Islam Its Belief and Practices - Radical Truth

THE PRESCRIBED DUTIES 35
CHAPTER II.
The Prescribed Duties.
The Practical part is called Fiqh and it includes
religious, ceremonial, civil and moral laws and regul~tions.
Before proceeding to study these laws and regulatIOns of
Islam it is necessary to understand the meaninll of several
technical terms which are of frequent occurrence.
1. Fard, is a prescribed duty enjoined in the Qu:'an, t~e
d· nial of which is infidelity, and is of two kinds, vtz.,
e bl' .
i. Fard-i-'ayn, an imperative duty the 0 IgatIOn
~f which extends to every individual, e. g.,
prayer, fasting, etc. .
ii. Fard-i-kifaya, a command which is imperatIve
dpon all Muslims, but if one in eight. or ten
performs it, it is sufficient to all havm~ .p.erformed
it; e.g.. attending a funeral, VlSltmg
the sick, to return a salutation, to accept an
invitation to dinner, replying to sneeze (The
person who sneezes says, "All;uundu Zillah,"
God be praised, and the reply is, ''YarQamuka'llah,"
God have mercy on you.)
Wajib, is an obligatory duty, but its denial i\~ot
2. infidelity. For example, the offering of a sacrt Ice
on 'Idu'g-J;>u1J.ii, The Great Feast. .
t is a practice based either on the ordmance of
3. Sunna, fh' Iii S t
Muhammad or on the custom 0 IS e. unna
is of twO kinds:
i. Sunnatu'l-Huda, Sunnat of Guidance, or Su~natu'Z-Muwakkada,
the Emphatic Sunnat, IS
the ordinance which Mul}ammad has enjoined
emphatically.
ii. Sunnatu' z-Za'ida orSupererogatory Sunnat is the
thing which has been less enjoined by
Mul;1ammad. The omission of the (i) Sunnat
is a sin but not that of the (ii) Sunnat.
4. Mustal;1abb, a praiseworthy act. It is desirable to conform
to this.
5. Mubal;1, athing which is allowed and which may be
o.
omitted without fear of committing sin.
J:ialal, a thing lawful and also honestly acquired.
7. J:iaram, a thing unlawful and also something dishonestly
acquired.
8. Makruh, a thing which is hateful and unbecoming. A
thing which is Makruh may belong to one of the
following classes:
,. Makmh-i-Ta1}rirni, that which is nearly unlawful,
1}ararn.
ii. Makmh-i-Tanzihi, that which is nearly lawful,
1}alal.
9. Mandub, a duty recommended.
The Obligatory Duties,
The religious duties which are prescribed for every
Muslim are five in number, and are called Arkan-i-Din,
the Pillars of Religion, viz.: (1) The Recitation of the
creed; (2) Prayer; (3) Alms; (4) Fasting; and (5) The
Pilgrimage to Mecca.
I. Recitation of the Creed. The forms of the Confession
of Faith(l) have alreadY been mentioned. Every
Muslim must recite the creed, "There is no god, but
God, etc.," at least once in life.
II. ~ALAT or NAMAz, Prayer, is the most important
of the prescribed duties in Islam. Mul;1ammad used
to call it "the pillar of religion" and "the key of
(1) See pp. 2, 3.