I. SOME BASIC ISLAMIC BELIEFS
1)
Belief in God:
Muslims believe in
one, unique, incomparable God, Who has neither son nor partner, and that none
has the right to be worshipped but Him alone. He is the true God, and
every other deity is false. He has the most magnificent names and sublime
perfect attributes. No one shares His divinity, or His attributes.
In the Quran, God describes Himself:
Say,
“He is God, the One. God, to Whom the creatures turn for their needs.
He begets not, nor was He begotten, and there is none like Him.” (Quran, 112:1-4)
No
one has the right to be invoked, supplicated, prayed to, or shown any act of
worship, but God alone.
God
alone is the Almighty, the Creator, the Sovereign, and the Sustainer of
everything in the whole universe. He manages all affairs. He stands
in need of none of His creatures, and all His creatures depend on Him for all
that they need. He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing, and the
All-Knowing. In a perfect manner, His knowledge encompasses all things,
the open and the secret, and the public and the private. He knows what
has happened, what will happen, and how it will happen. No affair occurs
in the whole world except by His will. Whatever He wills is, and whatever
He does not will is not and will never be. His will is above the will of
all the creatures. He has power over all things, and He is able to do
everything. He is the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, and the Most
Beneficent. In one of the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), we
are told that God is more merciful to His creatures than a mother to her child.
God is far removed from injustice and tyranny. He is All-Wise in
all of His actions and decrees. If someone wants something from God, he
or she can ask God directly without asking anyone else to intercede with God
for him or her.
God
is not Jesus, and Jesus is not God. Even Jesus himself rejected
this. God has said in the Quran:
Indeed,
they have disbelieved who have said, “God is the Messiah (Jesus), son of
Mary.” The Messiah said, “Children of Israel, worship God, my Lord and
your Lord. Whoever associates partners in worship with God, then God has
forbidden Paradise for him, and his home is the Fire (Hell). For the
wrongdoers, there
will be no helpers.” (Quran, 5:72)
God
is not a trinity. God has said in the Quran:
Indeed, they disbelieve who say, “God is the third of
three (in a trinity),” when there is no god but one God. If they desist
not from what they say, truly, a painful punishment will befall the
disbelievers among them. Would they not rather repent to God and ask His
forgiveness? For God is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. The Messiah
(Jesus), son of Mary, was no more than a messenger...
(Quran, 5:73-75)
Islam rejects that God
rested on the seventh day of the creation that He wrestled with one of His
angels; that He is an envious plotter against mankind; or that He is incarnate
in any human being. Islam also rejects the attribution of any human form to
God. All of these are considered blasphemous. God is the Exalted.
He is far removed from every imperfection. He never becomes weary.
He does not become drowsy nor does he sleep.
The
Arabic word Allah means God (the one and only true God who created the
whole universe). This word Allah is a name for God, which is used
by Arabic speakers, both Arab Muslims and Arab Christians. This word
cannot be used to designate anything other than the one true God. The Arabic
word Allah occurs in the Quran about 2700 times. In Aramaic, a
language related closely to Arabic and the language that Jesus habitually
spoke, God is also referred to as Allah.
2)
Belief in the Angels:
Muslims
believe in the existence of the angels and that they are honored
creatures. The angels worship God alone, obey Him, and act only by His
command. Among the angels is Gabriel, who brought down the Quran to
Muhammad (pbuh).
3)
Belief in God’s Revealed Books:
Muslims
believe that God revealed books to His messengers as proof for mankind and as
guidance for them. Among these books is the Quran, which God revealed to
the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). God has guaranteed the Quran’s
protection from any corruption or distortion. God has said:
Indeed,
We have sent down the Quran, and surely We will guard it (from
corruption). (Quran, 15:9)
4) Belief in the Prophets and Messengers of God:
Muslims
believe in the prophets and messengers of God, starting with Adam, including
Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and Jesus (peace be upon
them). But God’s final message to man, a reconfirmation of the eternal
message, was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). Muslims
believe that Muhammad (pbuh) is the last prophet sent by God, as God has
said:
Muhammad
is not the father of any one of your men, but he is the Messenger of God and
the last of the prophets... (Quran, 33:40)
Muslims believe that all the prophets and messengers were created human beings who had none of the divine qualities of God.
5)
Belief in the Day of Judgment:
Muslims
believe in the Day of Judgment
(The Day of Resurrection) when all people will be resurrected for God’s judgment according to their beliefs and deeds.
6)
Belief in Al-Qadar:
Muslims
believe in Al-Qadar, which is Divine Predestination, but this belief in
Divine Predestination does not mean that human beings do not have
freewill. Rather, Muslims believe that God has given human beings
freewill. This means that they can choose right or wrong and that they
are responsible for their choices.
The
belief in Divine Predestination includes belief in four things: 1) God knows
everything. He knows what has happened and what will happen.
2) God has recorded all that has happened and all that will happen.
3) Whatever God wills to happen happens, and whatever He wills not to
happen does not happen. 4) God is the Creator of everything.
