KING---
Alright, so there are five pillars of Islam, meaning these five things are obligatory and must be done or performed by every single Muslim.' Ahmad began, clearing his throat. "The first one is the shabadah." He said, clearing his throat as we were sitting on a corner of the mosque, near the bookshelves. 'Basically, it's a declaration of Islam, stating that you believe in Allah is the only deity worthy of worship alone, and that Muhammad [SAW] it was his servant and messenger. It's said;
'Ashadu 'an la"ilaha 'illa-llah, wa Ashadu an na Muhammadan abdubu wa Rasul' which means, I bear witness that there is no god but Allah and I bear witness that Muhammad, is the slave and messenger of Allah."
I nodded in understanding. It was the same verse of a section in the adhan.
"Second pillar; Salah, meaning prayers.' Ayman continued instead. "There are five obligatory prayers. Fajr, the dawn prayer, Dhuhr; the noon, 'Asr; afternoon, Maghrib; evening, and Isha'; night. Besides from them, you can pray more but that's the bare minimum. Praying five times a day doesn't make someone pious, or religious. It makes you a Muslim. The prophet said; between a person and Kufr (disbelief) is abandoning the prayer.''
That seemed simple enough, I guess. Nothing hard to do.
"Third one is Zakat, meaning charity. Every Muslim is required to give in charity, an amount depending on their total wealth and income. So if you earn money that's more than 'just getting by', you need to give in charity to the poor and needy." Ahmad said and I felt a little proud swell in my heart. I guess Islam really wasn't what the media portrayed it to be.
"Fourth. Fasting. In Ramadan, which is a month of the Islamic lunar calendar, we have to fast from sunrise to sunset. Without drinking, no eating, no sexual intercourse. All these things that a person feels inclined to do during the day, they have to abstain, keep away from for the sake of Allah. Unless you have a medical condition, or a woman who's pregnant or breastfeeding, then every Muslim post puberty has to fast during this month. It teaches us patience and to control our desires, helps us understand what people who aren't as lucky as us go through without food and water and most importantly it helps us attain Taqwa, meaning fear of Allah. It brings us closer to God and increases our fear of Him." He explained briefly before looking at Ahmad. 'Man, I can't wait for Ramadan, bro." He said with a smile and Ahmad nodded back, agreeing with him, stating that there was only four months left.
"Why are you excited after a month of not eating?" I asked with a soft chuckle. "Shouldn't you want to get it over and done with?"
"No way." Ahmad shook his head. "The whole atmosphere during Ramadan is amazing. People spend most of their time at the mosque, you see family, the feeling when you're finally allowed to open your fast, spend time with mates, go out during the day, stay up late during the night, worship for hours and read Quran, the holy book, which you do throughout the year too, but in Ramadan, there's just a whole different feel about it all, SubhanAllah (Glory be to Allah)."
I nodded my head as Ayman went ahead, explaining the last pillar.
"And the last one is Hajj, meaning the pilgrimage to the holy land in Saudi Arabia during a specific time where you need to complete a list of deeds. Every Muslim who has enough money needs to go to Makkah once in their life."
"Alright, so they're the pillars of Islam and then there's six pillars of faith, meaning if you deny any of these and don't believe them, your faith is not complete. There's six of them and they're pretty simple." He said before listing them off. "You need to have belief in Allah, the Oneness of Allah, that there's none worthy of worship except Him.
You need to have belief in His Angels, four main ones that Jews and Christian's believe also. You know, the archangel's ... so that's Jibraeel (Gabriel), Mika'il (Michael), Israfil (Raphael) and Malak al Mawt, which means the angel of death. Few scholars believe that the angel of death is named Azrael/Israel (Azrael); however majority of the scholars upon haqq state that Allah and His messenger only refer to him as Malaak al Mawt so therefore it's best that we also refer to him as such. He explained, making me really focus on his every word so I didn't get lost amongst the detail.
'Obviously they're the main ones, but we must also believe in the unimaginable quantities of angels that Allah has also created and continues to create. You need to have belief in His books, the Qur'an of course which was revealed to Muhammad. There's the Zabur which we believe was the book Allah revealed to Prophet Dawud (David), the Tawrat (Torah) revealed to Prophet Musa (Moses) and the Injil (Gospel) which was revealed to Prophet Isa (Jesus), may peace be upon them all. However out of all of them, only one was preserved and so only one cans you follow and that is the Qur'an."
