Pillars of Islam: between Limitation and Negligence
The first thing that comes to mind as we are addressing this very important warning against deserting the Quran and abandoning it, and following the fabricated tales, is to find out what has been rumored and circulated by Muslims for centuries as a conclusive theory that must be obeyed without review. These theories were to be accepted without any verification or authentication. It is thus said that the main pillars of Islam were confined to what they called the five pillars of Islam. Generations of Muslims were brought up and raised on the teaching of the pillars of Islam that they are limited to only (reciting that there is no God but Allah and that Mohammed is His Prophet, performing prayer, zakat, fasting and Hajj).
They considered these pillars as the Islam in itself, and not in the principles that these pillars call for. The scholars, who promoted and advocated the reduction of Islam to these five pillars, did bother themselves to show the true pillars of Islam contained in the verses of the Qur’an.
Only, the ancient Muslim scholars and preachers have carried out and transferred concepts and interpretations of perceptions and human jurisprudence. These human interpretations have turned the rituals, which were meant to be the means, and made them the objectives. This caused a case of confusion where Muslims missed the origin and the purposes of faith, which are called for by the Qur’an. These higher objectives were the true fact that the Prophet, and the prophets before him, had called for. These objectives aim at the amending of individuals and building the character of the Muslim based on a set of ethics, virtues and noble values to create peaceful societies where justice, mercy, freedom and cooperation among the members and enjoy what Allah gave them. Allah provided us with different blessings and various riches in order to live in a thriving and a decent life full of security, prosperity and peace.
It is no wonder then that we find Muslims today lacking a lot of morals, values and humanitarian principles. We see the majority of Muslims pray, fast and go to Mecca, but their behavior is not corresponding to the values Islam because they have grown to believe that these rituals or practices are the goals and objectives. On the other hand, they believe that the morals, principles and human values are not included in the main pillars or Islamic necessities.
No one has yet issued a clear and obvious statement or adopt it in the curricula of education and proclaims loudly that the religious rituals are a means for a goal and a noble goal that elevates the individual to the highest levels of humanity. This religion seeks to evaluate the personality of the individual as a reformer in the society that contributes to the benefits of the people and raise their standard of living.
Source :
«Muslims .. Between the religious speech and the divine speech», issued by «Al-Nokhba House for Printing, Publishing and Distribution», by the researcher and the great Islamic thinker Ali Mohammed Al-Shurafa Al-Hammadi.
