Basics of Religious Education — Page 11
11 11 11 11 11 B ASICS OF R ELIGIOUS E DUCATION - F IFTH E DITION In the preceding Tradition (Hadith) , belief in Allah and His prophets is included to express one’s faith and its verbal affirmation. Note that in this Hadith , it has been given the first place, to make it the basis of one’s actions. After Allah, it specifically mentions the name of Hadrat Muhammad sa as His Messenger. The Kalimah is followed by the four acts of worship given below: The first and foremost act of worship is Prayer or Salat which means glori- fication and praise. The purpose of Salat is to establish personal commun- ion with Allah, purify one’s innerself and seek His help in all difficulties. But to achieve this objective, we must try to make our Salat a perfect Salat. According to the Holy Prophet sa , a perfect Salat is the one during which the worshipper’s attention to Allah reaches such a climax as if he/she is seeing Allah or, at least, that Allah is seeing him/her. Salat is in fact, the essence of spiritual life. The Holy Prophet sa says in one of his traditions that: Salat is the Mi`raaj (apex of spiritual exaltation) of the faithful. For more on Salat , please see Part 5. Payment of Zakat is the second act of worship in Islam. It is levied on surplus money, gold, and silver at the rate of two and a half percent annually. Zakat means purification of property and increase of goods. By payment of the Zakat tax, the rich in fact deduct a share for the poor from their surplus wealth thus purifying it. The poor, on the other hand, are provided with monetary assistance to help raise their living standard. In short, Zakat plays a great role in regulating the national wealth and protecting the society from social problems arising from the unequal distribution of wealth. The Hajj or Pilgrimage to Mecca is obligatory upon every such Muslim adult (at least once in his/her lifetime) who can afford to undertake the journey and has safe access to Mecca (3:98). The time appointed for the Hajj is fixed ten weeks after Eid-ul-Fitr. Thus it starts on the eighth and continues up to the twelfth of the lunar month of Dhul-Hijjah. Observance of Salat — Daily Prayers Paying Zakat Pilgrimage to the House of Allah — Hajj 1. 3 1. 3 1. 3 1. 3 1. 3 I I I I I S L A M S L A M S L A M S L A M S L A M — A — A — A — A — A C T S C T S C T S C T S C T S O F O F O F O F O F W W W W W ORSHIP ORSHIP ORSHIP ORSHIP ORSHIP