Abdul Haqq Godlas, professor from the University of Georgia (yeah!) [link], delivered two very detailed powerpoint presentations – whose facts were entirely backed up and referenced to that perfect holy text, the Qur’an, and the imperfect by highly regarded Hadith – on din (religion) and iman (faith)
[The Qur’an is divided into 114 suras (equivalent to books in the Bible) and subdivided into ayat (plural of ayah) (equivalent to verses). Subsequently, the notation 1:1-7 would refer to ayahs one through seven inside the first sura.]
In his first presentation, Professor Godlas went into his motivation for his lecture and discussed the components of Islam as they are mentioned in a hadith about the Angel Gabriel.
There is a buzz phrase in higher education, “teaching for understanding,” and, while many educators have believed themselves to be doing just that, it entails more than rote knowledge. Professor Godlas proposes the example of violence, as an endemic problem of misunderstanding. To put it succinctly, misunderstanding lead to alienation, social distancing, dehumanization, demon-ization, and violence (in that order). Educators of all forms have the ability to reduce the potential for violence by teaching for understanding, rather than tolerance.
The Angel Gabriel Hadith formed the seed of his lectures since it mentioned many basic components of this religion. Namely, Islam – Surrender, Iman – Faith, Ihsan – Being and living beautifully, The Hour – the period toward the end of time or day of judgment, and Din – religion. This first presentation will focus on Din as an introduction so that the audience can use the reference of their own religious practices to understanding the practices of Islam.
[As I move into all this detail, recognize that the knowledge base of the writing is entirely based on Abdul Haqq Godlas’s work.]
These practices, which Islam is often associated with, are also intertwined and inseparable from the doctrine of Islam. [Thus, the numerous references back to the Qur’an.]Din generally means religion, and comes from a root word meaning to serve or to obey. In the Qur’an, din is the rules, regulations, norms for correct activity, the message brought by all prophets, and it should be noted that everyone, even disbelievers, have a din.
Din is the asserting of God’s unity – Tawhid. God established din to bring individual together into a common group with the above correct activity (42:13). Other references to the message brought by the prophets on din in the Qur’an include (21:25), (12:40), and (3:19). Each individual has their own din, which Godlas describe as a comprehensive worldview, which can act as a cross-cultural tool by Muslims and non-Muslims in order to reach understanding of Islam that Godlas desires for us.
There are five components, or five pillars, of din in Islam:
Shahadah – Bearing witness to God’s oneness and the Prophet Muhammad as the divine messenger
Salat – Prayer
Zakat – Almsgiving
Sawm – Fasting during Ramadan
Hajj - Pilgrimage
Godlas broke down the Shahadah declaration into its components:
Ash’hadu an / la / ilaha / ill / Allah.
I bear witness that / there is no / god (or object of worship) / except / God.
Ash’hadu anna / Muhammadan / rasul Allah.
I bear witness that / Muhammad / is the messenger of God.
The Shahadah mentions Muhammad, who is recognized as a divinely authorized messenger. In addition to the Qur’an, believers should conform themselves to Muhammad’s instructions (4:59). This is the justification for using Muhammad’s words and actions (sunnah) and collecting them in (hadith) – according to Godlas.
[There is a sidebar to be noted the idea in Shi’ism is that spiritual authority was subsequently passed to Ali upon Muhammad’s death. Sunni Muslims do not agree.]
The second component is Salat (2:110), (98:5). Many people are familiar, at least in name, with these prayers – especially those required 5x a day – but there are other kinds which in the end are used to diminish the chances one will act in an evil manner (29:45) and as a means of purification.
There are prerequisites and requisites for salat. Muslims after puberty must wear clean clothes and be clean (ablutions) before praying. These ablutions include a major act (ghusl – involves washing entire body after sexual intercourse, seminal emission, …) and a minor act (wudu - involves washing face, hands, feet after sleep, breaking wind, answering the call of nature, …). The requisites for prayer include a clean place or a prayer rug, call to prayer (Adh’an – to call people to mosque, and Iqamah – immediately before prayer), a certain number of prayers cycles (rak-‘ah), recitation of the first sura of the Qur’an (fatihah), other Qur’anic recitations in Arabic, and particular movements of the body.
