CHAPTER II

011011111MIMININNINIOr Millemmommisrawm

THE iI2G1NNING OF THE REVELATION

Before becoming a prophet, Muhammad usually spent

me month every year in a _cave on the top of a mountain
near Mecca. There he meditated and thought about religion
of Abraham. This was done by him because he refused to
accept the beliefs of the people of Mecca who worshipped
idols. This continued for a number of years..When he was
dirty years of age the Archangel.Gabriel came to him and
conviced him.
It was dear that he was a prophet from God. He received the first revelation after becoming a prophet. The
first revelation said:
v4
"Read in the name of thy Lord who created.. Created
man from a blood clot.
Read, thy Lord is mostbenefidal. He taught by pen.
Taught man what he knew not"
When the prophet received this revelation from God
and when he became sure, then he began to call people to
accept the new religion. The new religion was based on the
oneness of God-worshipping only Allah and giving upthe
worship of idols. About three years after Prophet received
the first revelation he was told, 'Warn your close relatives."
The Beginning of The Revelation 81

He start c? to speak to his close friends and his family.

1C-iadijah, his wife, was the first woman to accept Islam, and
.
Bakr w as the first man. 'Ali ibn Abi Tali b his cousin
was the first boy to accept Islam, and Zaid was the first
servant to accept Islam. The number started to incre.ase
slowly through the personal contact of the prophet and his
close friend, Abu Bak r, cut when he received the verse
mentioned, this Was the sign for him to inform all the people
of Mecca of his cause.
VOCABULARY
to meditate
servant
beneficial
clot
to convince
to increase

bersemedi, Ichalwat.
pelayan, abdi
memberi manfaat
gumpalanbeku _
meyakinkan
bertambah, meningkat

I: ANSWER TEM FOLLOWING QUESTIONS ACCORDING

TO THE TEXT.
1.What did Muhammad usually do before becoming a
prophet?
2.Where was the cave in which Muhammad mecliiated?
3.What did he think about in his meditation?
4.How long did he spend in meditation?
5.What did he ask God?
6.Why did he ask God's guidance?
7.What did most Meccan people worship?
8.To whom did the prophet speak after receiving the first
revelation?

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What did the prophet do then?

). What was the Meccan people's response to the prophet's
call?

TEXT DISCUSSION

milL

-_ialyse the text in terms of characters, events and setting,

-,d also give appropriate title of it. ..,. The topic (title)
of the text is about:.........................................

The main characters of the story are:

1) ......................................
2)
3) ......................................
The main events and the most important ones are: (give the subjects and
objects if any)
1)....................................................................
2)....................................................................
1 The setting in terms of location (where the story
happened) ...........................................................................
The setting is terms of time (when the story happened)
L REFERENCE

::terpret the following words by referring to the text above.

There he meditated......................................
There:................................................
He:...................................................
He asked God's guidance to show him...............
He:...................... him:......................
This was done by him...................................

The Beginning of The Revelation 83

CHAPTER III
DAWN OF ISLAM (1)

The proph et Muhammad had been sp reading the

religion of Islam quietly for three years when Allah
commanded him to declare it to the people publicly. Allah also
instructed him to start with his own household those within
his own family. Those among the idolators could be ignored if
theyWoUld nor respond to his call.
Muhammad understood his orders and went into.
retirement in his house for a few days. He thought
very hard about what he had to do, trying to draw up a
plan r.
for the best way to approach his people and alido(S"rithem
to accept the religion of Islam.
The news of Muhammad's retirement reached some of his
aunts or relatives. They become worried that he might not
be well. They de54.0,il to go and pay him a visit. When
they got to his hoUse they asked him about his health and
told him how worried they had been about him.
Muhammad answered, "There is nothing the matter with
me. Allah has ordered me to introduce Islam to my family
and household. So, I have to sit down and think about the
bestway to do this. I had to coll7ect
ii my thoughts and ideas
before I could speak to any of you."
8&

English For Islamic Studies

I
N

Muhammad then went and invited

o f

h i s

f a m i l y

u n c l e s

a n d

the members

t o

h i s

d i n n e r

a u n t s ,

i n

a l l

h i s

h i s

h o u s e .

c o u s i n s

H e

a n d

i n v i t e d

n i e c e s

ives
stubborn

his

a l l

a n d

a l l

t h e i r

children. All of Muhammad 's relat

including even. his

inyjted,

and no's-

'

u n c l e ,

A b d u l

'Uzza.
T h e n

M u h a n u

ex p l a i n e d
a b o u t

t h e

w h a t

n a d

n e w

w o u l d

i d e

b e g a n
-

h a p p e n

t o

d e l i v e r

he

t o

h a d

h i s

m e s s a g e

r e c e i v e d

f r o m

t o

G o d

h i s
a n d

f a m i l y.
w a i t e d

H e

t h e m

who chosergiriollow

t h o s e

h i m .

VOCABULARY
t o

d e c l a r e

m e n y a t a k a n ,

t o

i g n o r e

r n e n g a b a i k a n ,

r e t i r e

m e m e n c i l k a n

Stubborn

b a n d e l ,

k e r a s

: h o u s e h o l d

r u m a h

t a n g g a

publicly

s e c a r a

u r n u m ,

m e n g a t a k a n
m e n g e s a m p i n g k a n

d i r t ,

dini

m e n g u n d u r k a n

k e p a l a

t e r b u k a .

ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS ACCORDING TO

THE-TEXT.
1.How
2 . H o w

l o n g

d i d

h e

d i d

t h e

s p r e a d

p r o p h e t
I s l a m

s p r e a d

a f t e r

I s l a m

t h a t ?

q u i e t l y ?

a n d

w h y

d i d

he

d o

t h a t ?

3 . T o

w h o m

4 . W h a t
5 . D i d

w o u l d
h i s

W h o
6 . W a s

d i d

h e

h e

i n t r o d u C e

d o

f a m i l y

w e r e
t h e r e

i f

h i s

k n o w

I s l a m ?

m e s s a g e
w h e n

h e

w a s

r e j e c t e d ?

w e n t

i n t o

r e t i r e m e n t ?

t h e y ?
s o m e t h i n g

r e t i r e m e n t ?

W h y

w e r e

w r o n g
h i s

w i t h

r e l a t i v e s

M u h a m m a d
s o

w o r r i e d

i n

h i s
a b o u t

h i m ?

Dawn of Islam (1)

89

CHAPTER IV
. DAWN OPISLAM (2)

In the beginning of Islam, Muhammad, the messenger,

delivered his message tohis family as 14:felfa's t6 the
Quraysh people. With much try le and iinmatched patience
Muhammad managed to b eCt a ew-fo-ThaVers. Milhammad
talked topeople and adyjnd them not to worship_the idols
which were made of stone and Whiatcould neither do them
any good not- bringthemany harm. Tie called them instead to
followthereligion of Abraham: to believe in one God, Allah,
and worship only Him.
But non-believers went on believing in the idols and
refused to accept Islam. They were afraid that Islam would
bring them lots of enemies and make the rest of the Arabs
hate them and boycott their trade. If that happened, they
would be in great trouble. Therefore, they decided to do
something to Muhammad and his folloWers. They agreed to
send a delegation to Abii Talib and asked him to settle this
matter once.and for all.
The spokesman said: "Look Abb. Talib, you are one of
our leaders, we greatlyhonour you. Will youiu.dge between
us and your nephew? Tell him to stop insulting our Gods, the
idols, mocking our religions, criticizing our beliefs and
94.

English For Islamic Shuiies

slandering our fathers who taught us these beliefs. Either

you stop him or let us deal with him."
Abu Tfflib-gave them no answer, but instead sent someone to look for the prophet and tell him to go to his uncle's
house. When the prophet-arrived he saw all the important
Quraysh men gathered in his uncle's house. As soon as he
got there, his uncle, Abu ra. lib, said to him, "My dear nephew, these are the heads of your people and the rich
Quraysh men wishing to make a deal with you. They want
you stop attacking their gods, the idols and they will let you
worship your God."
The prophet replied, "Can I call upon them to worship
somebody else who is better than these idols?" "Who is
that, son?" asked Abu Talib. "I would call upon them to say
one little phrase. If they say it the rest of the Arabs will
submit to them and they will rile the people of the world.
All I want them to say is "There is no God but Allah."
VOCABULARY

unmatched : tiada taranya, tiada bandingnya

to judge
: mempertimbangkan, menilai
to insult
: menghina, mencerca
to mock
: mengejek, memperolok-olok
to slander
mengumpat, memfitnah
to submit
tunduk, menyerah. .
L ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS ACCORDING TO THE
TEXT ABOVE.

1. To whom did Muhammad address his call? +7

2. How. did Muhammad manage to collect followers?
3.What was Muhammad's message?
Dawn of Islam (2)

;1,7,

95

CHAPTER V
DAWN OF ISLAM

tA',

dtt--.0c4etLs

Thenon-belie-vers.
were, angry
with
the ino.easing num7
PIE.PVt
Perce
ber of people who declared their acceptance of the religion
of Islam. They were full of azo&ance and conceit, so they
got togetherand de'cVergo ]aunt l a campaign of harassment
and provocation against the Muslims. They accused the
prophet of being a liar, a sorcerer and madman. They made
every effort to stop the Spread of Islam. But Islam slowly
and surely continued spieading among them_
One day the leader of the non-believers decided to
invite the prophet to a Meeting to talk about 'his lies and
stop him.from spreading the new religion. In -.1T=
meeting the non-believers said, "if you want wealth, then are
prepared to raise enough money for you to make you the
richest among us. If it is honour and prestige you want, we
will Make you our king. If you are suffering from s-- -2me
kind Of illness or p8Ssgged by some Oil spirit, then-iv& will
Send for thepest doctor or the best hey to come and treat you
or drive blese evil spirits away. But you have to stop calling
people to Islam." The prophet said that he did not want
anything and did not suffer from any disease; ail he wanted
was to give them good tidings of Allah's -rewards and to
warn them of His Wrath.
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After no furtherefforts could be made to stop the 4Si-'6cf

