Five Pillars of Islam

The Five Pillars of Islam laid out the structure in which the Muslim way of life was formed. In class we discussed the five different pillars briefly, so I choose to examine each Pillar a little more in depth.

The First Pillar was that there may be no god worshipped but the God and His messenger Muhammad. Muslims would often say, la ilaha illa Llah, which translated from Arabic means, 'There is no god except God.' This is the Muslims way of declaring their devotion to their only God.

The second Pillar was focused around prayer. They were expected to pray at least five times a day. Salat is the name of the prayer they preformed five times throughout the day; it was concerned as a direct link between the individual and God. Not only do they have requirements about the number of times they pray these prayers also have to be said at certain times: dawn, noon, mid-afternoon, sunset and nightfall. This sequence order helped keep order to their daily activities. One of their prayers translated into English goes as follows...

"God is most great. God is most great.God is most great. God is most great.I testify that there is no god except God.I testify that there is no god except God.I testify that Muhammad is the messenger of God.I testify that Muhammad is the messenger of God.Come to prayer! Come to prayer!Come to success (in this life and the Hereafter)!Come to success!God is most great. God is most great.There is no god except God."

The third Pillar's purpose was to give people's "things" and wealth to God. Muslims must set aside a portion of their resources to those in greater need. There is a certain calculation the Muslims must do to determine the amount they must give to charity and that is known as their 'Zakat.' This is meant to keep money and other resources evenly throughout the country.

The fourth Pillar was fasting. During the month of Ramadan each year the Muslim must fast. This fasting includes more than just the absence of food; they are also required to stop drinking and all sexual relations during this month. The purpose of this is to maintain good health and proper self purification.

The fifth Pillar is only for those that are able to perform: both financially and physically. There is an annual pilgrimage to Makkah. About two million people from all different countries attend each year. Here they perform the rites of Hajj. The people must circle the famous Ka'ba seven times, and go between the mountains of Safa and Marwa, as did Hagar while searching for water, seven times. The end of this likely struggle is followed by a festival, Eid al-Adha. Here is a picture of people circling the Ka'ba.

Each of these Pillars keep the Muslims in order and keep their thoughts focused on God. Without these certain requirements their religion may not be as strong as it is today. Even though to us some of these Pillars may seem extreme and difficult to accomplish they were proud and likely to do them all without shame.

http://www.islamicity.com/mosque/pillars.shtml