Bismillah al rahman al rahim: Ultimate pillar connecting divine and vicegerent.

The religion of Islam is rich in rituals, myths and symbols, but the true testimony of an individual’s relationship with god, or in the case of Muslims Allah, is seen in the duties of worship “ibadat”. Duties of worship are also better known as the five pillars of Islam, which creates a relationship between Allah and his people, as well as the relationship that human beings have amongst themselves. From the name of the faith there can already be seen the importance of Allah, as Islam in Arabic can be translated as submission, and as one will see, the follower of Islam submits himself first and foremost to Allah. Through the submission of oneself to Allah, a Muslim person performs rituals that bring them closer to the transcendent, whilst creating a sense of universal community.

The foundation of Islam is as the nature of the word implies, that the believer recognises only Allah, and submits to all the commands that Allah puts forward (Waines, D. 1995: 3). Prior to an individual becoming a follower of Islam, they are to pronounce the Shahadah. The shahadah is the first pillar of Islam, and is the declaration that the individual chooses to bear witness to the oneness of god and that Muhammad is his prophet (Jomier, J.1989: 53). The shahadah becomes a part of the daily life of a Muslim as it is not only said at the declaration of one to the following of Allah, but it is also pronounced at a birth of a child, and the hour of death (Jomier, J. 1989: 53). The commitment from the faithful leads to acceptance of Quran as the miracle that was formulated by Allah, to then give to the messenger Muhammad; therefore if the individual believes in the holy Quran they are also committing themselves to believing in angels, books, and other messengers. Through the expression of the shahadah there is