What is Fard?

By Sheila Quinn

An English translation of what Allah says in the Qur'an is :

"...so fear not mankind, but fear me. And barter not my revelations for a little gain. Whoso judgeth not by that which Allah hath revealed such are disbelievers." (Maida: 44)
"Nor were the People of the Scripture divided until after the clear proof came unto them. And they were ordered naught else than to serve Allah, keeping religion pure for Him, as men by nature upright, and to establish worship and to pay the poor-due. That is true religion." (Bayyinah:4-5)

The Qur'an and The Sunneh of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)is Islam. Together they make up the Guidance of Allah. It is upon this basis that the Islamic Nation exists.
We do not make things: haram ( forbidden), halal(lawful), or fard (obligatory). It is Allah- and only Allah-who determines such things. It is upon the basis of both the Qur'an and the Sunneh... that we know what Allah has determined.
In Islam, there are things which are black or white... but there is also other colors of the rainbow which is a part of Islam. There are things which are: encouraged, disliked, and neutral ( neither good nor bad).
There is much ignorance of Islam amongst Muslims... even some knowledgeable practitioners of Islam are ignorant of some things. Without being aware of this, some such practitioners confuse: encouraged with fard, and disliked with haram. It is this confusion which is a major source of: division, misunderstanding, and perhaps some hostility between Muslims. For example: we are encouraged to do Taraweah prayers (special extra night prayers during the month of Ramadan): we are encouraged to memorize the Qur'an and to encourage our children to memorize the Qur'an; and it is disliked for us to delay making Salat (prayer) until the last part of the period for Salat.
Yet there are some practitioners who would speak and behave as if these things are obligatory/haram. Such an attitude is not only wrong and divisive... it could easily discourage others from practicing the faith.