Download 5 Pillars of Islam

Islamic Religious Practices
5 Pillars of Islam
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The order for living righteously is
apparent in the 5 Pillars
Support one’s faith
Are mentioned in the Qur’an
Creed
Prayer
Charity to the poor
Fasting
Pilgrimage
• Confession of faith
– “There is no god but the
God and Muhammad is
his prophet”
– The confession refers to
two basic teachings of
Islam: monotheism and
the uniqueness of
Muhammad as a prophet
• This sentence makes a
person a Muslim
• It is the first sentence
whispered into the ears of a
newborn infant
• It is recited daily in prayer
1. Creed
• 5 times a day
• Before dawn and at midday,
mid-afternoon, sunset, and
nighttime
• Times for prayer are announced
by a muezzin- from the minaret
• Before prayer, Muslims perform a
ritual purification with water
– Washing the hands, arms, face,
neck and feet
– If water is unavailable,
purification may be done with
sand
• Pray facing Mecca-mihrab
• Passages from the Qur’an and
other prayer formulas are recited
from memory in Arabic
– Accompanied by several bodily
postures: standing, bowing,
prostrating, and sitting
2. Prayer
Prayer cont.
• Friday is the day of public prayer
– Friday prayers are directed by an
Imam –leader of worship
• The imam delivers a sermon as
well
– it used to be on Saturdays following
the Jewish tradition but Muhammad
received a revelation that public
prayer on Friday was God’s will
– Public prayer is performed at
midday on Friday
– Usually only men perform public
prayer at a mosque
• When women are allowed to pray
with men at a mosque, they are
assigned their own area,
separated by a curtain or screen
or located in an upstairs gallery
– Women pray at home
• The public day of rest is Sunday
3. Charity to the poor
• Believers donate certain percentages of their total income,
herds, and produce from fields each year to the poor
– Muhammad was troubled by injustice, inequality, and
poverty
• The percentages vary depending on what is taxed
– But are commonly about 2.5 percent
• A good Muslim is expected to perform isolated acts of
generosity and charity for the poor
4. Fasting
• To fast means to abstain from food for a specified
period of time
• The purpose of fasting is to discipline oneself
– To develop sympathy for the poor and hungry
• Fasting is thought to be good for individual spiritual
growth
• Required during Ramadan
– The 9th month of the Muslim calendar
– Ramadan is the time during which Muhammad first
received his revelations
– From dawn until sundown
– Avoid eating, drinking, smoking, sex
• Exceptions are made with regard to food and drink for
travelers, pregnant women and the sick- but they are
expected to make up the days of fasting at a later time
• During Ramadan, Muslims open extra soup kitchens
•
Ramadan = Lent= Yom Kippur
5. Pilgrimage
• Pilgrimage is a religious journey by
a believer to a sacred city or site
• Pilgrimage to Mecca
– At least once in a lifetime
– Anyone who dies on the journey is
considered a martyr and enters
paradise
– All sins are forgiven of those who
make the journey
– Pilgrimage to Mecca, or Hajj, was
already a practice before
Muhammad was born
Pilgrimage: Kabah shrine
• The pilgrimage to Mecca lasts for 15
days
• Includes circling the Kabah
– Kabah means cube
– The Kabah is a black meteorite known
as the Black Stone located in the Great
Mosque of Mecca
– It is covered with a black cloth, remade
every year- edges are embroidered in
gold with words from the Qur’an
– The interior of the Kabah is empty and is
entered only by caretakers – who clean
the interior with rosewater
– Pilgrims walk counterclockwise around
the Kabah seven times
– Pilgrims kiss or salute the Kabah
Pilgrimage
cont.: origins of
the Black Stone
• The meteorite was
thought of as a
special gift from
God
• It is believed that
Abraham and
even Adam
venerated it
• The angel Gabriel
carried it to earth
Pilgrimage: reenacting
important events: recalling
Hagar
1. After walking around the Kabah,
pilgrims ritually recall Hagar
• A long covered corridor connects
two sacred hills
• Between these hills Hagar is
believed to have searched for
water for her son Ishmael
• Pilgrims walk speedily seven
times along the corridor,
reenacting Hagar’s thirsty search
• They drink from the well of
Zamzam in the mosque area,
which is believed to be the well
shown to Hagar by an angel
Pilgrimage: reenacting important events: sacrifice
of Ishmael
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Pilgrims reenact important events in
the life of Abraham
2. Muslims believe that Abraham was
asked by God to sacrifice his son
Ishmael
– The near-sacrifice took place in
Mecca
– Abraham was divinely directed to
substitute a ram for his son
– Pilgrims sacrifice an animal
– The slaughtered animals is cooked
and eaten
– After the sacrifice, the men’s heads
are shaven, the women’s hair is
cut, and all fingernails and toenails
are trimmed to signify a new
purified life
Pilgrimage: reenacting important events:
Day of Sacrifice
3. On the Day of Sacrifice, pilgrims go to
Mina- a few miles outside Mecca
• Here they throw seven small
stones at three square pillars, a
ritual that recalls how Abraham
responded to a temptation:
•
when a demon tempted him to
disobey God’s command to sacrifice
his son, Abraham threw stones at the
demon and drove it away
• Many pilgrims visit
Medina to honor
the memory of
Muhammad who is
buried there
Types of pilgrimage
• Muslims distinguish between the “greater pilgrimage” and
– Made only during the special month of pilgrimage
• The “lesser pilgrimage”
– Can be made at other times of year as well
– A visit to Mecca and nearby holy sites
• In the past, about 30,000 people visited Mecca each year
• Now 2,000,000 make the journey
Pilgrimage: clothing
• Men have to wear a special clothing called the robe of Abraham
– Consisting of two pieces of white, seamless cloth.
– One piece is worn around the waist and lower body
– The other covers the upper body and the left arm
– The uniformity of clothing for males emphasizes their basic equality
before God
• women have no special clothing, but many dress in white
– They do not veil their faces when they are participating in the pilgrimage