What is the most elevated truth in Islam?
A Brief Description of the Question:
What is the "Essential molecule (core) of Islam"?
The Answer:
“After belief, the most elevated truth in Islam is the obligatory prayers”
Would you briefly mention the pillars of faith?
Faith has six pillars: To have faith in God, in the Hereafter, in angels, in Holy Books, in prophets, in Qadar (Predestination and Decree). In order for somebody to be a Believer, he needs to have faith in all of these six pillars. A person who has no faith even in one of them cannot be a Believer because the pillars of faith are related with each other.
1- Faith in God:
The first of the pillars of faith is to have faith in God. A Muslim, first, believes that God does exist and is One; this universe is a work of His. He has no partner or match either in His Person, or in His attributes, and His actions. His attributes do not resemble those of the creatures.
All beings have the signs of the existence of God and of His Oneness.
He is pre and post-eternal, and is free of time, space, change, neediness, inability, and defect. There can be no beings having these qualities.
All of God’s attributes cover everything. Everything rests on His will. Just as He has names such as ar-Rahman (the Merciful), ar-Rahim (the Compassionate), al-Ghafur (the Forgiver), He also has names such asal-Qahhar (the Subduer), al-Jabbar (the Most Powerful), and al-Muntaqim (the Avenger). He treats those who have faith in Him with His grace. And He inflicts torture upon the people of unbelief and rebellion.
Only God can be worshipped. The worldly and eternal bliss of people come true only by obeying His commands and prohibitions. This is a divine law; there can be no alteration in this.
Human mind cannot grasp the person, essence and truth of God properly for the mind is a creature and limited. The person and attributes of God Almighty are infinite. That the one that is limited cannot cover the one that is infinite is a clear truth. In other words, whatever you think of God is not actually Him.
God has no partner in His Person; He has no partner in His actions, either. He is the only Creator, Possessor, and Ruler. Just as it is He who creates the causes, it is again Him who creates the results from the causes; just as it is Him who creates the tree, it is again Him who creates the fruit as well.
Praise and worship, thanks and extolling must be offered to Him. Just as believers only worship Him, they also ask for assistance from Him,
“You alone do we worship and You alone do we seek help.” (al-Fatiha, 1:5)
When they commit a sin, they directly ask Him for forgiveness, for nothing but God (SWT) can pardon the sins men commit against Him.
2- Faith in Angels:
Another pillar of faith is to have faith in angels. God Almighty has incorporeal beings called angels. These beings glorify Allah Almighty; besides, they perform other duties consigned to them. These beings, who never rebel against Allah, are not subject to testing; their natures are pure, they are sinless and their places (before Allah) are stable.
Allah Almighty, Who has made a number of feelings occur in human body, the microcosm of this material world, such as love, fear, curiosity, has not left this wonderful universe empty; He has let angels surround it.
3- Faith in Books:
One of the pillars of faith is to have faith in Divine Books. Although man knows the existence and Oneness of Allah Almighty through reason, he cannot know what His orders and prohibitions are, how he can perform his duty of worship for Him, in short, what God Almighty is pleased with, and not. For this reason, Allah Almighty sent down the Divine Books. One hundred of the Divine Books came in the form of scriptures while the four came in the form of books. These four Divine Books, in sequence, are the Psalms of David, the Torah, the Bible, and the Quran.
A Muslim is obliged to believe in those pillars completely. With the advent of the Quran, the other Divine Books have been removed from the field of practice. Having come to the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), the Holy Quran has come to our age without changing even a single letter. Thus, God Almighty’s undertaking, “We have, without doubt, sent down the Message; and We will assuredly guard it (from corruption)” (al-Hijr, 15:9) has proven true.
4- Faith in Prophets:
Another pillar of faith is to have faith in prophets. That God Almighty warns people with a prophet, who is himself a human being, is a divine law.
The prophethood is an enormous necessity and a great gift for man. God Almighty showed man the ways of guidance through these guiders and leaders.
The duty of prophets is to announce the commands that they receive through revelation and inspiration to the humankind and to show them the ways of both worldly and eternal bliss. These persons have two aspects; servitude, and messengership. In terms of servitude, they obey the commands and prohibitions of God Almighty perfectly; in this respect, they set a model for humanity. In terms of messengership, they announce the truth to people.
Prophets are creatures and servants of God. Muslims are expected to believe all of the prophets. Once they deny the prophethood of any of them, they step out of the field of Islam. For example, a person cannot be a believer unless he believes in the prophethood of Moses (PBUH) and of Jesus (PBUH) etc. Their prophethood is clear in the Quran. To have faith in them is a requirement of faith in Books and prophets.
