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The obligation to think about the pillars of Islam
Hossam Badrawi
In an interview with the dreamers of tomorrow about Professor Al-Akkad’s book “Thinking is an Islamic Obligation,” I told them: In this book, the professor tries to answer two very important questions: Do thought and religion agree? Akkad answers yes; He mentions the verses of the Qur’an that call for contemplation, which glorify the mind as a means of contemplation. He notes that the Noble Qur’an does not remind the mind except with glorification, and calls for reference to it. Rather, it reaches the conclusion that: Thinking and implementing the mind is an Islamic obligation, and how can it not be that it is a religion devoid of fortune-telling and mediation between the servant and his Lord, as the Qur’anic discourse is directed to the free, sane person urging him to He reflects on the signs of God in the universe and himself; To realize his existence!
One of the young men smiled and said: They took the professor’s logic and belief in the obligation to use reason and thinking. You encouraged me to ask you about the Five Pillars of Islam, and where did they come from, because I did not find a mention of them in the Holy Qur’an?
The question is: Why were the pillars of Islam not clearly stated in the Holy Qur’an, despite them being essential pillars of religion as we were taught since childhood?!
And his educated colleague added: It was mentioned in Lisan al-Arab that the corner of a thing is its strongest side.
And if the Noble Qur’an consists of six thousand and two hundred verses, then do the pillars of Islam not deserve to be presented or to allocate one verse or more to it from any of the Noble Qur’an?!
I said: It may be that God, in His wisdom, has left us to extract the pillars of Islam with an expansion of our understanding and a maturity of our knowledge, referring to the fact that we realize that Islam is valid for every age!
Naming five pillars of Islam came based on an interview with a famous attributed to the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him by Ibn Umar (Islam is built on five testimony that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, establishing prayer, paying zakat, hajj, and fasting of Ramadan) Narrated Al-Bukhari, as well as Muslim.
The educated young woman said: On the other hand, there are dozens of hadiths attributed to him, peace and blessings be upon him, and attributed to the same references that do not mention the five pillars in full and are satisfied with only two, three or four of them.
Likewise, the general Shiite Muslims believe in the five pillars of Islam, but the Shiites add to them the pillar of guardianship as a necessary basis for the correctness of the religion!
In a saying attributed to Abu Jaafar in Kitab al-Kafi: “Islam is built on five: on prayer, almsgiving, fasting, pilgrimage, and guardianship. It means state.
I said: It must be clear to you the political aspect to which this choice is implied.
And I added: Another formula about the three pillars of Islam is also found in the book (Al Kafi), a formula that omits Hajj and fasting from the pillars of Islam:
And on the authority of al-Sadiq, he said: Islam is three: “Prayer, zakat, and guardianship, not one of them is valid without the two of them.”
For Ismaili Shiite Muslims, the religion is based on seven pillars, or the so-called seven pillars, which are: guardianship – purity – prayer – zakat – fasting – Hajj – jihad. We conclude from this that the problem of determining the number of pillars of Islam, and determining the nature of these pillars is a Sunni and Shiite problem as well, and is not limited only to a particular sect.
The Mu’tazilites, for example, agreed on the five principles of Islam: “Tawheed, justice, status between the two states, promise and threat, enjoining good and forbidding evil.” In his book (Al-Mughni), Judge Abdul-Jabbar, one of the prominent Mu’tazilites, adopted two principles: justice and monotheism, where he included everything else in them.
Even the five pillars of Islam mentioned in the hadith narrated on the authority of Ibn Umar have two pillars, namely Hajj and fasting, which are not certain according to some commentators.
The pilgrimage is for those who are able to do so, that is, there is a choice in it according to the possibility. And fasting is the same, as some interpret the verses of fasting as “Those who can afford it must ransom the food of a poor person.”.. Fasting is a choice as long as one feeds a poor person in exchange for not fasting.
With logic and reason, I see that prayer, despite its importance, is aimed at man and not God Almighty. God does not need our prayers, but we are the ones who need the connection with Him. We did it in any way in all religions, they are moments of focus in God Almighty and keep us away from material things and enrich our souls.
And I added: It is clear, guys, from the above that what is described as the five pillars of Islam is a jurisprudence that has been adopted among several opinions and jurisprudence, which are justified in the texts of the Noble Qur’an.
– Now comes diligence, development and consideration of all humanity and what it has evolved into. What prevents the existence of other formulations of the pillars of Islam that adhere to the priorities of modern life? .. Why do we not search for human commonalities and meet all of humanity in what our religion has agreed upon and proclaimed at the same time?
What is required is a new understanding that liberates us from the chronic shortcomings we live in, and the civilizational inertia we have become familiar with. What prevents the foundation of Islamic understanding on additional pillars, foundations and standards that are appropriate to the situation of the times and the ambition of man, and they are found in the origin and words of the Holy Qur’an?!
There are hundreds of Quranic texts that correspond to the priorities of life, justice, freedom, human rights standards, morals, and the taste for beauty.
