I
am a Muslim. I believe in God and Prophet Muhammad. I also believe in
the Quran but I don't believe in Islamic pillars such as prayers,
fasting, hajj,..etc. So I was wondering if I am considered a Muslim.
Answer
Thank
you so much for your question. One of the major principles of Islam is
pertinent to the right of freedom of religion. God emphasized this
meaning in the Quran when He said, "there is no compulsion in religion"
and also "then let whoever willed to believe and whoever willed to
disbelieve". The reason behind granting religious freedom is that God is
not interested in the submission of bodies but rather seeks the
surrender of hearts.
Human
beings are the only creatures who were bestowed with the intellectual
faculty to know God and have the free will to make an educated choice to
worship Him and humbly submit their hearts to His love. In Islam
believing in God entails believing in the Islamic worldview towards
issues that are related to this life and the hereafter.
Therefore
the existential questions which boggled the minds of the philosophers
since the dawn of history are clearly answered in Islam as Muslims are
not walking through this life blindfolded but rather with a clear
perception of where they came from and what is the purpose of their stay
in this life and where they are heading at.
Muslims
believe that human beings were created by God out of love and came down
to earth to know Him and worship Him and to reach their full spiritual
potential in their celestial journey to unite back with the Divine in
the hereafter. This belief led them to believe in the Day of
Resurrection where everyone will be held accountable for his actions and
consequently will be rewarded with heaven or punished with Hell.
Muslims
also believe that worshipping God and maintaining the spiritual
connection with their Lord necessitates fulfilling the five pillars of
Islam which starts with willingly and freely uttering the testimony of
faith which entails that there is no god but Allah and that Prophet
Muhammad is His final messenger. This testimony of faith is followed by
acts which reinforce this testimony such as praying five times a day to
keep the line of communication open with God and act as a constant
reminder of the Muslim that whenever he seeks help, God is near.
It
also entails fasting the month of Ramadan to gain spiritual
purification and to elevate the soul from the shackles and bounds of the
earthly body and its constant animalistic needs. The pillars also
include paying zakat or alms giving once a year for those who are
financially able and to give this money to the poor. This act of charity
develops the sense of social responsibility and reinforces social
solidarity between the rich and the poor.
The
last pillar of faith is going for pilgrimage or hajj in Makkah once in a
life time. Pilgrimage is a platform where Muslims renounce their
routine life and travel to Makkah for a spiritual journey where both the
poor and the rich look alike as they all dress in white garments and
the rich abandons his fancy suits and the poor is not marked out by his
humble outfit. It is an annual carnival of equality where people from
all ethnic origins, cultural backgrounds and social classes meet up in
one place with the purpose of worshipping God and purifying their souls.
Therefore
the five pillars of Islam are seen as an integrated part of faith and
without which a person can't be considered a Muslim.
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