Five Pillars of Islam

Five Pillars of Islam

The central belief of most religions I know is to believe in one God. Islam is no different. To believe in the one God is to live by the standards of creation, sustenance, guidance, and judgment. Some things that are involved in this central belief are five pillars. The first pillar is to show your beliefs in the one God. You must determine feelings of one God and to know Mohammad is the messenger of God. Believer must tell others of the Islam faith. This is the way to prove your beliefs of the Islam faith. The second pillar is a continued round of prayers. The prayers must be done five times a day. The rituals must be performed with sand, water, or dirt. They must kneel and bow. They recite passages from the Qur’an. If praying with other in a congregation all must stand and bow shoulder to shoulder. There will not be any socializing of any kind during this time. There is no day of Sabbath, so every day is an obligation to God. The third pillar is Zakat. This is when Muslims give up a part of their wealth to other Muslims of less fortunate means. This is to distribute the wealth to even it out. The fourth is fasting. Fasting means no sex, food, smoking, and drink. This fasting is done throughout the whole month of Ramadan. The fasting is from sunup to sundown during this time. This fasting is for those not sick, menstruating, nursing children, or before puberty. “Because Muslims use a lunar calendar of 354 days, the month of Ramadan gradually moves through all the seasons,” (Fisher, 2005, p. 383, para. 3). This could make it difficult during summer when it hot when the body needs water for replacement of water lost from the body. The last pillar is Hajj, this is a pilgrimage to Mecca. They are expected to make this trip once in their lifetime. The men wear a shroud that used at burial. This is a meaning of death of the earthly life to give it to God. They will walk around the Ka’bah seven times. The