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The Five Pillar Of Islam

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The pilgrimage to Mecca, which is the fifth Pillar of Islam, is known as hajj. The Five Pillars of Islam are the foundation of the entire religion, and dictate the actions of every Muslim in both a private and public manner (Western Traditions 244). The first Pillar is shahadah: “to declare, or bear witness, that there is no god except God (Allah), and that Muhammad is the Messenger of God” (Western Traditions 244). The second Pillar is salat: “to establish regular worship” (Western Traditions 244) also known as prayer – which must occur five times a day. The third Pillar is almsgiving: which requires paying the Zakat alms (Western Traditions 244). The fourth Pillar is the Ramadan fast: which is a month long fast that the Quran recognizes as …show more content…

Abraham established the pilgrimage to Mecca at God’s command through the experience of building the Ka’ba with his son Ishmael (Muslim Traditions 248). In a way, the pilgrimage is understood as a reenactment of the event between Abram, God, and his son – which is why men and women who attend hajj participate in many ritualistic tasks and performances (Western Traditions 248). These rituals include throwing seven stones at a pillar, which represents Satan, because it was said that Abraham had done this after being told to sacrifice his own son as a test (Western Traditions 248-9). Another ritual that takes place in hajj is animal sacrifice (usually a lamb, goat, cow, or camel), which is symbolic of the animal God sent Abraham in ransom for his own son, Ishmael (Western Traditions 249). Interestingly, this ritual of hajj has been modernized in a way which allows pilgrims to pay a fee and receive a receipt stating a sacrifice has been make on their behalf (Peer The Modern Mecca). There are many other rituals that take place during hajj in order for it to be completed sincerely, such as: repetition of certain prayers, and the circling of the Ka’ba in certain directions for a specific number of times. In Baharat Peer’s article, he outlines some of the rituals that take place in hajj, as well as how extreme volume of pilgrims makes some if the tasks …show more content…

Peer notes that today, Mecca is a city of more than one and a half million people (Peer The Modern Mecca), and that every year during hajj between two to three million pilgrims flood into Mecca as well. As we can imagine, this number is significantly larger than it would have been when the tradition of the pilgrimage was formed, and therefor the logistics of completing specific rituals becomes challenging. One example of this is seen in the desire to kiss the stone that was part of Abraham’s Ka’ba, something that Muhammad had done on his own hajj (Peer The Modern Mecca). Unfortunately, because of the immense number of pilgrims trying to kiss the stone, it is impossible for everyone to even come close to accomplishing this. Many “Pilgrims raised smart phones above their heads to record the moment” (Peer The Modern Mecca), as physical contact was nearly impossible, highlighting the ways in which hajj has been modernized – yet remains so important. Peer himself was unable to kiss the stone, but feels comfort in knowing that this is a common reality for most pilgrims, including Malcolm X, who also was not able to reach the stone during his pilgrimage (Peer The Modern Mecca). Also, Islam is very aware that not every Muslim will be able to complete their hajj – so alternate options are given for those who may not be able to attend

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