'We're required to have belief in His Messengers, peace be upon them all. So all the way from Prophet Adam, up until Prophet.
Muhammad
'Adam'(Adam)
'Idris (Enoch)
Nuh (Noah)
Hud (Eber)
Haroun (Aaron)
Ibrahim (Abraham
Lut (Lot)
Ismail (Ishmael)
Yusuf (Joseph)
Sulayman (Solomon)
"Isa (Jesus)
[No particular order, and of course not all the prophets. A small number].
Ayman was called by someone and so he got up and left, Ahmad explaining the rest as Walter came and sat down.
"You need to believe in the Last Day, that on That Day all that is on earth and in the galaxy, everything will be destroyed and be perished and only Allah will remain. Then we will all be resurrected and questioned for what we did in the world and people who didn't worship Allah and believe in Him will go to hell and those who did worship him day and night and guarded their modesty, did righteous deeds, stayed away from sin, repented, fulfilled their obligations of praying, fasting and the rest, if God wills, will go to Heaven."
'Guide us and forgive us, ya Rabb.' Walter whispered to himself as he wiped his hands over his beard and exhaled.
'Amen, akhi. Amen.' Ahmad said to him softly.
'What's the last one?' I asked.
"The last one is having faith in Allah and His plans and believing that everything that happens to us, the good and the bad, comes from Him.' Walter answered.
"Why does God give people bad things in life if they worship Him? Shouldn't He love?' I asked, raising an eyebrow.
'Allah loves us seventy times more than our own mothers do." Ahmad said, "Through the Qur'an, the Holy book and the teachings of the Prophet its we know that Allah tests those whom He loves. Some trials punish us in this world so that we are punished less in the Hereafter. They serve as an expiration of sins. There's a Hadith, meaning things that the Prophet (saw)has said that are recorded in books, where he(saw) as said; No fatigue, nor disease, nor sorrow, nor sadness, nor hurt, nor distress befalls a Muslim, even if it were the prick he receives from a thorn, but that Allah expiates some of his sins for that."
"So He gives you bad things in life so He can take away your sins?"
"Yeah. Or to see which of us drift away from Him because of the trials He puts them through and which of us try to worship more and seek refuge in Him. Allah loves those who seek refuge in Him and invoke Him. Surah Ali' Imran, verse 159; Indeed, Allah loves those who rely [upon Him]."
I nodded in understanding, no longer able to control the wild beating of my heart. "You know how that day you said something about when you're looking at a girl; you look at her character, her status, her religion and stuff?" I asked Walter, seeing him nod as he uncrossed his legs and spread them in front of himself instead, craning his neck to the side and cracking it. I have no idea why, but yet again, after all this Islamic information I had received, my mind led back to one thought. "So you go to a girl and say 'what's your character like?' That's a bit stupid." I muttered.
I was glad that the guys didn't get offended when I called things stupid or weird. I mean, I was just being completely open with them and I think they appreciated that.
"That is stupid." Ahmad laughed. "You don't go to the girl. Free-mixing, meaning contact between male and female whether it's touching or just talking unless completely necessary is forbidden in Islam. Guys and girls can't be friends. They can't date."
"Well I'm going to hell then." I scoffed, cutting him off and making the guys laugh, which then made me laugh also.
"Unless you repent." Walter said. "I became a Muslim four years ago and when you first take your shahada and declare your faith, become a Muslim, all of your previous sins are wiped away for they were sins that you performed in your Jahiliyyah (Ignorance), Alhamdulillah (All Praise is to Allah)."
"So how is the whole dating ... Hang on, if there's no dating what do you do just jump straight into marriage? How do you know you'll get along with the person?" I asked, raising my eyebrows, the whole process confusing me.
"Well, sometimes it's someone who knows both people and thinks they'll be compatible. So the guys side will approach the girl and her family will ask around about the guy, if he sounds calm, then they'll let the two meet, while her male guardian (wali) is present to ensure man doesn't take advantage of anything and they'll speak a few times, families meet, if all goes well, marriage before much time passes." He said and I sort of felt disappointed that it didn't apply to me. He continued as if reading my thoughts. "But let's say you see a girl and you feel attracted to her. Then it's basic. You'd tell someone who can get in contact with her or her family just to see if she's looking for marriage. If she says yes, then that person you told will go to her parents and say there's a brother who's... "
"A brother?" I muttered.
