternal whereas everything else has an end.5)He is the creator of the universe and every thing in it.6)None other than Him is worthy of worship.7)He legislates and His orders are final and binding.8)He is all powerful, does what He wishes and nothing escapes Hisvision and knowledge.9)He is very kind and loving and forgives sins if repented.10)One day this universe will come to an end on His orders and everyone will be resurrected and brought before Him for accountabilityand justice. b.When we accept the Prophet hood of MUHAMMAD ( May peace and blessing of Allah be on him), we understand and believe that,1)Allah created us and sent messengers from time to time to guidethe human race to the right path that He chose us to follow.2)All messengers from Adam to Christ (May peace and blessing of Allah be on all of them), were sent with or without a book to guidethe human race essentially on the same path chosen by Allah.3)Muhammad (May peace and blessing of Allah be on him) is thelast messenger and the message brought by him is the last messagefor all times to come. The message of Allah is contained in the“Holy Quraan”, revealed to the prophet and is the guidance for mankind.4)Obedience to the last messenger is mandatory, the book revealed tohim is the law and authority and the conduct of his life a guidancefor Muslims for all times to come.When a person is convinced with the faith factors discussed above, he proclaimsSHADAH or give evidence in these words to enter into Islam,
“I testify that there is nogod but Allah and Muhammad (May peace and blessings be on him) is His servantand prophet”.
The moment a person testifies the Shahadah he becomes a Muslim andforthwith all the Muslim Laws become mandatory for him to follow,
SALAH.
Salah is the prayer, offered to show obedience to Allah. A Muslimhas to pray or offer Salah five times in a day at the appointed time as under,a.At day break before sun rise. b.At noon after sun passes its peak.c.Before sunset.
 
d.After sunset.e.At night.These five times prayer is mandatory and is offered facing the direction of 
“THEKABAH”
which is the house of Allah in Makkah. Before the start of a prayer a Muslimmust clean himself, wear clean clothes and stand at a clean place. A prayer can be offeredalone or in a congregation either in a Masjid( Mosque) or anywhere in an open or closed place. The form of prayer consists of standing in a composed posture and reciting someverses from the Quran, bowing down, kneeling and prostrating. In a Salah, a person praises Allah, asks for forgiveness of sins and seeks His guidance. If a Muslim misses a prayer of one time for some reason, he has to make it good by praying the same atanother convenient time. This act of obedience and prayer is to show gratitude to theCreator five times a day and reminds a Muslim of his duties to Allah. A Muslim worshipsHim alone and seeks His guidance in all walks of life and asks for pardon and forgivenessof his sins. In return he gets purified and he is guided to piety and serenity.
SAUM
.Saum is fasting in the month of RAMADAN, which is the ninthmonth of Islamic calendar. Every sane adult Muslim, male or female is required to fastfrom morning till evening throughout the day for the entire month. Fasting means toabstain from eating, drinking, sex and all evil deeds prohibited by Allah. During fastingone must adhere to what Allah has ordained and refrain from indulgence of acts forbidden by Allah. Fast is broken at sunset and from now unto the beginning of next fast at dawn,one is free to eat, drink and go to his wife. This act of worship is considered very high inthe eyes of Allah and He has promised to reward it Himself as He pleased. Fasting in themonth of Ramadan, if observed in pure serenity and with a will to obey Allah’scommandments, it brings tolerance to hardships, learn patience, remove lust of worldlymaterials and know how to be truly obedient to his Creator.
ZAKAT
.Zakat is a monetary form of worship. Every adult and sane Muslimman and woman has to pay Zakat once every year for the wealth he/she possesses. TheZakat is to be collected from the rich and distributed amongst the poor and less privileged people. This is a means to care for the poor and an effort to comfort the less fortunatewho can not earn enough to cater for the needs of their families and also a means to purify the wealth. Zakat is to be calculated on the following things possessed at the endof the year,a.Gold b.Silver c.Agricultural produced.Live Stock e.Mineralsf.Items of Tradeg.Any buried treasure recoveredThe amount of Zakat is calculated separately for all of the items mentioned above at ratesvarying from 2.5% for the cost of Gold and Silver to 20% on Mineral productions. Zakatis not a Tax as Income Tax or Sales Tax etc now in vogue, but it is an important andmandatory worship for a Muslim. Denial to pay Zakat castes a Muslim out of the
of 00

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