1. Hadith Jibril or “The Gabriel Narration” is the single most important hadith from the corpus of
Prophetic narrations. Its narrative contains the summarises of the core of Islam: the “Five Pillars
of Islam”. It is recorded by Imam Muslim in his Sahih and related by Imam Nawawi in
his Arba’in. (Jalali,Hadith Jibril) In the hadith of Gabriel, Islam is presented as one part of a
triad, where Islam is defined theologically as Tawhid(oneness of god), historically by asserting
that Muhammad is messenger of God, and doctrinally by mandating five basic and fundamental
pillars of practice(outward acts). (Abd Assamii Almisry, 1st edition 1989 page: 9). Five basic acts
in Islam, considered mandatory by believers and are the foundation of Muslim life.
The first of these action is that a declaration of faith –“testifying that there is no God but Allah
and Muhammad is the messenger of God”. The significance of this testimony is the belief that
there is nothing in existence that is deserving of worship except Allah and the witnessing of the
oneness of Allah, and that our master Muhammad is His Messenger to men, jinn, and angels and
acceptance of him being chosen by Allah to convey His message of Islam. This statement of
faith must be declared publicly and confess with the tongue whether accompanied with belief in
the heart or not and along with confession, there is belief in the heart and a fulfillment in
practice. This statement normally recited in Arabic أشهد أن لا إله إلا الله، وأشهد أن محمد رسول الله and is
required of all those who accept Islam as their chosen way of life. A man will become a Muslim
once he has verbalized the ‘shahadah’. It is essential to become a Muslim as well as for those
who desired and willing to convert to Islam. The words have to be uttered with sincere
conviction.
Performance of prayers
Salah is the Islamic prayer and an act of worship. Its consists of five daily prayers according to
the sunna. Offering of prayers is obligatory upon every Muslim and must be facing in the
direction of Kaaba in Mecca (Qiblah). There are two basic types of prayers which is obligatory
and optional (voluntary) prayers. Obligatory prayers is the five daily prayers, the Friday’s noon
congregation prayer. The names are according to the prayer times and the five prayer times are
:(fajr,subh (early morning) after dawn and before sunrise. Dhuhr(noon) after the sun begins to
decline from its zenith until it is about midway on its course to set. Asr(mid-afternoon) after the
expiration of the noon prayer time until sunset. Maghrib(evening sunset) immediately after
2. sunset until the red glow in the western horizon disappears. Isya’(night prayer) after the
expiration of the sunset prayer until dawn. Prayer time is not determined by the clock, but by
position of the sun.(Wikipedia) Obligatory prayer should be offered in its due time, unless there
is a reasonable excuse while optional prayer is a voluntary prayer during the day and night. A
key element of Muslim life is the obligatory, ritual prayer and a direct link between the
worshipper and God. Prayer, that makes man fit for harder struggle and to carry on that struggle
in the face of failure and disappointment, by turning to God who is the source of all strength. The
prayers may perform anywhere but mosque is preferable place.
The paying of zakat(charity)
An important principle of Islam is that everything belongs to God, humans are merely the
custodians of it. The literal meaning of Zakat is purity and it refers to the annual amount in kind,
which a Muslim with means must distribute among the rightful beneficiaries. This charity must
give to the less fortune or less in need. Our possessions are purified by setting aside a proportion
for those in need and for the society in general. There are five principles that should be followed
when giving the zakat:
The giver must declare to God his intention to give the zakat.
The zakat must be paid on the day that it is due.
After the offering, the payer must not exaggerate on spending his money more than usual
means.
Payment must be in kind. This means if one is wealthy then he or she needs to pay a
portion of their income. If a person does not have much money, then they should
compensate for it in different ways, such as good deeds and good behavior toward others.
The zakat must be distributed in the community from which it was taken. (24/5/2014)
Fasting
Fasting is abstaining completely from eating, drinking, intimate sexual contacts and all things
which can break the fast from dawn till sunset. Obligatory fasting is done once a year for the
period of the month of Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic year. Ramadan is a special time
3. for Muslims everywhere, a time for reflection and greater spirituality. Muslims must fast during
the holy month of Ramadan. This is necessary for every Muslim that has reached puberty unless
he suffers from a medical condition which prevents him from doing so. By fasting, Muslims got
to express gratitude and dependence on Him and remind needy, in addition Muslims seek to
share in the suffering of the poor and seek reconciliation and forgiveness.
