The five duties of submission as taught in the Quran alone: the declaration that there is no god except God, the five daily contact prayers and their times, obligatory charity, fasting in Ramadan, and Hajj, each corrected against man-made additions. A report on the 17th annual United Submitters International Conference in Tucson, Arizona, in August 2002 follows, covering its Friday sermon on the garment of righteousness.
Muslims (Submitters) are required to observe
religious duties and do righteous things to prove their faith to God.
Faith alone does not guarantee redemption. We must worship our Lord to
attain goodness in this world and in the next (15:99).
Religious duties are also necessary to feed our souls (6:158, 10:90-92),
the same way we feed our bodies with food and drink. Unfortunately, over
the years the religious duties were corrupted by the addition of man-made
rules and regulations; as such the religion of Islam was made too difficult
for the people. This is in spite of the fact that God told us in the Quran
that He does not want to make the
religion difficult for us (5:6). As a believer
in “True Islam,” the only book to uphold is the Holy Quran.
The Quran is the only book we need, and following other than God’s
revelations is a gross sin:
Why do they not study the Quran carefully? If it were
from other than God, they would have found in it numerous contradictions.
(4:82)
Shall I seek other than God as a source of law, when He
has revealed to you this book fully detailed? Those who received the scripture
recognize that your Lord revealed it, truthfully. You shall not harbor
any doubt.
The word of your Lord is complete in truth and justice.
Nothing
shall abrogate His words. He
is the Hearer, Omniscient. (6:114-115)
Adam was the first messenger of God, and all messengers after that,
preached the message of Islam – to worship One God alone. It was
the first commandment to all messengers from Adam up to and including
Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad.
Abraham is the “original” messenger of Islam as God taught
him all of the religious duties Muslims practice today (2:128). Muhammad’s
role was to deliver the Quran to mankind. God revealed the Quran to Muhammad
in one night (the Night of Power – see Chapter 97)
Page 2
Pillars of Submission
It was released gradually to Muhammad and the believers in order
to fix it in their memory (25:32). Muhammad is the last prophet
of God, but not the last messenger. The Holy Quran is the final
and complete message of God to mankind. No other scripture will
come. The Quran contains all we need for salvation. Previous scriptures
were suited for previous stages of human development. They have
now been tampered with and been filled with some idolatry, additions,
and subtractions to the original scriptures. The Quran confirms
the previous scriptures and supersedes them. (5:48).
Duties of Muslims (Submitters)
There are essentially five duties that Muslims are required to
observe to ascertain their faith in God. These are traditionally
known as the five Pillars of Islam:
1) Declaration of Faith
(Shahada) 2) Contact Prayers (Salat)
3) Obligatory Charity (Zakat)
4) Fasting (Seeyam)
5) Pilgrimage (Hajj)
Declaration of Faith (Shahada)
This is the most important article of faith for a Muslim. This
is to declare that there is only One All-Knowing, All-Powerful God:
God bears witness that there is no god except He
and so do the angels and those who possess knowledge. Truthfully
and equitably, He is the Absolute God;
there is no god but He,
the Almighty, Most Wise. (3:18)
The Shahada to declare is:
La elaha illa-Allah.
There is no god except God (Allah).
The majority of Muslims around the world add the name of the Prophet
Muhammad, or even the name of his son-in-law and cousin Ali, or
other names after this declaration. This is wrong as the Quran says:
When God alone is mentioned, the hearts of those
who do not believe in the Hereafter shrink with aversion. But when
others are mentioned beside Him, they become satisfied. (39:45)
It is interesting to note that the Shahada for the majority of
Muslims is “There is no god except Allah, Muhammad is His
Messenger”. The Prophet’s name directly follows God’s
name. As the above Quranic verse states, this is for those who do
not believe in the Hereafter.
Contact Prayers (Salat)
After one accepts the Shahada, one must learn and perform the contact
prayers. The Quran mentions Salat more than any other commandment.
A Muslim is required to pray 5 times a day and a congregational
prayer on Friday.
The Contact Prayers are food for the soul. The prayers are for
our own benefit, and not for God. God is in no need of our praise.
In addition, by performing the five daily prayers, it allows us
to be more conscious of God in our lives.
The required times for Contact prayers are:
Dawn: This is defined when the white
thread of light becomes distinguishable from the dark thread of
night (2:187) before sunrise. The dawn prayer is mentioned in the
Quran twice (11:114, 24:58). The Quran mentions the recitation of
the Holy Quran at dawn in 17:78. This prayer consists of two units.
Noon: This is defined as when the sun declines from its highest
point at noon as it moves towards sunset (17:78). This prayer consists
of four units.
Afternoon: This is in the middle of the afternoon, about 3-4 hours
after the noon prayer (2:238). This prayer consists of four units.
Sunset/Evening: This prayer is just after sunset (11:114). This
prayer consists of three units.
Night: This prayer should be performed about two hours after the
sunset prayer (11:114, 24:58). This prayer consists of four units.
There is also the Friday congregational prayer (Salat al-Jumu’ah)
(62:9). This prayer consists of two units and a two-part sermon.
This prayer is important. We should stop what we are doing and attend
the prayers. This is not a Sabbath day like the Christians or Jews
observe, for after the prayer, we can continue our work. This Friday
prayer replaces the regular noon prayer on that day.
Obligatory Charity (Zakat)
This is to be given anytime you earn income. This is to be calculated
from the net income you receive. For example, if your paycheck is
$1000, then $25 of it should be given to the following people in
the following order:
Page 3
CONFERENCE
2002
You shall hold fast to the rope of GOD, all
of you, and do not be divided…. (3:103)
The 17th annual United Submitters International Conference was
held in Tucson, Arizona August 9-11, 2002. As always, it was a wonderful
blessing to get together with submitters from around the world.
