Page 10 Page 11 Issue 14 Allah and help the worshipper to keep himself from deviating from the Right Path. 3. The bestowal of charity on one’s fellow man. Islam places great emphasis on generosity and charity as a means of purifying one’s soul and getting closer to Allah. The Muslim is enjoined to give voluntarily whenever he/she can; however, he/she is required each year to pay an obligatory charity tax of two and a half percent of his/her annual net earnings that exceed necessities, to go to the poor and the needy, etc. The Zakat - charity - thus enables the Muslim community to take care of all its members and insures that no one will be deprived of his/her basic human right to exist. 4. Fasting during the ninth month of the lunar year ‘Ramadan’. This fast is enjoined upon Muslims of good health and sound body who have attained the age of physical maturity and are not prevented from performing the fast by various circumstances like travel, sickness, mental illness, or specifically in the case of women, menstruation, or childbirth. The fast of Ramadan begins at dawn and last until sunset. During this period the Muslim abstains from eating, and drinking, sexual activity and smoking. Fasting teaches self discipline and control, while purifying the soul and body and strengthening one’s consciousness of Allah. 5. The pilgrimage to Mecca. The pilgrimage is required of all Muslims at least once during their lifetime, if they have the financial means. The annual pilgrimage to Mecca is one of the greatest events of the Muslim world, uniting Muslims from every race and from every corner of the world. This is a great experience in the life of a Muslim which enables him to draw himself closer to Allah. We would like to remind the reader that the Holy Mosque in Mecca was built by Prophet Abraham and his son, the Prophet Ishmail, peace be upon them. WHO IS A MUSLIM? Since there is no priesthood in Islam, no clergy and no officia religious institution, all one has to do to become a Muslim is to be personally convinced of the truth of what Islam teaches and bear witness that “There is no god except Allah, and that Muhammad is His Prophet.” One of the great beauties of Islam is its simplicity, its naturalness, and its lack of formalities. Islam is the religion of Adam and of mankind in its earliest and most advanced stages of development. Allah says in the Holy Qur’an: “So set your face to the religion of Islam as a man by nature upright, the nature of Allah with which He has inspired mankind and molded them. There is no changing to the creation of Allah. That is the right religion, but most men know not.” (Qur’an 30:30) The Benefit of Embracing Islam Among the many benefits of embracing Islam are that once you bear witness that: “There is no god except Allah, and Muhammad is His Prophet,” all your past sins are forgiven and all your past sins are transformed into merits! You also receive the reward of believing the religion of the Prophet Jesus, if you are a Christian, or Prophet Moses, if you are a Jew, and the religion of Prophet Muhammad, which means that you receive two rewards. For those of you who do not already know, the Egyptian Shaikh, Abdul Hamid Kishk passed away on the 6th of December of 1996, at the age of 63. The Shaikh was very well known around the world for his fiery Jumu’a Khutbas (Friday Sermon) and his outspoken stance against injustice and oppression in the Muslim world. Cassette recordings of his talks have been circulating throughout the world in Arabic speaking circles, and his knowledge, style and eloquence have driven man to change their lives. It is perhaps the mercy of Allah that he therefore passed away while in Sujood (prostration), on the day of Jumu’ah, as he prayed remembering the occasion of Isra and Miraj. The Shaikh was born in 1933 in Shibrakheet, a small village near Alexandria, Egypt in a very poor family. His father passed away before Abdul Hamid reached schooling age. He joined one of the schools of Azhar and by the age of 8 had memorized the Qur’an. It was at this time that he was inflicted by an illness which took away his sight. However, rather than demoralize him, the loss of his sight encouraged him to learn more and persevere further. He graduated as a scholar from the Faculty of Usul al-Din, in Azhar and was appointed as an Imam, giving Khutbas all over Egypt. Around 1964 he took up the mimbar of ‘Ain al-Hayat Mosque in Cairo as his platform and started to speak vociferously about the social conditions in Egypt and the suppression of the Islamic Movement. This didn’t stop him from having a distinctly spiritual approach to life, something which his speeches reflect. In 1966 he was arrested and was imprisoned and tortured for two years. When Shaikh Kishk was released in 1968, he didn’t walk out of prison with his head bowed down to the Regime but became even more critical and energetic. Yet all the time his discourse was balanced and patient. Though he was arrested and released many times after this, it was over the next 10 years that most of his audio and video cassettes were recorded; more than 450 tapes are in circulation! His speeches became so popular that the mosque was extended 3 times to accommodate the congregation. During 1981-82 the Shaikh was again imprisoned, but this time on his release he was forbidden to give any more speeches. Even this did not silence him, for up to 1996, this blind man wrote over 115 books and booklets, including a tafsir, (one of his book, on Angels, has been translated into English by Dar al-Taqwa, London). The inspiration he gave to us all, the love and respect that people felt for him, will always keep his memory alive. I know that millions will pray for this noble and uncompromising man, but you too must pray for him. May Allah forgive and bless the soul of the Shaikh. originate from the teachings of Islam itself. BROTHERHOOD AND EQUALITY OF MANKIND Islam teaches that the human family is one, that there is