...Five Pillars of Islam James Williamson HUM 130 February 15, 2012 Philip Towne Five Pillars of Islam The central beliefs of Islam are the unity of Allah (translated means God), (Fisher, 2005) his Angles, and his messenger Muhammad. Another of the central beliefs of this religion is the Day of Judgment and an afterlife when one dies. These core beliefs are reflected in the Five Pillars of this religion in the following ways. 1. The La ilaha ila Allah which is the declaration of faith for all Muslims (Fisher, 2005) which translates into “There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is his Prophet. 2. The Salat which is the daily prayer ritual that is practiced up to five times a day by all Muslims in which they ritually wash themselves (Fisher, 2005), face toward Mecca, and recite the prayer they learned as children. 3. The Zakat or almsgiving is the pillar that helps remind followers to help those who are less fortunate (Fisher, 2005) with two to ten percent of one’s income and is expected to be given voluntarily. 4. Sawm or Fasting takes place during the month of Ramadan during which time no food, drink, smoking, or even sexual intercourse is to take place during daylight hours. Daylight hours are currently determined using a computer, however prior to the use of computers it was generally understood among followers the day began when there was enough light to distinguish between a black and white thread (Fisher, 2005). 5. The last pillar known as Hajj or the Pilgrimage...
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...Joyce Ashe July 20, 2014 Hum/130 The Five Pillars of Islam What are the central beliefs of Islam, and how are they reflected in the "Five Pillars" (Fisher, 2014). The central beliefs of Islam are complete faith in the power of God. God and PEOPLE are one and unified. An Islamic belief is that Islam includes all religions and honors all prophets. Muslims believe that god is all knowing and to know what god knows is to leave in peace and happiness. Islamic people also believe in angels and saints. One Islamic belief is the last judgment, which is when all the people of the world will be judged and the world will end. These beliefs of Islam are reflected in the "Five Pillars" by many ways. The first pillar is the practice of professing faith in the unity of one god and the prophet Muhammad which directly reflects the beliefs of Islam. The second pillar is a continual prayer session that happens daily. These prayer sessions illustrate the desire to learn the ways of God. The fourth pillar reflects the central beliefs of Islam because the fourth pillar is fasting. Fasting is used to achieve purity and a clear mind. This is an example of how Muslims can learn to be like God. The fifth pillar also illustrates this central Islamic belief because Muslims have to pilgrimage to Mecca once in their lifetime in order to get closer to God. Which of the Five Pillars do you feel would be easiest to fulfill, and which would be the most challenging? (Fisher, 2014). The Muslims...
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...The Central beliefs of Islam are a total faith in God and the power that he holds. Muslims believe that God is all knowing and that he and his people are one. Muslims also believe that all individuals have a duty to learn about God and live according to his plan. We of course cannot know how to live out his plan, so it is the belief God sent messengers or prophets in order to properly guide us on the path that he wants all humans to be on. There are five acts of worship which are the basis of Islam and they are known as the Five Pillars of Islam. These basic acts of worship are to be done by all Muslims and are expected to be carried out, since they are believed to be in accordance with the will of God. The following are a description of the Five Pillars, not in any order of importance; Charity- every Muslim is to give roughly 2.5% of their yearly salary to those who are less fortunate. Many Muslims have a belief that the more they give, the more they will be rewarded spiritually. Prayer- it is the Muslim belief to pray 5 times a day. These prayers are to be done at specific times of the day; dawn, noon, afternoon, at sunset and finally, nightfall. They can be conducted in any place, as long as it is clean, but the preference would be in a mosque with others as a reminder that all Muslims are equal and that any color or social status have no importance to God. Fasting- during the Muslim month of Ramadan, each Muslim must not drink or eat and abstain from sexual...
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...Five Pillars of Islam Hum 130 October 5, 2014 Five Pillars of Islam The central beliefs of Islam are to worship the one and only Allah, to do the ritual worships per Quran, which is their Prophet, Muhammad teachings, to do good actions, and to maintain good morals. These factor into Islam five main obligations of life which is called the five pillars of Islam. The five pillars of Islam are Shahadah, Salah, Zakat, Sawm, and Hajj. The five pillars of Islam define the basic uniqueness of Muslims, their faith, beliefs and practices. I would say Zakat would be the hardest one for me for me to fulfill. I’m not against giving to people in need. But to have to give a certain of my percentage net worth would be hard. If I’m making a decent living it’s because I work hard for it and my family should benefit from not. I wouldn’t like just giving away my hard earnings because some people are too lazy to do it themselves. Don’t get me wrong there are people out there that cannot help the living condition they are in but some can and I would hate to take away from people who really need it just to give to someone that is lazy. The easiest one for me to full fill would be Sawm. I think the purpose behind this one is to know how it feels to be less fortunate. To be put in someone else’s shoes is educational for some people. To not be able to eat or drink anything for 24 hours is an eye opener. It really makes you understand what it’s like to be hungry or thirsty...
