Zainab Abed

Five Pillars of Islam Essay

4.

a) Describe the five pillars of Islam. (8 marks)

The five pillars of Islam are five obligatory duties that a Muslim must perform. The pillars are acts of worship and show submission to Allah. The five pillars are Shahadah, Salah, Zakah, Sawm and Hajj.

Shahadah is the declaration of faith and is the fundamental belief of Islam. ‘There is no God but Allah and Muhammed is the messenger of Allah’. This belief shows awareness of God as one.

Salah is the ritual prayer. Muslims practice two types of prayer and they are Dua’a and Salah. Dua’a is the prayer of petition (asking) and invocation (pleading). This prayer can be said anywhere and at anytime. Salah is the prayer performed five times a day – dawn, noon, afternoon, sunset and night. This prayer can be performed anywhere that is clean, but it must be facing the direction of Mecca. Before Salah, Muslims must ritually wash and stand on clean ground or a prayer mat. Salah must be performed for the right intention or in Arabic niyyah. Salah is performed in a set pattern and there are movements that are performed called rakahs. Salah is obligatory for men, women and children from the age of 12.

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Zakah is almsgiving or giving money to the poor and needy. Muslims do not like it to be called charity as the money that it belongs to is Allah. It is a gift made to God. Zakah is a proportion of a person’s disposable income and is paid every year and has a special significance. It is a way of showing kindness to the poor, a means of helping spread the faith and assisting those in debt or who are poor and needy. No one should refuse to Zakah or feel ashamed in receiving it because, as mentioned before, it ...

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