The Five Pillars of Islam are the basis for Muslim life. Similar to the ten commandments in the Bible, these acts of faith are the center of Islam -- belief in the Oneness of God and Muhammad's finality, reciting the daily prayers, concern and charity for those in need, fasting, and a pilgrimage to Mecca for those who are able. The first pillar, Iman (meaning faith), is pretty self-explanatory. This pillar has roots from a declaration of faith deemed the Shahadah - "There is none worthy of worship except God and Muhammad is the messenger of God." This declaration is reserved for those who are faithful and claims that the sole purpose in life is to serve and obey God, which is achieved by following the teachings of Muhammad. The second pillar, Salah (meaning prayer), …show more content…
The third pillar, Zakah, is the pillar of charity. Zakah translates to both "purification" and "growth" - those of the Islamic religion are required to make an annual payment of a fortieth of their personal capital. In addition, Muslims may also choose to give as much or as little as they prefer to charity - this is known as an act of sadaqah. The fourth pillar is the pillar of Sawm (meaning fasting). Fasting takes place during the month of Ramadan every year, in which Muslims fast from dawn until sundown. This is a form of self-purification. During a fast, one's focus shifts from worldly possessions and comforts to the presence of God. The fifth and final pillar is known as Hajj, which translates to "a pilgrimage". This only includes those of faith that are both physically and financially stable enough to make such a journey - the annual pilgrimage begins in the twelfth month of the Islamic year and includes two different rites. The first rite includes walking around the Ka'bah seven times and then walking seven times between the hills of Safa and Marwa - this trek has roots in the
“Religion” is an inherently social creation which functions to naturalize certain behaviors and ideologies to maintain social order (Martin 94). In his book “A Critical Introduction to the Study of Religion”, Craig Martin introduces the concept of a “cultural toolbox”, comprised of the concepts, values, traditions, icons, figures, texts, and stories in a culture that represent and reinforce the elements of the society (97-98). To maintain social order and convince others to conform to the proposed, religions employ a tactic known as “legitimation” to justify traditions, practices, and ideologies using the “cultural toolbox” of a society (Martin 94).
In the investigation of Islam, the five pillars of Islam provide a glimpse of the life and obligations of the Muslim. The main pillars include confession, prayer, fasting, almsgiving, and pilgrimage. This essay will provide a brief overview of the pillars, how prayer is lived out in an individual Muslims life, and how Christians assimilate to Muslim culture in Saudi Arabia.
Like many other religions, the Muslim faith has experienced many changes and branches. Like Christianity, the original faith is still practiced by some, but others have started new branches with their own unique interpretation being Muslim. Despite these differences within the Muslim religion, one set of rules for moral guidance is central to all. These rules are the Five Pillars of Islam. The Five Pillars act as a moral compass for Muslims and are universally accepted as they are mentioned specifically in the Qur’an, the sacred Muslim book of God’s words as they were recited to Muhammad (Molloy, 425).
Islam is a monotheistic and Abrahamic religion alongside Judaism and Christianity. It is currently the second largest religion in the world today. Its beliefs come from the Qur'an which literally means "the recitation" which is believed to be a literal transcription of the word of God. Its main prophet is named Muhammad who began Islam by speaking with the angel Gabriel in a cave during his meditation and then acting as an instrument of God to help write the Qur’an. Muhammad then spread Islam to the scattered tribes of Arabia by becoming the leader of Yathrib and using his wonderful leadership abilities to then grow his influence over virtually all of Arabia. Muhammad is known by Muslims to be the seal of the profits because no profits after Muhammad should be considered legitimate. Muhammad also left behind the Hadith or “tradition” which is a collection of writings compiled of reports of Muhammad’s actions as leader of Yathrib. These reports are used as a more specific code of ethics in day to day life and from these reports the 5 Pillars of Islam are derived (Smith 160). Although Islam shares many similarities to Judaism and Christianity it is often viewed in the US with hate derived from preconceived notions following the attack on September 11th 2001. This paper seeks to provide an overview of Islam’s history as well as its two major sects and 5 main pillars to remove preconceived notions and provide a glance into the minds of the Islamic people.
These metaphorical “pillars,” are what Muslims base their life decisions and actions around. To clearly understand Islam’s core philosophy of life, one must first know what these five pillars entail. The first pillar is called Shahada, which is the Muslim’s declaration of faith and belief. The declaration is a short phrase, which translates from its native language of Arabic to English as, “There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is his messenger.” Then the second pillar is the Salat, which is the pillar of worship. In Islam, daily prayers are greatly important. A Muslim is required by their religion to pray five times a day; at dawn, noon, midafternoon, sunset, and then lastly in the evening. Devout Muslims also wash their hands and feet as a religious practice to purify themselves symbolically before prayers. (University of Calgary,
The iconic set of rules that Islam follows are the Five Pillars of Islam. They are a set of rules that are expected of all Muslims, or followers of Islam, in order to achieve eternal glorification. Some of the pillars include the Shahada which is the confession that Allah is the one true God and Muhammad is his trusted prophet, the Salat which are prayers said five times a day facing Mecca, the Zakat which is the giving of alms, the Shawm which is a fast during Ramadan, and the Hajj which is a pilgrimage that all Muslims, that are able, must take to Mecca. The sacred text that Muslims follow is titled the Quran. The Quran consists of teachings that Muhammad wrote while being divinely inspired by Allah.
