Sha'a'ir (the outward rites and signs of Islam)

Sha'a'ir is the plural of sha'ira, a sign, from "to make known". When attributed to God the word means the signs of His religion that He laid down: anything that marks obedience to Him belongs to His sha'a'ir. ¹

The sha'a'ir of God include prayer, fasting, zakat, the pilgrimage and its rites and times, the congregational and Friday prayers in the towns and villages of Muslims, the call to prayer, the building of mosques, and the defence of Muslims by jihad in God's cause. ^{1 2}

The word appears in the surah of the Cow (verse 158) about al-Safa and al-Marwa, in the surah of the Pilgrimage (verse 36) about the camels, in the surah of the Pilgrimage (verse 32) on honouring them, and in the surah of the Table Spread (verse 2) forbidding the violation of God's signs. Some say the term means the acts of worship tied to the rites of pilgrimage, their places and times; others say it means the sacrificial animals only, honouring them meaning choosing fat ones, and marking them meaning putting a sign on the hump so that they are known as offerings. ²

Muslims must establish and display the outward rites of Islam, whether obligatory or not. If the people of a settlement agree to abandon an outward rite, such as congregational prayer, the call to prayer for it, or the festival prayers, they are to be fought, because giving up the rites shows carelessness in obeying God and His commands. ²

The rites of the pilgrimage are among the outward rites of Islam: entering the state of consecration (ihram), circumambulation, the running between al-Safa and al-Marwa, standing at 'Arafa, Muzdalifa and Mina, and the slaughter of the offering. ^{2 3}

Outside the pilgrimage, the sha'a'ir include the call to prayer, the call to stand for prayer, congregational prayer, the Friday and festival prayers, and jihad. ³