describe the fuindamental theme of the quran"allah and himself" and elaborate the unique attributes of allah.
Answers
Explanation:
the fundamental of Islam if u mean by that the five pillars of Islam they're the shahadad which is an affirmation that there is no diety except Allah and that Mohammed (s.w) is prophet and the massenger that constitute the first pillar or fundamental then second pillar is prayer salat and then the fasting according to some which is sawm or the fast of Ramzan and the payment of what I call a social tax, which is called zakat. Others call it charity; I call it a social tax. It is 2.5 percent of what one has had, what one has owned of certain kinds of wealth for a period of one year.
The fifth is the pilgrimage, the hajj. The pilgrimage to the Kaaba -- not to Mecca per se -- but to the Kaaba, which is in Mecca. Those are the five pillars or the five fundamentals.
And there are principles, too -- another set of beliefs?
That's true, and they are: belief in Allah; belief in the prophets [of] scriptures; belief in the last day, that there's a judgment, there's a hereafter and an afterlife; belief in angels, et cetera. Some scholars say there are four, some say five, some say six. Those are pretty much agreed upon. ... I would say the beliefs are not really that much emphasized in Muslim societies, particularly Arabic Muslim societies; not that much. The main thing is the main set of principles are those that we just talked about -- the five principles. ...
Those are the things that you actually had to do, and not so much a way of being?
Actually, you've made a very important statement. If we look at the five principles of Islam, or the five pillars or the five fundamentals, belief practically ends with the first pillar of Islam. In other words, that affirmation that Allah is the only deity and that Muhammad is his messenger. After that, everything is action, is practice. The other four, i.e., praying, fasting, paying the zakat -- what I call a social tax -- and the hajj, involve action. Muslims are very action-oriented.
So what does it take to be Muslim? Is it believing that first principle?
According to widely accepted authoritative hadiths, or sayings of the prophets, Islam is built on five pillars. It's those five pillars we just mentioned. Once one accepts those five principles, one is considered a Muslim. In fact, upon pronouncing the shahada, which is only the first of those principles, a person is considered a Muslim. So it's easy to become a Muslim. It's easier than joining the Republican or Democratic Party. It's very easy to become a Muslim. Technically, it [only] takes seconds to become a Muslim.
But do you have to do all those other things the rest of your life?
To stay a Muslim, I would say, yes, all of those are important. How important those things are, is really, in my view, an academic, a scholarly argument. Why do I say that? Because in a social context, a person may be taken for a Muslim who does not pray; who does not pay any zakat; who does not do many or all of the other four principles of Islam. In other words, there is such a thing as socio-cultural Muslim, a public Muslim. Then there is another kind of Muslim, I would say, who is technically a Muslim, who is legally a Muslim, I'd like to say. And [who] therefore follows the law. ...