Intellectual Journal - Essay Example

According to the prescription of prayer, any true Muslim should attend to prayers during the prescribed times five times a day. If they fail to follow this prescription, they will surely fall into disbelief. I have observed with admiration Muslims observing the daily prayers as required by the Holy Quran. However, from my understanding of God as being spirit, one of the requirements for His worship is that those who worship Him must do so in spirit. Therefore, according to my view of prayer, it is not the frequency of attendance to the Mosque that counts but rather the state of our spirit, whether it is in harmony with the spirit of God or not.

As result, the strict observance of prayer in Islam, somehow conflicts with my understanding that God is everywhere and cannot be contained in a particular place or time. Although, from an ecumenical point of view, such an understanding of the obligations of prayer by Muslims will change the perspective I hold in terms of embracing them at work or to attend to their spiritual obligations which ensures harmonious existence in society. In her article What everyone should know about Islam and Muslims, Suzzane Haneef (156) considers Zakah as one of the most fundamental elements of prayer and worship in the Islamic faith.

It refers to the acts of Muslim worship by means of his or her wealth through an obligatory form of giving to those in need. As mentioned in the above article, “Islam proclaims that the true owner of everything is not the human being but God who bestows wealth on people out of His beneficence as He sees fit ” (Suzzane Haneef 59). According to this statement, contrary to the wealth perspective of non-Muslims who uphold the view that wealth is as a result of their hard work, the true believer of Muslim acknowledges that all wealth they have is from God.

There a Muslim should always be filled with gratitude and be ready to offer part of their wealth to those who lack in society. First and foremost, like many non-Muslims, I certainly do not consider it a spiritual obligation to give to the poor. The Islamic obligation of Zakah is conflicting with the belief I hold, that it is fine for one to be filled with compassion towards those in need, but certainly I consider it not to be obligatory. I have always known that society is divided into social classes and it is their sole responsibility to work towards improving their condition of life.

I also would consider giving Zakah as an act that may encourage tendencies of laziness in society. For example, I see poor people sitting on the entrance of Mosques waiting for worshipers to give them bread for the day (Maudoodi 54). In most cases, the worshipers do not offer a long lasting solution to the condition of the poor. As a result reading about Zakah concept in Islamic worship provokes thoughts that tend to view it as something that encourages master slave mentalities in society. My understanding of giving is that it is should come naturally and in a spontaneous manner from the giver.

If giving becomes obligatory, it will reach a time when the giver will get tired of giving. My view of giving is that one should give to a person or place or event that has inspired them. According to Suzzane Haneef’s article titled, What everyone should know about Islam and Muslims, family life is considered one of the most emphasized areas in Islam. The Islamic view of marriage, where social contact between young men and young ladies is discouraged, conflicts with my understanding that every young man and lady has a right to social contacts (Haneef 155).

From my point of view I consider it important that young men and women be