How To Know The Religion of Truth (4/9)
Abdul Rahman Bin Hammad Al-Omar
Sovereignty and Legislative Power Are Exclusive Rights of Allah
Sovereignty and legislative power are exclusive rights of Allah. This is an immediate conclusion of monotheism. Nobody has the right to enact a law contrary to the law of Allah. A Muslim should never govern or judge by laws different from the laws of Allah, nor should he give his consent to any form of judgement or government based on laws contrary to the laws of Allah. According to the Islamic faith, no one has the right to forbid what Allah had made legal, nor can he legalize what Allah had forbidden. Whoever commits intentionally such a deed or approves it is a disbeliever. The Holy Qur’an states that: “And whosoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed, such are the Kafirun (i.e. disbelievers - of a lesser degree as they do not act on Allah's Laws).” (Surah Al-Ma’idah, 5: 44)
The mission of Allah's Prophets is to call people to believe in monotheism and behave according to its precepts. They try to deliver people from the bonds of man worship to the blessings of Allah's service, and to convince them to submit to the laws of Allah instead of submitting themselves to man-made laws.
Whoever recites the Glorious Qur’an attentively and keeps away from following, blindly, people opinions will know that Allah had assigned for man his duties towards Him and his relation with Allah's other creatures.
The servant believing in Allah is aware that all kinds of service should be dedicated to Allah alone and no partner with Him. He knows also that his duty towards prophets and pious men is to follow in their footsteps and express his love to them. As for the enemies of Allah, although it is the duty of the believer to detest them because they are detested by Allah, yet the believer is authorized to call them to Islam and explain its noble meaning to them; they may be guided by such a call and embrace Islam. But if they reject it and refuse to submit to the laws of Allah, a Muslim is permitted to fight them until idolatry is uprooted and the religion of Allah gains victory over polytheism.
The Notion of Acknowledgement That Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah
To testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah means to know and believe sincerely that Muhammad is the Prophet and Messenger whom Allah had sent to all peoples of the world. It means also that Muhammad is a servant of Allah, thus he must not be worshipped, because worshipping is due to Allah Alone. As Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, he must be followed and obeyed, not denied. Whoever obeys Muhammad will abide in the Garden and whoever disobeys him will abide in Hell-Fire. Allah said in the Holy Qur’an: “And whatsoever the Messenger (Muhammad [may Allah's peace be upon him]) gives you, take it; and whatsoever he forbids you, abstain (from it)…” (Surah Al-Hashr, 59: 7)
“But no, by your Lord, they can have no Faith, until they make (O Muhammad [may Allah f s peace be upon him]) judge in all disputes between them, and find in themselves no resistance against your decisions, and accept (them) with the full submission.” (Surah An-Nisa’, 4:65).
This means that, according to the Islamic faith all acts of devotion, all rules of legislation and government, and All rules that explain what is lawful and what is forbidden, should be nothing else than that which had been conveyed to people by the noble Messenger of Allah, Muhammad, may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. The Muslim should not believe in any legislation different from what is transmitted by Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah.
These last two Qur’anic verses mean that Muslims should obey Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah in what he commanded them to do, and desist from all that he prohibited them to do, because the Messenger neither commanded nor prohibited according to his own desires, but he used to do this in conformity with the revelations of Allah. It is also related by Muslim that the Prophet, may the peace and blessings of Allah be on him, said:
“Whoever performs a deed that is not in conformity with our principles, his deed will be rejected.”
Thus, any wise man who wishes to attain happiness in this present life and in the Hereafter and gain salvation after death, should testify that “There is no god save Allah, and that Muhammad is His Messenger”. He should also behave according to the notion of this testimony and practice the other fundamental principles of Islam which constitute the proper way to worship Allah.
Prayer: The Second Pillar of Islam.
The second pillar of Islam is performing prayer. The Muslim is enjoined to perform five obligatory prayers every day to keep himself in relation with His lord, to invoke and implore Him, and to refrain himself from committing lewdness or indecency. These prayers not only ensure psychological rest to the Muslim in this present life, but they also pave the way to him to gain eternal happiness in the Hereafter.
To perform prayer, one should be pure, wearing pure clothes and pray in a clean place.
Before prayer, the Muslim should cleanse himself by pure water, removing all traces of stool, urine, or any other dirt. In this way he purifies himself physically and morally.
Prayer is the pillar of religion. It follows in importance the two testimonies. Therefore, it is not only a duty on a Muslim to perform prayer from his maturity up to his death, but he should also order his household to perform it. He should also order his children to start practicing it from the time when they are 7 years old so that they may be accustomed to perform it promptly. Evidence from the Qur’an:
“Verily, As-Salat (the prayer) is enjoined on the believers at fixed hours.” (Surah An-Nisa’, 4:103).
Further evidence from the Qur’an:
“And they were commanded not, but that they should worship Allah, and worship none but Him Alone (abstaing from ascribing partners to Him), and perform As-Salat (Iqamat as-Salat) and give Zakat, and that is the right Religion.” (Surah Al- Baiyyinah, 98: 5).
In the first of these two verses, Allah told people that prayer is a prescribed duty on all believers and that they should fulfil this duty at its fixed time. In the second verse, Allah made it well-known to mankind that He had created them in order to worship Him Alone, be sincere in their devotion to Him, perform prayer and pay the Zakat (i.e., obligatory charity) to those who deserve it. The Prophet, may the grace of Allah be upon him, said: “The obligation which distinguishes between us and the unbelievers is prayer, therefore, whoever desists from prayer, becomes an unbeliever.” Thus, prayer is a duty on the Muslim in all circumstances. Even if he is sick or frightened he should perform his daily prayers, sitting, standing or lying. If he is unable to perform them in any of these ways, he is permitted to perform them by his eye gestures, or even by his heart.
The five obligatory daily prayers are the Morning Prayer (Fajr), the noon prayer (Zuhr), the afternoon prayer (Asr), the evening prayer (Maghrib) and the night prayer (Ishaa).
The time due for Morning Prayer begins at true dawn and extends until the sun rises. It should not be delayed beyond this span of time. The time for noon prayer starts from the Zawal (a little after the sun has passed the meridian) and extends till one's shadow becomes equal to his own length plus the length of its noontime shadow. The time enjoined for afternoon prayer starts after the end of noon-prayer time and extends until the sun turns yellow. One must hasten to perform it while the sun is still bright. The evening-prayer time begins soon after sunset and lasts till the disappearance of the twilight. Its performance should not be delayed. The night-prayer time begins after the disappearance of the twilight and lasts till midnight. If a Muslim delays one of these five prayers, he commits a grievous sin. He should turn to Allah for repentance and refrain himself from recommitting it. The Qur’an warns those who delay their prayer beyond its fixed times:
“So woe unto those performers of Salat (prayer) (hypocrites), those who delay their Salat (Prayers) from their stated fixed times”. (Surah Al-Maa'oon, 107:4-5).
(Continued)