Five Pillars of Islam

This article is about the tenets of Islam. For the game see The Five Pillars

The Five Pillars of Islam is the term given to what are understood among many Muslims to be the five core aspects of Sunni Islam. ''' For the Sunni community of interpretation, the Five Pillars of Islam (Arkan-al-Islam) are the five most important acts of a Muslim, and which devout Muslims will perform faithfully considering them essential to please Allah.

For the Shi'a community of interpretation, there are five beliefs, which are referred to as the Usūl al-Dīn, the Roots of Religion. In addition, there are ten practices, known as the Furū al-Dīn'' or Branches of Religion . The ten Branches of Religion correlate more closely to the Sunni concept of the "Pillars of Islam".

There is considerable debate over how recently the five pillars model of Muslim belief and practice has come to be widespread, and certainly increased capacity for communication and travel since the late nineteenth century have been significant factors. Most agree that Muslims have understood the five pillars as obligations incumbent upon the faithful since the time of the Prophet Muhammad. More personalized, mystical devotional practices associated with Sufi interpretations of Islam were and continue to be undertaken as alternatives and supplements to the five pillars by various communities of Muslims. This was even more so the case prior to the rise and global spread of Wahhabism which placed the five pillars at the core of Islamic piety, to the exclusion of other forms of Muslim devotional practice.

The Five Pillars of Islam

'' In summary, the practices are (In order of priority):

The profession of faith in Allah (Shahadah) - the declaration that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad is his messenger.
Prayer (Salat) - establishing of the five daily Prayers.
The paying of alms (Zakat) - which is generally 2.5% of the total savings for a rich man working in trade or industry, and 10% or 20% of the annual produce for agriculturists. This money or produce is distributed among the poor.
Fasting (Sawm) - refraining from eating, drinking or satisfying other needs from dawn to dusk in the month of Ramadan, the ninth month in the Islamic lunar calendar.
The Pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj) - this is done during the month of Zul Hijjah, and is compulsory once in a lifetime for one who has the ability to do it. If the Muslim is in ill health or in debt, he or she is not required to perform Hajj.

The five pillars are intended to increase ones faith and make a person "better". If they do not have this impact on a person, then they are practiced in vain.

Note that the Shi'a branch Amr Bil Maruf and Nahi Anil Munkar (Enjoying the Good and Forbidding the Evil) is also commanded in Sunni Islam but not at the level of The Five Pillars of Islam.

Jihad as the sixth pillar of Islam?

- A few Muslims, mainly belonging to the community of the Khawarij, hold that there is a sixth pillar of Islam, jihad literally meaning "struggle" or "endeavor", often understood to refer to holy war. This is viewed by many as a misinterpretation, especially in the sense of conversion by sword; however, if the English use of "war" is meant spiritually/metaphysically (such as being "at war" with one's conscience), as opposed to literal armed conflict, it is considered to be the most precise and accurate translation. While jihad is widely considered a duty of Muslims, the view that it is one of the pillars is not shared by most theologians. - Modern interpretations of Jihad have contributed to the phenomenon of Islamic terrorism and particularly suicide bombers. Adherents are known as Jihadists or Jihadiis and have been involved in a number of spectacular mass murder events, including the notorious 9/11 massacres in the USA and the train bombings in Madrid and London. Within Islamic states there are frequent attacks aimed at followers of minority or rival communities of interpretation or secularised Muslims. Such acts are viewed as perversion of Jihad and un-Islamic by Muslims.

The Five Pillars of Islam in detail

Shahadah, the profession of faith in Allah

According to the Qur'an, "There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his Prophet". This declaration of faith is called the shahadah, a simple formula which all of the faithful Muslims pronounce daily. Intrinsic in this action is the acknowledgment of Muhammad, as "Muhammad is not the father of any of your men, but he is the Messenger of Allah and the Seal of the Prophets. And Allah has full knowledge of all things." 33:40

Salāt, prayer

Muslims are obliged to perform ritual prayers, or salāt, five times a day:

Between dawn and sunrise (Fajr)
After midday (Dhuhr)
Midway between midday and sunset (Asr)
Right after sunset (Maghrib)
Approximately one hour after sunset (Isha'a)

A Muslim may offer extra optional prayer(s) at any other time.

On Fridays, congregational prayer (jumu'ah) is held at midday, deemed obligatory for men but optional for women. A Muslim may pray almost anywhere, such as in a place of work or a school. It is also a requirement for a Muslim to face Mecca during prayer.

Before prayer is the ritual of ablution, a ceremonial cleansing with water (or alternatively, with sand if no water is available) which is usually performed. The parts cleansed include face, arms, head (wiping the hair), and the feet up to the ankles. If the cleansing was done using water, the Muslim is considered to have wudhu, which means that he or she has cleansed him or herself from the physical manifestations of sin in a lasting fashion that extends between prayers. In other words, unless the Muslim does something to remove this cleanliness, the cleansing would not need to be repeated before the next prayer. When sand is used, the cleansing is only temporary and regardless of whether the Muslim commits any physical acts of uncleanliness he or she will need to undergo the ceremonial cleansing immediately before the next prayer.

The salat must be performed in the Arabic language (even if the person neither speaks nor understands Arabic; the prayers are to be recited with the tongue, silently so as not to disturb others), and include praises to Allah, the shahada, a plea for forgiveness and various blessings, Chapter one (al Fatihah) and one or more other parts of the Qur'an (from memory) and an optional prayer of one's own. The entire session includes standing upright, bowing down, kneeling and prostrating oneself. The session ends with looking right and left to say "Peace be unto you, and on you be peace" in Arabic to the believers sitting with you.

Sawm, fasting

Observance of the sawm (fasting), or siyam, involves abstinence from eating, drinking, smoking, sexual intercourse, unruly thoughts, and other forms of worldly pleasure. This fasting is ordained in the Qur'an, and is observed by devout Muslims throughout the daylight hours of the 29 or 30 days of the lunar month of Ramadan. There are some exceptions, for example for children, pregnant women and sick Muslims. The children do not have to fast until puberty, but most start fasting earlier due to religious zeal.

As well as fasting, Muslims spend more time praying during this period. sawm is intended to teach patience and self-control, and is seen as a debt owed by the believer to Allah.

Fasting is usually held during Ramadan, or the 9th month of the year. Muslims view Ramadan as important because it is the time when Allah chose Muhammad to be his Prophet.

Zakāh, the paying of alms

A major principle of Islam is the belief that all things belong to Allah and that wealth is only held by human beings in trust. The word zakah means both purification and growth. Each Muslim calculates his or her own zakah individually, and for most purposes this involves the payment each year of two and a half percent of one's capital in excess of one's basic needs. A Muslim may also donate an additional amount as an act of voluntary charity (sadaqah), in order to achieve additional divine reward.

Zakat is calculated on the basis of an amount in excess of what remains, after the needs of the family have been met.

Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca

All Muslims that have the financial and physical means to perform hajj are required to do so at least once in their lifetimes. The pilgrimage to Mecca can only be performed during the Islamic month of Dhul Hijja. any one who is muslim can perform the hajj, it does not matter where they are from. they have to go through a test to prove that they are muslim and then they are allowed to go on the hajj.

The order of the Hajj

Muslims arrive at the Port of Jeddah, and walk to Mecca. Nearing Mecca, Muslims change into a white cloth called an Ihram. They believe this shows equality among themselves.

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