The pilgrimage(Hajj)
The Hajj is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca which all Muslims are expected to make at
least once in their lives and it is obligatory upon every Muslim male and female who is mentally,
physically and financially fit and capable of undertaking the journey, and can support their
family during their absence. It is performed from the 8th to 12th of Dhu al-hijjah, the last month
of the Islamic calendar. Over two and a half million Muslims, from every corner of the globe
assemble in Mecca in response to the call of Allah. They go for Hajj each year making it the
largest annual gathering of people in the world. Hajj provides a unique opportunity for people
from different nations to meet one another. All pilgrims bathe, have a haircut and dress in white
(Ihram cloth) and abstain from certain things. The rites of the hajj include walks counter-clockwise
seven times around Kaaba and standing together on the wide plains of A’rafat (a large
expanse of desert outside Mecca). Here pilgrims pray for God’s forgiveness, in what is often
considered a preview of the Day of Judgment. They are all equal in one united. (Muhammad
quadir, 2013)
Islam basically means peace, surrender, obedience and submission to the will of Allah. In order
to achieve true peace of mind and surety of heart, one must submit to God and live accordingly
to His Divinely Revealed Law. Regarding the principle of Islam there is other message of God
pertaining of this issue (pillars of Islam) that is:-
عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ عَبْدِ اللََِّّ بْنِ عُمَرَ بْنِ الْخَطَّابِ رَضِيَ اللََُّّ عَنْهُمَا قَالَ: سَمِعْت رَسُولَ اللََِّّ صلى الله عليه و سلم يَقُولُ: " بُنِيَ
الِْْسْلََمُ عَلَى خَمْسٍ: شَهَادَةِ أَنْ لَا إلَهَ إلَّا اللََُّّ وَأَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا رَسُولُ اللََِّّ، وَإِقَامِ الصَّلََةِ، وَ إيِ اََ ال اََََّّةِ، وَحَ الْبَيْتِ، وَصَ وْمِ رَمَضَانَ ."
]رَوَاهُ الْبُخَارِ ي [،] وَمُسْلِم [.
On the authority of Abdullah, the son of Umar ibn al-Khattab (ra), who said:
4. I heard the Messenger of Allah ( صلى الله عليه وسلم) say, "Islam has been built on five [pillars]: testifying that
there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah,
establishing the salah (prayer), paying the zakat (obligatory charity), making the hajj
(pilgrimage) to the House, and fasting in Ramadhan." [Bukhari & Muslim] (40 Hadith Nawawi 3)
“This day have I perfected for you your religion and completed my favour on you, and chosen
for you Islam as a religion” (5:3)
Islam is interchangeable concepts revolved around the five pillars of action and also refers to the
outward acts performed by the different parts of the body such as words and deeds. Islam is
divided into the following categories, the first one is the speech, by confess with the tongue to
profess that there is no god except Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. After
that the actions of the body which is establish prayer and fasting during the daytime of every day
in the month of Ramadan. (Nasrudin yunos 2007 page: 2-9). Then action involving wealth,
which is the financial deeds include in paying ‘charity’ (zakat) and performing Hajj for whoever
is able to take a way to it since it involves spending a great deal of money and physical worship.
Scholars consider Islam, is the path toward Allah (swt). He has ordered us to go straight, and has
forbidden that we exceed its limits, and that whoever commits any of the things which are
forbidden has crossed over its limits. Whoever completes his performance of the five pillars of
Islam has really become a Muslim, along with the fact that whoever affirms the testimony has
legally become a Muslim.(Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali,Jami’ al-Ulum wa’l-Hikam)
References
ABD ASSAMII ALMISRY (1st edition 1989) ISLAM The Only Way Out Of Anxiety page=9-17
NASRUDIN YUNOS (2007) Pengajian Islam OXFORD FAJAR page=2-9
Pamphlet=MUHAMMAD QUADIR (2013) The Discover Islam Reader
