Islam is derived from the Arabic word "salaama" and has a two-fold meaning: peace and submission to God. This submission requires a fully conscious and keen effort to submit to the one Almighty God. One must intentionally and conscientiously give oneself to the service of Allah.It is a universal religion and its objective is to create and cultivate in man the quality and approach of Islam.
The faith of this religion is the oneness and sovereignty of God, which has shaped and looked upon all human races as one family. Islam religion is against the idea that there are privileged people.
Islam stands for the equality of all humanity without any discrimination on the basis of race, caste, sex, place of birth etc. Unlike other living things human beings have thinking potential and so they are invited to summit to the goodwill of God and obey His law i.e. become a Muslim. Anyone who follows Islam is known as Muslim.
The word "Muslim" is originated from the Arabic word signifying a person totally devoted to the will of the God. And the word "Allah" meaning "the one True God" is also of Arabic origin.
THINGS TO DO" There are no formal restrictions on the times and places these words can be repeated. To become a member of the Muslim community, a person has to profess and act upon this belief in the oneness of God and the prophethood of Muhammad. To be a true profession of faith that represents a relationship between the speaker and God, the verbal utterance must express genuine knowledge of its meaning as well as sincere belief. A person's deeds can be subjected to scrutiny by other Muslims, but a person's utterance of the profession of faith is sufficient evidence of membership in the Muslim community and cannot be challenged by other members of this community.
The Qur'an also refers to the recitation of parts of the Qur'an as a form of prayer. However, even with its numerous references, the Qur'an alone does not give exact instructions for this central ritual of prayer. The most detailed descriptions of the rituals for prayer derive from the example set by the prophet Muhammad and are preserved in later Islamic traditions. Some details of these rituals vary, however all Muslims agree that there are five required daily prayers to be performed at certain times of day: dawn (fajr or subh), noon (zuhr), midafternoon (asr), sunset (maghrib), and evening (isha). The dawn, noon, and sunset prayers do not start exactly at dawn, noon, and sunset; instead, they begin just after, to distinguish the Islamic ritual from earlier pagan practices of worshiping the sun when it rises or sets.
A prayer is made up of a sequence of units called bowings (rak'as). During each of these units, the worshiper stands, bows, kneels, and prostrates while reciting verses from the Qur'an as well as other prayer formulas. With some variations among different Muslim sects, at noon, afternoon, and evening prayers, these units are repeated four times, while during the sunset prayer they are repeated three times, and at dawn only twice. Wherever Muslims live in substantial numbers throughout the world, the call to prayer, or adhan, is repeated five times a day by a muezzin (crier) from a mosque, the Muslim place of worship. In addition to the five required daily prayers, Muslims can perform non-obligatory prayers, some of which have fixed ritual formats and are performed before or after each of the five daily prayers. Others are performed at night, either individually or with other Muslims.
Additional, voluntary charity is called sadaqah, from an Arabic word meaning "truth" and "honesty." Sadaqah may be given at any time and in any amount. While the meaning of terms has been open to different interpretations, the Qur'an regularly refers to zakat, identifying specific ways in which this tax can be spent. These specific uses include spending zakat on the poor and the needy, on those who collect and distribute zakat, on those whom Muslims hope to win over and convert to Islam, on travelers, on the ransom of captives, to relieve those who are burdened with debts, and on the cause of God. Traditional zakat laws do not cover trade, but commercial taxes have been imposed by various Muslim governments throughout history.
Thus Muslims usually engage in further acts of worship beyond the ordinary during Ramadan, such as voluntary night prayer, reading sections from the Qur'an, and paying voluntary charity to the poor. Muslims may even choose to wake before daybreak to eat a meal that will sustain them until sunset. After the fasting ends, the holiday of breaking the fast, 'id al-fitr, begins, lasting for three days. At any time of year fasting is also required as a compensation for various offenses and violations of the law. Many Muslims also perform voluntary fasts at various times of the year as acts of devotion and spiritual discipline. However, such additional fasting is not required by Islamic law.
In the holy month of Ramadan, a Muslim's abstaining from food, drink, sexual intercourse, etc., during the prescribed hours is the very manifestation of obedience to the Creator's will. This self-deprivation represents a state of self-control and of overcoming carnal pleasure, desire, and enjoyment, for the blissful love of God, His proximity, and the eagerness to desires. It is a triumph of pristine love over one's pleasures for the eternal ones promised by God, the Almighty. This response to the Divine commandments represents and incarnates true servitude and is a brilliant display of spirit, intellect and decisive willpower.
Many men shave their heads, and most men and women put on seamless white sheets. This simple and common dress symbolizes the equality of all Muslims before God, a status further reinforced by the prohibition of jewelry, perfumes, sexual intercourse, and hunting. After this ritual purification, Muslims circle the Kaaba seven times, run between al-Safa and al-Marwa, two hills overlooking the Kaaba, seven times, and perform several prayers and invocations. This ritual is a reenactment of the search by Hagar for water to give her son Ismail.
After these opening rituals, the hajj proper commences on the seventh day and continues for the next three days. Again, it starts with the performance of ritual purification followed by a prayer at the Kaaba mosque. The pilgrims then assemble at Mina, a hill outside Mecca, where they spend the night. The next morning they go to the nearby plain of Arafat, where they stand from noon to sunset and perform a series of prayers and rituals. The pilgrims then head to Muzdalifa, a location halfway between Arafat and Mina, to spend the night. The next morning, the pilgrims head back to Mina, on the way stopping at stone pillars symbolizing Satan, at which they throw seven pebbles.
The final ritual is the slaughter of an animal (sheep, goat, cow, or camel). This is a symbolic reenactment of God's command to Ibrahim to sacrifice his son Ismail, which Ibrahim and Ismail duly accepted and were about to execute when God allowed Ibrahim to slaughter a ram in place of his son. (In the Hebrew and Christian Bibles, Abraham is called to sacrifice his son Isaac rather than Ishmael.) Most of the meat of the slaughtered animals is to be distributed to poor Muslims. The ritual sacrifice ends the hajj and starts the festival of the sacrifice, 'id al-adha. The festivals of breaking fast ('id al-fitr) at the end of Ramadan and 'id al-adha are the two major Islamic festivals celebrated by Muslims all over the world. The close of the hajj is marked by a festival, the 'Id al Adha, which is celebrated with prayers and the exchange of gifts in Muslim communities everywhere.
The duty of the members of a society is exactly like the duty of the organs of a body, i.e., man must look for his interests within the framework of the interests of the society. He must consider what benefits the society would derive from his efforts so that by his efforts all are benefited and he also gets benefited. He must defend the rights of others so that his own rights would not be violated. This is a fact which we realize with our Allah-given nature. The holy religion of Islam, which is established on the basis of nature and creation, does not have the commandments and views other than these on this matter.
Thus the above mentioned rituals and duties are considered to be cardinal and to be performed before death in the Islam religion.Islam protects all the human rights: rights to life, liberty, freedom, equality, and justice and above this one of the basic concern are the security of the person. Islam teaches that the closest to Allah and the most beloved of Allah are those who are the best in piety.
Thus all people, male and female, and regardless of race, color, nationality or ethnicity, are considered and treated as equal before Allah and before the law. Today Islamic religion has become the second largest religion in the world. Islam, for the last 1400 years has tried to end this discrimination and a unique example of oneness and brotherhood of all mankind can be seen clearly during the Hajj. Islam has established a universal brotherhood. It has stressed that a true brotherhood can be established only by virtue of mankind's strong relationship with one another through Allah.
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