Essay on the five pillars of islam

Islam is the submission of oneself to the Will of the almighty God or Allah. The submission comes from within, genuine belief to the almighty Allah and without any doubt. In addition, if a person submits himself to Allah, it comes from heart full of faithfulness. Allah is the Creator of all creatures on earth and that includes humankind. Muslims believe that Allah is a Creator, not just an extraordinary god. The messenger of Allah is Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) and accepted the holy word of the almighty Allah through Gabriel, the archangel or the Holy Spirit. The revelation consists of the Islam religion. The genuine revelation is recorded in a book form, the Qur’an. The Qur’an is the accurate word of the almighty Allah to humankind.
Muslims, are persons who believes in Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) as the messenger of the almighty Allah and Allah as the only Creator. Muslims testify to their belief as witnesses announcing their faithfulness and accept Islam as their religion. A person from any race who follows Islam as their religion is a true Muslim. Islam religion has its simplicity and practicality. The convictions and commandments are clear and easy to understand by any followers of Islam. The Islam religion confirms faith in a manner of decency in a civilized society. In addition, the Islam religion only demands possible righteousness for the faithful followers. The Islam religion believes that everyone commits mistake or sin and nobody is exempted. Islam spread the holy word of Allah in harmony, forgiveness, fairness, serenity, equal opportunity, compassion, genuineness, decency, honesty, and virtue. It also spread the truth that Allah is the only Creator, the only powerful God of all humankind, and Allah is the Almighty.
The Five Pillars of Islam is the most important practices of Muslims. In order to live a good and responsible life according to Islam, Muslims perform these five obligations faithfully. The Five Pillars of Islam is the foundation of Muslim life. The five pillars consist of Faith (Shahadah), Prayer (Salah or Salat), Charity (Zakah or Zakat), Fasting (Sawm), and Pilgrimage (Hajj). The declaration of faith is the Shahadah, a simple way that all the faithful pronounces, “ There is none worthy of worship except Allah, and Prophet Muhammad (Peace on him) is the messenger of Allah.” This declaration has its significance, the belief that the only purpose of life is to serve and obey Allah. This can only be achieved through the teachings and practices of the last prophet, Muhammad.
The obligatory Muslim prayers that are performed five times a day is called Salah or Salat, the second pillar of Islam. Salah is a direct link between the worshipper and Allah. Prayers are said at dawn (Salat al-fajr), mid-day or after the sun passes its highest (Salat al-zuhr), late part of the afternoon (Salat al-‘ asr), just after sunset (Salat al-maghrib), and nightfall or between sunset and midnight (Salat al-‘ sha). These five prayers contain verses from the Qur’an and in Arabic language. However, for personal supplications, prayers are offered in one’s own language. Prayer sets the rhythm of the day for the entire population including non-Muslims through public call from the mosques. Muslim prayers are not simply phrases spoken by worshippers. The prayer involves the unity of mind, soul, and body in worship. Children begin to observe prayers from puberty and some begin earlier. Muslims perform a whole series of set movements that goes with the words of the prayer. In addition, Muslims do not pray for the benefit of Allah because the Creator does not need human prayers at all. Allah has told the worshippers to pray for themselves to obtain great benefits.
The third pillar of Islam is Sawm. In the month of Ramad-an, all Muslims fast from dawn until sundown. The ninth month of the lunar calendar is the Ramad-an. Fasting is an obligation on every healthy adult Muslims. Muslims during fasting abstain from food, drinks, and intimate relations with their spouses. Some Muslims are permitted to break the fast and make up an equal number of days later in the year. Those who are permitted are the sick, elderly, on a journey, women who are menstruating, pregnant, and nursing. They feed the poor one meal for each day of fasting they missed. Children begin to fast from puberty and some begin earlier. In addition, fasting is a time to discipline one’s self and avoid bad behaviors like argument and to say mean things toward others. A fasting person focuses on his purpose in life by being aware of the presence of Allah constantly. In the Qur’an, Allah states: “ O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed to those before you that you may learn self-restraint.” (Qur’an 2: 183). In addition, “ d al Fitr is a festive that celebrates the end of Ramad-an.
Zakah or Zakat is the fourth pillar of Islam. This is the financial obligation or act of charity of Muslims. An important principle of Islam is that everything belongs to Allah, and the wealth is entrusted to humankind. The word Zakah or Zakat means purification and growth. Muslims have the possession of purified selves by setting aside a proportion for the needy and for the society as a whole. Each Muslim, male or female, calculates his or her own Zakah individually. This involves the annual obligatory charity on every Muslims, a fortieth of one’s excess wealth that excludes items as primary residence, car, and professional tools. The government workers who are not free to make money elsewhere are also supported by the Zakah.
The fifth or the last pillar of Islam is the Hajj or Pilgrimage. Every Muslim around the world is required once in a lifetime to perform the pilgrimage to Makkah, Suadi Arabia, only if financially and physically able to do so. Hajj begins every year during the month of Dul Hejja, the twelfth month of the Islamic lunar calendar year. The Hajj is a spiritual journey where devoted Muslims forget all worldly things and focus their attention and time to Allah alone. All Muslims from every corner of the world have the opportunity to meet one another. Pilgrims wear special clothes, simple garments that set aside distinctions of class and culture, so that all stand equal before Allah.
The person on the Hajj may not engage in marital relations, shave, or cut their nails, use scented oils, kill or hunt anything, and fight or argue. In addition, women must not cover their faces even they practice it in their home country, men may not wear clothes that has stitching, and bathing is allowed but scented soaps are highly not permitted. In an Abrahamic origin, the rites of the hajj include the privilege to go around the Ka’bah seven times and to go between the hills of Safa and Marwa seven times. Later, the pilgrims stand together on the wide plains of ‘ Arafat, a large area of desert outside Makkah. The purpose to stand together is to join in prayers for Allah’s forgiveness, as often thought as a preview of the Day of Judgment. ‘ Id al Adha is a festival that ends the hajj; this is to celebrate with prayers and the exchange of gifts from Muslim communities everywhere.
The faithfulness to Islam, as with other religion, varies with the strength of the beliefs of the individuals. There are times that culture and traditions hinder with religion or sometimes outdo the religion. Some individuals claim something that their culture and tradition is part of the religion, in fact, it is not. They even do things that have no justification in Islam or prohibited. It is portrayed by some as the doctrine of the religion of Islam. In addition, the belief and practices of Muslims should not be judged according to the beliefs and the laws of other religion. Since some lawful practices of one religion is unlawful to the other religion. There are times that a conduct of an individual is an offensive act and vice versa even this act is not meant to offend an individual. For example, Islam commands Muslims to lower their eyes when they talk to other individual; this is an act of out of respect and honor for others. This act may offend other culture in which eye contact is very important in communication.
In this world, to live in peace and harmony, an individual should realize that individuals or we are created differently unique. We vary in the colors of the skin, our languages, cultures, traditions, and religion. Individuals may be different but it does not mean that they are bad or evil. We praise God in a different way; still we are part of this beautiful world called humankind.

References

Muhammad, A. (2013). Frontline. Islamic Beliefs, Law and Practice, Retrieved from
http://www. pbs. org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/muslims/themes/beliefs. html
BBC Religions (2009). Islam. The Five Pillars of Islam, Retrieved from
http://www. bbc. co. uk/religion/religions/islam/practices/fivepillars. shtml