This module examines the distinction between the body and the soul and discusses the roadmap (shari‘ah) sent down by Allah for self-purification in order to attain the company of al-abrar, the righteous ones, in the hereafter. The centrality of niyyah is stressed in all the religious observances. These acts engender taqwa (piety) which involves avoidance of major and minor sins that corrupt the body and the soul, development of moral and ethical traits that identify us as Muslims, and observance of two most important obligations that bring us closer to Allah, namely, sawm and hajj.
