Islam-3
Pillars of Islam

    Basic Tenets of Islam:
        - 5 Basic Tenets
        - 5 Pillars- The Hajj: Kiss the "Kaaba", the Mosque
        - 5 Social Doctrines: Women... "Holy War" (a "jihad")  

The Hajj, Masjid Al Haram, Makkah, Arabia

    Art Gallery of Islam

THE BASIC "TENETS" OF ISLAM:

    The basic tenets of Islam have some similarities to those "monotheistic" of the small group near Mecca, called the "Hanifs or Penitents", and to those of the Bible:
        1- Five "basic tenets".
        2- Five "pillars of Islam":
        3- Five "social doctrines".

The Five Basic Tenets:

    1-There is only "one God", Allah, creator of the whole universe, who is just, compassionate, and merciful. The absolute unity and power resides in God. Creator of life and death, the guide to righteous, the friend and protector of the sick and the poor. He chastises eternally the infidels to Hell, and he rewards the faithful with eternal Heaven.

-"Allah", "The God", comes from "Al" ("The"), and "Illah" ("God")... not just "a God", but "The God", for there is only one.

Believe in "Angels", who intercede with Allah for the forgiveness of the faithful.

    2- "Muhammad", was the last of the great prophets. Jewish prophets and Jesus were his predecessors.

    3- The "Koran", was the last of the sacred books, which include also the Torah, Psalms, and Gospels of Jesus.

    4- "Life on Earth", is a test and only a preparation for the eternal life to come. the "faithful" are those who adore Allah, praise the Prophet Muhammad, obey the Koran doing good deeds, and fulfill the 5 pillars of Islam.

The Koran forbids representation of human and animal figures. It denounces usury, games of chance, alcohol, pork... "pride" is a cardinal sin.

    5- The "Final Judgment": The faithful will go to eternal Heaven, and the infidels to eternal Hell, with the vividly rewards and punishments recorded in the Koran.

This is how the life of the faithful is described in the Koran, Sura 2:

... "True piety is this: To believe in God, and the Last Day, the angels and the Book, and the prophets, to give one's substance however cherished to kinsmen and orphans, the needy, the traveler, the beggars, and to ransom the slave, to perform prayers, and to pay the alms, and they who fulfill the covenant and endure with fortitude, misfortune, hardships and peril, these are they who are true in their faith, these are the truly God-fearing".

The "Five Pillars" of Islam:

   1- Profession of Faith, Shahadah, "There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his prophet".
    2- "Prayer": "Five times a day"... "Fridays"... The "Salat":
    3- "Give alms", "Zakat"
    4- "Fasting", "Sawm", on the month of "Ramadan"
     5- "Pilgrimage to Mecca", the "Hajj"
   

    1- "Profession of Faith", "Shahadah":

    The Shahada: "There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his prophet". Both occur in the Koran, but not together. It is called the "shahada", and the prayer also asserts the belief in the Koran, the angels, and the last judgment. The greatest phrase of the Arabic language: "La ilaha illa Allah", "there is no God but Allah". A Muslim is supposed to pray the Shahada at least once in his lifetime correctly, slowly, thoughtfully, aloud, with full understanding, and with heartfelt conviction in its truth... but they actually pray it many times a day.

    2- "Prayer": "Five times a day"... "Fridays"... The "Salat":   See Mosque, and Prayers of Muslims

    To pray 5 times a day, facing toward Mecca. The person bows, kneels, and then into a prostate position with the forehead touching the ground, wherever he is...

    - Before prayer, the body must be purified by water, or sand if water is not available. The hands, feet, face, and genitals all are to be washed. Even the bathrooms are so arranged that the occupant will face in the direction of Mecca. The summons for prayer is announced by a "muezzin" (caller) from atop a "minaret" (tall tower).

    - The essential prayer is the Shahada just described. And the most common and important in both private and public worship is the Sura 1, "The Opening":

Praise be to God, Lord of the Universe!, The compassionate, the Merciful, King of the Day of Judgment!. You alone we worship, and to you alone we turn for help. Guide us to the straight path, The path of those whom You have favored, Not of those who have incurred Your wrath, Nor of those who have gone astray".

    - This "opening Sura", is the one of the "straight path"... if a Muslin were asked to summarize the way his religion councils man to live, he may answer: "Islam teaches man to walk in the straight path".

    On "Fridays", at noon, Muslims congregate in the Mosques for the "Assembly", to pray with a special "salat", and the sermon.

    The "Mosque", is most characteristic:

    1- A "minaret" or tall tower.
    2- A "niche", indicating the direction of Mecca.
    3- The "pulpit".
    4- A "fountain" at the entrance for the ablutions... You have to enter the Mosque without shoes, because it is a "sacred place"... there are not seats, but the floor is covered with the "prayer rug"... and since every corner of the universe is equally pure, the faithful are encouraged "to spread the prayer rug" wherever they find themselves at the appointed hour of prayer.

    - The officials of the Mosque are, the "iman" (leader), the "preacher", and the "muezzin" (who calls to prayer from the minaret). No priests.

