Holy Prophet of Islam - Hazrat Muhammad Mustafa — Page 233
The Holy Prophet of Islam, Hadrat Muhammad Mustafa 2) Observance of Salat (Daily Prayers) sa 3). Paying of Zakat 4). Pilgrimage to the House of Allah (The Ka'bah) 5). Fasting during Ramadan sa (Sahih Bukhari, Kitabul Ïman, Bab qaulannabi" "Buniyal Islamu ‘ala khamsin'). . The first and the foremost pillar of Islām is called Shahadah, the declaration of Islamic faith. The belief in the Oneness of God is the basic requirement of believing in Islām. . The second pillar is called Salat, i. e. , to perform Prayer in a prescribed form. Prayer is the basic and most important means by which man communicates with Allāh and draws himself near to Him. . The third pillar is called Saum, i. e. , to keep fast in the month of. Ramadan. By fasting, a Muslim can purify himself spiritually, elevate his soul and obtain nearness to Allāh. To fast is to abstain from food, drink, smoking and conjugal relations from dawn to dusk. It was the month during which revelation of the Holy Qur'an to the Holy Prophet began. sa. The Holy Qur'an allows exemption from fasting to the elderly, the chronically sick and children. However, they are required to feed or pay to feed the poor for the whole month of Ramadan in order to make up for fasts they could not keep. Temporary exemption is permitted to those travelling, the sick, pregnant and nursing or menstruating women. They are expected to make up the fasts at a later time before the start of the next month of fasting. . The fourth pillar is called Zakat. It is a form of levy which. Muslims of means pay annually in cash or kind, and is spent for good causes mentioned in the Holy Qur'ān. Thus it is given for the purpose of purification of wealth. Zakat is used for the upkeep of the poor, the 233