Who deserves to be Worshiped ?

10. THE FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM
Worship in Islam is an all-inclusive term encompassing all of the actions and
statements that Allah loves and approves of. Every virtuous action that is performed
with the intention of carrying out His commandments and seeking His pleasure is
considered to be an act of worship. Islam is built on five acts of worship that make
up the foundation from which all other deeds emanate. These five pillars have a high
importance in Islam; learning and practicing them are priorities for every Muslim,
whereas everything else can be learned gradually, with patience and dedication.
These five pillars stand as the framework of spiritual life, on which the structure of
Islam rests:
a) The declaration of the two testimonies of faith
“I testify that there is no deity 28 worthy of worship except Allah, and I testify that
Muhammad (bpuh) is His slave and messenger.” 29 The sincere declaration of this
double testimony (also referred to as the testimony of monotheism) and adherence to
this teaching automatically brings one into the fold of Islam, and dying while
believing it guarantees a place in paradise. That is why this testimony is considered
to be the cornerstone of Islam. The acceptance of this belief distinguishes the
Muslim from the non-Muslim, so all actions depend upon this pillar; good deeds (no
matter how great) are of no avail to anyone who does not utter this testimony. On
the other hand, there are many actions that contradict this declaration, automatically
taking one outside the fold of Islam. The most serious of those acts is worshipping
other than Allah, whether through supplication, prayer or any other act that signifies
worship or belief in an entity other than Allah.
28
29
deity: an object of worship.
In Arabic: Ash-hadu al-la ilaha illa Allah, wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan Abduhu wa
Rasooluhu.
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