II. WHAT ARE THE FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM?
The
Five Pillars of Islam are the framework of the Muslim life. They are the
testimony of faith, prayer, giving zakat (support of the needy), fasting
during the month of Ramadan, and the pilgrimage to Makkah once in a lifetime
for those who are able.
1)
The Testimony of Faith:
The
testimony of faith is saying with conviction, “La ilaha illa Allah,
Muhammadur rasoolu Allah.” This saying means “There is no true
god but God (Allah), and Muhammad is the Messenger (Prophet)
of God.” The first part, “There is no true god but God,” means that
none has the right to be worshipped but God alone, and that God has neither
partner nor son. This testimony of faith is called the Shahada, a
simple formula which should be said with conviction in order to convert to
Islam. The testimony of faith is the most important pillar of Islam.
2)
Prayer:
Muslims
perform five prayers a day. Each prayer does not take more than a few minutes
to perform. Prayer in Islam is a direct link between the worshipper and
God. There are no intermediaries between God and the worshipper.
In
prayer, a person feels inner happiness, peace, and comfort, and that God is
pleased with him or her. The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said: {Bilal, call
(the people) to prayer, let us be comforted by it.} Bilal was
one of Muhammad’s (pbuh) companions who were charged to call the people to
prayers.
Prayers
are performed at dawn, noon, mid-afternoon, sunset, and night. A Muslim
may pray almost anywhere, such as in fields, offices, factories, or
universities.
3)
Giving Zakat (Support of the Needy):
All things belong to God, and wealth is, therefore, held
in trust by human beings. The original meaning of the word zakat
is both ‘purification’ and ‘growth.’ Giving zakat means ‘giving a
specified percentage on certain properties to certain classes of needy
people.’ The percentage, which is due on gold, silver, and cash funds,
that has reached the amount of about 85 grams of gold and held in possession
for one lunar year is two and a half percent. Our possessions are purified by
setting aside a small portion for those in need, and, like the pruning of
plants, this cutting back balances and encourages new growth.
A
person may also give as much as he or she pleases as voluntary alms or charity.
4)
Fasting the Month of Ramadan:
Every
year in the month of Ramadan, all Muslims fast from dawn until
sundown, abstaining from food, drink, and sexual relations.
Although the fast is beneficial to health, it is regarded principally as a method of spiritual self-purification. By cutting oneself off from worldly comforts, even for a short time, a fasting person gains true sympathy with those who go hungry, as well as growth in his or her spiritual life.
5)
The Pilgrimage to Makkah:
The annual pilgrimage (Hajj) to Makkah is an
obligation once in a lifetime for those who are physically and financially able
to perform it. About two million people go to Makkah each year from every
corner of the globe. Although Makkah is always filled with visitors, the
annual Hajj is performed in the twelfth month of the Islamic calendar.
Male pilgrims wear special simple clothes, which strip away distinctions
of class and culture so that all stand equal before God.
III. HOW DOES SOMEONE BECOME A MUSLIM?
Simply by saying with conviction, “La ilaha illa
Allah, Muhammadur rasoolu Allah,” one converts to Islam and becomes a
Muslim. This saying means “There is
no true god but God (Allah), and Muhammad is the Messenger
(Prophet) of God.” The first part, “There is no true god but God,”
means that none has the right to be worshipped but God alone, and that God has
neither partner nor son. To be a Muslim, one should also:
Ø
Believe
that the Holy Quran is the literal word of God, revealed by Him.
Ø
Believe
that the Day of Judgment (the Day of Resurrection) is true and will come, as
God promised in the Quran.
Ø
Accept
Islam as his or her religion.
Ø
Not
worship anything nor anyone except God.
If, after becoming a Muslim, all you know how to do is wudu
(the ablution before salah), you do wudu 5 times a day and take the time out to
study the prayer briefly or to do what part of it you DO know how to do. If you
don't know how to do wudu, then you do what you remember of it (starting
with saying "bis mih Allah" [in the name of Allah] and washing
your hands 3 times). You should also study how to do the entire salah
regularly at a time separate than the time for salah, until you learn it.
So,
regarding the 2 rakat of salah prayer that is done right after saying shahada,
just like all the salahs, you cannot do it if you do not know how, so you just
do that which you know. Allah
swt knows your intentions, and no one expects you to know how
to do a single rakat before you're a Muslim nor to suddenly realize how once
you JUST became a Muslim.
Learning
these things and more will come in time, insha'Allah; just make it a priority
to learn how to do salah. If your intentions are sincere, the proof will
be that you learn salah soon after becoming a Muslim. A muslim who
abandons his/her salah abandons his religion and is in a state of disbelief
(kufr), i.e. is no longer a muslim. So do not abandon learning the
salah. But do not go to the other extreme and expect to learn everything
overnight; exercise patience while you are trying to learn and do not be timid
in humbly asking Muslims questions to achieve knowledge.
For
more detailed information on Shahada and responsibilities after taking Shahada
please refer to:
http://muttaqun.com/shahada.html
And
for Wudu:
Prayer
Times for 50 Million Cities World Wide:
http://www.islamicfinder.org/world.php?lang=&home=2003-5-23
To
Find a Masjid Near You: