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Old Friday, October 28, 2005
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The Spirit of "Ibadat" or Worship

'Ibadat' is an Arabic word derived from 'Abd' (a slave) and it means submission. It portrays that Allah is your Master and you are His slave and whatever a slave does in obedience to and for the pleasure of his Master is 'Ibadat.

The Islamic concept of 'Ibadat' is very wide. If you free your speech from filth, falsehood, malice and abuse and speak the truth and talk goodly things and do all these only because God has so ordained to do they constitute 'Ibadat, however secular they may look in semblance. If you obey the law of God in letter and spirit in your commercial and economic affairs and abide by it in your dealings with your parents relatives friend and all those who come in contact with you verily all these activities of yours are 'Ibadat.

If you help the poor and the destitute give food to the hungry and serve the ailing and the afflicted persons and do all this not for any personal gain of yours but only to seek the pleasure of God, they are nothing short of 'Ibadat.
Even your economic activities the activities you undertake to earn your living and to feed your dependants are 'Ibadat if you remain honest and truthful in them and observe the law of God. In short all your activities and your entire life are 'Ibadat if they are in accordance with the law of God and your heart is filled with His fear and your ultimate objective in undertaking all these activities is to seek the pleasure of God. Thus whenever you do good or avoid evil for fear of God, in whatever sphere of life and field of activity you are discharging your Islamic obligations. This is the true significance of 'Ibadat, viz.

Total submission to the pleasure of Allah, the moulding into the patterns of Islam one's entire life, leaving out not even the most insignificant part thereof. To help achieve this aim a set of formal 'Ibadat (worships) has been constituted which serves as a course of training. The more assiduously we follow the training, the better equipped practices. The 'Ibadat are thus the pillars on which the edifice of Islam rests.

Salat:

Salat is the most primary and the most important of these obligations. And what is Salat? It is the prescribed daily prayers which consist in repeating and refreshing five times a day the belief in which you repose your faith. You get up early in the morning, cleanse yourself and present yourself before your Lord for prayer. The various poses that you assume during your prayers are the very embodiment of the spirit of submission; the various recitals remind you of your commitments to your God. You seek His guidance and ask Him again and again to enable you to avoid His wrath and follow His Chosen Path. You read out from the Book of the Lord and express witness to the truth of the Prophet and also refresh your belief in the Day of Judgment and enliven in your memory the fact that you have to appear before your Lord and give an account of your entire life. This is how your day starts. Then after a few hours the Muezzin calls you to prayers and you again submit to your God and renew your covenant with Him. You dissociate yourself form your worldly engagements for a few moments and seek audience with God. This once again brings to the fore of your mind your real role in file. After this rededication you revert to your occupations and again present yourself to the Lord after a few hours. This again acts as a reminder to you and you once more refocus your attention an the attention on the stipulations of your Faith. When the sun sets and the darkness of the night begins to shroud you, you again submit yourself to God in Prayers so that you may not forget your duties and obligation in the midst of the approaching shadows of the night. And then after a few hours you again appear before your Lord and this is your last prayer of the day. Thus before going to bed you once again renew your Faith and prostrate before your God. And this is how you complete your day. The frequency and timings of the prayers never let the object and mission of life be lost sight of in the maze of worldly activities.

PRAYER AND STRENGTH:

It is but easy to understand how the daily prayers strengthen the foundations of your Faith prepare you for the observance of a life of virtue and obedience to God, and refresh that belief from which spring courage, sincerity, purposefulness, purity of heart, advancement of the soul, and enrichment of morals.

Now see how this is achieved. You perform ablution and perform it in the way prescribed by the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him). You also say your prayers according to the instructions of the Prophet. Why do you do so? Simply because you believe in the prophethood of Muhammad (peace be upon him) and deem it our bounden duty to follow him ungrudgingly. Why don't you intentionally miss-recite the Qur'an? Isn't it so because you regard the Books as the Word of God and deem it a sin to deviate from its letter? In the prayers you recite many a thing quietly and if you do not recite them and make any deviation therefrom there is no one to check you. But you never do co intentionally. Why? Because you believe that God is ever watchful and He listens all that you recite and is aware of thing open and hidden. What makes you say your prayers at places where there is not one to ask you to offer them or even to see you offering them? Isn't it so because of your belief that God is ever looking at you? What makes you leave your important business and other occupations and rush to1wards the mosque for prayers? What makes you terminate your sweet sleep in the early hours of the morning to go to the mosque in the heat of the noon and to leave your evening entertainment's for the sake of prayers? Is it anything other than sense of duty-your realisation that you must fulfil your responsibility to the Lord, come what may? And why are you afraid of any mistake in prayer? Because your heart is filled with the fear of God and you know that you have to appear before Him on the Day of Judgment and give an account of your entire life. Now look! can there be a better course of moral and spiritual training than prayers? It is this training which makes a man a perfect Muslim. It remains him of his covenant with God, refreshes his faith in Him, and keeps the belief in the Day of Judgment alive and ever-present before his mind's eye. It makes him follow the Prophet and trains him in the observance of his duties.

This is indeed a strict training for conforming one's practice to one' ideals. Obviously if a man's consciousness of his duties towards his Creator is so acute that he prizes it above all worldly gains and keep it refreshing through prayers he would certainly be in visiting the displeasure of God which he all along striven to avoid. He will abide by the law of God in the entire gamut of life in the same way as he follows it in the five prayers ever day. This man can be relied upon in other fields of activity as well for if the shadows of sin or deceit approach him he will try to avoid them for fear of the Lord which would be ever present in his heart. And if even after such a vital training a man misbehaves himself in other fields of life and disobeys the law of God it can only be because of some intrinsic depravity of his self.

Then again you must say your prayers in congregation and especially so the Friday prayers. This creates among the Muslims a bound of love and mutual understanding. This arouses in them the sense of their collective unity and fosters among them national fraternity. All of them say their prayers in one congregation and this inculcate in them a deep feeling of brotherhood. Prayers are also a symbol of equality for the poor and the rich the low and the high the rulers and the ruled the educated and the unlettered, the black and the white all stand in one row prostrate before their Lord. They also inculcate in them a strong sense of discipline and obedience to the elected leader. In short prayers train them in all those virtues which make possible the development of a rich individual and collective life.

There are a few of the myriads of benefits we can derive from the daily prayers. If we refuse to avail ourselves of them we and only we are the losers. Our shirking the prayers can only mean one of the two things. Either we do not recognise prayers as our duty or we recognise them as our claim to Faith shall be a shameless lie, for if we refuse to take orders we no longer acknowledge the Authority. In the second case if we recognise the Authority and still flout His Commands then we are the most unreliable of the creatures that ever tread the earth. For if we can do this to the highest authority in the universe, what guarantee is there that we shall not do the same in our dealings with other human beings? And if double play overwhelms a society what a hell of discord it is bound to become!


Fasting:

What the prayers seek to serve five times a day fasting in the month of Ramadhan (ninth month of the lunar year) does once a year. During this period from dawn to dusk we eat not a grain of food nor drink a drop of water no matter how delicious the dish or how hungry or thirsty we feel. What is it makes us voluntarily undergo such rigours? It is nothing but faith in God and the fear of Him and of the Day of Judgment. Each and every moment during our fast we suppress our passions and desires and proclaim by our doing so the supremacy of the Law of God. This consciousness of duty and the spirit of patience that incessant fasting for full one month inculcates in us help us Strengthen our faith. Rigour and discipline during this month bring us face to face with the realities of life and help us make our life during the rest of the year a life of true subservience to His Will.

From yet another point of view fasting has an immense impact on society for all the Muslims irrespective of their status must observe fast during the same month. This brings to prominence the essential equality of men and thus goes a long way towards creating in then sentiments of love and brotherhood. During Ramadhan evil conceals itself while good come to the fore and the whole atmosphere is filled with piety and purity. This discipline has been imposed on us to our own advantage. Those who do not fulfil this relied upon in the discharge of their duties. But the worst are those who during this holy month does not hesitate to eat or drink in public. They are the people who by their conduct show that they care not a trifle for the commands of Allah in Whom they profess their belief as their Creator and Sustainer. Not only this, they also show that they are not loyal members of the Muslim Community rather they have nothing to do with it. It is evident that in so far as obedience to law and regard for a trust reposed in them goes, only the worst could be expected of such hypocrites.

Zakat:

The third obligation is Zakat. Every Muslim, whose financial conditions are above a certain specified minimum, must pay annually 21/2% of his cash balance to a deserving fellow being, a new covert to Islam, a traveler, or one involved in debts. This is the minimum. The more you pay the greater the reward that Allah shall bestow on you.

The money that we pay as Zakat is mot something Allah needs or receives. He is above any want and desire. He, in His benign Mercy, promises us rewards manifold if we help our brethren. But there in one basic condition for being thus rewarded. And it is this that when we pay in the name of Allah, we shall not expect nor demand any worldly gains from the beneficiaries nor aim at making our names as philanthropists.

Zakat is as basic to Islam as other forms of 'Ibadat salat (prayers) and saum (fasting). Its fundamental importance lies in the fact that it fosters in us the qualities of sacrifice and rids us of selfishness and plutolatry. Islam accepts within its fold only those who are ready to give away in God's way from their hard earned wealth willingly and without any temporal or personal gain. It has nothing to do with misers. A true Muslim shall, when the call comes, sacrifice al his belongings in the way of Allah, for Zakat has already trained him for such sacrifice.

The Muslim society has immensely to gain from the institution of Zakat. It is the bounden duty of every well to do Muslim to help his lowly placed poor brethren. His wealth is not to be spent solely for his own comfort and luxury there are rightful claimants on his wealth, and they are the nation's widows and orphans, the poor and the invalid those who have ability but lack the means by which they could seek useful employment, those who have the faculties and brilliance but not the money with which they could acquire knowledge and become useful members of the community. He who does not recognize the right on his wealth of such members of his own community is indeed cruel. For there could be no greater cruelty than to fill one's own coffers while thousands die of hunger or suffer the agonies of unemployment. Islam is a sworn enemy of such selfishness, greed and acquisitiveness. Disbelievers, devoid of sentiments of universal love, know only to preserve wealth and to add to it by lending it out on interest. Islam's teachings are the very antithesis of this attitude. Here one shares one's wealth with others and helps them stand on their own legs and become productive members of the society.

Hajj or Pilgrimage:

Hajj, or the Pilgrimage to Mecca, is fourth basic 'Ibadat. It is obligatory only on those who can afford it and that too only once in a lifetime.

Mecca today stands at site of a small house that the Prophet Abraham (God's blessings be upon him) built for the worship of Allah. Allah rewarded him by calling it His own House and by making it the center towards which all must face when saying prayers. He also made it incumbent on those who can afford to visit is not merely to be a courtesy call. Even this pilgrimage the its rites and conditions to be fulfilled which inculcate in us piety and goodness. When we undertake the pilgrimage, we are required to suppress our passions, refrain from bloodshed, and be pure in word and deed. God promises rewards for our sincerity and submissiveness.

The Pilgrimage is, in a way the biggest of all Ibadat. For unless a man really loves God he would never undertake such a long journey all his near and dear ones behind him. Then this pilgrimage is unlike any other journey. Here his thoughts are concentrated on Allah, his very being vibrates with spirit of intense devotion. When he reaches the holy place, he finds the atmosphere laden with piety and godliness; he visits place which bear witness to the glory of Islam, and all this leaves an indelible impression on his mind, which he carries t o his last breath.

Then there are as in other 'Ibadat many benefits that the Muslims can enjoy from this pilgrimage. Mecca is the center towards which the Muslims must converge once a year meet and discuss topics of common interest and in general create and refresh in then selves the faith that all Muslims are equal and deserve the love and sympathy of others irrespective of their geographical or cultural origin. Thus the pilgrimage unites the Muslims of the world into one international fraternity.

Jihad:

Jihad is a part of this overall defense of Islam. Jihad means struggle to the utmost of one's capacity. A man who exerts himself physically or mentally or spends his wealth in the way of Allah is indeed engaged in Jihad. But in the language of the Shari'ah this word is used particularly for the war that is waged solely in the name of Allah and against those who perpetrate oppression as enemies of Islam. This supreme sacrifice of lives devolves an all Muslims. If however a section of the Muslims offer themselves for participating in the Jihad the whole community is absolved of its responsibility. But if none comes forward everybody is guilty. This concession vanishes for the citizens of an Islamic State when it is attacked by a non-Muslim power. In that case everybody must come forward for the Jihad. If the country attacked has not strength enough to fight back then it is the religious duty of the neighbouring Muslim countries to help her if even they fail then the Muslims of the whole world must fight the common enemy. In all these cases Jihad is as much a primary duty of the Muslims concerned as are the daily prayers or fasting. One who shirks it is a sinner. He is plainly a hypocrite who fails in the test of sincerity and all his 'Ibadat and prayers are a sham a worthless hollow show of devotion.

Last edited by Princess Royal; Friday, July 03, 2009 at 12:49 PM.
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Old Friday, October 28, 2005
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Describe the importance and philosophy of prayer,also explain its individual and collective benefits.

Ans:MEANING AND SIGNIFICANCE OF PRAYER:

Prayer,Salat or Namaz are the words used for the obligatory prayers which are performed five times a day, and are a direct link between the worshipper and God.Prayer is the most primary and the most important of obligations.It is the embodiment of submission,pure obedience in the name of Allah,the Creator and the Sustainer of mankind.

Prayer is the source of strengthining the foundations of ones Faith and belif in God.It enables a man for the observence of the life of virtue and promotes sincerity,purity of heart,advancement of soul and the enrichment of the morals.Prayer can be conceived as a way of developing and reminding the man's conciouseness of one's duties and obligations towards his Creator.It develops the fear of God and maintains a feeling within a man that he has to abide by the laws presented to man by Him.
According to the Holy quran

"A believer who is possessed of strength is better and dearer to God than a believer who is weak"

The above mentioned extract shows that how much preference is given to those who place their firm faith in God and advance spiritually even with the enjoyment of pleasures of worldly life.The prayers serve to distinguish the ones who do really have faith and wish sincerely to serve God from those who are content with lip service.The prayer is significant to the extent that the Holy prophet (PBUH) said,

"Prayer is the pillar of the islamic religion and whoever abandons it ,demolishes the very pillars of religion."

This shows the emphasis and stress to perform the act of prayer as it is a source and a way of moulding
one's life purely according to the principles and teachings of ISlam.

PHILOSOPHY OF PRAYER:

PRAYER: THE FAITHFUL'S LADDER

The stress for the significance of prayer in Islam has been made again and again throught the whole book of Holy Quran,

"Say to My worshippers who believe that they should keep up the prayer..."


Prayer is a spiritual journey in which man traverses the distance between him and Allah, It is a practical institution of worship which aims at discovering consciously the relation between the devotee and the Creator. It is intended to awake in man the spiritual awareness and lively, vivid conscience to be in close contact with the great Divine love.

During prayer, the individual proclaims his lowliness and servitude to his Creator.The veils between the individual and the God are lifted and the divine beauty and love shine brilliantly on the human soul.It is a source of intense joy and provides deep satisfaction.

ABANDONMNENT OF SIN:

In prayer can be concieved as a real attempt to abandon sins and secure salvation from its evils. It awakens an an urge to restore the soul to its original state of purity.A person when faces Allah shows his determination to abandon wrong habits and boldly attempts to be freed from the chain of materialism and lust.

It is a return to the Source, after the daily activity of material life.Prayer is a designe to recall one's personal behaviour and dealings both with people and the Creator. Such reflection helps to check one's mistakes, wrong impulses and encourages corrective measures.

A WAY TO FORGIVENESS:

When a person fails to perform his obligations to Allah ,evil desires take over him .On realization of the wrong deeds which go against the code of life individual stands before
. Allah, humbly leans against Him for forgiveness and promises to abandon disbelief, with a determination to be upright and virtuous. In other words we can say that prayer provides man with an opportunity to seek forgivenss of the Divine ,Allah the most merciful,Benficent.Islam wants man to be in communion with his Lord.Islam desires that man should observe ceaseless vigilance over his desire so that his life may become a source of his welfare in life and in the life to come.AS Quran says,

"Seek the abode of the hereafter in that which Allah has given to you."

Prayer is a way which can lead man to the blessed world hereafter and for the attinment of good place in the eyes of Allah,man seeks and begs for His forgiveness through the opportunity of prayer given to him.

Man acknowledges his humbleness towards the Creator during the process of prayer and proclaims both repentance and a great desire to choose the righteous path. In this way he renews the covenant with Allah and promises to streamline one's life. Praying regularly enhances good traits, weakness evil impulses and diminishes potential for wrongdoing. Consequently will grows stronger.

Thus, prayer is a practical system of worship specifically intended to protect the soul from its whims and deviant desires. It is an original cure for all its spiritual diseases that subtley cultivates good habits and inclinations.

PURITY OF THE SOUL:

The Prophet (PBUH) described prayer's paramount significance, and its role in chastening the soul, and straightening human behaviour by saying
"The daily prayer like the moving river; whenever one says the prayer, his/her sins will be forgiven"

A man approached the Prophet (PBUH) and requested, " O Messenger of Allah, advise me'. The Prophet (PBUH.) replied,

'Never purposefully quit prayer. Whoever abandons it intentionally has in fact quit Islam"

Prayer stengthens one's belief and purifies the soul .Holy prophet Muhammd(PBUH) regarded man's reason for weak beliefs in his Creator in the following words,

'What keeps unbelief distant from faith is giving up prayer"

The Prophet (PBUH) also empahsized,

'Everything has a characteristic symbol, and the character of your religion is prayer. Thus, never defile the visage of your religion'.