3) Five Pillars of Islam- The Five Pillars of Islam are five important actions that all Muslims must complete during their life. Muslims must recite the profession of faith, pray five times a day facing Mecca, give alms, fast during the month of Ramadan, and make a pilgrimage to Mecca. The Five Pillars of Islam are the base for the whole religion of Islam. The pilgrimage to Mecca is the only one that is not required; if a person is not able to go at all, they are not required to.
Pillars of Islam - The pillars of Islam are the five duties that all Muslims must do at one point or another in their lives. These duties are essential to the Muslim faith. This first pillar is the shahada. This is a statement that all new converts to Islam must declare in front of a room of witnesses. The person recites the shahada, which says that “there is no God but Allah, and that “Muhammad is his servant and prophet” (Oxford Word Civilizations, 343).
Although, Mecca was conceded the spiritual center of the empire, Baghdad was the intellectual gathering place; scholars made Baghdad the Jewel of the world. This is where philosophers and thinkers with new ideas came to elaborate on their findings and studies. For the most part, the base of Islam is founded on five concepts called the five pillars, and they go as follow: faith, prayer, concern for the disadvantaged, fasting and pilgrimage to Mecca. The Five Pillars of Islam are the structure of life for a person who follows Islam.
The worship of Allah is principal in a Muslim’s mind at all time. There are also five formal acts of worship which help strengthen a the faith and obedience of a Muslim. They are frequently called the “Five Pillars of Islam”. The Five Pillars of Islam are the framework and guidelines of the Muslim life. They are the testimony of faith, prayer, supporting the needy, fasting during the month of Ramadan, and the once in a lifetime trip to Makkah for those who are able to do so. These Five Pillars are the thing Muslim’s do to please God and to keep themselves well and happy in this lifetime and for the future ones to come. It was Prophet Muhammad, the founder of Islam, who was reported to have said, “Islam is based upon five pillars”.
The Five Pillars include profession of faith (Shahadah) and prayer (Salut). These are both about respecting their faith, praying, and believing there is only one God, Allah. Muslims also must fast during the holy month of Ramadan, during the day. They are allowed to consume food at night and at the end of the month they celebrate with Id al-Fitr. There are also certain duties Muslims must fulfill if they are wealthy.
The Arabian Peninsula was a changing land in the early seventh century. With the foundation of Islam, the Prophet Muhammad (c. 570-632 CE) began to consolidate his rule in the Hijaz region around his center of power in Madinah. With the young Islamic rule gaining momentum, it seemed as if there would be no stopping it from gaining more power and spreading, that is until Muhammad's death in 632 CE. With his passing, we see the tribes once ruled by Muhammad and the Banu Quraysh try to break off and return to their own rule now that there was no leader for the community of believers (umma). Despite some initial scramble, it was Abu Bakr (r. 632-34 CE) who was named the first Caliph, or Deputy of God, and began to lead the Islamic community. Though his reign as caliph was short, we find it had a great impact on the early development of Islam. Through close examination of his relationship with Muhammad and his actions as caliph, this work will claim that Muhammad greatly influenced Abu Bakr's decision making as a leader and how Islam began to be shaped.
The Split of Islam More than thirteen centuries ago, an event forever influenced the modern world: the split of Islam. With repercussions that still impact the modern world, Islam split into two sects —Sunni and Shia. Islam, the world’s second largest religion, was founded in 622 CE by Muhammad on the Arabian Peninsula. After years and years of preaching, Muhammad gained numerous followers, known as Muslims, and made Islam a political force. Unfortunately, Muhammad died in 632 CE, leaving no successor.
The start of Islam is marked in the years 610, following the first revelation to the prophet Muhammad at the age of 40. Muhammad and his followers spread the teachings of Islam throughout the Arabian Peninsula. After that Muhammad returns to Mecca with a large number of his followers he enters the city peacefully and eventually all its citizens accept Islam. It spread very fast to other places with over 10,000 people. Soon after Muhammad died they needed a new leader and Umar a prominent companion of Muhammad, nominated Abu Bakr.
Islam is the second largest religion in the world with over 1.8 billion adherents. In Arabic, Islam means “surrendering to the God’s will”, and Muslim – one who practice Islam – means “one who submits to God”. Islam has been divided into two branches, Sunni and Shia, for the disagreement over succession after the death of Muhammad in 632 CE. Although Islam has been split into two major denominations, the common beliefs/customs and their influence on the world has remained the same.