The fourth pillar is Sawm, this means fasting in the month of Ramadan.
The fifth pillar is Hajj, this means making the pilgrimage to Makkah, at least once in a life time, if physically and financially possible.
Muslims believe that we are all one family. There are no ‘chosen races’. Whatever their colour, all people are equal and belong to God. The word Ummah describes this feeling of awareness, love and respect for others. The words used to translate it are usually ‘brotherhood’, ‘family feeling’ or ‘kinship’, but the word really implies the care and responsibility of motherhood.
Shahadah is the first pillar and means that there is only one supreme being,
‘I believe there is no God but Allah,
and Muhammad is the messenger of God’.
A few of the aims of Salah are to bring people close to Allah, to combine soul and body in devine worship, to keep them from indecent, shameful and forbidden activities and to calm down dangerous passions and master the baser instincts.
The aim of paying Zakah is to keep your wealth free of greed and selfishness. It is also a trust of Muslim honesty and expenditure. It tries to clean the heart of love of money and the desire to cling to it. Money is for the service of humanity, and for promoting good and justice in the world.
Sawm, or fasting, is the deliberate control of the body by an act of will. During the 29 to 30 days of the Muslim month of Ramadan healthy adult Muslims will go without the pleasure of the body during all hours of daylight. The fast begins as the first light of dawn touches the horizon and ends with sunset. Hunger, comfort and sex are the three things which have to be brought under control.
Hajj is the fifth pillar of Islam. The purpose of Hajj is to ‘meet’ Allah. Muslims believe that if the Hajj is properly performed, and they are in the right state of mind, called irham, pilgrims can gain forgiveness for everything that they have done wrong in there lives. The state of irham refers to the clothes they wear on Hajj. It also refers to the holy state of mind they try to maintain throughout the pilgrimage. Preparation of the mind and heart is essential if a Muslim is to perform Hajj properly.
Before entering a Mosque Muslims take off their shoes and perform the ritual washing in a well, fountain or tap in the courtyard. Shoes are left outside the prayer area on a rack. Inside, visitors immediately feel a sense of peace, air and space. This is because it is not cluttered up with furniture. There are no seats, pictures or statues to decorate the building. Everyone is expected to sit or kneel on the floor which is generally covered in carpet. There is often a design on the carpet, or lines marked out to help the believers form neat rows. On the roof there may be a dome. This gives a felling of open space and represents the universe. It also helps the voice of the imam to be heard.