He is also quoted as having said:

'Whoever makes light of his prayer, he is not from me. He will never meet me at the fountain"

It is due to the outstanding importance of prayer that it was ordained by Allah as a religious duty in every divine message propagated by the prophets, as it is the relationship between the slave and his Creator , and a veritable staircase the individual ascends to the pinnacle of righteousness.

The Holy Qur'an, when talking about the prophets and their messages in this life declares:

"And we made them Imams who guided (people) by Our command, and we revealed to them the doing of good and the keeping up of prayer and the giving of the alms, and Us (alone) did they worship".

Prayer is indeed the motto of the faithful and the ummah (the Muslim nation). It is precisely the boundary separating the faithful from those who do not belong to the faithful ummah:

"keep up prayer. surely prayer is a timed ordinance for the believers"

COLLECTIVE BENEFIT OF PRAYER

The reforming effect of prayer is certainly not confined to the individual only. It encompasses a wide range of social domains, so that the life is organized and straightened according to Allah's will.

In order to fulfill the objectives of prayer, the Qur'an links keeping up prayers to social reformation and doing good deeds.

REFORMATION OF OCMMUNITY THROUGH SPEECH:

The Holy Qur'an declares:

" You shall speak to people good words and keep up prayer and pay zakat "

Prayer is always linked to good speech men are desired to apply good and constructive words .He should avoid lies, backbiting, vilifying or cursing..The use of defamatory words and virtues promote evil.. Prayer develops in man a tool to attain the use of the words of reformation and faith.Speech plays an effective role in reforming the community
and the individual ideologically and educationally. It is conducive in establishing healthy psychological and social ties:

"Have you not considered how Allah sets forth a parable of a good word (being) like a good tree, whose root is firm and whose branches are in heaven. Yielding its fruit in every season by the permission of its Lord? And Allah sets forth parables for people that they may be mindful. And the parable of an evil word is as an evil tree pulled up from the earth's surface; it has no stability".

MISTREATMENT OF THE INDIVIDUALS:

Prayer abstains from mistreating people, and teaches people in avoiding the
unjustice among the individuals.Islam does not accept those people who encroach upon the the rights of the people and their property, souls, honoursand anything that belongs to the other individuals of teh society.Islam tecahes the individuals to refrain from the performance of such acts and strengthen their belief
in Allah by offering prayer ,

"Have you not seen those to whom it was said: Withhold your hands, and keep up prayer..."

Thus has been revealed that crime and transgression be rooted out entirely and peace and stability prevails if an individual moves in life according to the basic beliefs that the religion of Islam offers.

SOURCE OF SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION:

"And We made them imams who guided (people) by Our command and We revealed to them the doing of good and the keeping up of prayer"

It has been stressed again and agin that prayer is linked to doing good
which calls man to righteousness,instrucs mankind to do what is beneficial, and endeavoursto fulfill humanity's objectives of progress in social construction, politics, economics, sociology, ethics
and in fact. the entire sphere of life.

The Holy Qur'an says:

"And We revealed to them the doing of good and the keeping up of prayer and the giving of the alms and Us (alone) did they worship".

Prayer is also linked to enjoining good and forbidding wrong:

"Surely prayer keeps (one) away from indecency and evil".

Linking prayer to social reform, fighting against corruption and decadence as personified in evil and wrong,
produces the best reformatory results in the life of both the community and the individual.

Thus the individual and the community that maintains prayer, are centres of enlightenment, human reform, and uprightness, because prayer cultivates deep inside man the concious awareness through continuous worshipping of Allah, fear of committing sins and shame of disobeying Him. A devotee can not commit any crime and disobey Allah when he stands in front of him five times a day and asks for His forgiveness and reward.

"Recite that which has been sent down to you of the Book and keep up prayer surely prayer keeps (one)away from indecency and evil. and certainly the rememberance of Allah is the greatest and Allah knows what you do".

Prayer nurtures in man the desire to repent, and turn to righteousness by continually asking Allah's renission of sins and seeking refuge with Him from committing further sins. Inwardly the gap between man and sins widens and the desire to righteousness and reform is intensified.

CONCLUSION:

All the above mentioned observations vividly bring out the true features and characteristic significance of the element of prayer as it cultivates in man love of good for others and saves him from bearing grudges and egoism which are the source of myraid evils and human misadventures in all the domains of life.

In prayer the worshipper asks good for all people. He or she requests for them goodness and forgiveness. Consequently, feelings of love, and benevolence in their broader, general social context are encouraged.
Loving of what is good is expressed by dua which develops in him the most noble feeling of sicerity for the whole humanity and builds man's belief in Allah on strong basis.
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