#2.1 Collaboration

In the name of Allah, The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful

During this semester, I have registered for a course; Usrah 1. Generally, this course is a part of the university required course. The aim of this course is to strengthen the students’ understanding on Islamic basic teachings and thoughts. In this course, we have learnt about the 5 pillars of Islam, the 6 pillars of Iman, manners (Adab) and the appreciation for the nature and environment. 

In this page, I will share about one of the topic that I have learnt in this course.

Pillars of Islam

This topic has been presented by one of the groups from the course. This is the first topic from the syllabus. Eventually, this is the most important topic that should be understand by every Muslim.

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Islam was built by the 5 pillars; The profession of faith (Shahadah), Prayer, Alms (Zakat), Fasting and Pilgrimage (Hajj). It is very important for every Muslim to understand these pillars and apply it in their life.

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Shahadah: It is a concept that needs to be understood by the Muslims and needs to be applied in the daily life. In the concept of shahadah, we bear witness that Allah is the god and Prophet Muhammad SAW is the messenger of Allah SWT.

Through this witness, we as muslim should practice to appreciate the meaning and implement it in our own life.

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Prayer (Solat): The most important things to remember on the importance of prayer is that, as a muslim, we believe that our main objective of our creation is to worship Allah. Hence, we could not avoid performing the 5 times daily prayer in our life because it is one of the acts of worship prescribed for Muslims.

Besides, prayer also gives us peace of mind amidst the busyness in our daily life. Allah SWT has said in the Quran that, by the remembrance of Allah hearts are assured.(13:28)

In addition, prayer can also prevent us from bad behaviour. Allah also said in the Quran, Indeed, prayer prohibits immorality and wrongdoing (29:45)

Nevertheless, it is important to remember that we should be mindful (Khusyuk) during our prayer so that we can gain the benefits. If the act of worship is done with mindfulness, we will be able to focus on remembering and worshiping Allah through the entire act of worship. 

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Alms (Zakat): it is an obligation upon certain eligible groups of people. The implementation of zakat in our society will bring many benefits such as for economic stability, and social assistance and support.

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Fasting (Saum): it is an obligation toward every Muslim who does not have illness to fast during Ramadhan.

In Islam, Ramadhan is a month that everyone would await for it to come. In the month of Ramadan, Allah has promised many rewards to be given to His servants. For example, in Ramadan, Allah prepares a night that is better than a thousand months; Lailatul Qadar.

Besides, Ramadan is also known as the month of forgiveness. In as narration, Rasulullah SAW teaches a supplication to be made during Lailatul Qadar; 

اللهم إنك عفو كريم تحب العفو فاعف عني

“O Allah, You are the best forgiver, beneficent and merciful,You love forgiveness so forgive me”

It is a beautiful supplication to practice during and after Ramadan. It shows that Rasulullah SAW encourages us to seek Allah’s forgiveness in the Holy month of Ramadan.

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Pilgrimage (Hajj): it is an obligation upon Muslim who can afford to go to Makkah and Madinah. Every Muslim would wish to go to Makkah and Madinah at least once in a lifetime. It is a blessing to be one of the people who were chosen to go there. I would love to go there one day with my family. With that, I pray that this Covid-19 would be lifted from our country, so that we could go to Baitullah Al-Haram.