of Islam they made up their minds tog ef mid of the prophet
even by killing him if necessary. The only thing that stopped
them doing that straightaway was their fear of the prophet's
uncle Abu Tall. So they asked him to stop his nephew from
Spreading Islam, slandering their Gods and mocking their
beliefs, or they would fight him, his nephew and those who
sided with him. Abu `faith was in a difficult position; he
found himself in a real dilemma, tom between two difficult
choice's. Should he protect his nephew or let him be killed.
He thought it might be a good idea if he could talk to
Muhammad and try to persuade him in a nice way to give up
Islam and end this rift between him and his people. So he
called his nephew and told him what had happened with the
Qturaysh people and their offer to him,he said, "So please
save me and save yourself from trouble". There was a pause.
The prophet was just about to take a very important decision.
The-whole world was Waiting his answer: would he continue
declaring Islam or would he go with hiS uncle and give it all
up.
He made up his mind and he chose what Allah had
chosen for him. He said to his uncle, Irby the name Allah,
uncle. If your people were to bring the sun and place it in
my right hand, and bring the moon and put it irtmy le-ft
hand to pelligtaae me to give up Islam, I would not do so. I
shall carry out this duty until Allah makes it triumphant or I
die." Abu Talib was full of surprise and admiration for his
nephew. He was impressed by his courage, honesty and
determinatiOn in his struggle to continue spreading the light
of Islam.
VOCABULARY

arrogance

: kecongkakan, keangkuhan

Dawn of Islam (3)

103

CHAPTER Vi
....,..a..1111.1111011MiNIINIWNIN.4114.1.10111.1

THE DAY OF PEACE

When the prophet was thirty-five years old the people

of Mecca wanted to rebuild the Ka'bah, because it had been
damaged by the flood which covered the valley of Mecca at
that time. The tribes of Mecca cooperated with each other to
rebuild the Ka`bah, because it was an honour for them and
all the Arab tribes. All the Arab tribes respected those of
Mecca and regarded them as people who looked after the
house of God.
When they started building they came to the place
where they had to replace Al-Hajar al-Aswad, the Black
Stone. From this moment the argument started. Who would
have the honour of putting the stone in its place? Each tribe
wanted to have this. honour. They started arguing and this
almost led to a fight. Some of them called for a fight, and a
blood bath threatened Mecca.
One wise leader suggested that they should accept the
judgement of the first man to enter the place. This suggestion
was readily accepted, because nobody wanted this threat of a
fight to continue. They all stood with their eves facing
towards the way which led to the Ka'bah. Then they saw the
prophet Muhammad coming towards them. At the time
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English For Islamic Studizs

Muhammad had not claimed to be a prophet but he' was the

most highly re sPected man in Mecca, and renowned forhis
honesty and trustworthiness. For this reason they used to
call him "A-Siddiq Al Amin", the trustworthy, the tru
and when. they saw him coming all of them cried with
appreciation. They all felt happy and at peace in their
minds and they felt sure no harm would now befall any of
them, and whatever Muhammad's decision, it would be
accepted by all.
When they explained the problem he requested them to
bring a piece of cloth and he chose four men, one from
each tribe. He there placed the stone on loth and asked each
of the four men to take the corner. The four men then
shared the carrying of the stone until they came near the
wall, and the prophet then took the stone in his hands and
put it in its place in the wall. By making this decision he
was able to prevent the blood bath and peace prevailed
Mecca. This, was the first day that people realized the
outstanding wisdom of Muhammad and he came to be
regarded as the most revered person in Mecca: This day
was called "The day of peace."
VOCABULARY

flood
: banjir
tribe
: suku bangsa
to regard
: menganggap, rnenghormati
argument
: percekcolcan, perbedaan peridapat
blood bath : pertumpahan darah
judgement
keputusan, peridapat
threa t
: ancaman
renowned
: terkenal, termasyhiir
appreciation : penghargaart
The Day of Peace 111

of a small child of 2 Years. The winner of the second

category was Brother Ahrnad Muhyiddin li .Tadvi, and the
winner of the first category was Brother Omar Idlibi Winners
will participate in the International Celebration for the Recital
arid Tajweed of the Holy Qur'an to be held, insya Allah in
Makkah Al-Mukarramah. Special _appreciation should be
extended to the judges who presided over the competition:
namely Sheikh Ahmad Zaki Hammad Ghouth Nadvi and
Muhammad al-Shengity.
(Islamic Horizon, January 1985)

VOCABULARY
to treat
: menjaxnu, menggernb EI:f.r. an
excellence
: keunggulan, kelebihart
eloquent
:, fasih, merigesankar
perasaan
inspiring
: membangkitkan
to stun
mempesonakan.
to extend =
memberikan, menvampaikan
to preside over ; inengetuai, memimrm to
inauguration : pembukaan, pelantikan
I. READ THE TEXT ABOVE AND THEN ANSWER TIE
FOLLOWING QUESTIONS.
1. Where and when was the competition held?
ht
On Vtt (Alta- . Z , 084
2 Was the competition held every month or every year?
3. Who organized the competition?

