Discuss the meaning of both the inner and outher practice of three out of the five

pillars of Islam.

Introduction

Islam is fundamentally a faith of submission to the one God and this faith is

demonstrated by defining actions. Islam emphasises that it is through correct practice that

people become Muslims and correct belief allows for accurate practice. A Muslims

integration of the Qur’an into their daily lives determines can be identified by the following

components: the reality of what they do (Islam), what they think (iman), and what they intend

(ihsan).1 The five pillars of the Islamic faith represent fundamental components of worship

and are derived from the invariable sources of the religion. The pillars are obligatory

injunctions (wājib) for every Muslim that is required to accept and obey these

commandments.2 The five pilliars include: “…testifying that there is no true God except Allah

and that Muhammad his slave and messenger; performing of salat; the payment of zakat;

performing hajj (pilgrimage) to the house (of Allah); and sawm (fasting) during the month of

Ramadan.”3 One aspect of rituals and practices in Islam is that they often encompass all areas

of life and address even the smallest, most mundane details. In this regularized worship and

service to God, these ritualized practices occupy the Muslims life in hourly, daily, monthly,

and yearly cycles. Furthermore, these ritual practices are a valid self-expression of Islam, a

symbolic articulation of Muslim ideals and values, and a kind of discourse explaining the way

of Muslim living.4 In order to gain a better understanding of the path in Islam that is defined

by submission and leads to mercy, this essay will explore the esoteric and exoteric dimensions

of three of these pillars: prayer (salat), fasting (sawm), and alms (zakat).

1. The Act of Prayer (Salat)

The first pillar to be discussed is salat. In the Qur’an, it is emphasized that there is no

religion without prayer5 and the most basic understanding of salat is to pray or bless.6 In

1 Sachiko Murata and William Chittick, The Vision of Islam (New York: Paragon, 1994), 9. 2 Seyyed Hossain Nasr, The Hearth of Islam: Enduring Values for Humanity (New York: HarperCollins, 2002), 126. 3 Hafiz Salahuddin Yusuf, Commentary on the Riyād-us-Sāliheen, trans. Muhammad Amin, Abu Usamah Al-Arabi bin Razduq (New York: Darussalam Publishers and Distrubutors, 1999), 840. 4 William A. Graham, “Islam in the Mirror of Ritual”, ed. Richard G. Hovannisian and Speros Vryonis, Jr., Islam’s Understanding of Itself, (California: Undena Publications, 1983), 59. 5 Quotations from the Quran are based, with modifications, on the translation of Syed Vickar Ahamed, English Translation of the Message of the Quran, (Lombard: Book of Signs Foundation, 2007), Yunus, 10:87.

practice, salat is conducted five times throughout each day. Muslims all over the world enjoin

in turning their bodies in the direction of Mecca and turning their minds and hearts towards

God. From the time of the earliest believers, prayer has been realized as a critical obligation

and in its ritual form, with its aura of invocation to God, distinctive to Islam. The Qur’an

commands the performance of salat more than any other practice. Hadiths support that God

loves the salat more than every other human act.7

In the tradition of the Night Journey (miraj), it is relayed that the Prophet Muhammad

experienced a spiritual ascension the Heavens and while there, through speaking directly with

God, the framework for praying five times a day as a necessary practice for all Muslims was

established. The specific times for prayer for Muslims, as explained in the Qur’an, contain a

cosmic element. The following verse emphasizes this when it says: “Establish regular prayers

– from the middle of the day, until the darkness of the night, and recite the Qur’an in the early

dawn: Surely, the reading (faj’r prayer) of the early dawn is witnessed (by special angels).”8

The salat is compulsory for all believing men and women from the age of puberty

until death. In order to perform the salat, the Muslim must first make ablution (wudū). This

cleansing process includes washing the hands and feet as well as rinsing the mouth and ears.

