What Is Islam? Beliefs, Principles and a Way of Life
Acts of Worship
6-ISLAMIC ACTS OF WORSHIP
Question:
What is the meaning of worship?
Answer:
Worship are those things that Islam has made obligatory and must be performed with the intention of seeking nearness or closeness to God Almighty.
Question:
What is meant by the intention of seeking nearness to God?
Answer:
It means that the action should be performed only for the sake of God and this intention distinguishes acts of worship and the other obligatory acts, because worship requires the intention of seeking nearness to God whereas acts which are not worship, but which are considered a means of gaining access to God’s mercy, may be performed without that specific intention.
Question:
Give an example of both:
Answer:
For example, offering prayers is an act of worship and they are not valid without the intention of seeking nearness to God but washing an item of clothing to make it pure is not worship and therefore can be done without that intention.
Question:
Why is worship conditional upon the intention of drawing near to God?
Answer:
Firstly, because worship is obedience to God Almighty and complete obedience cannot be expressed unless the act of worship is performed solely for the sake of God. Secondly, worship elevates the soul and so if man continually remembers God and realizes that he is in the presence of his Lord who is the Great, the Powerful, the All-Seeing and All-Hearing, undoubtedly he will be granted an excellence of character which will lead him towards the highest spirituality and noblest conduct and will distance him from bad things, whether they be attitudes of mind or actual deeds.
PRAYING
Question:
What are the Islamic acts of worship?
Answer:
The most important Islamic acts of worship are prayers, fasting, khums, zakat, jihad and hajj. Since this book has been written in order to provide a brief introduction to Islam, we will forgo an explanation of the wisdom and reasons behind these acts of worship and so anyone who wishes to know about these aspects should refer to our book entitled “Islamic Acts of Worship”1.
Question:
What are prayers? How many units do they have and what else is involved?
Answer:
Prayers are of two kinds: obligatory prayers and recommended prayers.
Question:
Which are the obligatory prayers?
Answer:
Obligatory prayers are performed in the following sequence:
- Dawn prayer (called fajr or subh). This has two units2, and its time is from dawn to sunrise.
1 ‘Ibadat al-Islam, 3rd printing, Beirut, 1994.
2 Each unit (or raka‘) consists (briefly) of standing, bowing and then two prostrations. 2. Noon or Midday prayer (called dhuhr): four units, and its time is from the passing of the sun from the middle of the sky of the country where you happen to be until shortly before the sun sets beneath the horizon.1
Afternoon prayer (called ‘asr): four units, and its time is from after the noon prayer until the setting of the sun beneath the horizon.
Sunset prayer (called maghrib): three units, and its time is from sunset, which means in this case when the redness in the sky has passed from above one’s head (that is about a quarter of an hour after the actual sunset), until shortly before the middle of the night2.
Evening prayer (called ‘isha’): four units, and its time is from after the sunset prayer until the middle of the night.
Question:
Do prayers while travelling differ from prayers in the place of residence?
Answer:
Yes. Prayers while travelling are “qasr - shortened” that is the midday (dhuhr), afternoon (‘asr) and evening (‘isha’) prayers should each be performed in two units like the dawn (fajr) prayer3.
Question:
How is the prayer divided up?
Answer:
It is divided up as follows:
Saying Allahu akbar4, after first having made the intention. 1 to the extent that there is still time for the afternoon prayer. 2 so that there is time to prayer the evening prayer. Night here is defined as being the time from sunset (in the prayer sense) until the beginning of dawn. 3 Note that the sunset prayer is not shortened. 4 God is great.
The reading of the first chapter (sura) of the Qur’an (al- Fatiha), and any one other chapter, while standing.
Bowing with its specific invocation1.
Standing upright again after bowing.
Two prostrations with their specific invocation2, respectively, and sitting up between the two prostrations.
Standing up straight again, then the recitation of al- Fatiha and any other sura (just like 2 above) followed by the Qunut prayers3 which are recommended but not obligatory.
Then bowing and standing up straight, after bowing; two prostrations (just like 5 above) and sitting back; then the saying of the tashahhud4 and the salam5.
That is the way to pray two units. As for prayers of three or four units, however, in the third and fourth unit instead of reciting al- Fatiha and any other sura, special praises to God are recited6.
Question:
What are the conditions of prayers?
Answer:
The conditions of prayers are as follows:
To stand facing the Qibla7.
Cleanliness of dress, the body and the place of prostration.
1 Subhana rabbiyal-‘adhim wa-bi-hamdih.
2 Subhana rabbiyal-a‘la wa-bi-hamdih.
3 As, for instance, Allahumma salli ‘ala Muhammadin wa-Aali Muhammad; Rabbana atina fi ’d-dunya hasanatan wa-fi ’l-akhirati hasanatan wa-qina ‘adhab an-nar [2: 201]; Rabbana amanna bi-ma anzalta wa-ttaba‘n-ar-rasula fa-ktubna ma‘-ash-shahidin [3: 53].
