The five Pillars of Islam
The five pillars of Islam are the basic duties of each Muslim. Muslims have five different believes. These are called ‘The five pillars of Islam’. Each believe is like the pillar of an important building, which support the building (the building symbolises the religion itself). All these duties are important to themselves. If one was to be removed, the building falls down, like the religion. These pillars are:
- Shahadah
- Salah
- Zakah
- Sawm
- Hajj
Shahadah
This is the Muslim declaration of faith in Allah. This is the pillar that all the others are placed on. The other pillars would mean nothing if this one didn’t exist. Muslims believe that only one god exists, and that is Allah.
Salah
This is the term used for formal prayers, which are performed by Muslims five times a day.
Zakah
This is generally the giving of money to the poor and homeless. To a Muslim, paying Zakah is very important and Allah had taught them to be generous to every human being.
Sawm
This is the practice of fasting. It happens in the month of Ramadam. They are not allowed to eat of drink anything during the daylight hours. The people who are not expected to fast are old people, children under the age of twelve, travellers, those who are ill and those who are expecting a baby.
Hajj
The pilgrimage to Makkah, which almost every Muslim undertakes is called the Hajj.
Wudu
Salah begins with a ritual washing called Wudu. In each mosque, somewhere there are special washing facilities. Wudu is always follows the same pattern, which begins with the worshipper announcing his intention to offer a prayer to Allah. This is called Niyyah. The Muslims do this ritual everytime they enter a mosque to pray because they feel that it makes them more fit and holy to talk to Allah.
A prayer mat is laid out by the Muslim so that he or she can pray in a clean place.
There are no pictures or statues inside the mosque. Muslims believe that these may distract those who are worshipping, so they have not got the complete concentration to Allah.
Du’a are the personal prayers said by Muslims. Du’a means to ‘ask’.
Ramadam and Id-ul-Fitr
Muslims believe that they must do certain things as part of their religious duty to Allah. Ramadam is the ninth month of the Muslim calendar in which most Muslims must fast during daylight hours. When this month is over, a festival follows which marks the end of Ramadam. This time of year brings the whole community together for a time of prayer and celebration.
After an important service everyone goes home, normally to a big family party. Presents are sometimes given and cards are received with the words ‘Id Mubarak’ which means ‘Have a Happy and blessed festival’.
By fasting during Ramadam, Muslims are reminded that their worldly needs and material goods are far less important than the love for Allah.
The Hajj
The word ‘Hajj’ means ‘to undertake a journey’ with a very important purpose. All Muslims should complete the journey to Makkah apart from the elderly, the ill, children under the age of twelve etc. the Hajj is a very spiritual experience for them.
The Hajj takes place every year during the twelfth month of the Muslim calendar. Pilgrims travel to the city of Makkah from all over the world. They enter a holy state on the outskirts of the city-ihram. This is when they put on special clothing. There are also special rules that the Pilgrims must follow during the Hajj. Some of these are:
- No using any perfume of perfumes soap
- Having no sexual relations
- No cutting their hair or nails
This puts them in the right frame of mind, and to concentrate purely on Allah.
The first thing that the Muslims do when they reach the city is to head towards the Ka’bah. He or she will walk around this seven times and say a prayer each time. Each lap starts from the Black Stone where they kiss the Black Stone or raise their hands to it every time. The reason that the Black Stone is so special is because it is said that Muhammad put it in it’s place.
Id-ul-Adha
This is the festival that is on the tenth day of the Hajj. In the middle of the festival is the idea of service and sacrifice an animal. Each family must select a perfect animal to give to Allah (normally a sheep, goat, cow or camel). The father of the family will slaughter it but there are strict conditions that he must follow:
- The animal must not be frightened
- Prayers from the Qur’an are read out
- The animal must face towards Makkah
- A sharp knife is drawn across the jugular vein
- All blood must be drained from the animal
Meet that has been killed in the correct way is called Halal.
One third of the meet is eaten by the family, but the rest is given to the poor and needy and the relatives.