"All Muslims, we call each other brothers and sisters. Surah Hujurat, verse 10; The believers are but brothers ...'' Ahmad said."And in Surah Ali' Imran, verse 103; Hold firmly to the rope of Allah all together and do not become divided. Remember the favor of Allah upon you, when you were enemies and he brought your hearts together and you became brothers by his favor."
"One of my favorite verses, that one." Walter said with a smile. "You become a Muslim and all of a sudden you have all these brothers and sisters around the world that love you purely for the sake of Allah. SubhanAllah."
"And in Surah Tawbah, verse 71." Ayman said, joining the group again, clearly having heard the last part of our conversation, before he stated the verse that he just mentioned. "The believing men and believing women are allies of one another. They enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and establish prayer and give charity and obey Allah and His Messenger. Allah will have mercy upon them, for Allah is Almighty and Wise."
"Okay, can I get back to the marriage topic now?" Ahmad said with a roll of his eyes, but humor laced in his tone. I was low key glad because I knew I wouldn't be able to bring it up again otherwise they'll definitely know something was in my mind. Or better yet, someone. "So yeah, the person you told will go to the girl's parents and tell them that there's a brother interested in marrying their daughter. They'll give your name and the family can ask around about your character to your friends and people who might know you, or they'll come to you and speak to you, ask you questions. If they think you're suitable as a spouse, then they ask the girl. If she agrees then you two meet with other people, again, not alone, and you talk briefly. Ask each other question. If both sides find the other compatible then the marriage process starts up." He finished, his phone ringing in his pocket. He excused himself and got up, answering the phone a couple of meters away.
"But you can't get to know everything about a person by asking them a couple of questions ... What if you don't get along? Divorce them onto the next and repeat the cycle till you find the 'woman of your dreams' or whatever?"
Ayman chuckled. "I guess there is always that risk, but I mean, Muslim divorce rates aren't as high compared to non-Muslims who date for years and get married so that's saying something. The prophet always encouraged people to look for religion first while looking for a spouse because if both sides are committed to religion, then the marriage becomes smooth. Allah says in Surah Rum, verse 21; And of His signs is that He created for you from yourselves mates that you may find tranquility in them; and He placed between you affection and mercy. Indeed there are signs for people who give thought."
"Basically, when you get married and everything the husband and wife do is in accordance to Islam, and if their marriage process was all Halal (permissible)
and they avoided sinning, we believe that even if you don't get along in some points or disagree, Allah places love and mercy between the two and helps them get along. They learn to overlook each other's faults and what not." Walter said and I nodded.
"So what sins are there?" I asked and both guys released deep breaths, widening their eyes.
"Hundreds in essence. Alcohol, meat that comes from swine, drugs, sexual intercourse with someone you're not married with, homosexuality, lying, backbiting, free-mixing, harming yourself, harming a fellow brother, stealing, tricking people, mocking people, exposing someone's sins, exposing your own sins, killing an innocent person, not helping someone in need, gambling, wasting food, wasting money on extravagance ... I mean, there's a lot, but nowhere near the amount of good deeds. But when you look into it, you see that all of it, everything that is forbidden is for our own good and for the benefit of ourselves or to benefit the community and keep everyone out of harm."
"So what's good then? Halal or whatever you said." I spoke, and then listened to Walter's answer. "Giving to the poor and needy, helping people, reading Qur'an, praying, fasting, smiling, spreading goodness, advising people, covering people's faults, attending people's funerals and advising the families to patience, upholding family ties, helping people reconcile after arguments, good treatment to others, respect to the elderly, love for those younger than you, being kind and polite, planting trees and growing fruit and vegetables for people to benefit from, treating animals with good care, greeting someone with 'As salaam alaykum' ... " He trailed off before a smirk took over his face as he looked at me. "Helping someone revert to Islam, maybe."
He spoke and I laughed loudly along with Ayman who punched Walter and gave him a secret look amongst his laughter as if to say don't scare him away which made me laugh even more.
