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The
Five Pillars of Islam
The Five Pillars of Islam are core beliefs that shape Muslim
thought, deed, and society. A
Muslim who fulfills the Five Pillars of Islam, remains in the faith of Islam,
and sincerely repents of his sins, will make it to Jannah
(paradise). If he performs the Five Pillars but does not remain
in the faith, he will not be saved.
- Shahada
- The
Shahada is the Islamic proclamation that
"There is no true God
except Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah."
- This is
the confession that Allah is the one and only
true God, that Allah alone is worthy of
worship, that Allah alone is the sovereign
lord who does what he wills with whoever he
wills. It means that all his rules and laws
found in the Koran are to be followed. It
means that the Christian doctrine of God as a
Trinity is false as are all other belief
systems including pantheism.
- Muhammad
is the true and greatest prophet of Allah and
recognition of Muhammad as the Prophet of God is
required. It was through Muhammad that Allah
conveyed the last and final revelation.
- Prayer (Salat)
- Prayer
involves confession of sins which begins with
the purification of the body and ends with
the purification of the soul. Prayer is
performed five times a day. The first prayer
is at dawn and the last at sunset.
- The names of the prayers are Fajr,
Dhuhr, Asr, Maghrib, Isha. The Maghrib prayer is
the sunset prayer. Isha is the prayer that is
said after sunset. There is also a prayer that
is said right after Fajr known as Shurooq.
- Fasting (Saum)
- The
month of Ramadan is the month of fasting in
Islam. It is an act of worship where the
faithful follower denies his own needs and
seeks Allah. Usually, this fasting entails no
drinking, eating during, or sexual relations
during the daylight hours
for the entire month of Ramadan.
- Alms-giving or charity
(Zakat)
- Charity
given to the poor. It benefits the poor and
it helps the giver by moving him towards more
holiness and submission to Allah. Alms-giving
is considered a form of worship to God.
- Pilgrimage (Hajj)
- This is
the pilgrimage to Mecca. All Muslims, if they
are able, are to make a pilgrimage to Mecca.
It involves financial sacrifice and is an act
of worship. Muslims must make the
pilgrimage the first half of the last month
of the lunar year
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