118

English For Islamic Siuci;os

4,.rnany articipar stoekpartandhowmanypeuple

attended the competition?
Who was Brother Maurice Bucaille? ch_t141
Po16:-..1- ;2. AY-1 Hewn AAcAd.-- tvAs
6. How many lectures were there on this occasion and on what
topics?
Mention the categories held in the competition?
8. Who judged the competition?
9, What program will the winner follow after the
competition?
10. Who were the winners?
ii. TEXT,DISCUSSION
Analyze the text in terms of characters, events and setting -,
and also give the appropriate title of it.
1. There are a number of participants (characters) in the text.
They are:
1.
3 .
4 .
5.
2.. Mention the role of each characters:

Recitation Festival

119

CHAPTER VI:f
Anwomeasoolawawg......erverom

.'DYER DURING TRAVEL

The five daily prayers in Islam should be offered at a

certain time when a Muslim is at home or is rid travelling
However, some times it is necessary to travel from place to
place or from one country to another. During the travel perhaps there are no facilities for preparing oneself for prayer,
or the timing of the travel, will interfere w:11-1 the proper
performance of prayer.
Islam, therefore, allows a Muslim, when travelling
from one place to another, to join two prayers tcgether at
one time, such as Zuhiir and 'Asr at the time Zuhar or 'Asr.
But if a Muslim decides to join two prayers together at the
latter time, he shouldhav-e the intention during the time of
the first prayer of joining the two prayers later.
. The same permission is also given to Muslim to join the
sunset and the night prayers whilst travelling A Miislim has
the right to join the two prayers together either at the time of
the beginning of the first prayer or the time of the latter. But
there are some conditions which must be fulfilled, i.e. the
travelling must be of a certain length and must have a
N..Torthy purpose. ((dy
In order to make it simpler for a..M.u,slirn to perform his
126

Enlish For Islamic St-....14/-:es

prayer duties, it is permission to offer Zuhar and

each
cf two raka'ats instead of four, and also the night prayer,
'IshY. These are the ordinary cases in which Islam allows us
to shorten prayers and join them together. But in some other
cases permission is also given to join two prayers together,
such as illnes or when heavy rain prevents people from
getting to the Mosque as usual, or when there is excessive
heat. These are sufficient reasons.
The previous permission to join prayers together and to
shorten them has been taken from the verse of the holy
Qur'an which says: "When you travel throughout the world,
there is no blame attached to you if you shorten your prayer
for fear that the unbelievermayattack you, for the
unbelievers are born enemies into you."
According to this verse, it seems that, if there is no fear
during the travel, there is no need to shorten the prayer; and
this was commented upon bk Omar, the second Caliph, who
was asked why God gave us permission to shorten and join
together prayers: Omar replied that he too had wondered the
same thing and said: 'Then I mentioned this to the prophet
(peace be upon him!), his answer was that this must he
considered as one of the mercies of God: we have to accept
it." VOCABULARY
to offer (the prayer) : memanjatkan, mengabdikan (doa)
facility
: kesempatan, kemudahan
to interfere
: mengganggu, mencampuri
intention
: maksud, tujuan, niat
excessive
: berlebihan, terialu, sangat
to attach
: memberikan, mengikatkan.

Prayer During- Travel

127

Vii. WORD CRDER/SENTENCE PA Fl ERIN .

Arrange the words below into a good sentence l' ,egirming

with the words in italics.
1. are travelling - we - When - can join - we - two prayers
together.
2.Wi'liCh can - four -be joined together - are - prayers There.
3.performed - Isitf - the maghrib = is - after - prayer.
4.to shorten - are - the four - allowed - raka'ats
prayers.
5.a mercy - The concession -. of God - is - in gravers. VIII.
SENTENCE ORDER
Put or arrange the five sentences below in order tc ere:2:e a good
coherent rassage. Put:number 1- 5 in front of the set: Ce ofyour
choice.
.... 1. The call tells us the tim.e for prayers in the
mosque.
2, After finishing the obligatory prayer we are
:advised to perform meritorious prayers.
.....
3. We go to the mosque after listening to the call
4. Before entering the mosque we have to wash
our face, hands to the elbow, and legs.
In the mosque there are a lot of 'Muslims
performing obligatory prayer in congregation.

134

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CHAPTER IX
.1INNSIMMINOMIONW

FASTING IN ISLAM

Fasting during Ramadan is one the five pillars of Islam.

This is because the prophet (peace be upon him) said Islam
is upheld by five pillars: first, to bear witness that there is no
other God but Allah and that Muhammad is His riles.
senger. The second is to:pray regularly. Third, to pay zakat
(Le: divine tax) to the pdor. Fourth, to fast during the month
of Ramadan. Fifth, to visit the house of God in Mecca once
in a lifetime, for those who, are able to make the journey.
Fasting can be defined as abstaining from eating, drinking, smoking and having sexual intercourse from dawn to
sunset. Fasting for the month of Ramadan was prescribed
during the second year of the Hijra. Fasting was an ancient
form of worship prescribed by God from the beginning.of time. The aim of ordering people to fast is that they should
learn how to be patient,-to have good morals, to purify their
hearts, to ennoble their chardcter and to be gentle in dealing
with people. One should feel the sufferings of hunger and
thirst in order to be quick to help those who are suffering
when seeing them. One must always learn to feel the fear of
God and HiS mercy. Fasting in Islam has been prescribed by
the Qur'an and the sayings of the prophet. The Qur'an says:
Fasting In Islam135

