Who is Muslim?

Who is Muslim?

The religious duties of the Muslim concentrate on the five pillar’s of Islam, which are:

1) Profession of full faith i.e. Shahada:

A person having “musallam imaan” means full faith is called Musalman. Full faith in Kalamah, “La ilaha illallah, Mohammad rasul-ullah” i.e. there is no god but One God and Mohammad was the prophet of God. In short, the belief in unity of God and prophetship of Mohammad. One becomes a Muslim by reciting this phrase with conviction.

2) Prayer i.e. Namaz or Salat:

The prayer is the second pillar of the Muslim religion. Five times a day (dawn, noon, mid-afternoon, sunset and night-fall) is the faithful Muslim supposed to turn his face towards Mecca and recite his prescribed prayer. The Friday noon prayer is public one and is obligatory for all male adults. Prayer includes a recitation of the opening chapter (sura) of the Quran, and is sometimes performed on a small rug or mat used expressly for this purpose. Muslims can pray individually at any location or together in a mosque, where a leader in prayer (imam) guides the congregation. Men gather in the mosque for the noonday prayer on Friday; women are welcome but not obliged to participate. After the prayer, a sermon focuses on a passage from the Quran, followed by prayers by the imam and a discussion of a particular religious topic.

3) Alms-giving (Zakat):

It is a voluntary act of love and is considered almost identical with piety. In accordance with Islamic law, Muslims donate a fixed portion of their income to community members in need. Many rulers and wealthy Muslims build mosques, drinking fountains, hospitals, schools, and other institutions both as a religious duty and to secure the blessings associated with charity.

4) Fasting (Roja of Sawm):

The month of Ramzan or Ramadan, the ninth month of Islamic calendar, has been chosen as most sacred, and every Muslim must keep fast (from all food and drink) from dawn till sunset. Through this temporary deprivation, they renew their awareness of and gratitude for everything God has provided in their lives including the Quran, which was first revealed during this month. During Ramadan they share the hunger and thirst of the needy as a reminder of the religious duty to help those less fortunate.

5) Pilgrimage (hajj):

Every Muslim whose health and finances permit it must make at least one visit to the holy city of Mecca, in present-day Saudi Arabia. The Kaba, a cubical structure covered in black embroidered hangings, is at the center of the Haram Mosque in Mecca. Muslims believe that it is the house Abraham (Ibrahim in Arabic) built for God, and face in its direction (qibla) when they pray. Since the time of the Prophet Muhammad, believers from all over the world have gathered around the Kaba in Mecca on the eighth and twelfth days of the final month of the Islamic calendar.

But courts are not concerned with all the five pillars of Islam to be practices. It has been held that for the purposes of the application of Muslim law, a person is Muslim who believes in two things – Tauhid and Rasul i.e. There is only one God Allah, and Mohammad was the prophet of God. This is the indispensable minimum.