And it came in a hadith attributed to our Master Muhammad: “I was sent to perfect morals.”
And in the text of the Holy Qur’an itself: {And follow the best of what was revealed to you from your Lord, before the punishment suddenly came to you} (Azhama 55).
So choosing the most appropriate in terms of people’s interests is a duty and a good thing.
– Why not be the priority of the life of the pillars of Islam, came in the text of the Qur’an: {for that we wrote on the children of Israel that whoever kills the same or corruption in the earth as if he killed all if it is recited people saved all} (32) table? !.
Why is justice not one of the pillars of Islam, and God Almighty says: {O you who believe!
Hossam Badrawi
In an interview with the dreamers of tomorrow about Professor Al-Akkad’s book “Thinking is an Islamic Obligation,” I told them: In this book, the professor tries to answer two very important questions: Do thought and religion agree? Akkad answers yes; He mentions the verses of the Qur’an that call for contemplation, which glorify the mind as a means of contemplation. He notes that the Noble Qur’an does not remind the mind except with glorification, and calls for reference to it. Rather, it reaches the conclusion that: Thinking and implementing the mind is an Islamic obligation, and how can it not be that it is a religion devoid of fortune-telling and mediation between the servant and his Lord, as the Qur’anic discourse is directed to the free, sane person urging him to He reflects on the signs of God in the universe and himself; To realize his existence!
One of the young men smiled and said: They took the professor’s logic and belief in the obligation to use reason and thinking. You encouraged me to ask you about the Five Pillars of Islam, and where did they come from, because I did not find a mention of them in the Holy Qur’an?
The question is: Why were the pillars of Islam not clearly stated in the Holy Qur’an, despite them being essential pillars of religion as we were taught since childhood?!
And his educated colleague added: It was mentioned in Lisan al-Arab that the corner of a thing is its strongest side.
And if the Noble Qur’an consists of six thousand and two hundred verses, then do the pillars of Islam not deserve to be presented or to allocate one verse or more to it from any of the Noble Qur’an?!
I said: It may be that God, in His wisdom, has left us to extract the pillars of Islam with an expansion of our understanding and a maturity of our knowledge, referring to the fact that we realize that Islam is valid for every age!
Naming five pillars of Islam came based on an interview with a famous attributed to the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him by Ibn Umar (Islam is built on five testimony that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, establishing prayer, paying zakat, hajj, and fasting of Ramadan) Narrated Al-Bukhari, as well as Muslim.
The educated young woman said: On the other hand, there are dozens of hadiths attributed to him, peace and blessings be upon him, and attributed to the same references that do not mention the five pillars in full and are satisfied with only two, three or four of them.
Likewise, the general Shiite Muslims believe in the five pillars of Islam, but the Shiites add to them the pillar of guardianship as a necessary basis for the correctness of the religion!
In a saying attributed to Abu Jaafar in Kitab al-Kafi: “Islam is built on five: on prayer, almsgiving, fasting, pilgrimage, and guardianship. It means state.
I said: It must be clear to you the political aspect to which this choice is implied.
And I added: Another formula about the three pillars of Islam is also found in the book (Al Kafi), a formula that omits Hajj and fasting from the pillars of Islam:
And on the authority of al-Sadiq, he said: Islam is three: “Prayer, zakat, and guardianship, not one of them is valid without the two of them.”
For Ismaili Shiite Muslims, the religion is based on seven pillars, or the so-called seven pillars, which are: guardianship – purity – prayer – zakat – fasting – Hajj – jihad. We conclude from this that the problem of determining the number of pillars of Islam, and determining the nature of these pillars is a Sunni and Shiite problem as well, and is not limited only to a particular sect.
The Mu’tazilites, for example, agreed on the five principles of Islam: “Tawheed, justice, status between the two states, promise and threat, enjoining good and forbidding evil.” In his book (Al-Mughni), Judge Abdul-Jabbar, one of the prominent Mu’tazilites, adopted two principles: justice and monotheism, where he included everything else in them.
Even the five pillars of Islam mentioned in the hadith narrated on the authority of Ibn Umar have two pillars, namely Hajj and fasting, which are not certain according to some commentators.
The pilgrimage is for those who are able to do so, that is, there is a choice in it according to the possibility. And fasting is the same, as some interpret the verses of fasting as “Those who can afford it must ransom the food of a poor person.”.. Fasting is a choice as long as one feeds a poor person in exchange for not fasting.
With logic and reason, I see that prayer, despite its importance, is aimed at man and not God Almighty. God does not need our prayers, but we are the ones who need the connection with Him. We did it in any way in all religions, they are moments of focus in God Almighty and keep us away from material things and enrich our souls.
And I added: It is clear, guys, from the above that what is described as the five pillars of Islam is a jurisprudence that has been adopted among several opinions and jurisprudence, which are justified in the texts of the Noble Qur’an.
