Five Pillars of Islam

1. Five Pillars of Islam Nicholas Siggers World Literature

2. What are they? • Shahada – Daily confession • Salat – Daily ritual prayer • Zakat – Paying the alms tax • Sawm – The act of fasting during Ramadan • Hajj – The pilgrimage to Mecca

3. Shahada • The Muslim profession of faith, expressing the two simple, fundamental beliefs. • Sincere recitation for those joining the faith. • It represents the acceptance to Allah and his prophet and to the entirety of Islam.

4. Salat • Performed 5 times each day. (Dawn, midday, afternoon, sunset, and evening.) • Performed in the direction of the Ka’ba Shrine at Mecca. • Prayer mat is used. • Can be done alone, but it carries more merit when done with others. • Before prayer, one must wash their face, hands, and feet with either water or sand.

5. Salat, continued • At the prayer times, a Muezzin announces a call to prayer. • One can hear the Muezzin on the radio or by a “Salat Pager.” • When performing Salat at the mosque, worshippers are aligned in parallel rows. • Prayer begins with standing and moves through several postures until kneeling. • Specific recitations are said in each posture.

6. Zakat • Rate is 2.5%, not of income, but of the value of one’s possessions. • Taxed possessions include: grain, fruit, cattle, camels, sheep and goat, gold and silver, and other movable goods. • The recipient of the tax are the poor, debtors, slaves seeking to buy their freedom, volunteers in Jihad, and pilgrims. • For most of history, the tax has been collected by the state. • Today it is mostly up to the individual, except in Saudi Arabia where it is religious law.

7. Sawn Ramadan • The 9th month of the Islamic calendar. • All adult Muslims are required to abstain from food, drink, and sexual intercourse during the daylight hours. • Exceptions: travelers, soldiers, menstruating women, and the ill. • Ramadan is an opportunity for increased prayer and devotion. • During the last 10 nights of Ramadan, some Muslims retreat to a mosque for even more intensive study and contemplation. • The 27th night is the “Night of Power,” the holiest night of the year.

8. Hajj • At least once in a lifetime, each Muslim is expected to undertake a pilgrimage to Mecca, the sacred city of Islam. • It must take place during the month of Dhu al-Hijja (last month of the Islamic year) to fulfill the requirements of the Hajj. • In modern times, about 2.5 million Muslims fulfill the Hajj each year. • Upon arrival at the boundary of Mecca, pilgrims enter the state of Ihram (purity) in which they will remain throughout the Hajj.

9. Hajj, continued • Men wear two white, seamless sheets wrapped around the body and sandals. • Women dress in white with only their eyes and hands uncovered. • While in the state of Ihram, pilgrims do not cut their nails, or hair, or engage in sexual relations, argue, fight, or hunt. • The pilgrim first walks around the Ka’ba seven times while reciting the Talbiya. • Then kisses or touches the Black Stone in the Ka’ba. • Prayers twice toward the Station of Abraham and the Ka’ba – then runs seven times between the small mountains of Safa and Marwa.