Islamic Morals and Practices

Zakah The third obligation is zakah.  Every Muslim whose financial condition is above a certain specified minimum must pay annually 2.5 percent of his or her cash balance to a deserving fellow being.  This is the minimum.  The more you pay, the greater the reward that God shall bestow on you. The money that we pay […]

What makes a Muslim say their Prayers at places where there is no one to ask them to offer them or even to see them offering them?  Isn’t it so because of their belief that God is ever looking at you?  What makes them leave their important business and other occupations and rush towards the

Ibadah (worship) is an Arabic word derived from abd (a slave) and it means submission.  It portrays that God is your Master and you are His slave, and whatever a slave does in obedience to and for the pleasure of his Master is Ibadah.  The Islamic concept of Ibadah is very wide.  If you free your speech from filth,

Altruism, selfless acts done for another’s benefit in spite of oneself, is a humanitarian endeavor praised by all societies.  Practically every nation on earth has stories of great kings, brave warriors and noble men and women who sacrificed their material possessions, status or even themselves for some or other common good.  Yet, it is without

In the Islamic world, one rarely finds “old people’s homes.”  The strain of caring for one’s parents in this most difficult time of their lives is considered an honor and a blessing and an opportunity for great spiritual growth.  In Islam, it is not enough that we only pray for our parents, but we should

The rewards for visiting the sick are great in both number and magnitude.  The Prophet Muhammad said: “If a man calls on his sick Muslim brother, it is as if he walks reaping the fruits of Paradise until he sits, and when he sits he is showered in mercy, and if this was in the

Islam invites to all that is good and warns from all that is bad.  From those good and virtuous deeds is the visiting of the ill and afflicted.  When people visit each other in good health, bonds of brotherhood and friendship are strengthened.  How then when people visit each other in times of sickness and

Just as truthfulness is the very cornerstone of the upright person’s character and the springboard for his virtuousness, falsehood, its opposite, is the foundation of a person’s depravity and the launch pad for his wickedness.  Just as the truthfulness of a person starts from within – that is, it is a reflection of a state of

“O you who believe!  Have fear of God, and be among the truthful.” (Quran 9:119) Ask the average person to define truthfulness and the answer will most likely be restricted to something about truthful speech.  Islam, however, teaches that truthfulness is far more than having an honest tongue.  In Islam, truthfulness is the conformity of the

The Meaning of Justice In the Islamic worldview, justice denotes placing things in their rightful place.  It also means giving others equal treatment.  In Islam, justice is also a moral virtue and an attribute of human personality, as it is in the Western tradition.  Justice is close to equality in the sense that it creates