The ‘Branches’ of Islam are prayer...

The ‘Branches’ of Islam are prayer, fasting, tithe, alms, pilgrimage, jihad, enjoining the good, forbidding the bad, allegiance to Allah and His authorities (tawalli), and disassociation from the enemies of Alla>h and the enemies of His authorities (tabarri), as well as all other types of acts of worship such as the ablutions (wudu’), ritual bath (ghusl), purification with earth (tayammum), spiritual retreat to the mosque (i‘tika), etc.

The Laws of Islam are all of the systems and laws which the Messenger of Alla>h (N) brought from Almighty Alla>h such as the laws of buying and selling, mortgaging129, renting, divorce, marriage, the judiciary, bearing witness, inheritance, retribution, compensations and the like.

The Sh:!a believe that Islam has not neglected to make clear anything, so politics, economics, education, society, peace, war, agriculture, manufacturing, family life, government and all other affairs to do with mankind from his birth to his death are all clarified in Islam and have particular systems and just laws. If mankind implemented them they would find happiness in this world and the next.

Also, ‘That which Mu9ammad has declared lawful will remain lawful until the day of resurrection and that which he has declared unlawful will remain unlawful until the day of resurrection.’130 The Qur’an According to Sh:!ite belief, the Holy Qur’"n which is read by all Muslims day and night is Islam’s holy book and it is the Messenger of Alla>h’s miracle. If the jinn and mankind gathered together to bring the like of it they would not be able to do so even if they assisted one another.

The Qur’"n is that book which is existent today distributed all over the world in many languages and is recited day and night in houses and mosques and on the radio. There has been no corruption of it and no substitution, no addition and no subtraction and Alla>h has protected it from those who seek to corrupt it and no-one has been able to add even a single letter or subtract a single letter.

As Almighty Alla>h has said: eVerily We sent down the reminder (the Qur’"n) and We are its protectorsf131. The Sh:!a believe that the Qur’"n was collated in the form we have it today – beginning with the opening chapter (al-f"ti9ah) and ending with the chapter entitled ‘mankind’ (al-n"s) – during the time of the Messenger of Alla>h (N) by order of Alla>h and under the supervision of His Messenger (N) without corruption or substitution, and without bringing forward or putting back.