The Friday prayer was led by Amir Kia, who managed to arrive from
halfway around the world just in time. In his Khutba, he talked
about fashion, with the reminder that, while we may worry about
getting our clothes just right, our most important garment is the
garment of righteousness. O children of Adam, we have provided
you with garments to cover your bodies, as well as for luxury. But
the best garment is the garment of righteousness. (7:26) Clothes
protect our body from the elements, but the garment of righteousness
is God’s protection for our soul. So we should spend much
more of our time worrying about how our garment of righteousness
looks than how our clothes look.
Abdullah opened the conference with his welcoming remarks, expressing
appreciation for all of the submitters who had come, especially
those who had traveled far, to attend the conference. He envisioned
that the light from the submitters was shining brightly in Tucson
this weekend, and he reminded us that that light would attract Satan.
We need to be careful not to let him divide the community and disrupt
our conference.
Tell My servants to treat each other in the best possible
manner, for the devil will always try to drive a wedge among them.
Surely, the devil is man's most ardent enemy. (17:53)
Over 200 people were in attendance and they introduced themselves
to laughter and applause. As always, the new submitters were cheered
and congratulated. It’s important to remember that only a
minority of the minority will follow God’s guidance and strive
on His path. So it’s a blessing indeed to be counted among
the submitters.
Throughout the conference, we were treated to beautiful renderings
of songs in commemoration (zikr) of God. Everyone joined in and
the room echoed with the sounds of praise and glorification. Such
zikr unites us as one voice, lifts the soul and fills the hearts
with joy.
The first talk set the mood as Rahim Talai asked if we remembered
today to thank God for His blessings. God gives us so much every
day and we often forget to be appreciative. All of the talks offered
interesting points of view on submission and all of God’s
miracles around us. Once again, young submitters gave wonderful
talks, having done excellent research. Power point has greatly enhanced
the quality of presentations, opening new avenues to graphically
express their ideas.
The final talk electrified us all, as Sabah Currim gave a wonderful
visual presentation of the awesome power of lightning. It was the
perfect finale to a conference charged with spiritual energy.
He is the One who shows you the lightning as a source of fear,
as well as hope, and He initiates the loaded clouds. The thunder
praises His glory, and so do the angels, out of reverence for Him.
He sends the lightning bolts, which strike in accordance with His
will. Yet, they argue about GOD, though His power is awesome. (13:12-13)
Indeed, God’s power is awesome and this year’s conference
gave us another chance to reflect on all of His blessings. We must
remember that though we come from very diverse backgrounds and have
different opinions and ideas, we are united in our submission to
God.
GOD loves those who fight in His cause united in one column,
like the bricks in one wall. (61:4)
All Praise be to God.
Page 4
Pillars of Submission
They ask you about giving: say, “The charity you
give shall go to the parents, the relatives, the or-phans, the poor, and
the travel-ing alien.” Any good you do, God is fully aware. (2:215)
This is the order of distribution of Zakat. If your parents do not need
help, then you may go to your relatives (siblings, etc). If they do not
need help, it goes to the or-phans, the poor, and travelers. This is compulsory,
and necessary for God’s redemption along with Salat (7:156).
Fasting (Seeyam)
The Quran mentions this in 2:183-187. Ramadan, the ninth month of the
lunar calendar, is the month of fasting. In North America, the lu-nar
calendar moves through our Gregorian calendar. This means that Ramadan
moves through the seasons. Muslims are required to fast from dawn to sunset.
Fasting means to abstain from food, drink, and sexual intercourse from
dawn to sunset. This allows us to learn self-discipline and restraint.
It allows
our soul to control our body and not our physical
appetites to control us. Fasting is important for our salvation, because
God wants strong souls in Paradise:
O you who believe, fasting is de-creed for you, as it
was decreed for those before you, that you may attain salvation. (2:183)
Pilgrimage (Hajj)
The final pillar is a pilgrimage to Mecca. This is for Muslims who can
afford the trip financially and physically. The pilgrimage is a commemoration
of Abraham’s submission to God.
We appointed Abraham to estab-lish the Shrine: “You
shall not idolize any other god besides Me, and purify My shrine for those
who visit it, those who live near it, and those who bow and prostrate.
In addition, proclaim that the people shall observe Hajj pilgrimage…”
(22:26-27)
While in Mecca, pilgrims wear plain sheets and shoes. This is to have
no distinction between the rich and the poor. Then, pilgrims circumambulate
the Ka’ba seven times, then walk the distance be-tween Safa
and Mawra (water springs) seven times, then proceed to Mount
Arafat for prayer.
Afterwards, the pilgrims go to Muzdalifah
for the Night prayer.
Then, the pilgrims go to Mina for two or three days for the symbolic
stoning of Satan, the commemora-tion of God, and the sacrifice of an animal.
The sacrifice of the animal during Hajj is symbolic of Abra-ham’s
faith. Before leaving, pil-grims circumambulate the Ka’ba seven
times as a farewell.
The Quran outlines the details of Hajj. The Quran only mentions one sacred
shrine. Many Muslims today have included the Prophet’s Mosque in
Medina as part of the pilgrimage. This is where the Prophet’s tomb
is. Ironically, in the same hadiths that the majority of Muslims follow,
the Prophet condemned turning tombs into places of worship like the Jews
and Christians did.
Note to all: This article does not substitute the studying of the Holy
Quran. This article can be used as a guide but it is recommended that
believers read, study, and contem-plate the Holy Quran (2:62, 5:69).
May God make us observers of His commandments. All praise is due to
God alone, the Lord of the universe.
Michael S.
About this work
Kind
Document
Author
International Community of Submitters
Publisher
International Community of Submitters / Masjid Tucson