"0, you who believe, fasting is prescribed

to you as it was prescribed to those be fore
you, that you may learn self-restraint"
(Qur'an, 2 : 183)
The reward of the accepted fasting is
Paradise. God the Almighty gives great
reward for fasting as much or more than we
can reali7e. This is because fasting is secret
between man and his God, therefore, it is the
only aspect of worship that has been
attributed to God. It has come down to us in
the traditions of the prophet when he said:
"Any kind of good action done by the
children of Adam will be rewarded ten times
to seven hundred times and may be more,
according to the Will of God." God said:
"Except fasting for it is an attribute of Me
and I will reward it, because one who fasts is
givingup his desires and his food for my
sake:: Fasting is a protection. When one is is
fasting he should not utter bad words, he
should no t raise his voice. if someone insults
him, or fights him, he should remind himself
that he is fasting by saying: "I ainfasting, I
swear by God, who has Muhammad's soul in
Hihand that the smell of mouth of the one
who fasts is better than perfume in the sight
of God.
VOCABULARY
to uphold : menegakkan, meinbuat tegak
witness : kesaksian, saksi
to prescribe : menentukan, membuat resep
restraint : irkengendalikan, mengekang
desire
: keinginan, hawa nafsu
to bear
: melahirkan, memikul, n -.2r3han
to abstain : berpantang, menjauhkan diri
to purify : memurnikan, mensucikart
to attribute : mempertalikan,
rftenghuburigkan
to Utter
mengucapkan, mengelua rkan
136 English For Islamic Studies

I. ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS ACCORDING TO

THE .IEXT ABOVE.
1. How many pillars are there in Islamic teaching?

2. What is the fourth pillar?

3. In what month is fasting obligatory?
4. Is every body obliged to perform the pilgrimage and
fasting?
5. Since when had the fast of Ramadan. been obligatory?
6. What is the formal definition of fasting?
7. Has fasting reallybeenprescribed onlysince the prophet
Muhammad? If not, since when?
8. What is the purpose of fasting? .
9. How do we know that fasting is obligatory for us?
10. What does God say about fasting?
11. What will we get if we fast?
12; Can we Compare what we will get from fasting with
What we get from other religious worships?
13. What is your reason for you answer to 12? What is
the specific characteristic of fasting?
14. Why is fasting called a kind of protection? What do
you think?
15. What do we say if we are fasting and someone argues
and fights us?
II. TEXT DISCUSSION
Complete the following sentence and relate yovra-nswer to the text
above.
1.The title of the text above talks about: .. . ...... .........
2. . There are .................. of Islam. One of them. is
Fasting In Islam 137 .

First, Second; Third, Fourth, Etc.

Subh is he first prayer of the day which is performed

from dawn to slim...Ise.
The third pillar of Islam is fasting during the month of
Ramadan.
The nation was born on the sez.-enth el August 1945.
Exercise
Fill in the blanks with theappropriateforr.:s : an one of, once,
first, etc.
1.I have five cats,..............them - the red .............has got
three kittens.
2.There are a lot of cars in the park, a blue ............., a white
........and some others. Which...........is yours?
I, There are many (different books en the table. The
with the red cover is about-psychology.
4.The.............prize is given to _thPiwinn, the...........is given_fo Tuty, the runner up. .
5. ............cannot pass the exam until one studies hard.
6.- if
perform prayer, one is not allowed to make
a loud noise.
7. ...............upona time there was a large elephant railed
Mammouth.
- If you try......you will be addicted. Do not smoke even
only..................
9- I like those ..... .... on the corner.
10. Did you buy a new book when you were in the bookshop yesterday? No, I'M going to buy.........tomorrow?

142 EihFrarnicStudizs.

CHAPTER X

DIVINE TAX-

Zakat is one of the five pillars of Islam, its aim is to

meet the social needs of the the Muslim Society and to
iMprove the economic position in Islam.
The word Zakat means purification, blessing and
increasing. It is a kind of protection of the wealth of those
who are rich. When a Muslim pays his ilk-at he is protecting
his money fiom Unexpected disaster, for the prophet said,
"Protect your property by giving Zakat and help-your relatives to recover from their illness by giving charity."
Zakal is an obligatory payment, like a tax, and the English translation is "poor dues'`. It could be called a divine tax,
for it has been prescribed by God in the holy Quirsariand in
the sayings of the prophet. The. holy Qur'an says in many
places,- "Keep up regular prayer and give Zakat," and one of
the sayings of the prophet when Wfu'ai was sent to Yemen
was, "You will come to folk who are people of the book, so
invite them to testify that there is no God but God and that
Muhammad is God's Messenger. If they obey that, tell them
that God has made it obligatory for them to pray five times
every twenty four hours. If they obey that, tell then-, that
God has made it obligatory for them for sadaqa to be taken
Divine Tax

143

from the rich and handed over to the poor. If they obey
that, do not take the best part of their property, and have
regard to the claim of him who is wronged, for there is no
veil between it and God."
There are many kinds of zakat: zakat al-fitr which is an
obligatory payment by a Muslim slave or freeman, male or
female, young and old, and it should be made before the 'Id
prayer. It is usually given from the food of the majority: rice,
wheat or grain. The cost of this could be given instead and it
is preferable, in a country like Indonesia, for it to be done by
giving money.'Nowadays, one must pay Rp. 1,500.00 for
each member of the family, including the servant (if the-re is
a servant) and one's parents, if one is responsible for them.
Ibn 'Abbas said that God's messenger prescribed the zakat
relating to the breaking of the fast as a purification from
empty and obscene words and as food for the poor.
Other kinds of zakat are zak-at
rrtea:-..ing money
zakat, either gold or silver; zakat al-tijara, meaning trade
zakat; zakiit al-an'a-rn meaning cattle zalciat, in-c' camels,
cows or sheep; zakat al-zutte wa al-thamar, meaning
cereals and fruits_ These last two are of one kind. For zakat
to be compulsory there must be two conditions: firstly, that
it must reach the niSab and, secondly, that it must have
been owned by the prayer for one complete year.
Islam has prescribedzakat for all kinds of property for the
benefit of needy people. It is not always paid in money but, in
some cases, in cattle, cereals and fruits as inAfrica and similar
countries. But in more developed countries, trade and
business- are the most common ways of paying zakat and
money is used for this purpoSe. The aim of collecting zakat is
to serve members of society and to meet their needs and help
them to Overcome the difficulties they are facing. Some
peopleare in diffic-ulty because they haven' t the ability to
work, some because they meet with disaster of some kind
144 English For Isknzic Studies

