The Ancient World: The Five Pillars Of Islam

The forth pillar of faith is referred to as Sawm. From sunrise to sunset during the month of Ramadan adult Muslim’s are expected to partake in fasting. This means they mustn’t eat, drink, smoke or have sexual intercourse within the hours of daylight. Instead one should take the time to prayer reflect or meditate. Participating in fasting Muslim’s learns the traits of self-control, sympathy and discipline. These are important qualities for all Muslims to have, as the principal belief of Al-Akhira is that we humans, despite God’s will, have the freedom of choice. This way Muslim’s are able to exercise this belief during fasting. Ramadan is the celebration of the first revelation of the Qur’an given directly through the prophet Muhammad, therefore it is a sacred time of special significance to all Muslim’s. Kutubu’llah is the name given to the principal belief in God’s revelation to humans in holy books. The breaking of the fast is a significant part of Sawm, it is the time after sunset when Muslims can enjoy their achievement in fasting. Gathering together among friends and family they may share and light meal and celebrate their self-control and strength throughout the day. This small act highlights

Five pillars of Islam, are spiritual practices that define what it means to be a member of the Muslim community and believe in Islam.

Christians believe in prayer, worship in church, bible study, acts of charity and communion will is following the teachings of the Holy Bible. Muslims follow the belief of the five pillars of Islam; Allah is God and Muhammad is the prophet, prayer, charity, pilgrimage and fasting during Ramadan (Hadith on Belief, Volume 1, Book 2, Number 7). The two religions also affirm that God sends angels and prophets to convey messages to his people and through inspired scriptures reveals his divine will. They also believe in the judgement day when God will intervene in the history of mankind and determine their eternal lives depending on personal beliefs and actions. Both religions believe in the power of prayer and fasting as taught by their earlier prophets.

Hajj alludes to make journey to Mecca in Saudi Arabian, at least once in their life, and Hajj is an amazing journey that is done for a definite purpose. Hajj is the 5th Pillar of Islam, through completing Hajj a Muslim can start to feel nearer to Allah and experience inward peace. Hajj occur amid the most recent month of the Islamic year to satisfy the prerequisites of the hajj. There are 4 stages including in the hajj, which are state of ihram, safa and Marwa, day of Arafat, and lastly Staying in mina.

Firstly, it is very clear that Islam has a very strong set of core beliefs, like many other religions, and with regards to the two diverse branches, many of these beliefs are seen as very similar. The first core belief shared amongst both branches, are the six major beliefs and these all consist of a belief in one God, the the prophets of the the God, the books of the God, the Day of Judgement, the afterlife and also the Divine Decree. These six sets of beliefs serve as the Islamic faith whereas the five pillars of Islam are seen as a guideline for living that must be followed by Muslims. According to Goldburg (67-68), a summary of the 5 pillars can be seen as “the declaration of faith, the five daily prayers, a donation of one’s wealth, the persistence of fasting during Ramadan, and

The fourth pillar of the Five Pillars of Islam is fasting during Ramadan. Ramadan is a sacred holiday in the Muslim faith. It falls in the ninth month of the Muslim calendar and is a celebration of Muhammad’s first revelations from God. During the month of Ramadan, Muslims fast from dawn until dusk. This continues until the end of the month, when a celebratory feast

From the Qur’an, there have been five Pillars of Faith that Muslims have followed. The pillars include a truth statement/belief, prayer, alms, an observed feast, and pilgrimage. Of these pillars, the statement is the most important and central pillar, and the statement is “There is no god but God, and Muhammad is God’s Prophet.” ( Aslan 152) The prayers may be the most well-known part of Islam practice, and the Muslims do it five times a day at specific times.(Aslan 148)

One of the most prominent and significant core beliefs at the heart of the Islamic Tradition is the Five Pillars of Islam; Faith, Prayer, Charity, Fasting and Pilgrimage to Mecca, five obligations that every Muslim must fulfil in order to live an enriched and full life, according to the teachings of Islam. However, while each Pillar is held in very high regard the Fifth and final Pillar, referred to as Hajj, ḥadjdj or hadj, as it is the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, the Holy City of Islam in Saudi Arabia.