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...Five Pillars of Islam The central beliefs of Islam are incorporated into the Five Pillars. The belief of only one God and Muhammad is the messenger of God. Muhammad is considered the last prophet to restore the religion. This falls under the First Pillar. The Second Pillar refers to the amount of time that Muslims spend praying. Most Muslims will pray at least 5 times a day if not more. Most carry a prayer rug. The prayer rug is for the Muslim to kneel down on. It’s usually pointed toward the center of the Mecca. Prayers are usually recited from the Qur’an. To Muslims, remembrance of God is an everyday obligation. The Third Pillar and belief is Zakat. This belief is to prevent greed and is to basically “share the wealth”. Muslims must donate at least 2 1/2% of their wealth to people in need. It’s usually done at the end of each year. The Fourth Pillar and belief is fasting. Technically the only required fast is during Ramadan. Many Muslims fast several times a year. When fasting, one must give up smoking, sex, food and drink. All Muslims do participate except children, pregnant women and women who are nursing their children. Fasting is believed to cleanse the body from impurities. The Fifth Pillar and last belief is the Hajj – the pilgrimage to Mecca. This is a ritual designed to bring Muslims closer to God. All Muslims are expected to make the trip at least once on their lifetime. There is a series of rituals that are incorporated in the pilgrimage...
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...Islam is an Arabic expression that is tacit to mean the acquiescence to God’s will. The religion of Islam is recognized as the religion of peace. The central beliefs consist of the belief in: the Unity of God, His Prophets, in Gods Angels as well as in the Day of Judgment, and His revealed Books, also including the Hereafter. The first of the central beliefs in the Islam religion’s focus is on the ideals of monotheism. The second being the acceptance of Muhammad as the final prophet, thus emanating from a line of monotheistic messengers that originated before the time of Abraham. These beliefs are cogitated in the first pillar which is the avowal of devotion that claims there is no other gods accept God and that the last messenger is Muhammad. One universal God is what the main idea is centralized on. It is imperative to realize that the first pillar only represents the beliefs, while the following four are practices and rituals of the Islam belief systems. The five pillars are the declaration of devotion, the five prayer’s, fasting during Ramadan (as well as other things), charity (giving Zakat or "Tithing), and hajj (the pilgrimage to Mecca). With the exception of the declaration of faith, the remaining pillars are based on action based. Each of the pillars of Islam are concentrated on making one, more conscious towards the above beliefs. By professing one’s faith to embarking on the pilgrimage to Mecca, where as this is meant to be a sign of a life of submission to Allah's...
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...beliefs are not much different than its Jewish or Christian brothers. In fact, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all have corresponding Biblical text—to an extent. The Qur’an is believed by Islam to be the corrected version of God’s original text, where the other Christian bibles are thought to have been corrupted by man during translations. For the Islamic faith the story of Muhammad, compiled in a book called the Hadith, is held near equal to the teachings of the Qur’an. According to Fisher (2005), “The Qur’anic revelations to Muhammad emphasize the basic religious unity of Jews, Christians, and Muslims, members of the same monotheistic tradition of Abraham,” (p. 368). Allah, God, is the one and only true God of Islam. Although the teachings of Muhammad’s life story are considered important to Muslims, Allah is the only divine authority. In fact, according to Fisher (2005), “The first sentence chanted in the ear of a traditional Muslim infant is the Shahadah—‘La ilaha ill-Allah Muhammad-un Rasulu-llah’ (‘There is no god but God, and Muhammad is the Messenger of God’),” (p. 372). Islam is a social and personal faith teaching of the unity in everything. Muhammad’s teachings create a culture separated from social distinctions. Islam embraces all cultures, races, religions, and faiths as an equal part of the whole. Centuries before Western society, Islam granted equality to women and minorities alike, creating an even societal foundation for all. Social, cultural...
