Five Pillars of Islam Flashcards
Introduction to Five Pillars
The Five Pillars of Islam are the five ways in which Muslims devote themselves to God. The Five Pillars are extremely significant to Muslim adherents as they provide a system of ritual to adherents that allows them to be aware of their duties and submit their entire being to Allah. These Five Pillars are Shahada, Salat, Zakat, Sawm, and Hajj.
Shahada
Initially, the Shahada is the Muslim declaration of faith and the First Pillar of Islam. It expresses the belief that there is no God but Allah, “I bear witness that there is no God but Allah and that Muhammad is his messenger”. For Muslims, the shahadah is the most important belief as it sums up what one must believe to be a Muslim. The first pillar of Islam is the fundamental and basic need of human beings as Muslim. Prophet Muhammad (SAW) said: “I have been ordered to fight against people until they testify that there is no god but Allah and the Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.” (Sahi Bukhari). The above saying clearly indicates that we must have faith in both parts of the first pillar of Islam.
Salat
Salat is the second of the five pillars and it requires all Muslims to perform five daily prayers accompanied by ritual actions and recited in Arabic from sunrise to sunset. Every Friday Muslims gather at a mosque at midday, known as Friday prayer. Thus proving that it is undeniably significant because it is a sign of obedience and proclaims oneness to Allah, whilst also uniting Muslims across the world with Muslims all over the world, praying the same thing, whilst facing the same way. Furthermore, Salat allows adherents to ensure Muslims maintain their faith and devotion to Allah, to increase closeness to Allah and to remain conscious of the importance of faith and submission to their Creator, thus proving that it is extremely significant in the lives of adherents.
Zakat
Moreover, Muslim adherents must engage in Zakat, a ritual that involves them donating 2.5% of their annual income to charity, freeing others from debt and setting people free from slavery. Furthermore, as one of the pillars, it has the potential to ease the suffering of millions. With the literal meaning of the word being ‘to cleanse’, Muslims believe that paying zakat purifies, increases and blesses the remainder of their wealth, and “whoever pays the zakat on his wealth will have its evil removed from him” - (at-Tabarani). Zakat is also a spiritual connection to one’s maker, to purify your wealth for the will of Allah is to acknowledge that everything we own belongs to Him, and it is for HIm that we strive to end poverty and help our brothers and sisters. “Of their goods, take Zakat, so that you might purify and sanctify them” (9:103 Qur’an).
Sawm
Furthermore, Muslim’s adhere to Sawm. A month of fasting during daylight hours of Ramadan is a requirement for all Muslims once they are a teenager. It allows Muslims to be reminded about the realities of poverty and helps them to avoid committing any sins thus proving to be significant as they can submit themselves even more to Allah. Furthermore, when the month of Ramadan starts, Muslims believe that the gates of heaven are opened and the gates of hell are closed as Prophet Muhammad said in one of his Hadiths: “when the month of Ramadan starts, the gates of the heaven are opened and the gates of Hell are closed and the devils are chained” (Bukhari). Moreover, it is significant as Muslims believe that when someone fasts in the month of Ramadan with sincere faith, Muslims believe that they will be forgiven by Allah Almighty as Prophet Muhammad said in Hadith: “Whoever fasts during Ramadan out of sincere faith and hoping to attain Allah’s rewards, and then all his past sins will be forgiven” (Bukhari).
Hajj
Ultimately, the final Pillar for Muslim adherents is a journey to Mecca to retrace the steps of Muhammad and Abraham, this is known as Hajj. Any Muslim who is physically and financially able is required to perform Hajj at least once in their lifetime. It is a physically demanding journey that Muslims believe offers a chance to wipe clean past sins and start anew before God. Pilgrims seek to deepen their faith in the hajj, with some women adopting the head covering known as the “hijab.” “Whoever performs Hajj with any obscenity Shall return (from Hajj) like a newborn baby”, (Bukhari).
