Forty Gems of Beauty — Page 21
21 Explanatory Notes It must be remembered that while the preceding Hadith defined faith [ I m a n], this Hadith gives a definition of Islam, and the difference between the two is that whereas I m a n stands for faith, Islam connotes practice and it will be realised that together the two make religion a complete whole. Belief in God and the Prophet is common to the above two A ha d i th. In the preceding Hadith, belief in Allah and in the Prophet has been incorporated to emphasise faith by heart and its attestation by the tongue. In the present Hadith this has been included as a basis of action. In any case according to this Hadith, in the definition of Islam, belief in the unity of Allah, the Excellent, and in the Prophethood of the Holy Messenger of Allah (May peace and blessings of Allah be on him), has been accorded the first place so that the belief of every Muslim is based on the holy article that God is One and Muhammad, the Prophet of Allah (May peace and blessings of Allah be on him) is His last law-bearing Messenger. This is followed by four practical acts of worship which are: 1. The first act of worship is Prayer, i. e. , Salat , which in Arabic means “glorification and praise. ” It has been obligated in the form of five Prayers during the course of the day and is offered after the prescribed Wu du (ablution) in a prescribed manner. Of these five Prayers, one is the morning Prayer which is offered after the first light of dawn and before daybreak. The second Prayer is the Z uhr or midday Prayer which is offered after the decline of the sun at noon. The third Prayer is the ‘A s r Prayer which is offered when the sun has far advanced in its decline. The fourth is the Maġhrib or evening Prayer which is offered immediately after sundown. And the fifth Prayer is