ISLAM: A BENEFICIAL WAY

OF LIFE
Written by: RayZ

In the Name of Allah, The Most Gracious The Most Merciful

For a person treading the path of

Islam, it could be difficult to try to
understand this religion, but after
you know it its as if you have
learned your life all over again in
the correct way. In this short book, I
will explain the foundations of
Islam and its virtues.

Table of Contents
1) Tawheed (The Oneness of Allah)
2) The Basic Foundations:

The Testimony of Faith

The Prayer
Fasting
Giving Charity
Making the Pilgrimage

3) The Six Pillars of Faith

Belief
Belief
Belief
Belief
Belief
Belief

in
in
in
in
in
in

Allah
His Angels
His Books
His Messengers
the Day of Judgement
the Divine Preordainment

Tawheed: The Oneness of God (Allah)

In this chapter, you will read about the basics of Tawheed, what it constitutes and
what it means.1 Allah1 doesnt accept any other religion other than Islam. All the
other religions will be cast away into the leaping flames of Hell. Linguistically,
Tawheed means to make something one. To clarify this, that negates all other
religions immediately. For example, Christianity (because it is one of fastest growing
religions currently). In Christianity, you believe that there is a God, his Son, and the
Holy Ghost (which is supposed to represent the Angel Gabriel Jabriel). This belief
system is completely negated because Linguistically, Tawheed means to make
something singular, not plural. Now literally, Tawheed means To Worship Allah Alone
without Partner. So this also negates the religion of Christianity. These two points
made, would instantly tell you, there is only one true, correct, religion and that is
Islam.
There are three aspects of Tawheed2. They are as follows:
Tawheed Ar-Ruboobiyah: Meaning the Tawheed (The Oneness of Allahs) Lordship To believe that Allah (Alone) is worthy of worship without partner. No mothers,
fathers, sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles, sons, daughters. He alone is the Creator,
Owner, Protector, and Sustainer for His Creation. It is he Alone that brings us into
being, allows us to die, and resurrected on the Day of Judgement.
Allah Says in His Noble Book (The Quran):
Is it that the One who has created the heavens and the earth has no power
to create ones like them? Why not? He is the Supreme Creator, the AllKnowing. His practice, when He intends to do something, is no more than He
says, Be, and it comes to be. So, pure (from every fault) is the One in whose
hand is the dominion of all things. And towards Him you are to be returned.
(Surah 36 Yaseen Ayat 80 - 83)
Tawheed Al-Uloohiyah: Meaning the Tawheed (The Oneness of Allahs) Worship
To believe that none has the right to be worshipped, except Allah (Alone). So in this
case, no one should worship anyone else or any other thing else. Allah is the selfsufficient Master of all the Creation. All of our Prayers, Fastings, Charity, and Hajj are
to please Allah who created you from the Semen Drops of your mother and father.
Allah Says in His Noble Book (The Quran):
We have created man from an extract of clay. Then We made him a spermdrop in a firm resting place. Then We turned the sperm-drop into a clot, then
1 Allah literally means Al- (meaning The) and ilah (meaning God). So together Allah
means The God.
2 Notice that these Arabic Words are written in this Transliteration Form so that you
may be able to get the understanding of how to pronounce the Word, but you can
also familiarize yourself with the Arabic word also because that is what you will see
more often.

We turned the clot into a fetus-lump, then We turned the fetus-lump into
bones, then We clothed the bones with flesh; thereafter We developed it into
another creature. So, glorious is Allah, the Best of the creators. Then, after all
this, you are to die. Then you are to be raised again on the Day of Judgment. 3
(Surah Al-Muminoon Ayat 10 15)
Tawheed Al-Asma Wa Sifaat: Meaning the Belief in All of His (Allahs) Names and
Attributes:
Allah has 99 Attributes that correspond with Allah. His names do not compare to his
creation. For example, someone may call a King, Mighty. Yes, he may be, but when you
ascribe this to Allah, his Mightiness (Al-Aziz) is different and more Majestic than the
Kings. Allah is one in a Unique Sense that no one can compare to.

Allah Says in His Noble Book (The Quran):

Say (O Muhammad (S.A.W4)): "He is Allah, (the) One. Allah, the SelfSufficient Master, Whom all creatures need. He begets not, nor was He
begotten. And there is none co-equal or comparable unto Him."
(Surah Al-Ikhlas Ayat 1 4)

3 Also In regards to when you see 'We' in the Qur'an, it doesn't mean God is more than one.
It shows how Majestic and great God is. However, you may see elsewhere that Muslims
believe in one God although I am saying (We is in the Quran), this does not mean God is
more than one - He is one and can only be one.

4 Whenever you see this (S.A.W) or (Sallahu-Alaihi-wa-Salam), it means (May Allahs Peace
and Blessing be upon him).

The Basic Foundations of Islam

There are five pillars of Islam that shows that you are Muslim. These five pillars are
necessary to follow if you are above the age of distinction (or puberty). Not doing
one or more of the pillars, can take you out of the fold of Islam and that is not the
intention of anyone.
Allah says:
Allah intends to make things easy on you. And man has been created
weak.
(Surah An-Nisa Ayat 28)
Allah purposely made mankind weak because he wants to test you. So you may ask,
Why is God trying to make things difficult by testing us? Allah tests us to see if we can
endure the hardships with patience and perseverance; Allah is patient and Loves those
who are patient. Also, Allahs Messenger said:
If Allah loves someone, He makes him understand his religion.