4 Which includes ( among other invocations) testifying (hence tashahhud) to the Divine Unity and the Prophethood of Muhammad and invoking the peace and blessings of God upon him and his progeny.
5 As-salam ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullahi wa-barakatuh.
6 Subhanallah; wa-’l –hamdulillah; wa-la ilaha illa -’llah; wa-’llahu akbar (thrice).
7 i.e. in the direction of Makka.
Being in the state of purification by means of ablutions (wudu’)1 or ghusl2 or tayammum3.
The clothes of the person praying and the place of prayer must have been lawfully acquired.
Not doing anything which nullifies the prayers while they are being performed as, for example, flatulence and so on, laughing, or turning away from the Qibla.
Question:
Are there other prayers besides the daily prayers which Islam has made obligatory?
Answer:
Yes.
The prayer over the deceased.
The prayer at the time of wondrous or fearful happenings (salat al-ayat)4.
The prayer after the circumambulation (tawaf)5.
Prayers performed on behalf of a dead person, if an individual is obliged to do them.
Prayers said after a vow.
There is a particular way to pray each of these other obligatory prayers and books on jurisprudence should be consulted for details.
Question:
Which are the prayers which are particularly recommended?
Answer:
There are many recommended prayers, for instance:-
1 Washing the face and arms, and wiping the head and wiping the feet.
2 Pouring water over the whole body.
3 Using clean earth when no water is available.
4 For instance at the time of a solar or lunar eclipse (whether full or partial), earthquakes, hurricanes and so on.
5 i.e. the tawaf around the Holy Ka‘ba in Makka at the time of Hajj or ‘Umra.
Daily supererogatory prayers (nawafil)1.
The special prayers for the month of Ramadan.
Recommended prayers on sacred days like religious festivals.
Prayers which have been narrated by the Prophet and the pure Imams, which they themselves used to perform and which are known by their names as, for instance, the Prayer of the Prophet (God’s blessings and peace be upon him and his progeny) and the Prayer of ‘Ali (peace be upon him).
Prayers which are recommended in various circumstances such as prayers when visiting holy shrines (either physically or at a distance), the special prayer to beseech Almighty God for rain (istisqa’), and the prayer of one who is in a state of fear.
FASTING
Question:
What is fasting?
Answer:
Fasting is keeping away from anything that will break the fast which is from the beginning of dawn until sunset.
Question:
How many different kinds of fasts are there?
Answer:
Fasts are of four kinds:
Compulsory fasts, such as the fast of the month of Ramadan.
Recommended fasts such as the fast of the month of Rajab2.
1 Before and after the five obligatory prayers.
2 The seventh month of the Muslim calendar.
Disapproved fasts like fasting on the day of ‘Ashura1.
Forbidden fasts such as fasting on the Festival (‘Id) of al-Fitr and the Festival of al-Adha.2
Question:
How many days is it obligatory to fast in the month of Ramadan?
Answer:
For a Muslim on whom it is incumbent to fast, he or she must fast for a complete month, that is the month of Ramadan, which is the ninth month of the lunar calendar, the first month being al- Muharram.
Question:
What are the things to which you have alluded that will break the fast and so it is obligatory to abstain from them?
Answer:
They are 10 in number:-
Eating.
Drinking.
Sexual Intercourse.
Masturbation.
Remaining in a state of ritual impurity until after the beginning of dawn.3
Injection of a liquid.
Enabling thick powder or dust to reach the throat.
Dipping the head completely in water.
Vomiting.
1 The tenth day of al-Muharram on which day is commemorated the martyrdom of Imam al- Husayn (peace be upon him), the grandson of the Holy Prophet (God’s blessings and peace be upon him and his progeny).
2 Al-Fitr is the day after the fast of Ramadan and al-Adha is the 10th of the Islamic month of Dhu ’l-Hijja.
3 i.e. being in a state of janaba, which requires a complete wash (ghusl).
- To ascribe deliberately words or deeds which are false, to God, the Prophet or the 12 Imams.
Question:
If someone deliberately does not fast for a day, how can he requite himself?
Answer:
The requital for such a person is threefold :
After the month of Ramadan he must fast for a day, in lieu of that day.
He must make an expiation which must be one of the following three things:
a. He should fast for two months successively, without a break.
b. He should feed 60 poor persons.
c. He should procure freedom for a believing slave.
- The Muslim jurist will chastise him for committing this transgression.
KHUMS and ZAKAT
Question:
What is khums?
