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112chapter twobetween the outcome of the ijtih§d and the circumstances of ourobjective reality. If the mujtahid’s decision is fully in accord with therealities around him, or her for that matter, at the time of his orher ijtih§d, the decision is right; if it contradicts social and politicalrealities, the ijtih§d is wrong.Someone might look at these five points and ask ‘what about thedetails of rituals, where shall we learn about the exact way to pray,to fast, and do the pilgrimage, and how will we know about theminimum amount of charity if the Book does not provide us with suchdetails? Should we not consult the sunna for that?’ Our answer to thisis ‘yes’: the Book teaches these things only in a general, absolute mannerwhich the greatest of all messengers (ß) put into practice by hisconcrete, ritual performances. A theoretical, verbal, or oral specificationof the details of his rituals was not needed.MuÈammad’s (ß) practical sunna, reflecting the exact details of rituals,is the only part of his messengerhood ( al-ris§la) which we todaywholeheartedly accept both in form and content. It comprises, as wedefined in chapter 1, the pillars of al-Êm§n. They define the identityof the Muslim-Believers ( al-muslimån al-mu"minån), those who areMuslims and believers in MuÈammad’s messengerhood and whoexpress their faith through the pillars of al-Êm§n. We consider theform and content of these rituals as fixed. In spite of their stableform, they do not obstruct historical ‘becoming’ and ‘progressing’.However, we should not forget that due to their manifest religiousand spiritual nature, rituals are inappropriate for the task of forminga society and controlling state institutions. Religious rituals can bepracticed in any political system, democratic or not, and given thatpeople agree that as long as a despotic ruler does not prohibit ritualsthey have to obey him, the performance of rituals has no significantimpact on the political culture of a country. Rituals are not part ofcivil society and hence, in this respect, need not to be changed,modified, or intensified.Having said this we should be wary of unnecessary complicationsin the performance of rituals. It cannot be right that, after havingpractised these rituals for over 1,400 years, people are still in needof prayer manuals and instruction by legal scholars. The ritualsshould be simple and straightforward and easy to practise; there cannever be any cultural or civilisational value in the infamous casuistryfor which our fuqah§" are so well-known.