and some because they are old and need help. Zakat in Isla m
is the source of security from any hardship for all members
of society. Those who have the right to receive money from
zakat are mentioned in the holy Qur'an
_
In case there is nobody who is in need of zalcat, it wi 11
be collected and the head of the community will spend it for
the benefit of the whole, using it for example, for the blinding
of schools, hospitals, mosques or other similar things.
VOCABULARY
wealth charity to
testify veil
obscene disaster
folk
obligatory. : grain
property

kekayaan
derma, kemurahanhati memberikan
kesaksian tabir, tutup , kerudung cabul
bencana
rakyat, Ummat bangsa Wajib
padi-padian, biji-bijian harta milik

I ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS ACCORDING TO THE

PASSAGE ABOVE.:
1. What is the aim of collecting zakat? What
does the word zakat mean? 3 What function
does zakat have?
4. What did the prophet say about this?
5. What did God say about this zakat?
Where did Mutadh go and ,what did the prophet sa before
sending him?
Divine Tax

14.5

Hajj must fulfil the following conditions:

When the pilgrim comes near to the places in which he
should put on Ihram he should cut his moustache and hair
and nails, have a bath or ablution, put some perfume on his
body and the.r. put on the dress of /Aram. Then he should
pray two ralca'ats, and have the intention of performing Hajj
or iUmra, or both of them together. This is one of the most
essential things of the pilgrimage and should not be dispensed with. Once the pilgrim has done these he has started
on the sacred state which we call 'Mint and then he shoul
start the Talbiyah with a loud voice, particularly when he
climbs to a high place, or descends to a low place, or meetsa group of people-, or a single person, and towards the end
of the night, and at the end of each prayer.
VOCABULARY
to owe
berhutang, memberikan
sacred
suci, kerarnat
to dispense with : meninggalkan, melepaskan, membuang
to observe
mengamati, menjalankan, mernatuhi
rite
tatacara keagamaan
condition
sarat, keadaan
ablution
wudu, penyucianto
turtin, menuruni
descend
I. ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESiiON ACCORDING TO
TEXT ABOVE.
1. How many pillars are there in Islam?
2. Can you name all the pillars? What is your source?
3. What is the status of pilgrimage for muslirns? Is it
voluntary?
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4. What is the condition for muslim to perform the

pilgrimage?
5. 1 low many times should a muslim perform- the
pilgrimage?
6. What does God say about pilgrimage?
7. What does "hajj" mean? What language is it?
8. Where is the destination of the pilgrimage?.
9. What months should pilgrimage be performed?
10.What does the Qur'an say about the time?
11.What is the first rite which must be fulfilled?
12.What conditions should be fulfilled in performing hajj?
13.When should a musliya have the intention forperforming
hajj and tumra?
14.What does a muslim do at the beginning and during
the ihratn?
15.What does 'urnra mean? II.
TEXT DISCUSSION
Fill in the blanks with words to suit the meaning. The
discussion is oriented to the discourse of the text above.
1. The text talks about:...................................
Z There are places mentioned in the text.
They are .......................
Each of the five pillars of IsLamhas certaincharacteristics:
3. The characteristics of the first pillar -.................
4. The characteristics of the second pillars: .............
5. The characteristics of the the third pillar:
Pilgrimage (1)

155

CHAPTER XII
PILGRIMAGE (2)

Islam is built upon five pillars. One of themis

r'grimage .to Mecca. It is obligatory for muslims who c
offer the Journey. Hajj, one kind of pilgrimage, is perf :7red in the month of 2u1-Hijja.
There is another kind of visit to Mecca called 'Lirnra. It is
also compulsory once in a lifetime for these who are able to
perform the journeyebut the difference
'::irra and
Hajj is that tImra can be performed alone. The
time to
perform 'Li/7/ra is during the month of R_ -17 3 '1, for the
prophet said "Urnra during the month c f 72=2_ .:1An, is
equal to Hai " The reward of Hajj and 'L/mra is a 7:a: :.3-.vard in the
sight of God.
Hajj is compulsory for all muslims c n T.E: the age
of responsibility, who are sound in mindara__--eeman and
able to offer the journey: The condition is :1 -_at they should
be financially and phksically able, and should I-2ve sufficient
financial resources for himself and his family during his
Journey and after his return. The journey to N cca must be
safe from known dangers. Without these ccr.,:iiticris being
fulfilled, it is not compulsory.
In Mecca there are a number of rites which must be
-