This ritual symbolises the purification of body before the purification of soul.9 There are

twelve essentials (arkan) that explain what is to be said and done while performing the prayer

and these actions are: the intention, the first takbīr, standing, reciting the Fātihah, bowing,

prostrating oneself, becoming still in the prostrating, straightening up after it, witnessing at

the end, sitting during the witnessing, blessing Mustafa, and giving peace).10 These specific

rules make salat familiar for Muslims no matter where it is being performed. Following the

call to prayer delivered by the muezzin, the Muslim places himself in the direction of Mecca

where the Ka’ba stands as a symbol for the first house established in the world. With the

utterance of the takbīr, the salat begins and with each prayer, there is a certain number of

cycles and each cycle is a rak’a. The worshipper recites the opening chapter of the Qur’an

(Fātihah) which is comprised of seven short verses. This is followed the recitation of another

6 “Salāt.” Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W.P. Heinrichs. Brill Online, 2013, Reference. University of Exeter, 11 December 2013<http://o-referenceworks.brillonline.com.lib.exeter.ac.uk/entries/encyclopedia-of-islam-2/salat-COM_1008> 6 Al -Baqara, 2:183. 7Murata and Chittick, The Vision, 11. 8 Al -Isra’, 17:78. 9 Carolyn Fluehr-Lobban, Islamic Society in Practice (Florida: University Press of Florida, 1994), 25. 10 Sayf al-Dīn Tughril, “The Easy Roads of Sayf al-Dīn,” in Faith and Practice of Islam: Three Thirteenth Century Sufi Texts, trans. William C. Chittick (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1992), 138.

chapter (typically short in length). The Muslim then bows with the hands at the knees before

standing upright again. Immediately after, he places his knees, hands, and forehead on the

ground in the form of prostration. With these movements, the Muslim offers praise to God

and invocation of blessings and peace to the Prophet(s) and the faithful. At the end of the

prayer, the Muslim looks to the left and to the right for symbolic greeting to the angels and the

umma.

Turning to God in prayer is the simplest and surest way to obtain His protection. The

first sura to be recited during salat, Fātihah, is important because it is often referred to as the

heart of the Qur’an. This is because it contains a message that allows for access to the

dimensions of communication between man and God.11 Praying is regarded as the sacred

meeting with God and in this sacred deed, channels for the ultimate communication with the

supreme centre of the Islamic universe are opened. At the end of salat, there is part of

invocation (du’ā) that is includes an utterance of God’s names and attributes. Within this, the

Muslim is allowed to share his desires with God directly. The recitation of the Qur’an and the

remembrance of the blessed names of Allah (dhikr) increases the development of man’s

awareness through meditation and obedience.12 Moreover, prostrating is the highest point of

unification with God and also emphasizes the oneness of God. In all of these elements, prayer

serves as a deterrent for the Muslim so as not to engage in defiling and contaminating human

actions. The Muslim avoids these things through prayer because he is aware and through his

communication with God, he has gained the inward disposition to absorb God’s attributes.

Nasr emphasises the esoteric dimension by saying that;

“The prayer is rejuvenation for the soul, protection against evil acts, and a shelter for

believers amid the storm of the life of this world. They have many levels of meaning,

from the most outward to the most esoteric known to and experienced only by the sages

and saints who are the friends of God.”13

Collective consciousness and a powerful expression of solidarity within the Islamic

community are the main benefits of prayer in congregation.14 The congregational prayer

incorporates social dimensions to Islamic practices. In praying alongside each other, in a

masjid or elsewhere, Muslims are able to transcend from the individual to the universal

together. In fact, the congregational Friday prayer is sacrosanct. In the Qur’an it is written: “O

11 Nasr, The Hearth of Islam, 131. 12S. Hossain Nasr, Islamic Spirituality, ed. Allahbakhsh K. Brohi (New York: Crossroads, 1987), 134. 13 Nasr, The Hearth of Islam, 132. 14 Fluehr-Lobban, Islamic Society, 26.

you believe! When the call is recited for prayer on Friday (the day of assembly), hurry

sincerely to the remembrance of God, and leave behind the business (and traffic): that is best

for you if you only know!”15

2. Fasting (Sawm)

The second pillar to be discussed is fasting (sawm) and it can be defined as to be at

rest.16 The Qur’an says: “O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed to you: as it was prescribed

to those before you that you may (learn) self control.”17 This verse represents that fasting is a

compulsory practice for all believers but it is also found in other religions. The ritual of the

annual fast during the month of Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, is has both

a personal and social aspect. When Ramadan has arrived, the Muslim begins his fast with a

special intention (niyya) at dawn. In this intention, it is made explicit that the Muslim seeks to

abstain from eating food, drinking, smoking, and sexual relations in worship to God.18 When

the muezzin calls for the sunset prayer (adhan) at dusk, the fast for the day has ended. In

order to fast, the person must be a Muslim, in full possession of his sense (ākil), and free from

menstruation period (for women). Also, being physically mature (bāligh: the age of puberty)

and capable (kādir) are other conditions of fasting.19 If anyone breaks the fast in Ramadan,

there are particular punishments such as paying money or fasting more than three months

according to the position of the person. Failure to observe the fast while being able to do so is

considered a grave sin.

