How to Act According to Furu Al Deen (10 Branches of Islam)

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posted on 14 years ago — updated on 1 second ago

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There is a saying of Muhammad mentioning the five pillars of Islam: Declaration of Faith, Salah, Saum, Hajj, Zakat. The Shi'ia Ithna 'Ashariya have 10 main aspects, called the Furu al-Deen. The first 3 are acts of devotion and worship, i.e. prayers, fasting, and the pilgrimage.The next two are societal duties, given as commanded by Allah. And the last 5 go toward self, society, military and political. It is our obligation as Shias, out of love and devotion to Allah, His Messenger, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), and his family to follow these main aspects of our religion dutifully and with sincere devotion.

Steps

Salah (prayer). It is obligatory to pray the five daily prayers - Fajr, Zuhur, 'Asr, Maghrib and 'Isha.

Sawm (fasting). It is obligatory to fast during the Islamic month of Ramadan, abstaining from food, drink and sexual intercourse from dawn till sunset.

Zakat (charity). Those that are able to must pay 2.5% of their annual income to charity.

Khums (another charity, meaning "a fifth"). This is paying tax to the Imam or their representative, usually a fifth of one's wealth.

Hajj (pilgrimage). Every able Muslim must at least once in their lifetime perform the pilgrimage to Makkah.

Jihad (struggle). As Muslims, we should struggle to praise Allah. The greater or internal jihad is the struggle against the evil within our soul; the lesser or external jihad is the struggle against the evil in our environment. This is not the same as so-called "holy war".Writing the truth (jihad bil qalam) and speaking truth in front of an oppressor are also forms of Jihad. Examples of jihad include speaking the truth and caring for one's surroundings by picking up litter.

Amr Bil-Ma'ruf (commanding what is good). We should encourage others to do good deeds, as well as doing them ourself.

Nahi-Anil-Munkar (forbidding what is evil). If we see someone sin, or something that is wrong, we should try to stop it, if not hate it in our hearts. We should always forbid what is evil and enjoin what is good, as encouraged by the Prophet (peace be upon him).

Tawalla (loving Ahl al Bayt). They are the family of the Prophet, and we should love them as much as we love the Prophet. We should also love all those who follow the straight path.

Tabbara (disassociation). We should disassociate with those who hate Allah and with those who oppressed Ahl al Bayt. We should not be in the company of those who mock and insult them, or Islam.