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Islam And Islam : The Five Pillars Of Islam

Decent Essays

Ever since I was a child, I thought that being a Muslim simply meant that one had to believe in Allah, read the Quran, and memorize its verses. However, one has to understand the meanings and translations behind the Islamic texts. There's no point of reciting a prayer in a language you can't understand five times a day if you don’t know what it means. You want to understand the translation so you can apply it in everyday life, because the Quran was revealed as a guide as to how to life your life. Reading about Salah and Zakah, which are part of the five pillars of Islam, made me realize that Islam is a religion that portrays peace and unity.
The reading on Salah also helped me understand the importance of learning the meanings behind holy recitations. As a Muslim, praying five times a day is obligatory. As a result, I only simply prayed. I didn’t understand what I was reciting, rather I was just trying to get the prayer out of my way. However, what I was doing was completely wrong. For example, one of my friends asked me, what does “bismi-llāhi r-raḥmāni r-raḥīm” mean. This was something you have to have to recite before reading a surah. I was embarrassed because although I would recite it before every prayer, I did not know the meaning. Meaning and understanding what you are reciting in prayer is very important. “This is achieved in part by the recitations from the Quran which are a part of every prescribed prayer” (Haneef 53). Without understanding the recitations from

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