From: suheil@athena.mit.edu (Suheil I Laher)
Subject: Re: Confusion about "Islam"
Originator: zeeshan@occs.cs.oberlin.edu (Zeeshan Hasan -Moderator)
Organization: Oberlin College Computer Science
Date: Mon, 11 Jan 1993 21:38:41 GMT
X-Posted-From: occs.cs.oberlin.edu
NNTP-Posting-Host: sol.ctr.columbia.edu

To be a Muslim has certain basic requirements, the essence of which is to bear
witness that there is none worthy of worship other than Allah and that Muhammad
(pbuh) is the Messenger of Allah. If a person is convinced of the truth of this
<kalimah> in his heart and dies with this belief, he will, inshaAllah be saved on
the Day of Judgement. However, if he does not make his acceptance public, i.e.
does not publicly say the kalimah, the Muslims should not treat him as a Muslim,
so that they may not perform the <Salaatul-janaazah> (funeral prayer) for him if
he dies without professing Islam, they may not inherit from him or bequeath to
him, they may not marry (their women) to him, they may not greet him with Salaam,
etc. If, despite not publicly saying the kalimah publicly, the person is known to
be a Muslim, for example, by regularly praying at the mosque, then this suffices
to treat him as a Muslim. Otherwise, though he may in actual fact be a Muslim,
the Muslims may not treat him as such, since we are to judge by outward things.
Similarly, if somebody publicly declares the kalimah or prays regularly, but does
not believe in Islam, he will be treated as a Muslim, although he may actually be
a hypocrite. However, if somebody declares the kalimah and/or prays, but says or
acts contrary to it, for example by expressing unIslamic beliefs (as is done by
some of the Lebanese Druze) or deliberately kicking a copy of the Qur'an, such a
person will be treated as a non-Muslim, though he may continue to pray and fast.

So, if a person believes in Islam, but does not publicly reveal it, we will treat
him as a non-Muslim in our dealings, though he may actually be a Muslim.

If a person claims to be Muslim, or thinks he believes in Islam, but at the same
time denies what is essentially a part of Islam, such a person is a disbeliever.
So, we cannot accept as a Muslim one who denies the obligatory status of Salaah,
(ritual prayer). In a nutshell, a Muslim must believe in:
-Allah
-the angels
the Revealed Scriptures (of which the Qur'an is the last. A muslim must thus
believe in the Qur'an and all that is said in it, though he may fall short of
acting on all of it)
-all the Messengers of Allah (of whom Muhammad {pbuh} is the last. anybody who
denies the Finality of prophethood is a disbeliever, and anybody who denies even
one of the Messengers is also a disbeliever)
-Predestination- that both the good and the evil are from Allah
-Resurrection after death

A Muslim must also perform the following duties (though if he acknowledges that
they are compulsory, but fails to perform any of them, he is still a Muslim,
albeit sinful):
-Establish the 5 daily prayers (Salaah)
-Give Zakaah from his excess wealth
-Fast the month of Ramadhaan every year if he is physically fit to do so
-Perform the Pilgrimage to Mecca (the Hajj) if he is able to

Newsgroups: soc.religion.islam