Islam and Peace
What is Islam?
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expressed externally by his physical bowing in the
postures of
ruku
and
sajda.
5. SAWM (FASTING)
The literal meaning of sawm is abstinence.
Sawm
is a
form of worship which has to be observed annually,
in the month of Ramadan. The outward form of
sawm
is abstinence from eating and drinking from morning
till sunset. The inner state of
sawm
is renunciation of
all things that God has forbidden, directly or
indirectly. When a man fasts, observing all these
aspects of fasting, spirituality is produced within him.
He comes to experience closeness with God.
6. ZAKAT (ALMS-GIVING)
Zakat
means purity. This means that a man purifies
his earnings by giving away one part of them in the
path of God. In this way,
zakat
awakens the sense in
man not to consider his earnings as his own
possession, but a gift of God.
Zakat
is, in essence, a
practical acknowledgement of God’s bounties. And
this admission is no doubt the greatest form of
worship.
