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34chapter oneexpressed by any conventional ritual, it uses ßal§h, with the letter y§(as in Al-Når 24:41) 22 . We must never ignore these subtle differences,and if the text employs two derivatives of the same lexeme, when itcould have used an identical expression, it indicates a difference. Itindicates that we are meant to clearly distinguish between ‘prayer’in the sense of a ritual, and ‘prayer’ in the sense of a spiritual connectionbetween God and the believer, giving praise to Allah, mentallyor verbally, but not by a movement of the body.In sum, the term al-isl§m expresses a connection to God, a beliefin Allah and the Hereafter; those who establish that spiritual connection( al-mußallån) are ‘those who assent to God’ ( al-muslimån), 23 whilethose who perform the ritual prayer of rak#a and sujåd, that is, al-ßal§h,are ‘those who believe’ ( al-mu"minån).The Pillars of al-isl§mWe are now in a position to redefine the three pillars of al-isl§m asthey are presented in the Book. Let us begin with the first twopillars:1.2.Belief in the existence of GodBelief in the HereafterAs we said before, these two pillars contain elements of an axiomatic,indisputable truth which, once it is accepted, initiates a believer intothe religion of al-isl§m. The first part of the shah§da, ‘There is no godbut God’, is already the most elaborate expression of a theologicaldoctrine in al-isl§m as it follows naturally from the more fundamental22‘Do you not see that it is Allah whose praises all beings in the heavens and onearth do celebrate, and the birds with wings outspread? Each one knows its own[ßal§tahu] and praise. And Allah knows well that they all do.’ ( Al-Når 24:41); YA:‘(mode of ) prayer’; MF: ‘the prayer of each’ and most translators, except MP: ‘Heknows verily the worship’, AhA: ‘each one knows its obligations’, who seem to sharethe view of MS that ßal§tahu does not refer to ‘prayer’. Ambros also distinguishesbetween ßal§(t) and ßalaw§t and admits that 24:41 cannot mean ‘ritual prayer’(Ambros. Dictionary: 163). The root is an import from Aramaic, meaning ‘prayer’,derived from the root ß-l-y, meaning ‘inclining’ (ibid.) that can be figuratively understoodand may support ‘symbolic or spiritual connection to God’ as proposed byMS.23‘Say: “Truly, my prayer (ßal§tÊ) and my service of sacrifice, my life and mydeath, are (all) for Allah, the Cherisher of the worlds; no partner has He: this amI commanded, and I am the first of those who submit to His will ( al-muslimÊn)”’( Al-An#§m 6:162-3).