During the period of Ramadan, the importance of morality is stressed. “Five things

break the fast of the faster-lying, backbiting, slander, ungodly oaths, and looking with

passion.” Even if these actions are normally permitted, practicing these immoral actions is

always forbidden in order to protect persons fast from ruin.20 This protective aspect of

Ramadan emphasises the inner dimension of fasting. The Qur’an was revealed in the

Ramadan and with the influence of this reality the intensification of pray, the recitation of the

Qur’an and act of charity generally increase.21 At the month of fasting, traditional Islamic

15 Al -Jumuah, 62:9. 16 “Sawm.” Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W.P. Heinrichs. Brill Online, 2013, Reference. University of Exeter, 11 December 2013<http://o-referenceworks.brillonline.com.lib.exeter.ac.uk/entries/encyclopedia-of-islam-2/sawm-COM_1008> 17 Al -Baqara, 2:183. 18 “Sawm.” Encyclopaedia of Islam. 19 Murata and Chittick, The Vision, 17. 20Al -Ghazālī, Inner Dimension of Islamic Worship, trans. Muhtar Holland (Leicester: Islamic Foundation, 1983), 76. 21 Nasr, The Hearth of Islam, 133.

cities are sights to behold and distinct exhibitions are arranged that make the cities alive with

the activity.22 Another regard of Ramadan is that every daytime period of year experiences the

practice of fasting because of the lunar calendar system. This reality represents the idea of

equality or the guarantee of fairness and justice.

Fasting is considered as a purification process, which enables the body and the mind

healthy, as well as having beneficial outcomes on society at large.23 This purity comes in

degrees and is related to the blessedness of baraka (blessing or divine power) by abiding to

the formal prescriptions. Hence, the Muslims are concerned with purity in order to integrate

the sacredness of Ramadan and gain as much as possible from the beneficial combination.24

True fasting means fasts from sin as well as food and drink because sins cut of its rewards and

spoil its fruits. “Some who fast obtain nothing from it but hunger and thirst.”25 The breath of

fasting is also more fragrant than musk to God and his angels instead of foul breath, because

he turns away from food for obedience of God.26 When the mould of individual life modifies,

the effects are multiplied in society. Therefore, fasting covers some specific Islamic

articulations such as Islamic community (umma), purity (tahāra), and religious merit (ajr).

These key aspects of Muslims life are shaped by the practice of fasting.27 For example, during

the daylight hours of Ramadan within the traditional Islamic community, all places of eating

are closed because of worthy esteem of fasting. Muslims are often quiet and contemplative

while fasting which reflects the physical and mental effort necessary to properly observe the

fast. In this, it can be understood why fasting is considered a form of personal jihad that

disciplines the moral character of the Muslims suffering from hunger.28 Hence, fasting is a

time for great self-discipline, the practice of the virtues of patience and persistence in hardship

with the sake of God. Moreover, there is not any way to enforce person for making up as a

punishment, because of the nature of fasting, no one but God is wise to a Muslims actions. In

other words, despite the social aspects of Ramadan, this ritual is strictly between the

individual and his Creator. Thus, the sawm emphasises the strong relationship between God

and believers.

22 Murata and Chittick, The Vision, 18. 23 Marjo Buitelaar, Fasting and Feasting in Morocco: Women’s Participation in Ramadan (Oxford: Berg Publishers, 1993), 3. 24 Buitelaar, Fasting, 106. 25 Muhammad ibn Abī Bakr Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya, Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya on the Invocation of God, trans. Michael Abdurrahman Fitzgerald and Moulay Youssef Slitine (Cambridge: The Islamic Text Society, 2000), 34. 26 Al-Jawziyya, Ibn Qayyim, 34-35. 27 Buitelaar, Fasting, 3. 28 Fluehr-Lobban, Islamic Society, 28.