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...Response I am writing this paper about the five pillars of Islam. This paper on the five pillars of Islam is a response to two very specific questions. The first question being what are the central beliefs of Islam, and how are they reflected in the "Five Pillars" (Fisher, 2014). Then I will answer the second question which of the Five Pillars do you feel would be easiest to fulfill, and which would be the most challenging (Fisher, 2014). By the end of this paper I will have learned a lot about the beliefs of Muslim people and have answers to these questions. The central beliefs of Islam are the Shahadah, salaat, zakat, fasting, and hajj. The Shahadah or belief and witness is the first pillar of Islam which is believing and professing the unity of God and the messenger ship of Muhammad: “There is no god but God, and Muhammad is the Messenger of God,” to which Shi’ites add “and ’Ali is the Master of the believers.” The Qur’an requires the faithful to tell others of Islam, so that they will have the information they need to make an intelligent choice. (Fisher, 2014, Chapter 10, Islam). Salaat or daily prayers is the second pillar of Islam is when “Five times a day, the faithful are to perform ablutions with water (or sand or dirt if there is no water), face Mecca, and recite a series of prayers and passages from the Qur’an, bowing and kneeling.” (Fisher, 2014). The salaat consists of five obligatory daily prayer times that are usually done early morning after dawn and before...
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...central beliefs of Islam, and how are they reflected in the “Five Pillars” (Mclnerney, 2003)? The central beliefs of Islam are the “Five Central Beliefs of Islam” -The first pillar of Islam is believing and professing the unity of God and the messenger ship of Muhammad. “The only god is God and Muhammad is the messenger.” (Living Religions, Sixth Edition, Pearson’s 2005 p.381) -The second pillar of Islam is the performance of a continual round of prayers. Faithful servants perform a ritual five times a day with water, dirt or sand. Servants recite prayers and passages Qur’an. (Living Religions, Sixth Edition, Pearson’s 2005 p.381) - -The third pillar of Islam is zakat, or spiritual tithing and almsgiving. Muslims have to donate at least two and a half percent of their yearly earnings to Muslims that are in need. (Living Religions, Sixth Edition, Pearson’s 2005 p.382) - The forth pillar of Islam is fasting. Repeated fasting is recommended but only one is required for Muslims the fast during Ramadan, commemorating the first revelations of the Qur’an to Muhammad. (Living Religions, Sixth Edition, Pearson’s 2005 p.383) * The fifth pillar of Islam is hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca. All Muslims are expected to make the pilgrimage at least once in their lifetime. This is a series of symbolic rituals designed to bring the faithful closer to God. (Living Religions, Sixth Edition, Pearson’s 2005 p.383-385) * Which of the Five Pillars do you feel would be...
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...Five Pillars of Islam HUM/130 Five Pillars of Islam There are Five Pillars of Islam. These acts of worship that the faithful of Islam are supposed to do in order to increase their sense of God and to help create discipline in their attitudes toward others and the use of their time and property. These Pillars are the Shahadah, Salat, Zakat, Sawm Ramadan, and Hajj. These came from the Qur’an and Sunnah and shape the lives of Muslims throughout the world. The central belief and teaching of Islam is that there is no god but God and Muhammad is the messenger of God. This is also the first pillar of Islam, the Shahadah, and the statement is repeated with every prayer. This belief means that every Muslim should strive to freely accept God as having supreme power over everything and strive to live their lives according to the teachings of God. They should also work to build social institutions that reflect God. Of the Five Pillars of Islam the easiest for me to perform would be the first or the Shahadah. Using that phrase with every prayer and trying to live up to it are not that different from what I already do. I may not state it with every prayer but it wouldn’t be hard to start doing that if I was to convert to Islam. The most difficult of the Five Pillars would be the Sawm Ramadan. During the month of Ramadan the faithful of Islam perform a fast called Sawm. They abstain from food, water, evil thoughts, and sexual activity during the day. This is something I would struggle...
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...Five Pillars of Islam Islamic religion is described as a derivative of the Christian and Jewish faith. In that light the “Five Pillars” of the Islam religion can be seen as closely related to or similar to the basics of both of them. The first belief of Islam religion as indicated by the first of the Five Pillars is that there is only one God and that Muhammad is the Messenger of God. In this principle of the religion, followers of Islam must worship only one God and pass on their beliefs in an unforceful way to allow non-followers the right to make a choice to follow on their own. The second of the Five Pillars is the belief that daily prayers and worship to God are essential in keeping the follower faith strong. Followers participate in synchronized prayer sessions each day and separate the men from the women in order to allow each follower their own space with God devoid of any distractions. A common theme in the belief system of Islam is the knowledge that you are not above any other follower in any way. The third pillar, known as the Zakat, is the belief and instruction that the prayers of the people are only accepted if the followers also share their wealth with others. This prevents any separation of the people based on wealth as well as any kind of selfishness. (Fisher, 2014) Islam religion states that your relationship with the one and only God is always of the utmost importance. Based on that the fourth pillar, which is fasting, is incorporated in the religion to...
