Honouring the Symbols of Allah

Prepared by Sheikh Abu Karim El-Marakshi

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A Muslim is required to honour the symbols of Allah, because Allah, Exalted is He, said:
"And whoever honours the symbols of Allah—indeed, it is from the piety of hearts." Surah al-Hajj: 32

He also mentioned that Safa and Marwah are among the symbols of Allah, and He forbade violating His sacred symbols in His saying:
"Do not violate the symbols of Allah." Surah al-Ma'idah: 2

The scholars explain the symbols of Allah as the visible signs of His religion, and what He has prescribed for His servants of acts of worship and religious landmarks through which one draws near to Him and through which Islam is made apparent.

Therefore, the symbols of Allah are not limited to only one thing; rather, they include everything that serves as a visible sign of the religion of Allah and obedience to Him.

How do we honour the symbols of Allah in practice?

This is done by believing in them, practising them according to the Sunnah, respecting them, teaching them to one's children, not mocking them, not violating their sanctity, rejoicing in establishing them, and calling to them with wisdom.

Scholarly Note

Not all acts of obedience, morals, and obligations are called symbols by the scholars in the specific sense. The symbols, originally, are: the visible signs of the religion, and the acts of worship and religious landmarks that were prescribed to manifest the glorification of Allah.

As for dutifulness to parents, justice, and safeguarding oaths, these are very great obligations and are part of the religion of Allah. However, many scholars do not specifically designate them as symbols in the precise technical sense. Rather, they say that they are among the laws, limits, and commands of Allah.

The Symbols of Allah in the More Apparent and Precise Sense

First: The Symbols of Tawhid, Remembrance, and Glorification of Allah

1. Affirming the Oneness of Allah and dedicating worship exclusively to Him.

2. Honouring the name of Allah and not treating it disrespectfully.

3. Remembering Allah: glorifying Him, declaring His oneness, proclaiming His greatness, and praising Him.

4. Mentioning Allah's name in the places where it is prescribed.

5. The prescribed supplication.

6. The transmitted remembrances in the morning and evening and after the prayer.

7. Honouring the Noble Qur’an through recitation, memorization, contemplation, and acting upon it.

8. Honouring the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ, following it, and not mocking it.

9. Honouring the Names and Attributes of Allah and believing in them in a manner befitting Him, Glorified is He.

10. Honouring the Two Testimonies of Faith, both verbally and in meaning and commitment.

Second: The Symbols of Prayer

11. The obligatory prayer.

12. Maintaining the prayer at its prescribed time.

13. The congregational prayer.

14. Friday prayer.

15. The Friday sermon and listening attentively to it.

16. The call to prayer (adhan).

17. The commencement call (iqamah).

18. Purification for prayer: ablution, ritual bathing, and dry ablution when necessary.

19. Facing the Qiblah.

20. Covering the awrah (nakedness) during prayer.

21. Humility and devotion in prayer.

22. Maintaining the mosques, because they are places where the symbols are established.

23. The two Eid prayers, insofar as they are among the visible signs of Islam.

24. The prayer for rain (istisqa) when drought befalls the people.

25. The eclipse prayers when the cosmic signs of Allah occur.

Third: The Symbols of Zakah and Wealth

26. The obligatory zakah.

27. Zakat al-Fitr.

28. Prescribed charity when it is performed as an act of obedience and compliance.

29. Feeding people in the prescribed circumstances, especially that which is connected with expiations, vows, and charities.

30. The prescribed financial expiations when they become obligatory upon a Muslim.

31. Obligatory financial expenditures intended as an act of obedience to Allah and fulfilment of a right.

Fourth: The Symbols of Fasting

32. Fasting Ramadan.

33. Breaking the fast and taking suhur according to the Sunnah.

34. Night prayer during Ramadan.

35. I'tikaf.

36. Fasting due to a vow.

37. Fasting as an expiation.

38. Prescribed voluntary fasting, such as fasting on the Day of Arafah, Ashura, Mondays and Thursdays, and six days of Shawwal.

39. Seeking the crescent of Ramadan and Shawwal insofar as it is connected with manifesting this symbol.

40. Honouring the obligation of abstaining from what breaks the fast and avoiding negligence regarding it.

Fifth: The Symbols of Hajj and Umrah

41. Hajj.

42. Umrah.

43. Entering the state of ihram.

44. The talbiyah.

45. Tawaf.

46. Sa'i between Safa and Marwah.

47. Safa and Marwah are among the symbols of Allah, according to the explicit text of the Qur'an.

48. Standing at Arafah.

49. Spending the night at Muzdalifah.

50. Spending the night at Mina.

51. Stoning the Jamarat.

52. The sacrificial animal.

53. The Budn (sacrificial livestock/camels) offered during Hajj as an act of drawing near to Allah.

54. Shaving or shortening the hair during the pilgrimage rites.

55. The Sacred House and honouring it.

56. The Honoured Ka'bah.

57. The Sacred Precinct of Makkah.

58. All the sacred sites: Mina, Arafah, and Muzdalifah.

59. The Farewell Tawaf.

60. Touching and kissing the Black Stone when it is possible, according to the Sunnah, without causing harm or prohibited crowding.

