IB_14

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 pu-

rifying 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 de-

prived of his/her basic human right to exist.

4. Fasting during the ninth month of the lunar year ‘Rama-

dan’. 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

specifi

cally 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 Abra-

ham and his son, the Prophet Ishmail, peace be upon them.

USLIM

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 natural-

ness, 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)

enefit of

mbracing

slam

Among the many benefits of embracing Islam are that once

you bear witness that: “There is no god except Allah, and Mu-

hammad 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 injus-

tice 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 occa-

sion 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 school-

ing 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 vid-

eo 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 con-

gregation.

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, in-

cluding 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 uncompro-

mising 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.

ROTHERHOOD

AND

QUALITY OF

ANKIND

Islam teaches that the human family is one, that there is no

superiority of white over black or black over white. Islam re-

jects 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 dimen-

sions; the relationship of Muslims to Muslims and the rela-

tionship 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 mu-

tual 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)

EASON

Muslims consider their religion to be very rational and con-

sistent 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, symme-

try, and beauty. For example:

“He it is who created the seven heavens in harmony. Nev-

er 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 individ-

uality 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

SLAMIC

TTITUDE

OWARDS

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 in-

clined toward forgiveness and peace even in times of war.

Islam therefore stipulates principles which Muslims are to fol-

low 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 agree-

ments 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.

IVE

ILLARS OF

SLAM

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

emory of

haikh

ishk