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performed. The first is &r in, i.e. to start performiag the

pilgrimage by wearing unsewn clothes, unshaven or cu t hair,
cut toe or finger nails, covering the head, using perfu me. The
second is taws, going to the sacred mosque of Al-Kalloa by
calling upon God. The pilgrim raises his hands asking God
for his grace. If possible it is suggested to touch and kiss the
Black Stone in the corner of Ka'ba. The taw-af should be made
seven times. The next step is climbing the hill of al-Safa and
directly facing towards Kaba, praying to God, then going
down the hill and walking rapidly from Al-Safe to AlMarwa.
This should be done seven times and it should be kept in mind
to remember. God and call his Name: finally going to Arafah
after spending a night in Mina, a place outside Mecca. One
should stop in Arafah at the time of Zuhr. Stoppingin 'Arafah
is the.most important part of the pilgrimage, for the prophet
said "pilgrimage is 'Arafah." While standing in 'Ara fah, the
pilgrims should direct their faces towards the Ka'ba, say. the
du'd and remember God. The pii grims stay there until sunset,
then after sunset they should
go to the place called Muzdali fa.
.
_
Before finishing all of these rites, with a farewell tawaffo
the house of God, a pilgrim should throw seven stones to
famra, perform tawaf al-ifada and have a shave or cuthis hair.
The underlying purpose of pilgrimage is that a mtisliin
is not a inclividiial soulbut part of spiritual community, the
sectarian division as well as the man-made barriers of race
and class that Islam opposesdissolve dramatically in the
pilgrimage the 1-lajj which has become a universal and
unifying ritual. Muslims from Mordcco to Merauke and
from other parts of the world utter eight words in /Arabic
which became the centralbelief irt Islam. "La ila ha ilta
AlThh, Muliammad rasut Allah" - there is no God but
Allah,- Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.

Pilgrimage (2) 161

CHAP?' XIII
EQUALITY ISLAM

Islam_considers all human beings as equal There is no

difference between them because of their race, colour or
tongue. All of them belong to one family and come from
one origin.
This was not the case-before Islam came tc the Arabian
peninsula. Before Islam, each tribe considered i members to
be superior to those of other tribes, and this made life very
difficult between therrjhey could not deal with each other
properly, and they led a difficult life; there was severe fighting almost continuotislybetween the tribes of Arabia
because of their attitude towards one other. Might was right,
so the weak had practically no rights.
When Islam came, it was along step towards correcting
the attitudes of the Arab people, and making them aware of
their brotherhood with others. The poorer people anal the
humbler tribes were quick to follow the Prophet because
they saw in Islam a hope of leading a good life, for in Islam
they heard something they had never heard before. The
voice they heard gave them hope that people could live as
equal human beings.
But at the same time, their accepting Islam was a reason
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for the leaders of the tribes to object to the call of the prophet, because it was hard for them to conicler these
weaker people as their brothers.
The Prophet hintsail emphasized this by his acEcns
and his behaviour, by treating all human beings as his
equals, even his slaves.
There is an interesting story about this. It is related that
the Prophet's wife, Kh2 dija had a slave called Zaid, whom
she gave to the prophet to help him taith his personal affairs.
The prophet treated him as his son, and the youth never left
he was a slave. According to the law of Arabia before Islam,
when war broke Out between two tribes the winner could
take the woman and children of the defeated tribe as slaves.
Zaid had become a slave on one of these occasions, and he
moved from one hand to another until finally he reached the
hand of the:Prophet. Hs father and uncle were looking for
him everywhere. At last. they discovered that he was in
Mecca with the prophet Muhammad, and they went to
Mecca, and asked:The Prophet to return Zaid to them.
They offered the. prophet whatever he wanted as
exchange for the boy. When the Prophet heard - this,. he
ratted Zaid to hire_ and said: 'This is your father, and this
is your uncle."
Zaid recognized them, and said he knew who they
were.. The Prophet said: "If you want to go with them, you
are free to go, and if you want to stay, you are welcome to
stay." The prophet left the choice with the boy, and what
Zaid answered astonished his father and his uncle: 7a id
refused to go with them, and said to the prophet: 1 will
never prefer anyone to you, not even my father."
His father and uncle were surprised and aranoyed,
and said:
'What are you saying, 7.aid, do you prefer slavery to
Equality (slur

171

freedom?"
"No, " said Zaid, "but there is no one who could treat
me like the prophet treats me!"
When the prophet saw that, he wanted to please the
father and uncle of Zaid, and be -went out in public and
announced that Zaid was not his slave, but his son. This
shows us the new system the prophet introduced among
Arabic people, with equality for each man, no matter what
his tribe or colour.
VOCABULARY
equality
: persamaan (hak)
humble
: sederhana, rendnh
to defeat
: mengalahkan
to astonish : mengherankan, mengejutkan
peninsula
: semenanjung, jazirah
emphasize
menegaskan menekankan
slavery
perbudakan
welcome
menyambut, menggembirakan, boleh
I. ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS ACCORDING TO THE
TEXT ABOVE.
1.Does colour, race or language make human being
unequal according to Islam?
2.What is the concept about human beings in Islam?
3.How about brotherhoodbefore Islam was introduced to
the Arabian peninsula?
4. .Why was life difficult before Islam?
5.What happened between Arab tribes?
6.What was introduced by Islam concerning the attitude
of people?
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English Far Islamic Studies

7. Who were quick to follow the religion of Islam?

8. Why did they follow the teaching of Islam?
9. Why did the leader of the tribe reject Islam?
10.How did the prophet introduce brotherhood in Islam?
11.Who was Zaid?
12.How did the prophet treat 7.aid?
13.How did Zaid become a slave?
14.Why did his father and uncle look for Zaid?
15.What was Zaid's choice? Why did he choose to be with
the prophet?