Of course by trials! For example, say you have good health. You are grateful to be able
to run around and do certain things. At this time, you forget about Allah who has given
you the ability to possess this. Then, (Allah Forbid) you get terribly sick to the point that
you are gasping for air. SubhanAllah - (All Glory is to Allah. How Perfect Only He is)! Now
what do you do? You want to curse those around you, you get angry quickly, and in
some trials, the person Curses his Creator. Astaghfir-Allah {Meaning, O Allah forgive
me! (but in this context it means O Allah forgive them))! Allah has tested you with an
affliction that could be seriously large in your view, but in Allahs view (which is always
better) it is a way for you to be tried to be as a reminder that Allah is your Lord who
gave you everything you have. Without Further Ado, I will tell you the Five Pillars of
Islam.

They are as follows:

The Shahadah (Or the Testimony). This is the Testimony of Faith saying,

I bear witness that there is no God but Allah and I bear witness that Muhammad is
His Slave and Messenger.
This is done with both the mouth and your heart. Your mouth by saying the words
and your heart by actually believing in what youre saying.
The Salat (Prayers). Praying the 5 prayers at their appropriate times is necessary for
you to be a Muslim. According to some scholars, you are considered a disbeliever if
you dont pray because that is the difference between you and the other people
around you (believing in other religions).
Those prayers are at prescribed times and they are:

Fajr: The Morning prayer, before the sun rises.

Dhur: The Noon prayer, although not really at noon it is a little after that time.
Asr: The Mid-day prayer, also known as the middle prayer. You can also know this by
seeing your shadow, if it your shadows height is the same as yours, then you know
its time to pray this prayer.
Maghrib: The Sunset prayer, right after the sunsets
Isha: The Night Prayer, when you see that the sun has completely set.
Saum: This fasting is referring to the obligatory fast and that is fasting during the
Month of Ramadhan (corresponding to the 9th Month of the Islamic Calendar). During
this Month, Allah wants you to fast for His sake for a great reward. The Prophet
Muhammad (S.A.W) said,
Every good deed is multiplied from 10 to 700 times. But only Allah knows your reward
for your fasting because only you and Allah know if you are actually fasting.
This month is also a reminder about those who dont have (the poor/orphans). So for
example, we eat every day, drink clean water, and are satisfied with those things. There
are some people in the world who cannot do that because it is not available for them;
Allah has not blessed them with the provisions that we have. So this month shows, that
we need to be grateful for every last grain of rice and bean that we eat because there
are people in the world who dont have.
Zakat: Giving Charity. There are a lot of ways you can give charity. You can give charity
tantamount, with gold, silver, money, large quantities of food. Or if you dont have the
ability to do any of those, you can give charity by simply smiling at people. This puts
love in a persons heart. You may have brightened up someones day by just smiling at
them. The Prophet (S.A.W) said:
"Even meeting your brother with a cheerful face is an act of charity. Charity is a
necessity for every Muslim." 5
Hajj: Pilgrimage to the House of Allah (The Kabah in Makkah). This is something that is
required only if you have the means to do so. Means, meaning financially and physically.
You may have money to travel over there, but you may be sick so you cannot travel or
you may be healthy, but you dont have the financial means to do so. Again Allah says:
He only intends ease for you, not hardship.
These are the 5 pillars of Islam and they must be followed to be admitted to Allahs
Abode for his Creation, Jannah (Heaven).

5 When Allah or his Messenger mention a brother (males), they are also referring to
sisters (or the women).

The Six Pillars of Iman (Faith)

There are Six Pillars of Faith which coincide with the Five Pillars of Islam. In believing
the following Pillars of Faith, shows that your commitment to being a Muslim is true,
from the heart and not just something you show (as to show off).
The Six Pillars of Faith are as follows:
Belief in Allah: Believing that Allah is God (Also coinciding with that Tawheed
Aspects).6
Belief in the Angels: Believing that Allah has created Angels 7
Belief in the Books: Believing in the Books that which Allah sent down to the
Prophets and Messengers. 8
Belief in the Messengers: Believing in The Messengers who came to warn the people
along with their Messages. Their Message was one and the same, Worship Allah
who has created you. All the stories you may read will all connect back to this one
Message.
Belief in the Last Day: Believing that there will be a day when we stand in front of
Allah and we are questioned regarding our deeds. No one except Allah, knows when
this day will be, not even the Prophets and Messengers who were given knowledge
and understanding.
6 Notice that these Parts of Islam that I am explaining are all tied back to the first
point of Tawheed (Believing in Allah).
7 This is not as others think, that God has children (Far removed from Allah is that).
Allah has no Mother, Father, or Children of any type. He is God the One and only he
deserves total worship.
8 This may bring up a question, Believing in the Books that which Allah sent down Does
Allah read and write? No, nothing is comparable to Him; he is not the same as His Creation.
So, He doesnt read nor write, he has created the (Al - Qalam the pen) to write down what
He said before He created the universe and everything in it. It asked what it was to write.
(Allah gives power to anything He Wills. So here, the pen asked Allah what to write.) It was
told, All that is going to be. (According to other reports, Write down My knowledge, about
My creations, until the Day of Judgment). So it wrote down all that was to be on the Lawh
Al-Mahfuz (The Prescribed Tablet). Therefore, there is not a single thing that is to happen, or
it will be, small or big, is written down in the Lawh Al-Mahfuz, exactly qualified and
quantified along with details of when and where it will be and when it will be destroyed. No
change can take place in what is written, unless Allah wills, who has the power to erase.

Belief in the Divine Decree: Believing that there Allah has chosen your path for you,
(both the Good and the Bad), before you were even born; if you are going to be of
those who are righteous or wretched; ultimately if you will go to Heaven or Hell.

These are a few of the basics of Islam and I hope you have a good enough
understanding of this excellent religion. Without burdening you any further I will
stop here. You can pass this on to anyone else that you think It will benefit.
Thanks for reading
A Friend of Yours Always Willing to Help Others,

RayZ