"No, thanks. I'm good at the moment." I said, shaking my hand at him and rolling my eyes. "At the moment?" He questioned, before nodding. "I'll take that."
"You said revert. Why'd you call it that?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.
"We Muslims believe that every child is born upon the Haqq (Truth). They are all Muslims until they reach the age of puberty where they can start making their own decisions. So essentially, if you're born a Muslim, then later on in life you become a Muslim, you're going back, you're becoming a Muslim again. So reverting to something you were already once a part of." Ayman explained.
'Reverting to something you were already once a part of.' When he said this sentence, I remembered the first time I heard the adhan and for some weird reason felt like I had heard it before and was apart from it for so long. Could this have actually been why I felt that way?
"So let's say someone reverts to Islam, but they're married to a Christian. What happens? You have to break up the marriage?"
Walter looked at Ayman, with raised eyebrows as if also questioning it and that eased me a little bit to know that they didn't know everything. I knew they didn't, but it was nice to see that they were still learning, just like I was despite us all being at different stages. "If a woman becomes a Muslim, then yes, the marriage contract is automatically declared invalid and after her waiting period is over, which is where she has to wait a couple months before marrying anyone else to ensure she isn't pregnant because back then they didn't have tests and stuff, she can go marry a Muslim man, but if he does become Muslim in that waiting period time, their contract becomes valid again. If she wants she can wait for years for him to and pray that he becomes a Muslim, but until then, they are not considered married."
"And a man?" I asked.
"That's fine to the best of my knowledge. Men can actually marry non-Muslim women who are either Jews or Christians and who live their religion correctly, which isn't many now because the books are all changed and haven't been preserved."
"So why the difference? Between the men and women I mean."
"Because, brother," Ahmad said as he joined the group again, handing out bottled water to us all. "Generally speaking, the men wear the pants in the relationship. They are the authority figure and so a man will be able to raise his children according to his principles, whereas it'd obviously be hard and very less likely to see a Muslim woman, married to a non-Muslim man raising their children according to her Islamic beliefs." He explained. "Gender roles in Islam are very important. Women are generally the caretaker of the home, the main one who looks after the children, provides goodness within their household and helps the family members and the man is the maintainer who provides for them and protects them all and helps the wife when he gets a chance." Ahmad said. "Women can work of course, but if their job is Islam-appropriate, meaning they don't communicate with men, like if it's an all female environment."
"Yeah, like Khadijah bint Khuwaylid, the Prophet's (SAW) first wife. She was one of the most successful business owners in the land. There's many girls now who defend women working in open environments by saying Khadijah, may Allah be pleased with her, was a business woman and was one of the first to ever accept Islam, but she never did anything to displease Allah. She never went out and communicated with men and shook their hands or free-mixed. She had workers who went out and did everything for her. She was the owner of the business, but not like a worker." He explained it to me.
"What's bint?" I asked after taking in everything they were saying.
"Bint means 'daughter of'. In Islam, there are no surnames. There's a couple of phrases. For example Khadijah bint Khuwaylid, so Khadijah the daughter of Khuwaylid which is her dad's name. Some women use Umm' which means 'mother of' so my mum for instance is 'Umm Ayman', mother of Ayman. Then there's 'Ibn' or 'bin', depending on where it's said in a sentence, which means son of, so for males. You have for example Ahmad. His 'kunya,' which is the name given to these phrases, is Ahmad ibn Yousef. So Ahmad the son of Yousef. And the last one is 'Abu' which means 'father of' so if I have a son named Umar for instance, I'll be Abu Umar, meaning the father of Umar. You get me?" Ayman asked as he tilted his head as if he thought what he was saying was confusing, but it wasn't and I actually understood it clearly.
"Yeah, I get it." I chuckled as I leaned back, onto the wall, a small smile playing on my lips. My heartfelt full and open as if for the first time in years, I was breathing comfortably, my body feeling light and relaxed. I was calm and felt at peace.
"What does Islam mean?" I asked and that was probably going to be my last question for the day.
Ahmad smiled as he spoke. "It means surrender and submission. Surrender and submit yourself to the religion of Allah." He said, before Ayman continued. "It comes from the root word salaam, meaning peace."
And peace is what I felt