Answer:
Khums consists of giving away twenty percent of income for the cause of God2.
Question:
From what income should khums be given?
1 If he does not do 1 and 2.
2 See Qur’an (8: 41): “And know that whatever thing you gain (ghanimtum), a fifth of it (khumusahu) is for God, the Messenger, the near of kin, the orphans, the destitute and the wayfarer, if you believe in God and in that which we revealed to our slave [‘abdina, i.e. Muhammad]………….”.
Answer:
From seven things:
Booty from war.
Things that have been acquired by means of diving in the seas.
Mineral ore.
Profits and gains.
Land that a non-Muslim buys from a Muslim.
A halal (lawful or religiously permissible) gain which has been mixed with a haram (unlawful or religiously forbidden) gain.
Treasure.
Question:
To whom should khums be paid?
Answer:
A part of the khums should be paid to the Muslim jurist so that he may expend it according to Islamic activities as seems fit to him. The remainder is expended by the person concerned for helping orphans, poor people and needy travellers, from among the descendants of the Prophet (God’s blessings and peace be upon him and his progeny).
Question:
What is zakat?
Answer:
Zakat consists of the payment of a portion of certain assets for the cause of God.
Question:
From what things should zakat be paid?
Answer:
From three categories:-
The three groups of grazing livestock: cows, sheep and goats and camels.
The four types of grains: dates, raisins, wheat and barley.
Two types of coinage: gold and silver.
Thus zakat has to be paid obligatorily from nine things. It is recommended that zakat should also be paid from other things like properties and business assets.
Question:
To whom should zakat be given?
Answer:
Zakat should be expended in eight categories:-
The poor.
The penurious: one whose condition is more severe than that of a poor person.
Officials who are appointed to collect the zakat.
Matters that may be considered to be for the cause of God, that is anything which is for the benefit of the Muslims be it related to his religious or worldly affairs.
Debtors who are unable to pay their debts.
Wayfarers who cannot travel any further and cannot afford to return to their own homeland.
Those who receive from the zakat in order either to strengthen the faith already present in their hearts1 or to discourage them from harming the Muslims.
Slaves: bondspersons who live under difficult conditions should be purchased with zakat money or freed.
JIHAD
Question:
What is jihad?
1 Such as recent converts to Islam.
Answer:
Jihad consists of fighting for the cause of God.
Question:
What is the object and aim of jihad?
Answer:
The purpose of jihad is two-fold:
Delivering people from superstitions in their beliefs and in what they do.
Freeing the oppressed from the claws of the oppressors. Question:
Does Islam ever justify starting a fight or a war with non- Muslims without provocation?
Answer:
No, never. On the contrary Islam fights in self-defence against:
People of the Scriptures (Ahl al-Kitab), that is those who are possessors of a heavenly book, after they have been given an option between embracing Islam, or paying a tax (jizya), or fighting.
People other than the People of the Scriptures when it has given them a choice between embracing Islam or fighting.
Question:
Who are the people of the Scriptures?
Answer:
People of the Scriptures consist of Jews, Christians and Zorastrians, all of whom possess heavenly books.
Question:
Who are those people not considered to be among the People of the Scriptures?
Answer:
They are other non-Muslims such as idol-worshippers and the like.
Question:
What is the meaning of jizya?
Answer:
Jizya is an amount of money taken from the People of the Scriptures in return for the protection of the Muslims. They are then free to practise their religious rites and they are excused from paying the zakat and the khums, which are taken from the Muslims.
Question:
Why make this difference? Wouldn’t it be more just for the People of the Scriptures to be treated in the same way as Muslims?
Answer:
On the contrary, because the rights of the People of the Scriptures are fully safe-guarded under Islamic government whereas under other legal systems their rights have not been protected to such an extent, as is clear from the following principles:-
In an Islamic country People of the Scriptures enjoy the same rights as their fellow Muslim citizens.
Their life, property and honour is protected, just like that of the Muslims.
The people of the Scripture are free to organize for themselves their own religious ceremonies just as Muslims are.
With regard to legal problems, the People of the Scriptures can, if they wish, seek justice through the Muslim courts but if they prefer they can go to their own judges.
The People of the Scriptures pay the jizya to the Muslim ruler while Muslims pay khums and zakat. So can it justifiably be said that the People of the Scriptures are oppressed under Islamic rule?
Question:
So why did Muslims ever fight the People of the Scriptures? Answer:
The conflict was always with their governments who were characterized by the ugliest forms of oppression and persecution. We can see with what eagerness the inhabitants of those countries would welcome the Muslims, since they considered them to be their deliverers from the hands of their tyrannical rulers. History is the best witness to that.
