Religion : The Five Pillars Of Islam

Explain and analyse the significance of the Five Pillars of Islam on the individual and the community making reference to the principal beliefs where relevant.

In the Muslim faith, The Five Pillars of Islam represent the deeds that every devotee needs to follow to become a good Muslim. These deeds include: confession of faith, prayer, almsgiving, fasting, and pilgrimage. While these commitments are written specifically for Muslims, the lessons they teach can be applied to anyone and everyone on all walks of life. In comparison, I will explain my personal equivalents to these five pillars with examples from my life, as well as explain the overall purpose of each pillar and the message it conveys.

Religion is something that is not easily defined. In order to even attempt to define it, one has to look at multiple religions. Muslims believe in only one god, those who practice Hinduism believe in multiple gods that are actually different aspects of one god, Buddhists believe that others have the ability to become perfect buddhists, Confucians believe humanity can be perfected through education of the way they should relate to others and the world around them, and Daoism focuses more on the way people relate to the cosmos. However, all these religions are united by a the common thread of how people relate to the world and what this relationship should be like.

The five pillars of Islam are five official acts considered mandatory for all Muslims. The Quran presents them as a structure of devotion and a sign of obligation to faith. One most accomplish them all to live a good and responsible life according to Islam. These pillars comprise of: Shahada which means the declaration of faith, preforming the five daily prayers, giving money to the needy and the poor, cleansing the soul through fasting during the month of Ramadan, the pilgrimage once in a lifetime to Mecca for those who are able.

ONE verse from the Quran: “[Believers], argue only in the best way with the People of the Book, except those of them who act unjustly. Say, ‘We believe in what was revealed to us and in what was revealed to you; our God and your God is one [and the same]; we are devoted to Him’.” Quran 29:46

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.

According to historians Islam can be found all the way back to 7th Century Saudi Arabia, making it the newest of the great world religions. The Islam religion was introduced by the prophet Muhammad. He started Islam because he claimed to experience an “angelic visitation”. This laid the foundations for a new religion.

Have you ever wondered how the world’s second biggest religion, Islam, works? In Islam, there is something called the Five Pillars of Faith that are a central part of Islam. Also, in Islam, they have some beliefs that they follow, but that are also followed by other religions. Then, Islam, has a special month of the year that they call Ramadan and during this time they have to do certain things that also help the needy. Islam is a very big religion. It has many beliefs and events each year that help Muslims in their daily lives.

Every religion and culture has some sort of structure to it, designed to keep all members of that specific system interconnected and focused on the same goal. This structure often allows for a sacred connection or feeling within, and is important for all humans in general, as some sort of action allowing for these sacred connections is practiced in most all individuals lives worldwide. Specifically for Islam, there are the 5 Pillars. Each pillar emphasizes an action or idea that Muslims must follow in order to follow what they believe to be God’s 5 commandments. The first pillar is the Shahabah, which is believing that there is only the one God, and that Muhammad was his messenger (Fisher, Living Religions, 249). By accepting this as truth, Muslims are brought together through their common belief system. The second pillar is the Salaat, which states that each Muslim must perform a series of 5 daily prayers. These prayers become a ritual in the everyday life of Muslims. They have to pre-structure their day around the time they will be performing their prayers. Once it comes time to pray, the Muslim faces Mecca, recites certain scripture from the Qur’an, and performs “ritual ablutions with water” (Fisher, Living Religions, 250). When praying, the Muslim also has God in his or her heart, allowing for a sacred connection, which also makes their heart and praying area a sacred space. The facing towards Mecca is important because ALL Muslims worldwide follow this same act,

Within the society that we live in today there are a wide various range of religions. Islam is a religion that has more than one billion devotees around the world. All followers of Islam advise and learn to submit one self to Allah (God) within your mind, action, soul and heart. Any man or women that take after the teachings of the Islamic religion are called a Muslim. Islam depends on the guidance, story telling, and lessons of Muhammad, whom is the central figure in Islam. He emblematizes to Muslims the ideal man that shows the true meaning of being a Muslim.

Islam is one of the simplest doctrines of any major religions. It concerns the cultural developments of Islamic civilizations. Muslims believe that the creation of everything in the universe was brought into being by God’s sheer command. Islam originated in Mecca and Medina and not exactly with Muhammed. Muhammed took divine revelations and spread them and he started to gain handful of followers. Islam started with the original faith of others such as Prophets, Jesus, David, Moses, Abraham, Noah, and Adam. But they reject the Christian doctrine of the Trinity and divinity of Jesus.

As with any act of worship, fasting requires obedience and submission to Allah’s commands through the highest degree of commitment and sincerity. Every year during the month of Ramadan (the 9th month of the lunar calendar), Muslims fast from dawn until sunset, abstaining from three key human needs – food, drink and sexual relations. One should also abstain from all sinful actions.

5 Pillars of Islam is a principle in Islam, considered obligatory by those who believe and is the principle of Muslim life. Islam nurtured than 5 principles and 5 of this principle is very linked between each other. If the principle is lost then the Muslims destroyed the creed of a person. Muslims who reject the one pillar of Islam will destroyed they faith and this is the 5 pillars of Islam:

What is Islam? Islam is a theory based on faith followed by Muslins. Who are Muslims? Muslims are the people who practice the Islamic religion; they believe in one God and his last prophet Mohamed. Although, Christianity is the largest religion in the world; Islam, which is usually referred to as "submission to God" (Quran, 3.19) is growing fast and has reached 2nd place. Despite the fact that, there is a controversial opinion about Islam going in the United States due to terrorism, there still many people that follow the Islamic religion around the world. Since, Islam is an interesting religion that is growing faster than normal, I have decided to learn more about the origins of Islam, how the practice of Islam differ in places and why Islam is growing so fast in the world.

Islam is a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion which is governed by the Quran, their holy book. It is the religious text that is considered by the Islam followers as the discourse from God. An adherent of Islam is known as a Muslim. Islam is second most practiced religion of the world after Christianity. All over the world, many countries are Islamic countries and these practices ‘Sharia Law’. Muslims are mainly divided into two sects, Sunnis and Shias.