3. Almsgiving (Zakat)

The final pillar to be discussed is zakat, translated as alms tax and the root meaning of

it is to purify.29 In religious responsibility a specific amount of one’s acquired property or

profit for the year is paid to the needy. The ritual of zakat represents similarities with the

responsibility of the in Jewish and Christian practices but the amount of alms and religious

obligation are different.30

The regulations and amount of zakat is calculated according to the quantity of the

property and the situation which it is obtained. Fixed amount for zakat is one portion from

forty pieces or 2.5 percent of one’s profit. If the Muslim has a required qualifications and an

income more than expenditure, the person has to pay zakat. Following verse categorises

people into eight groups who can collect the zakat. “Alms (goods and money given in charity)

are the poor and needy, and those employed to manage the (funds); for those whose hearts

have turned (to truth and belief recently); for those in slavery (and for the freedom of

captives) and in dept; and for (fighters in) the cause of Allah; and for the wayfarer: (it is so)

ordered by Allah, and Allah is knowing, all wise.”31

The basic idea behind almsgiving is that people purify their wealth and profit by

giving a share of it to God. Helping other people with the responsibility of social relevance

completes the purification of an individual’s possessions. With the influence of this aspect,

zakat has more social interaction comparing with other duties because the Muslim cannot pay

zakat to himself. Giving others with the name of God, the person’s heart expands, his breast

relieves, his happiness grows ever stronger and his joy multiplies. Due to the fact this deed

establishes a bridge between God and human, God displays the way to success and

deliverance.32 Zakat also puts emphasise the recognition of the injustice of economic inequity

within the society. Ghazālī emphasises that; “...zakat bids His servants to expand their wealth,

is also significant in respect of purging the habit of miserliness, which is one of the deadly

sins.”33Therefore, zakat reduces the class struggle by strengthening the middle class within

the community in order to create a cure for social diseases.34 Supporting the poor in

gratefulness to God increases the moral structure of the believer. Moreover, the poor person 29 “Zakāt.” Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W.P. Heinrichs. Brill Online, 2013, Reference. University of Exeter, 11 December 2013<http://o-referenceworks.brillonline.com.lib.exeter.ac.uk/entries/encyclopedia-of-islam-2/zakat-COM_1008> 30 Nasr, The Hearth of Islam, 135. 31 At-Tavba, 9:60. 32 Al -Jawziyya, Ibn Qayyim, 38-42. 33 Al -Ghazālī, Inner Dimension, 56,57. 34 Omer Faruk Senturk, Charity in Islam (Izmir: Caglayan A.S., 2007), 47-49.

means insufficient to seek knowledge and perfection because the absence of wealth keeps the

person from remembrance of God and contemplation.35 Thus, zakat helps the Muslim in order

to obtain salvation with the utterance of praise of God. When the communal bonds and unity

are strong within the society, ritualism will flourish.36

Conclusion

In Islam, the pillars do address circumstance. Each of these pillars represents different

means to purifying oneself. Salat purifies the soul of Muslim, the sawm purifies the body, and

the zakat purifies possessions and makes them pleasant to God.37 When a person asked to

Prophet Muhammad the best way for entering the Jannah, he answered: “...Worship Allah,

and never associate anything with Him, establish salat, pay the zakat which has been enjoyed

upon you, and observe sawm of Ramadan.”38 This hadith represents that the uniqueness of

Islamic thinking is embedded in the details of these practices. Thus, this ritualistic schema is

connects all aspects of a Muslims life to worship. On the personal and intimate plain, Islam

emphasizes principles that hold one accountable for their deeds before God and allows for a

relationship and communication between man and God. This relationship is developed

through the esoteric dimensions of the pillars discussed. The more care placed in the practice

of these rituals allows for a healthier individual and hence, a healthier society when

communal worship can be enhanced. Ultimately, the mythological elements and ritual

practices in the historical stream of Muslim religiosity create the notion of unification and

enable person access to the hearth of Islamic experience.39 The knowledge that thankfulness

itself is one of the blessings of God and a gift from him is thankfulness.40 Therefore,

everything that is done for God represents the notion of thankfulness and salvation of soul,

body and wealth.

35 Al -Ghazālī, Patience and Thankfulness, trans. H. T. Littlejohn (Cambridge: The Islamic Text Society, 2011), 133. 36 Graham, “Islam in the Mirror”, 65. 37 Murata and Chittick, The Vision, 16. 38 Yusuf, Commentary on the Riyād-us-Sāliheen, 920. 39 Graham, “Islam in the Mirror”, 54. 40 Al -Ghazālī, Patience, 224.

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