no superiority of white over black or black over white. Islam rejects radically all notions of racial prejudice and teaches that the only basis of distinction between human beings is their individual moral qualities. The concept of Islamic brotherhood has two primary dimensions; the relationship of Muslims to Muslims and the relationship of Muslims to non-Muslims. As for the first category Islam teaches that the brotherhood between all Muslim is to be absolute and total. The Arab has no privileges over the non-Arab, and, since there is no clergy or priesthood in Islam, all Muslims are basically equal, from top to bottom, from rich to poor, from educated to uneducated. As for the relationships between Muslims and non-Muslims, the teaching of Islam is that this is to be a relationship of mutual respect and particularly of tolerance. It is preferable that Muslims and non-Muslims live in peace, protect each other, and cooperate with each other. As the Qur’an says: “There is no compulsion in religion ...” (Qur’an 2:256) and “You have your religion and I have mine.”(Qur’an 109:6) REASON Muslims consider their religion to be very rational and consistent with the dictates of the believing and reasoning mind. Furthermore, the Qur’an teaches that the rational faculty is one of the greatest gifts of Allah to man, and it encourages us to use this faculty and to develop it. Islam does not ask its followers to believe and then follow everything blindly and unquestioningly. The Quran says, for instance: “And if you are in doubt about what We have send down to Our worshipper, then bring a chapter like it, and call your witnesses besides Allah, if you are truthful.” (Qur’an 2:23) Islam encourages reasoning, thought and personal opinion. The Prophet (PBUH) said: “The differences of opinion among the learned of my followers are Allah’s mercy.” Islam has great respect for learning science and for man’s exploration of the secrets of nature and of creation. In fact Allah challenges man on many occasions in the Qur’an to deepen his faith, knowledge, and wisdom from study and contemplation of the natural world, its harmony, symmetry, and beauty. For example: “He it is who created the seven heavens in harmony. Never can you see a lack of symmetry in the creation of the Compassionate. So look yet again, can you perceive any flaw? Then look again, and still another time; your vision will return unto you weakened and dim.” (Qur’an 67:3-4) The individual capacities and unique abilities of people are a gift of Allah, to be developed, perfected, and used for the benefit of humanity. Islam does not try to crush the individuality of its believers, but rather to guide each believer to perfection and purify his own uniqueness. This multiplicity of expressive and developed personalities enriches society and places it on a higher level, like the beauty of an intricate but unified arabesque ISLAMIC ATTITUDE TOWARDS WAR In the eyes of some commentators on Islam in the West, Islam has been portrayed as a militant religion, a religion of blood, fire, and sword. We have already tried to draw attention to the fundamental concern of Islam for tolerance and religious freedom, and have also commented upon the emphasis Islam places on peace and cooperation among mankind. However, Islam is a practical religion, a religion which never ignores for a single moment the complexities and demands of the harsh realities and facts of life. Islam is fundamentally concerned with establishing societies in which the rights of freedom of belief, human rights, and protection of life, dignity, and property are secure from both internal and external threats. Therefore, Islam teaches its followers to be merciful and inclined toward forgiveness and peace even in times of war. Islam therefore stipulates principles which Muslims are to follow before, during, and after war. Peace is to be established on the basis of justice. Muslims are not to be aggressive or to violate treaties which they have concluded with others, but war is to be waged in defence of the Muslim community and what it stands for. During war, there is to be no killing of civilians and those who do no participate directly in the war. Prisoners are to be treated humanely. Destruction of lands, fruit trees, animals, and towns and villages is to be avoided. Muslims are to be inclined to peace if the enemy is truthfully inclined to peace, and they are to make treaties and agreements to preserve that peace and then observe those treaties as long as the enemy observes them. The concept of ‘jihad’ is one of the highest concepts in Islam. The term has at times been translated as ‘Holy War’. However, this translation is incomplete for Jihad also means by language ‘struggling’. It is a concept which places great emphasis on activism and self-sacrifice, although it does not apply to sacrifice in war alone. The Prophet (PBUH) said that the greatest jihad is the striving of the Muslim to purify himself. The lesser jihad consists of all the striving the Muslim does in his external life, charity, righteous living and acts, the constant effort to achieve the Right Path in his dealings with his fellow men. This is true striving in the Way of Allah. THE FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM Islam sets down five principle duties which are obligatory upon all Muslims, and form the structure, or pillars, of his/ her life. They are: 1. Belief in the Oneness of Allah, and the bearing of witness to this belief by the words. “I bear witness that there is no god except Allah, and that Muhammad is His Prophet and Messenger.” 2. The five daily prayers at dawn, noon, afternoon, sunset and nightfall. These five daily prayers help one to develop Allah consciousness in his/her everyday life. The importance of these cannot be over-emphasized. They are a constant reminder to the worshipper of the Presence and Power of In Memory of Shaikh Kishk
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