    - One of the most impressive sights in the religion of man occurs when, in a dimly lighted mosque, hundreds of men stand shoulder to shoulder, then kneel and prostate themselves toward Mecca.

    The Mosque   Mosque    More on the Mosque

    - The "call to prayer" ("adhan"), is made 5 times a day by the "muezzin ("caller") from all the minarets in the world, and now from radio and television in the 5 continents, and always in Arabic: It consists of 7 short statements, the most important phrases of the Arabic language:

    Allahu akbar! (God is the greatest!). Allahu akbar!. La ilaha illa Allah (there is no God but Allah). I testify that Muhammad is the prophet of Allah. Arise and pray; arise and pray. Allahu akbar. La ilaha illa Allah.

    "Muslims" pray very much, with fervor, and respect, it is the basis of their success!.

    The "Tasbih" ("Rosary"), or "Subha":
   On top of praying 5 times a day, the Muslims have always at hand their "tasbih" (rosary), similar to the one of the Catholics, but with 99 beads, corresponding to the 99 attributes the Koran gives to God: The "Compassionate", the "Merciful"... or to the 99 times the Koran mentions the name "Allah". They have also a "smaller Rosary", with 33 beads, one third of the regular one.

    "To pray the Tasbih", is simple, and every Christian or Jew can do it:
    1- The first 33 beads (or 11 beads), you say: "Subhana Allah": "Blessed be God".
    2- The second 33 beads, you say: "Elhandu Allah": "Thank you God".
    3- The last 33 beads you say: "Allahu akbar": "God is the greatest"... the greatest expression of a Muslim!.

    When you visit any Muslim Country, the peasants are all day praying and playing with their tasbih (rosary), usually with the smaller one.

    3- "Give alms", "Zakat", the third pillar:

    - Every middle and upper class Muslim must give 2½% of what they possess... not of what they earn, but of the value of all they possess!...

    4- "Fasting", "Sawm", on the month of "Ramadan", the 9th month of the lunar year, because in this month Muhammad received his initial commission as a prophet, and because 10 years later he made the Hegira from Mecca to Medina on the same month. All people over 14 are required to take no food nor drink, nor engage in sexual intercourse, during the daylight.

    5- "Pilgrimage to Mecca", the "Hajj", if possible, at least once in a lifetime, remembering the place where God's climatic revelation was first disclosed, and to kiss the "Kaaba", the black stone, supposedly the oldest religious structure in the world, built by Abraham and Ishmael... though many scholars doubt that Abraham was ever at Mecca. The pilgrim is referred as a "Hajj".

The 5 "Social teachings" of Islam:

    1- "Brotherhood"... and "Prejudice":

    The "brotherhood of Islam" is a reality, as preached by Muhammad in his "farewell pilgrimage" to Mecca, "Know ye that every Muslim is a brother to every other Muslin, and that you are now one brotherhood"... it is a fact that every Muslim helps the other Muslim, his neighbor friend, or even a Muslim country...

    - But it is also a sad fact that the Koran preaches some kind of "prejudice": "Believers, do not make friends with any but your own people", says Sura 3:118; "Muhammad is God's apostle. Those who follow him are ruthless to the unbelievers but merciful to one another", says Sura 48:29... and honestly, both statements of the Koran look to me like some kind of prejudice against the ones who are not Muslims!...

    - The Koran mentions dozens of times the "people of the Book", meaning the Jews and the Christians, mostly in a pejorative way, warning against their bad influence and life, forbidding their friendship, calling the Jews "like a donkey laden with books", and saying about the Christians, "unbelievers are those who declare: "God is the Messiah, the son of Mary" (Suras 3:60-74, 5:56, 62:5, 5:16).

    - This "prejudice" against Jews and Christians, constantly guarding against their possible influence on the Muslims, makes me doubt that the Koran is the word of God.

.    .. This "prejudice" is just a reflection of the "prejudice of Allah" in the Koran since the "opening sura": "those whom You have favored", in contrast of "those who have incurred Your wrath"... and, of course, those "favored of Allah" are always the "Muslims"!.

    2-"An eye for eye... a tooth for a tooth":

    This ancient principle is alive in the Koran: "As for the man or woman who is guilty of theft, cut off their hands" (Sura 5:38)... the "mullahs" interpret and apply this Koranic law, and a thief may have his hands cut off, or, in the case of a second theft, his legs cut off... and since we all are sinners, including the Muslims!, all of us should be with our hands or feet cut off, or our tongues cut off when we slandered, or even with our hearts cut off on that day we hated!... it is obviously a wrong way to act!.

    - Forgiveness, repentance, and a chance to redeem one's failures should be a way of life... it is hard for a Muslin to know if he has been forgiven by Allah after he has sin... and we all sin many times a day!... even the very best Muslim!.

    - "Each man shall be judged only by his labors" (53:41): I pray and hope that your bad deeds and mine are forgotten by God, and we can find some way in the eyes of God to be recompensed for our little good works.

