Lesson 27
Islam Faith and Practice
الإسلام
Read and discuss Islamic fundamentals in Arabic the five pillars, Islamic ethics, and daily practice. Engaging with Islamic texts in their original language transforms both your Arabic and your understanding of the deen.
Islamic Fundamentals Vocabulary
ArabicTransliterationMeaning
أَرْكَانُ الإِسْلَامarkān al-islāmpillars of Islam
شَهَادَةshahādatestimony of faith
زَكَاةzakāhobligatory almsgiving
صِيَامṣiyāmfasting
أَخْلَاقakhlāqcharacter / moral values
بُنِيَ الإِسْلَامُ عَلَى خَمْس: شَهَادَةُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَأَنَّ مُحَمَّداً رَسُولُ اللَّه
Buniya l-islāmu ʿalā khams: shahādatu an lā ilāha illā llāhu wa-anna Muḥammadan rasūlu llāh
Islam is built on five (things): testimony that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. (Ḥadīth, al-Bukhārī)
- بُنِيَ: Passive of بَنَى "was built" Form I passive of a weak verb (wāw root).
- عَلَى خَمْس: "On five (things)" the counted noun (أَرْكَان) is omitted, understood from context.
- Islamic text reading: At this level you can begin reading ḥadīth directly first read for meaning, then analyse the grammar.
- Spiritual depth: Reading Islamic texts in Arabic is itself an act of worship and proximity to the Messenger ﷺ.