Zakat is the third component that is a giving of charity (typically 2.5-10% of certain assets one possesses) in order to purify the remaining wealth that one has and to reduce poverty for certain people (9:60) in the world.
Sawm – the fasting during Ramadan is another highly visible practice of Islam (2:185). Most people have heard of the trials of Muslim praying 5x from dawn to late evening, and the additional challenge of conducting themselves during the day without food, drink, smoking, sex, etc. for 30 days during the 9th month of the Islamic calendar. In my opinion, this is similar to Lent and one must be careful not to break diminishes the benefits of sawm by lying, backbiting, slander, ungodly oaths, looking with a passion (as at a person) according to Godlas.
The fifth component of Islam mentioned in the Qur’an, (2:197) and (2:198-200), is Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca. Since I’ve already written too, much I’ll skip the well-known origin of this event that occurs in the 8-13th days of the 12th month of the Islamic calendar. Hajj has many rules for one to learn and perform, [which I myself need to learn at another point] during each of these days. In the end, the purpose lies in fulfilling one’s duty to God (3:96-97).
These five components comprise the din of Islam. The actions above are done with intentions. Godlas says, “A worthy intention is to do any religious action, not selfishly, but for God’s sake.” With so much content and meaning behind the din, I would be surprised if any Muslim would go through all these actions without the proper intentions.
Ash’hadu an / la / ilaha / ill / Allah.
I bear witness that / there is no / god (or object of worship) / except / God.
Ash’hadu anna / Muhammadan / rasul Allah.
I bear witness that / Muhammad / is the messenger of God.
The Shahadah mentions Muhammad, who is recognized as a divinely authorized messenger. In addition to the Qur’an, believers should conform themselves to Muhammad’s instructions (4:59). This is the justification for using Muhammad’s words and actions (sunnah) and collecting them in (hadith) – according to Godlas.
[There is a sidebar to be noted the idea in Shi’ism is that spiritual authority was subsequently passed to Ali upon Muhammad’s death. Sunni Muslims do not agree.]
The second component is Salat (2:110), (98:5). Many people are familiar, at least in name, with these prayers – especially those required 5x a day – but there are other kinds which in the end are used to diminish the chances one will act in an evil manner (29:45) and as a means of purification.
There are prerequisites and requisites for salat. Muslims after puberty must wear clean clothes and be clean (ablutions) before praying. These ablutions include a major act (ghusl – involves washing entire body after sexual intercourse, seminal emission, …) and a minor act (wudu - involves washing face, hands, feet after sleep, breaking wind, answering the call of nature, …). The requisites for prayer include a clean place or a prayer rug, call to prayer (Adh’an – to call people to mosque, and Iqamah – immediately before prayer), a certain number of prayers cycles (rak-‘ah), recitation of the first sura of the Qur’an (fatihah), other Qur’anic recitations in Arabic, and particular movements of the body.
Zakat is the third component that is a giving of charity (typically 2.5-10% of certain assets one possesses) in order to purify the remaining wealth that one has and to reduce poverty for certain people (9:60) in the world.
Sawm – the fasting during Ramadan is another highly visible practice of Islam (2:185). Most people have heard of the trials of Muslim praying 5x from dawn to late evening, and the additional challenge of conducting themselves during the day without food, drink, smoking, sex, etc. for 30 days during the 9th month of the Islamic calendar. In my opinion, this is similar to Lent and one must be careful not to break diminishes the benefits of sawm by lying, backbiting, slander, ungodly oaths, looking with a passion (as at a person) according to Godlas.
The fifth component of Islam mentioned in the Qur’an, (2:197) and (2:198-200), is Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca. Since I’ve already written too, much I’ll skip the well-known origin of this event that occurs in the 8-13th days of the 12th month of the Islamic calendar. Hajj has many rules for one to learn and perform, [which I myself need to learn at another point] during each of these days. In the end, the purpose lies in fulfilling one’s duty to God (3:96-97).
These five components comprise the din of Islam. The actions above are done with intentions. Godlas says, “A worthy intention is to do any religious action, not selfishly, but for God’s sake.” With so much content and meaning behind the din, I would be surprised if any Muslim would go through all these actions without the proper intentions.
Practice, while inseparable from the doctrine, guides the Muslim in their worship. My hat is off to the devout Muslim.
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