.. Stand up saying"Allahu Akbar" in order to begin a new Rak'ah,
exactly as the first Rak'ah. After finishing the second "Rak'ah" you
sit down and recite Part One and Part Two of "At-Tashahhud". Finally
you turn the face to the right hand side and say: "As-Salamu 'alaykum
wa rahmatul-lah" which means Peace be upon you and The Mercy of Allah!
Then you do the same to the left side. Thus a two- Rak'ah prayer is
completed,such as the Fajr Prayer. As for 4 Rak'ah prayers such as the
Dhuhr, only the first part of At-Tashahhud is recited after completing
the second Rak'ah. Then you stand up to perform two more Rak'ahs in
the same way, but without reciting any verses from The Qur'an after
Al-Fatihah.The 'Asr and t 'Isha' prayersare performed exactly as the
Dhuhr. In the Maghrib Prayer, the final Tashahhudand "As-Salam…" come
after the third Rak'ah. WHY WE PRAY The Muslim observes his Prayers
to show devotion and obedience to Allah, becausePrayer is one of the
greatest forms of worship that Allah likes His servantsto offer. To
thank Him for creating us in the best formof creation. Because He has
guided us to the Deen (Complete way of Life, Religion) of Islam.
Prayer isa chance for a Muslim to express to his Lord whatever he
feels and needs through Divine Words of Allah i.e. the Qur'an. To
remember his Lord and not forget His commands amid life's
pre-occupations. To ask Allah, The Exalted, to give him aid and
continuous guidance in the darkness oflife. To strengthen love andfear
of Allah in the Muslim'sheart so that he might remain sticking to the
Right Path of Islam, and its laws and manners. Gaining good rewards
from Allah and having our sins forgiven. To rejoice when he finds
himself on the LastDay pleased with the great reward allotted to him
in the Gardens of Bliss. Prayer is a unique training and developmental
program which, if well and devotedly performed, can achieve for
Muslims many valuable physical, ethical and spiritual gains such as
cleanliness, health, order, punctuality, brotherhood, equality, social
consolidation,… etc. CHAPTER 17 ZAKAT (Poor Due, Alms) WHAT IS ZAKAT
The term "Zakat" originally means: growth, and purity.In Islamic Law,
it means paying every lunar year a certain percentage of your savings
to certain charitable usage defined byThe Qur'an. If you have, for
that period, an amount of money equal to the value of 85 grams of pure
gold (now 1985, is about $1000)or more, you must pay 2.5%. Zakat is
paid for the poor and the needy Muslims, for the wayfarers, for
propagating Islam or fighting for Islam, for helping new Muslims or
encouraging non-Muslims to embrace Islam, for thosewho are burdened
with debts and are unable to pay them. If you have articles of trade,
you calculate their Zakat in the same way. You can ask some Muslim
scholar or refer to any good referencebook to know more about Zakat.
WHY WE PAY ZAKAT To show devotion to Allah Who commanded us to do so
and informed us that Heloves the charitable. CHAPTER 18 SAWM, or
SIYAM (Fasting) ABOUT THE FAST In Ramadan, (the 9th month of the lunar
Islamic year) Muslims fast in obedience to Allah's command and in
gratitude for Allah's Grace for revealing His Glorious Book, The
Qur'an, in Ramadan. Sawm (Fasting) is to abstain from eating, drinking
and intimate intercourse from dawn to sunset. If sick or on a journey,
a Muslim is permitted to break his fast.If he breaks the fast, he
hasto make it up by fasting a number of days equal to the days in
which he broke fasting in Ramadan. After the end of Ramadan comes"Eid
al-Fitr" (the Holy day of Breaking the Fast) whichis the 1st day of
Shawwal, the month following Ramadan. On the Eid mor ning, all Muslims
congregate, in open grounds or in mosques, to perform " Eid Prayer" to
express their happiness and gratitude to Allah for enabling them to
completethis duty of Fasting. Concerning this important duty, Allah
says: "O you who believe. Fasting is prescribed to you as it was
prescribed to those before you, that you may (observe) piety and
self-restraint" [The Qur'an 2:183] Also, He says: "Ramadan is the
month in which was sent down The Qur'an, as a guide to mankind, also
clear (signs) for guidance and judgement (between right and wrong).
So, every one of you who is present (at his home, village, or town)
during that month should fast it, but if any one is ill, or on a
journey, the prescribed period (should be made up) by other days".
[The Qur'an 2:185]. WHY WE FAST We fast in obedience to Allah's
command, and because Allah loves those who fast. To show our gratitude
to Allah's Grace of sending down His Guidance, The Qur'an, to guide us
and the whole humanity.
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