5 Pillars Made Plain
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Pillar 1: Why Do We Make the Shahada (Testimony of Faith)?
Sh. Abdullah Oduro reflects on his own journey to Islam, and the factors that helped him embrace Islam. By focusing on foundational elements, we can seek the religion of Allah (swt) which starts and ends with the Shahada- a statement of the oneness of Allah (swt). Searching for a relationship with our Creator is why we say these words.
Transcript
This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings. May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon you all. I'm Abdullah Oduro and welcome back. You know, before I embraced Islam, I used to say to myself that, you know, I don't wanna be in any organized religion. I don't wanna be confined to a certain group of people. You know, I don't want to be controlled or hypnotized or brainwashed with a certain belief. And I don't want to be in a certain group of people. I don't want to be controlled or hypnotized or brainwashed with a certain belief. I don't want to be in a group of people where I don't wanna be in a certain group of people. I don't wanna be in a group of people where I don't wanna be in a group of people. I don't wanna be in a group of people where I don't wanna be a part of a certain religion. But at the same time, I knew that there was a higher power over me. That there was a greater power that had control over everything, that there was a deity. And that I had to show some type of acknowledgement of him. And that I had to show some type of acknowledgement of him in order to be able to be able to be a part of it. And that was the moment that I embraced Islam. And I was able to get out of the equation during my journey and during my questioning, that is when I embraced Islam. You see, when we look at religion, we have to look at those foundational elements in which if those elements were not present, the religion wouldn't exist. When we look at Islam, that God is unique in every element. That he is unique in all of his characteristics. And in what we say and what we do shows respect in light of that. So when looking at why should one embrace Islam, it's initially to show that reverence to God and having structure when performing that reverence and recognition of God. Allah says in chapter number 16, verse 36, and verily we have sent to every nation a messenger
proclaiming, worship Allah and avoid all false deities. You know, the word false deities in this verse is tawhut, in Arabic, tawhut. And that means that which goes beyond the bounds, whether it's the individual or creation asking or demanding to be worshiped or an individual that gives their reverence, which should only be confined to God, to this form of creation. That is the tawhut or the false deity. So when we look at this, why one should take the shahadah is if they want to establish a foundation to be enriched by this knowledge of God and his uniqueness. So when you obtain this knowledge of God and take the shahadah, your heart is enriched with this oneness of God and the messengership of the prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. Which gives you a foundation, a foundation which will further make you a principled person of conviction. And this is paramount for establishing that relationship. So when we see the question of why someone should embrace Islam, or why do you pray five times a day? Why do you go to the desert thousand miles away? Why do you fast 30 days out of the year? Why do you make it an obligation for yourself to get married in order to establish a relationship with the opposite gender? Because we have that foundation, we do this with ease and we do this understanding that that is a manifestation of worship and gratitude towards God. Secondly, it is a means of fortification. Once you've established that relationship based on the knowledge of God, you've enriched your heart. You fortify your heart by remembering the greatness of God, remembering his rights, remembering your rights, doing the best that you can, which strengthens that relationship. So the remembrance of that pillar, of that foundation,
will strengthen you to further serve as an anchor. And that is where the process of conviction starts. So when we ask the question, why should someone embrace Islam? It's to establish that relationship of the knowledge of the oneness of God, and to strengthen that relationship through continuously attempting and trying to maintain that foundation. We ask Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la through this declaration of faith that you've made and through this strengthening of the faith through your actions to keep you consistent on that. As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. Thank you.
Welcome back!
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