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Becoming a Practicing Muslim: The Five Pillars of Islam [V]
Dina Essawy
24 Mar 2018
Fourth: Hajj
Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam. It must be carried out at least once in a Muslim's lifetime. It can only be carried out by adult Muslims, who are physically and financially capable to do so, as it requires traveling. Hajj is performed in Mecca, the holy city located in Saudi Arabia. Hajj only occurs in the Islamic month of Dhul-Hijjah. During Hajj, Muslims wear ihram, which is a special type of garb specific to Hajj, and refrain from certain actions.
Every year, the rituals of hajj start during a five-day period from the 8th to the 12th of the month of Dhul-Hijjah. The rituals of Hajj were first established by Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). During Hajj, hundreds of thousands of Muslims join together to walk and pray around the Kaaba, dash back and forth between Safaa and Marwah (mountains in Mecca), drink from the Zamzam Well, stand at the plains of Mount Arafat, spend the night in the Muzdalifa plains, and perform symbolic stoning of the devil by throwing stones at three pillars.
Allah says in the Quran: "And proclaim to the people the Hajj [pilgrimage]; they will come to you on foot and on every lean camel; they will come from every distant pass." [Al-Haj, 27]
Hajj has the greatest significance to Muslims worldwide. It is a chance for all Muslims to stand united for what they believe in. Hajj for Muslims is a chance for self-renewal and it is also a symbol for the Day of Judgment. It provides spiritual reinvigoration and Muslims wait for it every year.
If you've missed the previous part. Read The Fourth Pillar of Islam.
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Learn Quran: Surat Al Bakarah
Surat Al-Bakarah is the second and longest chapter or surah in the holy Quran. It has 289 verses, 6,201 words and 25,500 letters. Its name ‘Al-Bakarah’ means The Cow. The recitation of Surat Al Bakarah has many benefits for Muslims, the most important of which is that Surat Al Bakarah protects those who recite it from the devil and the evil eye. It is known to ward off the devil from the house in which it is recited for three days.
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Learn Quran with Tajweed Rules: The Meem Sakinah
In order to learn Quran with tajweed you have to encounter the Meem Sakinah and apply its three different tajweed rules for pronunciation: Idgham with Ghunnah, Oral Ikhfaa also known as Ikhfaa Shafawi إخفاء شفوي and Oral Izhar, also known as Izhar shafawi إظهار شفوي.
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Learn Arabic words and phrases: Arabic Numbers (Six to Ten)
We established in part 1 of this article that learning numbers in any language is essential, but since there are an infinite amount of numbers, we will start off with the basics, with which you can form any number. In this article we will continue to learn Arabic numbers from where we left off in our article, ‘Learn Arabic words and phrases: Arabic Numbers (Zero to Five)’. Now we we’ll learn how to write and pronounce Arabic numbers from 6 to 10.
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