Sixth: The Symbols of Sacrifices and Prescribed Slaughter

61. The udhiyah sacrifice on Eid al-Adha.

62. Sacrificing and slaughtering as an act of drawing near exclusively to Allah.

63. Mentioning Allah's name over the slaughtered animal.

64. The 'aqiqah, according to the opinion that it falls within the manifest symbols insofar as it manifests the sacrificial rite.

65. Adhering to the etiquette of prescribed slaughter, including kindness and avoiding causing suffering.

Seventh: The Symbols of Eids and Religious Seasons

66. Eid al-Fitr.

67. Eid al-Adha.

68. The two Eid prayers.

69. The takbir on the two Eids.

70. The takbir during the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah.

71. The Days of Tashriq and the remembrance of Allah during them.

72. The month of Ramadan insofar as it is honoured as a season of worship.

73. The first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah.

74. The Day of Arafah.

75. Laylat al-Qadr.

Eighth: The Symbols of Places

76. The Sacred Months.

77. Friday, as a day honoured in Islam.

78. The last ten nights of Ramadan because of the additional honour and worship they contain.

79. Mosques in general.

80. Al-Masjid al-Haram.

81. The Prophet's Mosque.

82. Al-Masjid al-Aqsa.

83. The places of pilgrimage rites and sacred sites that Allah has prescribed should be honoured.

84. Islamic cemeteries, insofar as they are maintained and their prescribed etiquette is observed, without exaggeration or innovations.

Ninth: Manifest Social Symbols in Islam

85. The prescribed greeting of peace among Muslims.

86. Islamic funerals: ritual washing, shrouding, the funeral prayer, and prescribed burial.

87. Lawful marriage and announcing it.

88. Accepting the prescribed invitation in the circumstances where it is prescribed.

89. Manifesting the symbols of Islam in society, such as the congregation, Friday prayer, and the two Eids.

90. The prescribed wedding feast.

91. Visiting the sick, insofar as it revives the manifest symbols of Islamic brotherhood.

92. Following funeral processions, because of what this contains of honouring the matter of death and the Hereafter and the rights of Muslims.

Tenth: Symbols Related to the Manifest Limits of Allah

93. Honouring what is lawful and what is unlawful.

94. Honouring the limits of Allah and not mocking them.

95. Not violating the sacred things of Allah.

96. Seeking reward from Allah, enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong according to the prescribed guidelines, insofar as this manifests the religion and safeguards its symbols.

97. Referring disputes for judgment to the Law of Allah and rejecting treating His rulings lightly.

98. Honouring the prescribed punishments insofar as this means believing in their wisdom and in the justice of Allah concerning them.

Great Matters of the Religion That Some People Include Among the Symbols as an Expansion of the Term

These matters are very great and are acts of obedience to Allah. However, it is more precise to say that they are among the laws, commands, and limits of Islam, and are not always among the symbols in the specific technical sense: 

99. Dutifulness to parents.

100. Maintaining ties of kinship.

101. Justice among people.

102. Excellence and kindness.

103. Fulfilling covenants.

104. Safeguarding oaths.

105. Truthfulness.

106. Trustworthiness.

107. Chastity.

108. The prescribed hijab.

109. Growing the beard is obligatory or a confirmed Sunnah according to some jurists.

110. Lowering the gaze.

111. Enjoining what is right in general.

112. Forbidding what is wrong in general.

113. Establishing Qisas (legal retribution) and the prescribed legal punishments, insofar as this entails honouring the command and judgment of Allah.

114. Honouring the guest.

115. Mercy towards creation.

116. Spending in the cause of Allah.

117. Being good to one's neighbours.

118. Learning and teaching Islamic knowledge.

119. Modesty (Hayaa).

120. Adhering to the general etiquettes of Islam.

121. Reconciling between people.

122. Fulfilling the rights of the spouses.

123. Being gentle with children and raising them upon the religion.

124. Guarding the tongue from backbiting, tale-bearing, and lying.

125. Remaining steadfast upon obedience, outwardly and inwardly.

Conclusion

Honouring the symbols of Allah is not merely a formal matter. Rather, it is an act of worship of the heart and an action manifested in respecting what Allah has honoured as He prescribed, calling to it, and educating oneself and one's family upon loving it.

The more the servant honours the symbols of Allah, outwardly and inwardly, the more this indicates the piety of his heart, the sincerity of his faith, and his submission to his Lord, Glorified is He.

We ask Allah to make us among His servants who honour His symbols, establish His limits, and hold firmly to His religion. Indeed, He is its Guardian and has power over it.

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