– Now comes diligence, development and consideration of all humanity and what it has evolved into. What prevents the existence of other formulations of the pillars of Islam that adhere to the priorities of modern life? .. Why do we not search for human commonalities and meet all of humanity in what our religion has agreed upon and proclaimed at the same time?
What is required is a new understanding that liberates us from the chronic shortcomings we live in, and the civilizational inertia we have become familiar with. What prevents the foundation of Islamic understanding on additional pillars, foundations and standards that are appropriate to the situation of the times and the ambition of man, and they are found in the origin and words of the Holy Qur’an?!
There are hundreds of Quranic texts that correspond to the priorities of life, justice, freedom, human rights standards, morals, and the taste for beauty.
And it came in a hadith attributed to our Master Muhammad: “I was sent to perfect morals.”
And in the text of the Holy Qur’an itself: {And follow the best of what was revealed to you from your Lord, before the punishment suddenly came to you} (Azhama 55).
So choosing the most appropriate in terms of people’s interests is a duty and a good thing.
– Why not be the priority of the life of the pillars of Islam, came in the text of the Qur’an: {for that we wrote on the children of Israel that whoever kills the same or corruption in the earth as if he killed all if it is recited people saved all} (32) table? !.
Why is justice not one of the pillars of Islam, and God Almighty says: {O you who believe!
Be steadfast witnesses for God NWA martyrs for justice, not hatred of any people seduce not Tadloa Adloa is closer to piety, and fear Allah, Allah is Aware of what you do} (table?!.
We note the formula of the divine command in {God commands justice and goodness and giving to kin and forbids immorality and dishonesty} (90).
Why isn’t freedom, including freedom of belief, up to the freedom to choose Islam as a religion or any other religion, or even that there is no right of religion for man, and his account is with his Lord?!.
– Forcing a person to believe in a specific belief came in the Qur’anic position of slander: {And if your Lord had willed, all of them on earth would have believed together.
– So, with logic and reason, the pillars of Islam are not rituals or sentences and some actions chosen by the jurists only. Rather, we can add to them from the heart of the Qur’an what is consistent with the true religion and agrees with humanity and what it has evolved into.. We do not detract from Islam anything from what the predecessors understood and add to it. What unites humanity and all religions in an agreed-upon content that we clearly have in the Qur’an.
The five pillars of Islam have their place in reason, logic, jurisprudence and Sharia..and out of jealousy over the true image of Islam, which is being blurred and distorted, what is not to prevent us from adding to these pillars what enhances its position and removes the dust of deliberate ignorance of its contents. So why do we not add from the pillars what the Qur’an has repeatedly mentioned about the importance of these values, such as:
Freedom to choose
Justice in installments
and honesty
and equality
and do good
Mercy and forgiveness?
Doesn’t that make seeing Islam in today’s world better and justly, instead of attaching murder, captivity, aggression and terrorism to it?! .. I add that the numerical statistics in the Holy Qur’an support my point of view, for justice has been mentioned 28 times, truthfulness 153 times, and life 145 times. Recompense and its derivatives are 117, and forgiveness and its derivatives are 234. Likewise, God has rejected injustice 200 times in the Holy Qur’an.
This is my view, not an omission from the well-known pillars, but rather an addition to them about logic, truth and Quranic reference.
We note the formula of the divine command in {God commands justice and goodness and giving to kin and forbids immorality and dishonesty} (90).
Why isn’t freedom, including freedom of belief, up to the freedom to choose Islam as a religion or any other religion, or even that there is no right of religion for man, and his account is with his Lord?!.
– Forcing a person to believe in a specific belief came in the Qur’anic position of slander: {And if your Lord had willed, all of them on earth would have believed together.
– So, with logic and reason, the pillars of Islam are not rituals or sentences and some actions chosen by the jurists only. Rather, we can add to them from the heart of the Qur’an what is consistent with the true religion and agrees with humanity and what it has evolved into.. We do not detract from Islam anything from what the predecessors understood and add to it. What unites humanity and all religions in an agreed-upon content that we clearly have in the Qur’an.
The five pillars of Islam have their place in reason, logic, jurisprudence and Sharia..and out of jealousy over the true image of Islam, which is being blurred and distorted, what is not to prevent us from adding to these pillars what enhances its position and removes the dust of deliberate ignorance of its contents. So why do we not add from the pillars what the Qur’an has repeatedly mentioned about the importance of these values, such as:
Freedom to choose
Justice in installments
and honesty
and equality
and do good
Mercy and forgiveness?
Doesn’t that make seeing Islam in today’s world better and justly, instead of attaching murder, captivity, aggression and terrorism to it?! .. I add that the numerical statistics in the Holy Qur’an support my point of view, for justice has been mentioned 28 times, truthfulness 153 times, and life 145 times. Recompense and its derivatives are 117, and forgiveness and its derivatives are 234. Likewise, God has rejected injustice 200 times in the Holy Qur’an.
This is my view, not an omission from the well-known pillars, but rather an addition to them about logic, truth and Quranic reference.