II. TEXT DISCUSSION

Answer and complete queStions bellow.
1: What does the text talk about?
2. This text consists of two linds of writing. What are
they ?
3. The first:part of the text talks about...............
4. The second part of the text talks about .........
5. The concept of Islam about human beings.......
6. The underlying concept is...............................
7. In the second part there are a number of characters.
They are:
1. ....................... 4..................
2 5. ..............................................
3. ....................
. The setting of the story:
I). time: .............................................
2). place:............................................
9. They story gives proof of................................
Equality in Islam

173

1. came - and - the prophet - Gabriel - "Tell me what is

Islam"- asked.
2. explained - the prophet - Islam - by - to Gabriel 3. asked - question - the third - Gabriel - "What is Islam?'!
4

what - Muslim - believes - The true - the prophet - in

said. ;
5. of-Islam - all the prophet - the religion,- is.
6. five - main - are - There - of Is am
7. emphasizv - revielation - The Mecca - - God - the
unity. -C)
8. Qur'an - is-The Holy - of - thel4ord - God.
9. the second - of Islamic-source-The Sunnah - belief
and law - is.
10.full - of Islam - is - of examples - The history- for all of
US.

Make other examples of your own.

Ip
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Engl4h For-Namis.t Studies

CHAPTER XIV
4 .7 .0 4 1 ... .. 1 1 .1 .. ...110 .11

CULTURE INISLAI 1

Islam laid a great deal of stress on educational aspect ii

from beginning, because of its importance in the life of
human beings. The first verses of the Holy Qur'an which
were revealed ordered the prophet to read. They say:
!Read, in the name of thy Lord, Who created
Created man froma cloth of congealed blood Read! and thy Lord is most bountiful.
He who taught the use of the pen.
Taught man that which he knew not."
This leads us to understand that Muslims should gain
as Much knowledge as they can, because the Holy Qur'an
also co.ht.,,lcra knowledge as light and ignorance as darkness and considers the knowledgeable man as a live man
and the ignorant man as a dead man and that those who
have knowledge fear God most For Allah says: "Those truly fear God
Among His servants, who have knowledge."
"The blind and the seeing
Are not a like. Nor are the depths
Of darkness and the Light."
Culture in Islam

179

.1There are many savings of the prophet which en_

courage Muslims to seek knowledge from the beginr,ing of
their lives until the end, and which also consider knowledge
as the way which leads to Paradise.
First he said: "Seek knowledge from the womb to the graVe," and he also said: "Whoever sets foot on their way to
knowledge, Allah directs him to the way to Paradise."
Once the prophet entered the mosque, and found two
groups of yuslims sitting there. One of them was occupied in contemplation of God, and the others were studying. He joined the group of those who Were studying and
this was a sign that he appreciated their way and encouraged Muslims to seek knowledge by any means. In
another Hadith he said:
"The angels spread down their wings in appreciation
for the seeker of knowledge."
- The prophet not only gave verbal encouragement to
people to seek knowledge but took every chance to provide
.
opportunities for a large number .of people learn to read.
and write-, as this is a way to knowledge. This is clearly
illustrated after the Battle of Badr, when the Muslims
.took number of prisoners from the Quraysh in the battle.
Some of them were literate. The ransom of those who
could read and write was that they-should teach Muslim
children to read and write.
When you read the Holy. Qur'an you will find many
verses urging Muslim to study what they see around them on
earth and inthe sky, and to use these things for the benefit of
Muslim society. They cannot use them correctly unless they
have some knowledge, and knowledgeable people are of
high rank in the sight of God -for the Holy Qur'an says:
"Those who know and those who do not know cannot be
regarded as ____

11

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The Muslim people understood dearly the approach of

Islam towards education. Therefore they started to gain
knowledge, taking the guidance of the Holy Qur'an as a
light to show the right way. And therefore they established
Islamic civilisation which prevailed throughout most of the
world, and gave human beings the benefit which they got
from the teaching of the Holy Qur'an, and the history of
Islam is full,of famous Muslim thinkers in every branch of
knowledge: philosophy, law, science, astronomy and art.

VOCABULARY
to lay
to consider
to encourage
contemplation
literate
ignorane depth
womb ransom
prevail -

menaruh, meletakkan
menganggap, mempertimbangkan
mendorong, menganjurkan
berzikir, perenungan terpelajar, pandai
membacaimenulis kebodohan,
ketidaktahuan kedalaman, tengah-tengah
rahim, kandurtgan
tebusan, pembebasan.
: berlaku, ada, meliputi.

I ANSWER THE FOLLOWINc QUESTIONS.

1. What aspect does Islain emphasize?
2. What verse of the Qur'an supports his aspect?
3. What is the consequence Of this?
4. What parable does the Holy Qur!angiVe in this respect?
5. Besides verses of the Holy Qur'an, are there sayings of
the prophet support the importance of knowledge?
Give some sayings of the prophet as examples?
Culture in Islam 181