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...Five Pillars of Islam The central beliefs of Islam are that there is only one God, Allah, the prophets especially Muhammad. They believe God sees all and knows all, he is the creator, they believe in the Angels of God, the Qur’an, which is God’s book; his teaching and no other book expresses that, Day of Judgment, the afterlife, and the supremacy of God’s will. The Five Pillars are reflection of the beliefs because the focus is about professing the unity of God and the messenger of Muhammad. The faithful are expected to tell others of Allah so they can make inform decisions in their lives. They have to practice the religion through the Five Pillars of Islam, doing so allows them continuous insight into what the religion is teaching. Each pillar. The Five Pillars of Islam consists of daily prayers, fasting, belief and witness, Zakat or spiritual tithing and almsgiving, and hajj, which is the pilgrimage to Mecca. All of these are aimed toward having a closing walk or relationship with God. Although adhering to the Five Pillar of Islam is an essential part of the Islamic faith, I find that prayer five times a day is not an easy task. You really have to be committed and faithful in your spiritual journey to practice this ritual. You would also have to know the Qur’an extremely well because you have to recite prayers and passages from the Qur’an in order to do the daily prayers. The other issue I would have is finding a place of solitude when praying...
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...The Five Pillars of Islam are the basic spiritual practices required on all Muslims. They were taught by theologians after the death of the Prophet Muhammad as the actions was defined on what it meant to be a member of the Muslim community. The first pillar of Islam is the Shahadah to believe in and to profess the unity of God and the messenger-ship of Muhammad: “There is no god but God, and Muhammad is the Messenger of God,” to which Shi’ites add “and ’Ali is the Master of the believers.” The Second pillar of Islam is the Salaat which is the performance of a continual round or prayers. For five times a day they are to perform ablutions with water or with sand/dirt if water is not available, face Mecca, and to recite a series of prayers and passages from the Qur’an, bowing and kneeling. The third pillar Zakat which is charity or almsgiving which the Qur’an links with prayer. A payer is only accepted if the person also shares it amongst others. At the end of the year all Muslims have to donate some of their accumulated wealth to needy Muslims this is to help decrease any inequalities in wealth and to prevent any personal greed. The fourth pillar is fasting, frequent fasting are recommended, but there is only one that is obligatory which is during Ramadan. This fast is to commemorate the first revelations of the Qur’an to Muhammad which requires a dawn to sunset abstention from food, drink, sexual intercourse, and smoking for the month to everybody who are beyond puberty, but not...
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...The Five pillars of Islam The Prophet Muhammad is also called as the “seal of the prophets”, the only being to whom Allah, the name given to God of the Muslims, revealed his revelations in the form of the Quarn, the Holy book of the Muslims. Though the basic teachings of Muhammad constitute of three points: the uniqueness of Allah, the need to care for the poor, orphaned and widowed, and the inevitability of the final judgement. But the entire teachings of the Muslim religion focus on the five basic elements also known as the Five Pillars of Islam. The first pillar of Islam (the Shahadah) is believing and professing the unity of God and the messengership of Muhammad. There is no God but God and Muhammad is the messenger of God. The second Pillar is the performance of a continual round of prayers. Five times a day, the faithful are to perform ritual ablutions with water ( or sand or dirt if necessary) face Mecca and recite a series of prayers and passages form the Qur’an bowing and kneeling. The third pillar is spiritual tithing and Alms Giving (Zakat). At the end of the year all Muslims must donate at least two and a half percent of accumulated wealth to needy Muslims. This provision is designed to help decrease inequalities in wealth and to prevent personal greed. In addition Muslims in general are also encouraged to donate and give whatever amounts each can afford not only to mosque, the place of worship, but also for the support of the poor of the community. ...
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...Five Pillars of Islam The central beliefs of Islam are comprised of the principles that Muslims are monotheistic in that they believe there is only one God, Allah. Additionally, Muhammad is the messenger of God. Muslims believe that the God’s oneness is the fundamental belief of all religions and that Muhammad was merely a messenger of this ideal. This is certainly related to the first pillar, both believing and professing the unity of God and His messenger, Muhammad: there is no God but God Himself; Muhammad is the messenger of God. Islam encompasses all religions and honors all prophets as messengers from one God. Shahadah is the first pillar that is the act of believing and saying the words “There is no god worthy of worship except god and Muhammad is his messenger”. This is at the very heart of Islam. Before Muhammad and his message the Islamic people worshiped many gods. They had a different god for everything, and gave sacrifices to these gods to keep them happy. After Muhammad brought his message people were to only believe in one god and that no other god was worthy of ones worship. Accordingly, there are two primary [human] misdeeds; they are shirk and kufr. They are associated with incredulity and a lack of appreciation of God.They also promote remembering God, and as such, they incorporate the second pillar which involves the performance of a continual round of prayers(Salah). Muslims also believe that covetousness is a bad trait, and as such, they incorporate...
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