The pillars of Islam

 The pillars of Islam   

 

 Allah has stated in Aya (85) of Surat Ali Imran that whoever seeks other than Islam as religion and follows a path other than what Allah has legislated for His servants, it will not be accepted from him on the day of resurrection, and he will be among the losers in the Hereafter as he will be among the companions of Hellfire, so there is nothing permissible except what Allah has made lawful, there is nothing forbidden except what He has forbidden, and there is no religion except what He has legislated, and Allah has made Islam a precise structure with five pillars, which are the foundations that support that structure, where the Messenger of Allah Muhammad (PBUH) said in narration of Ibn Umar: "Islam has been built on five: testifying that there is no God but Allah, and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, establishing the prayer, paying the Zakah (Obligatory charity), performing pilgrimage (Hajj to Mecca), and fasting the month of Ramadan" (Sahih Albukhari 8).

 And as narrated by Abu Hurayrah: "A Bedouin came to the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) and said Messenger of Allah! Direct me to a deed by which I may be entitled to enter Paradise, upon this He remarked you worship Allah and never associate anything with Him, establish the obligatory prayer, pay the Zakah which is incumbent upon you, and observe the fast of Ramadan, he said By the One in whose Hand is my soul! I will never add anything to it, nor will I diminish anything from it, when he turned his back, the Prophet (PBUH) said he who is pleased to see a man from the dwellers of Paradise should catch glimpse of him" (Sahih Muslim 14 b).

 So the first pillar of Islam is Shahada: testifying that there is no God but Allah, and that Muhammad (PBUH) is the Messenger of Allah, and they are one pillar because they are inseparable from each other, and they indicate that the servant acknowledged the Oneness of Allah, that He alone is worthy of worship with no partner, and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah and the seal of the Prophets, and Allah's Messenger Muhammad (PBUH) said in narration of Anas bin Malik: "Whoever possesses the following three qualities will have the sweetness of faith, the one to whom Allah and His Messenger become dearer than anything else, who loves a person only for the sake of Allah, and who hates to revert to atheism as he hates to be thrown into the fire" (Sahih Albukhari 16).

 The second pillar of Islam is performing the prayer in its prescribed time for it is upon the believers a decree of specified times as Allah has stated in Aya (103) of Surat Alnisa', and the prayer is the greatest pillar of Islam after Shahada, and it is obligatory for every sane adult Muslim, male or female. Prayer is five times a night and a day: Dawn prayer (Fajr), Noon prayer (Dhuhr), Afternoon prayer (Asr), Sunset prayer (Maghrib), and Evening prayer (Ishaa). Prayer is a distinct line between belief and disbelief, where Allah's Messenger Muhammad (PBUH) said in narration of Jabir bin Abdullah: "Between a man and polytheism and disbelief is abandoning prayer" (Sahih Muslim 82).  

 The third pillar of Islam is paying the Zakah (Obligatory charity), and it is obligatory when the wealth reaches the Nisab of Zakah and the Hijri year passes on it, and the Nisab of Zakah imposed on gold is estimated at the current weight approximately eighty-five grams of 21 karat, and the Nisab of Zakah imposed on silver is two hundred Dirhams of silver, which is five hundred and ninety-five grams of silver according to the current weight, but as for saved money and currencies other than gold and silver, its Nisab is estimated by the value of the Nisab of gold or silver, and then the Zakah will be a quarter of tenth i,e, 2.5% of money or the value of gold and silver at the current market price, and Allah has threatens those who hoard gold and silver and do not spend it in the way of Allah with a painful punishment on the day of resurrection as He has stated in Aya (34) of Surat Altawbah, and Allah's Messenger Muhammad (PBUH) said in narration of Abu Hurayrah ''If any owner of gold or silver does not pay what is due on it, when the day of resurrection would come, plates of fire would be beaten out for him, these would then be heated in the fire of Hell and his sides, his forehead, and his back would be cauterized with them. Whenever these cool down, they would be repeated during a day the extent of which would be fifty thousand years, until Judgement is pronounced among servants, and he sees whether his path is to take him to Paradise or to Hell" (Sahih Muslim 987). 

  The fourth pillar of Islam is performing the pilgrimage (Hajj), and it is obligatory once in a lifetime for every sane adult Muslim, a male or a female, on the condition that he is able to perform the Hajj, whether financially or health-wise as Allah says in Aya (97) of Surat Ali Imran "And to Allah from the people is a pilgrimage to the House for whoever is able to find a way to it". Hajj to Mecca expiates the sins on the condition that the Muslim does not commit sins or forbidden acts during Hajj, and the forbidden acts during Hajj are no sexual relations, no disobedience, and no disputing during Hajj as Allah has stated in Aya (197) of Surat Albaqarah, and Allah's Messenger (PBUH) said in narration of Abu Hurayrah: "Whoever performs Hajj to the House (Ka'bah), and does not approach his wife for sexual relations nor does he commit sins, he will come out as sinless as the day on which his mother had begotten him" (Sahih Albukhari 1820).

 The fifth pillar of Islam is fasting the month of Ramadan, and it is obligatory for every sane adult Muslim, where Allah says in Aya (185) of Surat Albaqarah: "The month of Ramadan in which the Quran was revealed, a guidance for the people, and clear proofs of guidance and criterion, so whoever sights the month, Let him fast it, and whoever who is ill or on a journey, then an equal number of other days", and Allah's Messenger (PBUH) gave glad tiding of forgiveness of sins for he who fasts the month of Ramadan out of belief in Allah's command, knowing that it is obligatory, fearing the punishment of neglecting it, and hoping for a great reward from Allah for his fasting, where as narrated by Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet (PBUH) said: "Whoever fasted the month of Ramadan out of sincere faith, and hoping for a reward from Allah, then all his past sins will be forgiven, and whoever stood for prayers in the night of Qadr out of sincere faith and hoping for a reward from Allah, then his all past sins will be forgiven" (Sahih Albukhari 2014).