| Muslims
are enjoined to organize their lives on the basis of a
series of ritual acts of worship which are ordained in the
Qur'an as ways which discipline human beings to remember God
constantly, accepting His Sovereignty and pledging to obey
His commandments:
1)
Declaration
of belief (Shahada):
This is the initial act of faith, expressed in a simple
creedal statement which testifies one's commitment to
following the straight path of God's guidance upon which
Muslims seek to live their lives;
"I
bear Witness that there is no god but God;
"I
bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and His
prophet"
This declaration is the door to a life of service, and
to participation in a community of believers whose
highest duty is to call humanity to embrace what is
righteous and good, and to reject what is evil and
degrading. Muslims are sisters and brothers of all
people of true faith, and wish to strive with them for
peace in this world.
2)
Prayer
(Salat):
Offered five times a day, has the '7 effect of reminding the
faithful that "remembrance of God is indeed the
greatest virtue," and helps them adhere to the path of
righteousness, and to restrain themselves from indecency and
evil.
3) Fasting
(Sawm):
Observed through the daylight hours of the 29/30 days of the
Islamic month of Ramadan, involves abstinence from eating,
drinking,
smoking and marital intercourse; this reminds the believers
of their dependence upon God,
as well as their kinship with, and responsibility for the
millions of human beings in the world
who experience involuntary fasting because of the lack of
provisions, or their unjust distribution.
4)
Purification of wealth (Zakat):
This requires the annual giving of a fixed amount of excess
personal assets for the benefit of the poor, the incapacitated,
the deprived, and the welfare of the community; it serves to
remind Muslims that all beneficence comes from the bounty of
God, and is enjoyed only by His mercy; sharing becomes an
act of purification both of the wealth itself, and of the
giver whose soul is disciplined against greed by the virtue
of selflessness.
5)
Pilgrimage (Hajj):
All Muslims should perform Hajj at least once in a lifetime
if personal circumstances permit, gathers the believers as
members of the diverse human family into a single community;
they perform prescribed acts of worship at the Holy House of
the Ka'ba in Mecca which, according to the Quran, was
originally built by the Prophet Abraham and his son Ishmael;
and at Mount Arafat where they remember the pure and
original way of life of Adam, the progenitor of all human
beings, reaffirmed by the Patriarch of the entire human
family, the Prophet Abraham, and finally perfected and
completed by God for all humanity through the mission of the
Prophet Muhammad - the way of life known as Islam which has
at its heart the doctrine of the unity and uniqueness of the
One God.
Each of these prescribed acts of worship bring Muslims daily
and repeatedly before God Almighty as the Creator, Sustainer
and Judge of all humanity.
Through these acts of worship God helps Muslims to fulfill
the obligation of striving which He has ordained for this
life: the striving actively and freely to surrender one's
own will in obedience to the Will of God, inwardly in
intention and outwardly in word and deed, individually in
personal conduct and collectively in the improvement of
society; the striving for peace in the world through the
announcement of true faith, and its defense against all that
threatens it.
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© 2000 The Islamic Center of Las Cruces
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