Islamic Fundamentalism

ISLAMIC FUNDAMENTALISM a pilgrimage to the Kabah, the House of God in Makkah (hajj); and fasting for the month of Ramadan (sawm). These then are the fundamental principles, or pillars of Islam. The rest of the teachings fall into the category of detailed explanations of and elaborations upon the five basic principles. Holding any other precept besides these to form part of the basic tenets of Islam is misguided and unacceptable. On further investigation, we find that these five basic teachings have a spirit as well as a form and, what is of real significance is that the true essence of Islam resides not in its outward forms but in its inner spirit. That is why our actions, according to a hadith, must be judged by their intentions alone. (Sahih al-Bukhari) Let us take the first of the above principles, which is the article of faith (kalima). The form it takes is the utterance of certain words, expressing one’s faith. But this verbal expression is not in itself sufficient. It is essential that at the same time, the concerned person should be imbued with the actual spirit of the words he utters. As we find in the Quran: “The Arabs of the desert declare: ‘We believe,’ ‘You do not.’ Say rather: ‘We profess Islam,’ for faith has not yet found its way into your hearts’ (49:4). This shows that to God, the real faith (iman) is that which reaches into the deepest recesses of the heart; which awakens human consciousness in such a way as to bring to the individual the realization of God. That is to say that the concept of form here is relative, while the concept of spirit is what truly matters. In the case of prayer (salat) too, we know that prayer has a fixed form and is to be observed at stipulated times.