Hi there everyone, in Religious Education at the moment I'm doing a big (And i mean huge project) on the Five Pillars of Islam.
I would really appreciate it if someone could help me out in the following pointers:
- What are they generally to Muslims
- What are the 5 Pillars
- A Brief Definition of each one
- How do Muslims use them today?
- How are each of them observed
- What are good websites for information.
Look, I know I'm asking an awful lot, but i really need to get a head start on this project. Im a bit behind as I was off sick for over a week. Any help at all will be greatly appreciated, thanks!
When they offer you the jacket full of explosives tell them you have to go to the bathroom first and then climb out the window. You'll have about a 10 second head start. Good luck and may the pork be with you.
Simply they are the five basics of Islam , they are the way to experience Islam. And lead to heaven .
Others are not so important as those.
And there numbers are according to there importance
The first and the great one is
1) The Testimony of Faith:
The testimony of faith is saying with conviction, ?La aloha Illa Allah, Muhammadur RaslaLullah.?? This saying means ?There is no true god (deity) but God (Allah),1 and Muhammad is the Messenger (Prophet) of God.?? The first part, ?There is no true god but God,? means that none has the right to be worshipped but God alone, and that God has neither partner nor son. ?This testimony of faith is called the Shahada, a simple formula which should be said with conviction in order to convert to Islam (as explained previously on this page). ?The testimony of faith is the most important pillar of Islam.
2) Prayer:
Muslims perform five prayers a day. ?Each prayer does not take more than a few minutes to perform. ?Prayer in Islam is a direct link between the worshipper and God. ?There are no intermediaries between God and the worshipper.
In prayer, a person feels inner happiness, peace, and comfort, and that God is pleased with him or her. ?The Prophet Muhammad? said: {Bilal, call (the people) to prayer, let us be comforted by it.}2? Bilal was one of Muhammad?s? companions who was charged to call the people to prayers.
Prayers are performed at dawn, noon, mid-afternoon, sunset, and night. ?A Muslim may pray almost anywhere, such as in fields, offices, factories, or universities.
(For detailed information on how to perform prayer, please refer to the links at How to Perform Prayer or refer to the book entitled A Guide to Salat (Prayer) by M. A. K. Saqib.3)
3) Giving Zakat (Support of the Needy):
All things belong to God, and wealth is therefore held by human beings in trust.?The original meaning of the word zakat is both ?purification? and ?growth.?? Giving zakat means ?giving a specified percentage on certain properties to certain classes of needy people.?? The percentage which is due on gold, silver, and cash funds that have reached the amount of about 85 grams of gold and held in possession for one lunar year is two and a half percent. ?Our possessions are purified by setting aside a small portion for those in need, and, like the pruning of plants, this cutting back balances and encourages new growth.
A person may also give as much as he or she pleases as voluntary alms or charity.
4) Fasting the Month of Ramadan:
Every year in the month of Ramadan,4 all Muslims fast from dawn until sundown, abstaining from food, drink, and sexual relations.
Although the fast is beneficial to health, it is regarded principally as a method of spiritual self-purification.? By cutting oneself off from worldly comforts, even for a short time, a fasting person gains true sympathy with those who go hungry, as well as growth in his or her spiritual life.
5) The Pilgrimage to Makkah:
The annual pilgrimage (Hajj) to Makkah is an obligation once in a lifetime for those who are physically and financially able to perform it. ?About two million people go to Makkah each year from every corner of the globe. ?Although Makkah is always filled with visitors, the annual Hajj is performed in the twelfth month of the Islamic calendar. ?Male pilgrims wear special simple clothes which strip away distinctions of class and culture so that all stand equal before God.
Pilgrims praying at the Haram mosque in Makkah.? In this mosque is the Kaaba (the black building in the picture) which Muslims turn toward when praying.? The Kaaba is the place of worship which God commanded the Prophets Abraham and his son, Ishmael, to build.