    3- "Women"... "Four wives"... "Home":

    A "Muslim woman" is recognized by her "veil" and "chador", a robe covering the entire body, because women are desirable sex objects for men, and must be secluded, properly robed, and protected from male advantages... "if a male and a woman are alone in one place, the third person is Satan"... today, "feminist movements" are changing it, supported in Egypt by the wives of former president Sadat, and current president Mubarak... however, shorts are still totally forbidden, and pants are taboo.

    - The status of woman improved enormously under Islam, compared with the position of women in the pre-Islamic world of primitive religions: Muhammad forbade female infanticide, required inheritance for daughters, sanctified marriage making it the sole locus of the sexual act... and the punishment for "adultery" is death by stoning.

    - Women are not prevented by neither the Koran nor the Sunna to enter mosques, but there are regulations on how a woman in a mosque shall behave. Mosques can be segregated, either in time, or in space. But through most of Muslim history, women entering mosques have not been welcomed by men. Mosques have in many cases been closed to women, either regulated by local rules or by habit. Women have therefore resorted to pray in their homes.

    - "Polygamy", is still in force in the Koran, up to 4 wives! (Sura 4:3), though Muhammad had 10, and King Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia had 300 wives in the early 1900s... however, 80% of Muslims have only one wife, and today, many Muslims insert in the marriage deed a clause by which the husband formally renounces his right to a second concurrent spouse.

    - There is strict "segregation of the sexes" outside of the home both in the mosques and the streets. A Male doctor is forbidden to examine female patients. Female students cannot attend classes taught by male professors...

    - "Home", is the main place for the wife, and indeed the Muslims homes are a beauty, spotless, full of warmth... you may be in a dirty town with a horrendous street, but when you enter the home of even the poorest Muslim you find a "paradise".

    - Family rules, seem to closely follow Jewish practices, as stated in the Torah.

    - Marriage, is an important step on the road to Paradise. "Marriage and family, for a Muslim, are one half of the good life... the other half is obedience to the Koran and its duties".

    4- "Holy War" (a "jihad"):

    The Western "stereotype of a Muslim" is a man marching sword aloft and followed by a long train of wives"...

    - The Koran and the life of Muhammad, indeed encourage "Holy War" ( a "jihad").

    - The Koran, encourages it by offering Paradise to the one who dies for Allah, plus the good care of his family by God while he is in Paradise (Sura 3:169)... anyone who dies in holy war is a "martyr" assured of heaven...

    The main reason for the Holy War is "idolatry", and indeed, "an error in religion" is worst than a cancer in the heart, it can ruin your only life on earth, and can bring you to eternal Hell... this is how the Koran says: "Idolatry is more grievous than bloodshed... fight against them until idolatry is no more and God's religion reigns supreme" (Sura 2:91-93).

    In the previous verse says "do not attack them first, God does not like aggressors"... but Jews and Christians are "idolaters"... so, fight against them until idolatry is no more!... and Hindus and Buddhist are "idolaters"...

    But, what about if "the Muslim" is the idolater?... it is almost a blasphemy for a Muslim to even mention it!... but it should not be... the Bible and the Koran have many contradictions, and at least once in a lifetime the Muslim must be able to stop and think, what about if the Bible is right?...

    The Koran talks about "tolerance of religion", and the use of force only when attacked, or for social justice... but since "idolatry" is the main offense, it is a good reason to attack Jews, Christians, Hindus... and, in fact, Islam has been in history the "religion of the sword", spread by the sword and upheld by the sword.

    The definition of a "right war" is that "must either be defensive or to right a wrong".

    -The life of Muhammad in Medina, is in itself a sample of the "Holy War": He was an outstanding general, and Islam spread!... He left many traditions regarding the decent conduct of war: Agreements are to be fulfilled, treachery avoided, the wounded well treated...

    Muhammad claims he did not used the sword as an instrument of conversion, because "only God can give the faith", but the fact is that Islam spread by the sword under Muhammad himself.

    About the "tolerance of religion", in the Muslim nations, people of other religions are "tolerated", but as a "second class" citizens!.

    5- The "traders"... "economics":

    The "business traders" are not as well recognized as the "wives" and the "Holy War" in Islam... but, certainly, the "Muslim traders" with their caravans fulfilled a great role in the spread of Islam... and, in general, Muslims are good businessmen.

    - Islam is acutely aware of the physical basis of man's life. Far from being irrelevant, the needs of his body are of crucial importance, for until they are met his higher concerns cannot flower.

    The "giving of alms", is part of this concern, as well as the measures that broke the barriers of economic caste and reduced the injustices of special privilege...

    The Koran, in general, blesses commerce, business, and agriculture... though it never went so far as to approve the "capitalistic system" of free enterprise in which the marketplace, not the government, would determine the value of goods and labor.

    But the production of wealth is good since the owners could give larger amounts of money for charities... the main point of Muslim economics is that the wealth should be widely spread... though it not always works well!.

   In the modern world, Islam may be nominally anti-capitalist, but the "oil resources" in Muslim states show that the Islamic faith can embrace capitalistic enterprise with enthusiasm.

    The Koran prohibits the taking of "interest", but today it is solved by giving a loan smaller that the amount required as repayment.

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