BELIEVING IN PERFORMING FARDS AND ABSTAINING HARAMS The teachings that must be believed in order to be a Muslim are not

only the six tenets of iman (belief). To be a Muslim, it is also obligatory to believe tha t it is necessary to do the well- nown fards [1] and to avoid and not to do the harams. A person who disbelieves the fact that it is ones primary duty to do the fards and to avoid the harams loses his faith and becomes a murtadd (renegade, a postate, proselyte). A person who believes it but does not do one or more of the fards or commits one or more of the harams [2] is a Muslim, but he is a guilty, sinful Muslim. Such a Muslim is called a fasiq. Doing the fards and abstaining from the harams are called performing ibada. A Muslim who tries to do the ibadat and who repents immediately when he has a fault is called salih [3]. Today, it is not excusable for a person who lives in the free world not to now the six te nets of iman and the well- nown fards and harams. It is a grave sin not to learn them. It is necessary to learn them briefly and to teach them to ones children. If one neglects to learn them as a result of flippancy, one becomes a afir (dis believer). Any non-Muslim who only says, Ashhadu an la ilaha illAllah wa ashhadu an na Muhammadan abduhu wa Rasuluh, and nows and believes its meaning becomes a Musl im immediately. Yet, later on he has to learn gradually the six tenets of iman a nd the well nown fards and harams for every Muslim, and Muslims who now them sh ould teach him. If he does not learn them he goes out of Islam and becomes a mur tadd. It is necessary to learn them from genuine ilm al-hal boo s written by the Ahl as- Sunna [4] scholars. GLOSSARY [1] fard: an act or thing that is commanded by Allahu taala in the Quran al- arim. Fard (or fard) means (any behaviour or thought or belief which is) obligatory. Islams open commandments are called fard (pl. faraid). [2] haram: an action, word or thought prohibited by Allahu taala. [3] salih: (pl. sulaha) one who is pious and abstains from sins, (opposite: fasiq ); see Wali. [4] Ahl as-Sunna (wal-Jamaa): the true pious Muslims who follow as-Sahabat al- ira m. These are called Sunni Muslims. A Sunni Muslim adapts himself to one of the f our Madhhabs. These madhhabs are Hanafi, Mali i, Shafii and Hanbali.

Something given as charity in the month of Ramadan is better than a thousand tim es more charity in other months. Hadith-i-sharif