The rites of the Hajj include circling the Kaaba seven times and going seven times between the hillocks of Safa and Marwa, as Hagar did during her search for water. ?Then the pilgrims stand together in Arafa5 and ask God for what they wish and for His forgiveness, in what is often thought of as a preview of the Day of Judgment.
Adherent of many religions are at times blinded to such a point that they fail to apply logic or reason to their faith or beliefs. For example, Saint Thomas Aquinas, the most rational of Christian theologians, stopped the use of reason when it came to the basic fundamentals of Christian faith. He then tried to justify faith. So to ask "why Christianity?" is an illegitimate question. However, Allah invites the question as to "why Islam?"?We have certainly made clear to you the signs, if you will use reason.?3:118
Islam is a rational system which not only allows questions but raises knowledge to a new level of dignity and respect. No other religion has exalted knowledge and its pursuit, as has Islam. In fact, for the first time in human history, a religious book invited people to question the creation of the universe and stated that in it (the universe) were signs for people of understanding. ?In the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the alternation of night and day, there are Signs for people of intelligence.?(The Final Testament,i.e.Quran,3:190-191) ?He directs the whole affair. He makes the Signs clear so that hopefully you will be certain about the meeting with your Lord.?(13: 2)
Everything in Islam is subject to rational pursuit.
Islam is an intellectual and historical religion. There are no secrets and no mysteries which cannot be understood by an ordinary person.
We should, therefore, refrain from forming particular ideology or opinion prior to witnessing clear evidence-just as Islam advises us.
The Qur'an, this extraordinary book which was revealed to the Seal of the Prophets,Muhammad (peace and blessings of Almighty be upon him), is a source of inspiration and true knowledge. ?Allah Himself is witness that there is no God save Him. And the angels and the men of learning too are witness?There is no God save Him, the Almighty, the Wise.?3:18.The book of Islam-no matter what subject it refers to-is being proved as Allah's Word as each new piece of historical, scientific or archaeological information comes to light. Facts about scientific subjects and the news delivered to us about the past and future, facts that no being could have known at the time of the Qur'an's revelation, are announced in its verses. It is impossible for this information to have been known with the level of knowledge and technology available in 7Th century Arabia. With this in mind, may we allow our common sense to speak on behalf of us awhile?
Could anyone in 7Th century Arabia have known the precise date of the lunar landings?
Could anyone in 7Th century Arabia have known the atomic number every single element?
Could anyone in 7Th century Arabia have known that the word "Pharaoh" was only used from the 14Th century B.C. and not before, as the Old Testament erroneously claims?
?If the sea were ink for (writing) the Words of my Lord, surely the sea would be exhausted before the Words of my Lord would be finished, even if We brought (another sea) like it for its aid.?(Quran-18:109)
Could anyone in 7Th century Arabia have known the genetic code of many living organisms?
Could anyone in 7Th century Arabia have known that the star ?Sirius? is the brightest star in the night sky?
Could anyone in 7th century Arabia have known that the universe is "steadily expanding," as the Qur'an puts it, when modern scientists have only in recent decades put forward the idea of the "Big Bang"?
?And He shows you His signs. So, which of the signs of Allah do you deny?? 40:81
Could anyone in 7th century Arabia have known about the fact that each individual's fingertips are absolutely unique, when we have only discovered this fact recently, using modern technology and modern scientific equipment?
Could anyone in 7th century Arabia have known about black holes, Pulsars, the Rosette Nebula, sub-atomic particles, quantum physics, fossilization and iron content, the layers of Earth, the weight of clouds, the relativity of Time, the Force of Gravity, the Orbital Movements, the sun?s trajectory, the programming in genes, the sun?s hydrogen and helium content, or many other facts scientists of our day are only just beginning to discover?
The only answer to these questions is thus: the Qur'an is the Word of the Almighty Creator,God. the Originator of everything and the One Who encompasses everything with His knowledge. In one verse, Allah says, "If it had been from other than Allah, they would have found many inconsistencies in it." (Qur'an, 4:82) Every piece of information the Glorious Qur'an contains reveals the secret miracles of this divine book.
The Five Pillars of Islam?
