Six Kalimahs

The Kalimah is the essence of Islam. A true Muslim is one who is completely aware of the meaning of the Kalimah, proclaims it with sincerity and devotion, and acts and lives in accordance to its requirements.
Kalimah-e-Tayyabah (Word of Purity)




Laaa Ilaaha Illa-llaahu Muhammadur-Rasoolu-llaah

There is none worthy of worship except Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.
Kalimah-e-Shahadah (Word of Testimony)




Ash-hadu Al-laaa Ilaaha Illa-llaahu Wahdahoo Laa Shareeka Lahoo Wa-Ash-hadu Anna Muhammadan ‘Abduhoo Wa Rasooluhu.

I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, the One alone, without partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger.
Kalimah-e-Tamjeed (Word of Glorification)




Subhaana-llaahi Walhamdu Lillaahi Walaaa Ilaaha Illa-llaahu Wallaahu Akbar. Walaa Hawla Walaa Quwwata Illaa Billaahi-l ‘Aliyyil ‘Azeem.

Glory be to Allah and all praise be to Allah, there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and Allah is the Greatest. There is no might or power except from Allah, the Exalted, the Great One.
Kalimah-e-Tauhid (Word of Unification)




Laaa Ilaaha Illa-llaahu Wahdahoo Laa Shareeka-lahoo Lahu-l Mulku Walahu-l Hamdu Yuhyee Wayumeetu Wahuwa Hayyu-l Laa Yamootu Abadan Abada. Dhu-l Jalaali Wal Ikraam. Biyadihil Khair. Wahuwa Alaa Kulli Shai-’in Qadeer.

There is none worthy of worship except Allah. He is alone and has no partner. To Him belongs the Kingdom and for Him is all praise. He gives life and causes death. In His hand is all good and He has power over everything.
Kalimah-e-Astaghfar (Word of Penitence)




Astaghfiru-llaaha Rabbi Min Kulli Dhambin Adhnabtuhoo ‘Amadan Aw Khata-an Sirran Aw ‘Alaaniyata-wn Wa-atoobu Ilaihi Min-adh Dhambi-l Ladhee A’lamu Wamina-dh Dhambi-l Ladhi Laaa A’lamu Innaka Anta ‘Allaamu-l Ghuyoobi Wasattaaru-l ‘Uyoobi Wa Ghaffaaru-dh Dhunubi Walaa Hawla Walaa Quwwata Illaa Billaahi-l ‘Aliyyil ‘Azeem.

I seek forgiveness from Allah, who is my Creator and Cheriser, from every sin I committed knowingly or unknowingly, secretly or openly. I also seek His forgiveness for all sins which I am aware of or am not aware of. Certainly You (O Allah!), are the Knower of the hidden and the Concealer of mistakes and the Forgiver of sins. And there is no power and no strength except from Allah, the Most High, the Most Great.
Kalimah-e-Rud-e-Kuffr (Word of Rejection of Disbelief)




Allaa-humma Inneee A’udhu-bika Min An Ushrika Bika Shay-awn Wa-ana A’lamu Bihee Wa-astaghfiruka Limaa Laaa A’lamu Bihee Tubtu ‘Anhu Wata-barraatu Mina-l Kufri Wash-shirki Wal-kidhbi Wal-gheebati Wal-bid’ati Wan-nameemati Wal-fawahishi Wal-buhtaani Wal-m’aasi Kulli-haa Wa-Aslamtu Wa-aqoolu Laaa Ilaaha Illa-llaahu Muhammadu-r Rasoolu-llah.

O Allah! I seek refuge in You from that I should ascribe any partner with You knowingly. I seek Your forgiveness for the sin of which I have no knowledge. I repent from it. And becoming disgusted of disbelief and idolatry, lying and backbiting, innovation and slander, lewdness and abomination and all other acts of disobedience, I submit to Your will. I believe and I declare that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.

Tags: astaghfar, disbelief, faith, glorification, kalimah, penitence, purity, rejection, rud-e-kuffr, shahadah, tamjeed, tauhid, tayyabah, testimony, unification

Pillars of Islam

The Five Pillars of Islam refer to the five duties that every Muslim must perform. The first of these five pillars is the declaration of faith and the other four are religious acts that are performed either daily, once a year or at least once in a lifetime. These acts are woven into the lives of Muslims and take precedence over all worldly matters.

The Five Pillars of Islam are
Declaration of Faith (Shahadah)
Prayer (Salah)
Charity (Zakah)
Fasting (Sawm)
Pilgrimage (Hajj)

Prayer (Salah)

Every Muslim is required to pray five times a day. The five prayers are:
Salat al-Fajr
Salat al-Zuhr
Salat al-Asr
Salat al-Maghrib
Salat al-Isha

These five prayers are said at dawn, mid day, late afternoon, sunset and nightfall. The Prophet Muhammad (Sal Allahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) said, “The first act that the slave (of Allah) will be accountable for on the day of judgement will be the prayer. If it is good, then the rest of his acts will be good. And if it is evil, then the rest of his acts will be evil.”

Charity (Zakah)

Every Muslim is obligated to pay a portion of his or her wealth for the benefit of the poor and needy. Zakat means “purification” and “growth”. Our possessions are purified by setting aside a portion for those in need. This also increases social welfare and encourages economic growth.

A Muslim may also donate more as an act of Sadaqah (voluntary charity), in order to achieve additional reward from Allah.