The same was the case with those non- Muslims who were not People of the Scriptures because the reason why the Muslims fought others was simply to exalt God’s law and to deliver other nations from exploiters and despots who were ruling their people through violence and terror.
HAJJ
Question:
What is the Hajj?
Answer:
The Hajj consists of journeying to Makka in the Arabian Peninsula with the purpose of performing rites of worship. Question:
Upon whom is Hajj obligatory?
Answer:
Hajj is obligatory upon one who is able to travel to Makka with his own money, on the proviso that this will not make him poor or cause him hardship.
Question:
How many times is Hajj obligatory upon a person who is able?
Answer:
Once in a lifetime.
Question:
Is Hajj also a recommended act (apart from the obligation)?
Answer:
Yes, for those people who cannot really afford it, and for those who can but have already performed the obligatory pilgrimage, Hajj is recommended.
Question:
What must be done on the Hajj?
Answer:
Hajj is divided into two parts:
a) ‘Umra1. b) Hajj.
a): the rites of ‘Umra are as follows:
Ihram (pilgrim’s dress) to be worn from the Miqat2.
Going round the Holy Ka‘ba (tawaf) seven times.
Two units of prayer after the tawaf behind the station (maqam) of Ibrahim (peace be upon him).
Brisk walking (sa‘i) between the mountains of Safa and Marwa, seven times.
Cutting (taqsir) some hair off the hair of the head or cutting from the nails.
b): the rites of Hajj are as follows:
- Ihram (pilgrim’s dress) to be worn from Makka.
- Being on ‘Arafat on the ninth day of Dhu ’l- Hijja.
- Being at the Mash‘ar [Muzdalifa] early on the morning of the tenth.
1 ‘Umra can also be performed by itself at most other times throughout the entire year.
2 Miqat: Any one of the several places specified by the Holy Prophet (God’s blessings and peace be upon him and his progeny) at which people put on the Ihram when on their way to Makka to perform Hajj or ‘Umra.
Setting out from the Mash‘ar towards Makka on the tenth day, namely the Festival (‘Id) of al-Adha.
Throwing seven pebbles at the Jamra of the ‘Aqaba on the ‘Id of al-Adha.
The slaughtering of an animal from among the three categories of livestock: camels, cows or sheep and goats.
Shaving the head or cutting the hair.
Tawaf of the Ka‘ba seven times, called the tawaf of al-ziyara.
Performing two units of prayer after this tawaf behind the maqam of Ibrahim (peace be upon him).
Sa‘i or brisk walking between Safa and Marwa, seven times.
Another tawaf around the Ka‘ba seven times, called the tawaf of al-nisa’.
As 9, above.
Staying at Mina on the eve of the eleventh and twelfth, and in some cases the eve of the thirteenth. 14. Throwing pebbles at the three Jamarat in Mina, each Jamra being stoned with seven pebbles during the daytime of the 11th of Dhu ’l-Hijja and the 12th, and also on the 13th if the pilgrim had stayed at Mina on the eve of the 13th.
Question:
When should a Muslim go on the Hajj?
Answer:
In the months of Hajj, namely Shawwal, Dhu ’l-Qa‘da and Dhu ’l-Hijja1. Of course, the Hajj itself can only be performed in the month of Dhu ’l-Hijja.
1 The 10th, 11th and 12th months of the Muslim calendar, respectively.
Question:
What is ‘Umra by itself (that is without Hajj)?
Answer:
The ‘Umra is exactly the same as we have mentioned above1 plus the tawaf around the Ka‘ba, called the tawaf of al-nisa’, and the two units of prayer that follow it (as 11 and 12, above). This ‘Umra can be performed at any time during the whole year.
Question:
What are the benefits of Hajj?
Answer:
Hajj has many benefits, some of which we will point out here: 1-Political Benefits:
Hajj brings about unity among the Muslims and gives them strength, making their enemies fear their might.
2-Economic Benefits:
Hajj makes money circulate and move from one end of the Islamic World to the other and so causes trade to flourish.
3-Psychological Benefits:
It gives comfort to the soul and bestows the calm and piece of mind that travelling brings and which dispel anxiety and worry regarding the homeland for as the poet says:
Go abroad to seek high things and travel, for in travel there are five benefits, The dispelling of anxiety, gaining a livelihood, a sound mind, a good code of conduct and admirable company.
1 Page 56.
4-Social benefits:
The Hajj causes the Muslims to get to know each other and helps them speak with one voice.
5-Spiritual benefits:
Circumambulating the Ka‘ba, the walk between Safa and Marwa, the prayer of circumambulation, the ritual prayers, the standing on ‘Arafat are all worship. There are many other benefits of making the Hajj which are mentioned elsewhere in more detail.1
1 See, for instance, the author’s ‘Ibadat al-Islam .