The Five Pillars Of Faith

Shahadah is the Muslim declaration or testimony of faith. The words “There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad (PBUH) is His messenger.” are recited in order to affirm Islamic adherents belief in Allah and in the prophet Muhammad being God’s final messenger. By reciting this testimony of Islamic faith, adherents acknowledge that Allah has an exclusive right to be worshipped and only Him, as well as accepting the prophethood of Muhammad, being the last and final messenger of Allah. Shahadah must be stated by a Muslim, as if it is not said nor known, then one may not call themselves a

Central to the Muslim belief is the importance of devotion and total submission to Allah. This is put into practice through the Five Pillars of Islam –the five obligatory duties that must be performed by all practising Muslims. These are the acts of faith, prayer, charity, fasting and pilgrimage. Carrying out these duties creates structure in a Muslim’s life, teaching them to devote their time to Allah and not get caught up in their own secular lives. The effect the Five Pillars of Islam has on not only the individual but the community as a whole is substantial. Constantly

The very first pillar is the profession of faith, also known as Shahada, which states “There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his messenger”. In order to become Muslim, it is required to recite the Shahada three times, out loud, in front of witnesses. By reciting the profession of faith, they declare that there is only one Allah and they will follow the teachings of the Prophet. They will abide by the Five Pillars of Islam which are the Shahada, Salat (prayer), Zakat (charity), Sawm (fasting during Ramadan), and Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca). They will also abide by the Six Articles of Faith. They must believe in one and only Allah, angels, the holy books, the prophets, Judgement Day, and

obliged to follow the ‘Five Pillars.’  They are 1) Muslim profession of faith or shahada, 2) Ritual

The Five Pillars of Islam are lifelong acts of worship, which includes faith, prayer, almsgiving (charity), fasting, and a pilgrimage to Mecca.

Faithful Islamics today still strive to complete the five pillars; Believe that Allah is the one and only God, pray five times a day, give alms, and fast at Ramadan, and make a pilgrimage to mecca. Since The Middle East continues to have a strong religious background ever since Muhammad’s teachings.

When given this assignment, I was trying to think of a special population that I wanted to learn more about. Many different special populations came to mind. However, there is one in particular that I felt I knew very little about and began to question numerous aspects of their society; this culture is the Muslim culture. After doing some research, I realized that one of the most important dynamics to the Muslim culture is their Islamic faith. Islam is not only a religion, but it is a way of life to this population (Burrell, D., Pg. 18). The beliefs that Muslims uphold, in this religious sense, govern their way of life in almost every way possible. Once recognizing that religion is an extreme influential factor to their society, I wanted to learn what part of the religion gives the fundamental basis to this particular belief system. What I found regarding this are the five pillars of Islamic faith (IslamReligion.com).

​First is Shahadah, when one devoutly and sincerely professes their Muslim faith. Next is Salat which is the act of performing the ritual prayers. These ritual prayers take place every day of the week, five times a day, being before dawn, noon, afternoon, sunset and evening. Then comesZakat, the giving money to the poor and needy in the form of charity. Following is Sawm, a term meaning the fasting period during the month of Ramadan. Lastly is the Hajj which is a pilgrimage to Mecca. This pilgrimage is an obligation of all able bodied and healthy Muslims to be completed at least once in their lifetime. 2

When describing the five pillars of the Muslim faith, it is believed that this was the main foundation of the Muslim way of life. These five pillars give a true identity when it comes to the Muslim faith and lifestyle. One of the pillars is named Salat which is translated to Prayer in the English language. Throughout the day people would have to pray and it doesn't really matter where they do it. They have to at least do it five times a day. The second pillar that I will talk about is named Zakat. Zakat would mean charity or give charity. One of the principles following this is to have the knowledge that everything belongs to God.

They follow the 5 Pillars of Islam. the first pillar is Shahada. This means testifying to god’s oneness. The second pillar is Salat. A good muslim is expected to pray. The third pillars is Zabat. giving charity,the fourth pillar is Sawm.: Fast, the five pillars is Hajj.: Pilgrimage-Journey and Muslims follow the 5 pillars of islam

The third pillar is charity to the poor. It is expected that a good Muslim will donate so much of their annual income or product to charity, although the amount varies between Muslim countries. Muhammad, who maintained a focus on creating a more just society with less poverty, injustice or inequality, started this trend. Some Islamic countries incorporate this charity into governmental policies, which support things like welfare and disability. Other, less money-based economies, donate crops and livestock to fulfill this obligation (Molloy, 434). Another important component to this pillar is the understanding that a devote Muslim will act with generosity in mind on a daily basis. The religion assumes that believers will commit random acts of kindness throughout everyday life. These random acts can be in the form of charity or generosity (Molloy, 434).

One of the Five Pillars keep the people from sinning and actually enforce that you do good for society. Other Pillars include rules such as fasting or praying. One of the Five Pillars is Shahadah, sincerely reciting the Muslim profession of faith. It is the same as how Christians get baptized. The person going through Shahadah will recite the profession of faith, which, in english, is, “There is no god but God and Muhammad is his messenger” (Muslim 1). When one says the Shahadah, he or she is stating that he or she believes the Allah is the only god, Allah never had a son, and that he is indivisible. Then there is the Hajj, another Pillar of Islam. Hajj is the pilgrimage to Mecca. The Hajj is an event held from the 8th to the 12th of the last month on the Islamic calendar which is Dhu al-Hijjah. It is considered mandatory for any Islamic adult who is financially stable to participate in the Hajj. If one fulfills those circumstances they are considered mustati. “During Hajj, pilgrims join processions of hundreds of thousands of people, who simultaneously converge on Mecca for the week of the Hajj, and perform a series of rituals such as: each person walks counter-clockwise seven times around

“There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his messenger” (Five Pillars of Islam). This is the basic statement of the Islamic faith. When a Muslim recites this they proclaim Allah is the only God and Muhammad is the prophet, they personally believe this is true, and they will obey all the commitments of Islam in their life (Five Pillars of Islam). This is known as the Shahadah. To become a Muslim, an individual must recite this saying three times in front of one witness, loud, with sincerity, and full understanding. The Shahadah is written on the flag of Saudi Arabia, the state that contains Islam’s holiest places (Five Pillars of Islam). The Salat is the second pillar and it consists of performing ritual prayers in the proper way five times each day (Five Pillars of Islam).

These five pillars are Shahadah, Salat, Zakat, Sawm and Hajj. A life of a Muslim revolves around these five pillars of Islam. Islamic culture represents different aspects of Islamic life, which includes wedding traditions, clothing, foods, arts and crafts etc. (Kirabaev, 2000).There are many sources of a well-defined Muslim culture. Three of them are: Local tradition , The Hadith and , The Quran.

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