The first of prophets is Adam (PBUH) and the final one is Muhammad (PBUH). The institution of prophethood has ended with the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). In this respect, the Prophet Muhammad is called the Seal of Prophets.
As the verse, “We have not sent thee but as a universal (Messenger) to men” (Saba, 34:28) states, the Prophet Muhammad was sent not to a tribe but to the whole of the universe.
As the verse, “We sent thee not, but as a mercy for all creatures” (al-Anbiya, 107) declares, Muhammad (PBUH) has always been a bounty and an eternal mercy for all beings.
5- Faith in the Hereafter:
One of the most important pillars of faith is to have faith in resurrection after death and in the life in the Hereafter. God Almighty, who bestows both material and heavenly bounties upon them in this worldly life, will be bestowing again both material and heavenly infinite bounties upon His servants who passed the test on earth.
God, who resuscitates all dead plants in the spring, certainly will resuscitate dead people in the Hereafter. This is the requirement of his mercy and justice.
6- Faith in Predestination and Decree:
One of the pillars of faith is to have faith in Qadar (Predestination and Decree). Qadar is examined in two ways. The first; the ordaining and creation of all beings in the knowledge of God in terms of person, shape, and all features. This field is out of testing.
As for the second, it is related to man’s will power. God creates whatever man prefers and does, be it good or evil, with his will power,. The man is accountable for this second part. Paradise and Hell are the fruits of this right of preference granted to man.
What are the Times of the Five Daily Prescribed Prayers?
Every sane, adult Muslim must perform the five daily prescribed prayers each within its own time. The Quran mentions these times. For example:
Establish the prayer at the beginning and the end of the day, and in the watches of night near to the day. Assuredly, good deeds wipe out evil deeds. This is advice and a reminder for the mindful who take heed. (11:114)
Establish the prayer from the declining of the sun to the darkness of the night, and (be ever mindful of) the Qurans recitation at dawn. Assuredly, the Qurans recitation at dawn is witnessed (by angels and the whole creation awakening to a new day). (17:78)
Bear patiently what they say, and glorify your Lord with His praise before the rising of the sun, and before its setting, and during some of the hours of the night glorify Him, and at the sides of the day, that you may become pleased with the reward which God shall give you. (20:114)
Glory be to God whenever you reach evening and whenever you rise in the morning. All praise is for Him in the heavens and on Earth, in the late afternoon, and whenever you reach the noon. (30:17-18)
These verses circumscribe the five prescribed prayers. The prayers to be established at the sides of the day, at its beginning and end from the declining of the sun to the darkness of night, are the noon and afternoon prayers. The original word for watches of night near to the day is zulef, which is plural. In Arabic, plural includes at least three things, so it can be concluded that it refers to the three prayers to be established during night (e.g., the evening, late evening, and dawn [early morning> prayers). These five prayers were prescribed for the Muslims during the Messengers Ascension in the ninth year of his Messengership, 4 years before the Hijra.
Verse 17:78 also alludes to the daily five prescribed prayers and each ones time. Declining of the sun means the suns passing its zenith, and therefore hints at the noon prayer. After the noon prayer, comes the afternoon prayer. Immediately after sunset and after night has fallen, the evening and late evening prayers are performed, respectively. The verse specifically mentions the dawn prayer because of its importance, and draws attention to reciting the Quran during it, for the Messenger, under Divine Revelation, used to lengthen his recitation during that prayer.
Some of the hadiths (i.e., Tirmidhi, Salat, 1) narrate the Messengers statements about the exact time of each prayer. According to these hadiths, as well as the practice of the Prophet and his Companions, the time of each prayer is as follows:
The fajr (dawn or early morning) prayer is performed from the break of dawn until sunrise.
The zuhr (noon) prayer is performed when the sun passes its zenith until a persons shadow is the same length as his or her height.
The asr (afternoon) prayer is performed when a persons shadow is the same length as his or her height and continues until the yellowing of the sun.
The maghrib (evening) prayer is performed as long as twilight lasts until the suns complete disappearance.
The isha (night) prayer begins with the end of twilight and continues until a short while before the break of dawn.
The Jumua prayer is performed during the time of the noon prayer on Friday.
The time of the Iyd (religious festive days) prayers is some three quarters after sunrise on Iyd days. Their time continues until the sun reaches its zenith.
The Times When Prayers Cannot Be Performed
During sunrise and sunset.
From sunrise until the sun has completely risen to the length of a spear above the horizon (approximately three quarters after sunrise).
When the sun is at its zenith until it moves slightly to the west.
After the afternoon prayer till the sun sets.
Prayers must not be offered during the approximately three quarters in the last three times in which praying is forbidden. However, if one has not been able to perform the afternoon prayer during its time, one can perform it until the sun begins to disappear in the west.
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