HADITH 3

These modes of expression (thinking styles) used by the Quran and Hadith should be well understood and used by Muslims today to convey the Message of Islam when doing da'wah as it is the most effective way. Different styles should be used to reach/convince different people - some people are more emotional, some are more rational, etc.

First Pillar: The Shahadah

The first part of the Shahadah is testifying that there is none worthy of worship except Allah.

There are seven conditions of the Shahadah:

· Knowledge - to understand what it means 

· Certainty - to have no doubt about anything confirmed in the Quran or Sunnah 

· Acceptance - by the tongue and the heart of whatever the Shahadah implies 

· Submission/compliance - the actual physical enactment by deeds 

· Truthfulness - to say the Shahadah sincerely, with honesty, to actually mean it 

· Sincerity - to do it solely for the sake of Allah 

· Love - to love the Shahadah and to love its implications and requirements and what it

stands for 

The Shahadah is not simply saying it with our tongue. We need to adhere to these conditions. If we say the Shahadah sincerely and with honesty, we will not do anything which contradicts with or violates the Shahadah.

The second part of the Shahadah carries the following conditions:

· To believe in the Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam, and in whatever he told us and

conveyed to us 

· To obey him in whatever he commanded us to do 

· To stay away from or avoid whatever he commanded us not to do 

· To follow or emulate him in our ibadah, akhlaq and way of life 

· To love him more than we love ourselves, our family and anything else in this world 

· To understand, practice and promote his Sunnah in the best way possible, without

creating any chaos, enmity or harm 

Second Pillar: Establishing the Prayers (Salah)

Some interpretations of this hadith translate "iqamatus salah" as 'performing' the salah. "Iqamatus

salah" is a broader concept than what the term 'performing' means. The Scholars say "iqamatus

salah" implies:

· Doing the wudu in the proper way 

· To do the salah in its time 

· To do it in congregation (jama'ah) - where the reward is 27 times than praying alone 

· To fulfill the six conditions of salah 

· To observe the proper manners (adab) of doing it such as submission and humility 

· To follow preferable actions (sunnan) in our salah 

It is important that we follow these conditions and not violate them if we want to truly fulfill the second pillar of Islam i.e. "iqamatus salah". We should remember that Allah initially commanded us to pray fifty times a day and it was eventually reduced to five times (with the reward of fifty) - the prayer times are very reasonably spread out throughout the day - it can even help us to manage our time - it can help us to manage our affairs, allowing the Muslim community to meet during congregation and care for and help each other which will lead in turn to solidarity. Thus, the prayers should not be seen as a burden as some Muslims might regard them today.

Third Pillar: Zakat

The giving of Zakat has been pointed out by the Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam, for certain things and in certain ways or percentages and under certain conditions. The Scholars say that knowing the details of Zakat only becomes an obligation when a person owns the type of property or thing which requires him to give Zakat for. E.g. Farmers or traders or property owners need to know the conditions and percentages of Zakat that they are obligated to give.

Fourth Pillar: Hajj

Pilgrimage (Hajj) to the House (Kaabah) is an obligation that we need to do only once in our

lifetime - only if we meet certain conditions, e.g. if we have the financial means, a way of travelling peacefully, etc. If we meet these conditions then we should perform the Hajj as soon as possible and not to delay it.

Some Scholars say that if we have the means to perform the Hajj several times, then it is better to use this money to help others to fulfill their obligations - we will be rewarded for their

pilgrimage or to use the money for the betterment of the community.

For each of these Pillars there are conditions, sunnan, ethics (adab), etc., which should be

observed when we perform these ibadahs. Why do we always hear that every year hundreds of Muslims lose their lives or get injured during Hajj? Most of these incidents are due to the negligence of the adab or violation of the sunnan. For example, the throwing of stones at the

Jamrat:

· Even though we are supposed to use small stones, people tend to use big ones and throw recklessly from a far distance, causing injuries to others. 

· People do not follow the specified directions when they move, causing many to get

crushed by the 'human waves' moving in different directions. 

· People insist on going to throw at the peak times, i.e. the busiest part of the day. The

elderly, women and handicapped should be reminded to go when it is less crowded. 

Thus, it is important that we observe the adab.

Fifth Pillar: Fasting

Ramadhan is a training program for all Muslims to go through, performing good deeds to become better Muslims. However, we should continue with these good deeds outside of Ramadhan - praying in the mosque, Tahajjud, Qiamu alil, reciting the Qur'an, helping and caring for others etc.

The Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam, when asked what the best way is to finish reading the

whole Qur'an, said to do it in one month, i.e. one Juzuk per day. This is something we should practice all the time and not have to wait for Ramadhan to do it. If we cannot achieve this, at least try to read one or two pages a day (a quarter of a hizb).

Similarly we should try to do the night prayers (tahajjud), be it only two raka'at and not everyday, outside of Ramadhan.

We should not make personal commitments in performing these preferable actions where the Shariah has not made this itself. This might lead us to giving up on our commitment and hence,

the good deed. The best way is to do it on ease and convenience aiming at the continuity of

these good deeds.

Conclusion

All the Pillars of Islam have rulings, conditions and mannerisms (ahkam wa adab) applied to

them. It is important that we know these ahkam and adab and regularly remind ourselves,

especially before Ramadan or before performing the Hajj, so that we perform the Pillars

properly and according to the Shariah.