Islam religion is monotheistic in which Muslims believe in one God. In order to make this religion known Muhammad had to go through some hard times; some say, people would kick stones at Muhammad when he would be praying and that he ran away with bleeding feet. After eight years of trying Muhammad created what he believed to be the five core values of Islam known as the Five Pillars. The pillars consisted of having true faith in only one God, the obligation to pray five times a day, donating to charity, fasting during the holy month of Ramadan-from sunrise to sunset, and the duty of pilgrimage to

Ramadan is a holiday celebrated by Muslims of the Islamic faith. It is month long fast that symbolizes the Quran revealing itself to the prophet Muhammad. Ramadan is observed in accordance with the moon phase of the crescent. The fast is from dawn to sunset each day. It is a fasting of food, beverages, sexual activity, smoking, cursing and overall engaging in what the Quran deems as sinful behavior. During this there is more praying and recitation of the Quran in Muslim communities. A unique feature of Ramadan is that in relation to the Five Pillars of Islam, many individuals giving more to charity, the less fortunate and back to their community. They are practicing Zakat or alms as it is known in laymen’s. Ramadan can be explained using the terms “sacred time and space” coined by Mircea Eliade in his novel “The Sacred and the Profane”.

Religious praying has been a staple in many religions to communicate to a higher being or for self spiritual cleansing. Catholicism, for example, uses a rosary as an artifact to recite certain prayers, and for the Jewish community they pray three times daily to observe Judaism. Islamic praying is a different story. Muslims around the world perform the Five Pillars of Islam to appease their faith. The Five Pillars of Islam have specific names for each pillar in chronological order; The Shahada, Salah (also spelled Salat), Zakat, Saum, and Hajj The Salah, the second of the Five Pillars, is the Islamic prayer performed five times a day at specific times. Performing the Salah is a way for muslims to connect with Allah, who they regard as their one true God.

The founder of Islam was Mohammad, who was the son of Abraham. All Muslims follow what are called the Five Pillars of Islam; belief and witness, daily prayers, spiritual tithing, fasting, and Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca. All Muslims are expected to make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their life if the

The religion of Islam through the Qur’an gives Muslims a set of five pillar that are thought as a framework of the Muslim life. These pillars are the Shahadah, the Salat, the Zakat, the Sawm and the Hajj. These five pillar is what unifies the Muslims and makes Islam a united religion and the practice of them is what makes a person a Muslim. All the pillars, in some aspect, use the scriptures of the Bible as support or background for the reasoning for their existence. I will concentrate on the stories of Hagar and Ishmael, the Gospel of Mathew, the book of Acts, the book of Deuteronomy, the book of Daniel and the Psalms to demonstrate how the five pillars of Islam relate and are based on Jewish and Christian tradition that is found in the Bible.

The five pillars of Islam are the basics of the Muslim life. The first pillar is called the Shahada or Witness. It is a profession of faith that states simply that “there is no god but God (Allah), and Muhammad is the messenger of God.” Someone becomes a Muslim by stating this declaration of faith. It is also used daily in prayers. The second pillar of Islam is called Salat or Prayer. It describes the ritual prayers muslims are called to pray five times throughout the day. The prayers are made in position facing Mecca. The third pillar is called Zakat or Giving. It is the act of charity Muslims do by setting aside about 2.5 percent of their total income and give to the poor. The fourth pillar of Islam is called Swam or Fasting. Every year in the month of Ramadan, (the ninth month of

     Throughout Ramadan all Muslims are strictly obligated to pray five times each day and, in addition, attend Mosque and have a nightly prayer, called Taraween, which is two to three times as long as the usual daily prayers. Along with praying, Muslims celebrate significant days in the month. “On the evening of the 27th day of the month, Muslims celebrate the Laylat-al-Qadr (the Night of Power)” (Zahid). This night is