Muslims are encouraged to be in constant prayer to see their lives more objectively. Praying is also expected to purify the heart, develop the mind and conscience, comfort the soul, encourage the good and suppress the evil in a person, and awaken in the believer the innate sense of higher morality and higher aspirations (Fisher, 2005). The third pillar is Zakat (almsgiving or charity). An important principle of Islam is that all thing belong to God and that wealth is held by human beings in trust. At the end of the year, Muslims are required to donate at least two and a half percent of their accumulated wealth to needy Muslims (Fisher, 2005).
These are mandatory to every Muslim at all times, unless the individual is unable to perform them due to sickness or age. All in all, it is safe to say that commitment in no joke is Islam. The very first of the five pillars as Emerick states “helps Muslims to remind themselves about the reality of God in their lives” (Emerick 118). The Shahadah, the practice in which an individual declares his faith in God and confesses that Muhammad is the messenger of God. The statement “I declare there is no god except God, and I declare that Muhammad is the messenger of God"(Qu ‘ran 3:191) is to be said with pure sincerity and great commitment.
God tells us how we should live our daily lives. Allah tells us who we should look up to as a role model. The Quran is the final revelation to humanity by Allah. The Quran continuously talks about avoiding violence to be just gentle in speech, forgiving and patient. For e.g in verse 49:10 it says the believers are but a single.
Muslims pray five times daily facing the east towards the holy city of Mecca. As in other religions, prayer is a way to connect to God, gather strength, and peace of mind. Formal prayers are performed at dawn, noon, mid-afternoon, sunset and nightfall. Prayers contain verses of the Qur’an. The mosque is the Muslim place of worship.
Muslims can pray to God at any time, there are five prayers they are commit to perform throughout the day at mosque, at home or at anywhere. Muslim prayer is a combination of physical actions, verbal sayings, and an internal feeling which require calmness of mind, humbleness and serenity. If a Muslim prays without right attitude of mind, it as if they had not bothered to pray at all. "Woe to those who pray, but are unmindful of their prayer, or who pray only to be seen by people" (Qur’an 107:4-6). Before praying one is expected to wash their face, hands, arms and feet with water and if water is not available a person can use sand to do so.
C.S. Lewis once said, “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.” No matter where one travels in the world, the concept of religion will always be present because people need something to believe in. However, without experiencing the aspects of every single religion, opinions of different religions may be inaccurate. In Greg Mortenson’s book, Three Cups of Tea, he traveled to Pakistan and parts of Afghanistan. Doing so, he was exposed the everyday lives of Muslims.
The four other pillars include, fasting (Saum), prayer (Salat), and pilgrimage (Hajj), alms-giving or charity (Zakat), Shahada is a declaration that is made by followers of the Islamic faith, which says, “there is no true God except Allah,” and also says that, “Muhammad is the messenger of Allah. Christianity and other religions whose bible teaches that God is part of the Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit); Islamic faith teaches that Allah is the one and only God. Muslims also firmly believe that Muhammad is Allah’s greatest prophet, and it is important that those who practice the Islamic acknowledge and recognize him as such. They also believe that Allah used Muhammad to convey the last and final revelation (Slick, 1995-2010). The second pillar, Salat (Prayer), is a prayer that consists of confessions of sins and concluding with purification of the soul.
These Five Pillars are actions which a Muslim has to perform and are given via the Hadith (a major source of Islamic Law): Shahadah (declaration of faith) Salah (compulsory prayers five times a day) Zakah (annual welfare contributions) Sawm (fasting during Ramadan) Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca). The term Islam itself means submission to the will of Allah. Practicing The Five Pillars everyday demonstrates that a Muslim both willingly obeys Allah's divine guidance and is devoted to Him. The Five Pillars are considered basic practices that Muslims are expected to perform to demonstrate their commitment to serve and worship Allah. The Shahadah is the first of the Five Pillars and is practiced most.
Fasting is said to be good for the body and soul. It is supposed to help your body burn up impurities and is supposed to strengthen your will power to fight temptation. The last of the Five Pillars is Hajj. The Hajj is a great pilgrimage to Mecca. This is only expected once in a person’s life.
They are not supposed to eat, drink or have sexual relationships from sunrise until sundown. The fast intended to purify the believers. The fourth pillar is Zakat (alms giving) – as fasting purifies believers through renouncing the world, the zakat purifies the believers by encouraging giving and a lack of attachment to materialistic things. The last duty of Islamic religion is Hajj (the pilgrimage to Mecca) – every real Muslim believer, once in their lifetime, has to come to Mecca and participate in special rites held there. Religion is the