Fasting (Sawm)

Every year in the month of Ramadan Muslims are required to abstain from food, drink and sexual intercourse from dawn to dusk. In addition, Muslims are expected to refrain from anger, envy, greed, lust, gossip, violence, bad language and other inappropriate thoughts and actions. Fasting is meant to encourage Muslims to seek nearness to Allah, be patient, and learn the hardships faced by the less fortunate.

Pilgrimage (Hajj)

Hajj is a pilgrimage to the Holy City of Makkah (Mecca). Hajj occurs every year during the month of Dhu’l-Hijjah. Every Muslim who is physically and financially able, is obligated to perform Hajj at least once in his or her lifetime. 

Declaration of Faith (Shahadah)

The most basic requirement of being a Muslim is to publicly state the words “There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is His Messenger”, in arabic, with sincerity and without any reservations. This testament is the foundation for all other beliefs and practices in Islam. To become a Muslim, a non-Muslim must repeat the Shahadah three times in the presence of witnesses.

The statement of Shahada in arabic is:

Ashhadu Alla Ilaha Illa Allah Wa Ashhadu Anna Muhammad Rasulu Allah

The statement of faith must be a genuine belief that includes the following articles of faith.


1) The One, The Merciful (Allah) 
Allah the Most Exalted is One.
None is worthy of worship and devotion except Allah
There is no partner of Allah.
He Knows everything; nothing is hidden from Him
He is All Powerful and Mighty.
It is He who created the earth, the sky, the moon, the sun, the stars, the angels, human beings, genies and the entire universe.
He gives life and death. In other words, life and death of all creatures take place by His command.
He feeds all His creation.
He does not eat, drink, or sleep.
He is Self-existent from eternity and will last till eternity.
No one has created Him.
He has no father, no son, no daughter, no wife, or other relations. He is above all such relationships.
All depend on Him. He does not depend on anyone, and He has no needs.
He is Peerless. There is nothing like Him. Nothing resembles Him.
He is free from all imperfections.
Unlike His creatures, He does not have hands, legs, nose, ears, face and shape.
After creating the angels He has appointed them to carry out specific tasks, and to manage the affairs of the universe.
 He sent messengers for the guidance of His creatures; to teach people how to follow the true religion, do good deeds, and forbid them from the evil things.

2) THE ANGELS (MALAAIKAH) 
Angels are a creation of Allah, the Almighty, created from light (NUR). They are invisible to us. They are neither male nor female. They do not disobey Allah and do not commit acts of sin. They are always busy in doing their task, assigned to them by Allah. The angels are many . No one except Allah know their exact number. We, however, know that there are many angels. Four of them are very famous and close to Allah. The first one of them is Angle Jibra'il (Gabriel) who brought Allah's Scriptures, Messages, and Commands to the prophets. The second is Angle Israfil who will blow the trumpet on the Day of Judgement. The third is Angle Mika'il who is appointed to manage the rains and to deliver livelihood to Allah's creatures. The fourth is Angle Izra'il, responsible for ending the life of Allah's creatures. 


3) THE BOOKS OF ALLAH (The Divine Scriptures)
The Divine Scriptures (Books of Allah) are big and small. They were revealed to the Prophets. The big ones are called the Books, and the small ones are known as the Scrolls (Sahifas). The four famous Divine Books, and who are the Prophets upon whom these were revealed? 


1. The Holy Taurat (Torah) was revealed to Prophet Musa (Moses) (Peace be upon him)
2. The Holy Zabur (Psalms) was revealed to Prophet Da'ud (David) (Peace be upon him).
3. The Holy Injil (The New Testament) was revealed to Prophet Isa (Jesus) (Peace be upon him), and the
4. The Holy Qur'an, was revealed to our Holy Prophet Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him).

The exact number of the Divine Scrolls (Sahifas) is not known. Nevertheless, some of them were revealed to Prophet Adam (Peace be on him), some to Prophet Sheeth (Peace be on him) and some to Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham), peace be on him. Apart from theses there are other Scrolls that were revealed to some other prophets.

4) THE MESSENGERS OF ALLAH
All Prophets and messengers of Allah from Abrahim to Prophet Muhammad, All biblical and Quranic Prophets. 


5) The Day of Judgement (Qiyamma)  
The most single certain and uncertain event in this world is related to the death, everyone certain that he or she will die one day but they are not certain when they will die. It is a fundamental belief of a Muslim that one day this universe will perish on the day of Qiyamma (Doomed day) when Angel Isra'fil (Peace be on him) will blow the trumpet. Its sound will be so frightening and intense that it's shock will kill every living thing and every material will be shattered and destroyed. That day all human beings and living souls Shall die; the entire universe will perish. Mountains will fly like cotton flakes, and the planets and stars etc. will disintegrate and fall down. The Day of Judgement (Qiyamat) is about to come.

6) THE FATE (TAQDIR) 
Allah knows the good and bad of every thing, and He has full knowledge of His creation even before He brings them into existence. This prior knowledge of Allah is known as Fate or Destiny. Nothing good or bad is beyond Allah's knowledge.

7) Resurrection after death 
The On the Day of Judgement Angel Israfil (Peace be on him) will blow the trumpet for the second time when all things would re-emerge. The human beings, too, will come to life and presented before Allah, the Almighty, in the Plain of Resurrection (Maidan-e-Hashr). All shall be called to account, and good and bad deeds Will be paid for. The day when all this takes place is called 'Day of Reckoning' (You-mul-Hashr) i.e. when all are gathered; 'Yau-mul-Jaza' i.e. the Day to repay and 'Yau-mul-Hissab' i.e. the Day of Reckoning.