Download Introduction to Islam, Part 3: The Five Pillars

Introduction to Islam, Part 3:
The Five Pillars
Walking the Straight Path
• If a Muslim were asked to summarize the way Islam
counsels people to live, the answer might be: it
teaches them to walk the “straight path.” The phrase
comes from the opening surah of the Koran.
• The straight path is direct and explicit. Compared with other religions,
Islam spells out the way of life it proposes and nails it down through
clear injunctions. Muslims know where they stand.
• God’s revelation to humankind proceeded through four great stages –
Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Muhammad. But only in the third stage did
God show people exactly how we should love our neighbor. Islam
embodies the sentiments of Jesus in definite laws.
Shahadah: The Confession of Faith
• Muslim confession of faith consists of a single sentence in two parts:
“There is no god but God, and Muhammad is His Prophet.”
• At least once during his or her lifetime a Muslim must say the Shahadah
correctly, slowly, thoughtfully, aloud, with full understanding and with
heartfelt conviction.
• In every crisis and at every moment when the world
threatens to overwhelm them, not excepting
the approach of death, Muslims will say the
Shahadah. It is the ultimate answer to all questions
in life.
“La ilaha illa ‘llah”
Ritual prayer: Salat
• Muslims are admonished to be constant in prayer to keep their lives in
perspective. The Koran considers this the most difficult lesson people must learn.
• Prayer in gratitude is central, but the main goal of prayer is to see life objectively
which involves acknowledging human creatureliness before the Creator. Prayer is a
matter of submitting one’s will to God (Islam)
• Muslims are expected to pray five times a day, facing
Mecca. This creates a sense of participating in a
worldwide fellowship, even when one prays in
solitude.
• Although in Islam no day is set apart from others as
with the Sabbath for Jews or Sunday for Christians,
Friday most nearly approximates a weekly holy day.
• Congregational worship is not stressed as much in
Islam as it is in Judaism and Christianity, but Muslims
are expected to pray in mosques when they can, and
the Friday noon prayer is emphasized.
The Third Pillar: Zakat (Charity)
• Material things are important in life, but some
people have more than others. Why?
• Islam isn’t concerned with this theoretical question.
Instead it turns to the practical issue of what should
be done about the disparity.
• Those who have much should help lift the burden of those who are
less fortunate – a principle that 20th century democracies have
embraced in their concept of the welfare state.
• The amount given away depends on amount of individual’s wealth and
the types of capital assets owned. Normally, 2.5% of all capital assets –
income as well as holdings - should be given away. Charitable gifts
should be given to those in immediate need.
Fasting During the Month of Ramadan: Sawm
• Ramadan is a month in the Islamic calendar – Islam’s holy month, because,
during it, Muhammad received his initial revelation and made his historic
migration (Hijrah) from Mecca to Medina.
• All able-bodied Muslims (who are not ill or involved in crises like war or
unavoidable journeys) fast during Ramadan. From the first moment of dawn
to the setting of the sun, Muslims are not permitted to eat, drink or smoke.
After sundown, they may eat in moderation.
• The Muslim calendar is lunar, so when
Ramadan falls in the summer, this presents
a challenge to remain active during the day
without water.
• Fasting requires discipline and underscores the
creature’s dependence on God. Fasting also sensitizes
people to the needs of others and creates compassion.
The Fifth Pillar: Pilgrimage (Hajj)
Once during his or her lifetime every Muslim
who is physically and economically in a position
to do so is expected to travel to Mecca, where
God’s climactic revelation was first disclosed to
Muhammad.
• The purpose of the pilgrimage (hajj) is to heighten the pilgrim’s devotion
to God and his revealed will.
• The Hajj is also a reminder of human equality. Upon reaching Mecca,
pilgrims remove their normal clothing, which carries marks of social
status and put on two simple sheet-like garments. Distinction, rank and
hierarchy are removed.
• The Hajj brings together Muslims from all
over the world, demonstrating that Muslims
share a loyalty that transcends loyalty to
nations and ethnic groups.
Social Teachings
• What effects in the moral climate have been due to the influence of
Islam?
• The distinctive thing about Islam is not its ideal, but the detailed
prescriptions it sets forth for achieving it.
• Westerners who define religion in terms of personal experience would
never be understood by Muslims, whose religion calls them to
establish a specific kind of social order. Islam joins faith to politics,
religion to society.
• Islamic law plays a huge role in governing Muslims’ lives.
Specific Social Norms
• Islam outlawed primogeniture. Inheritance is shared by all heirs.
• The Koran prohibits the taking of interest.
• The status of women. Koranic reforms improved the status of women. The
Koran leaves open the possibility of woman’s full equality with man.
• The Koran sanctified marriage. The Koran requires that a woman give her
free consent before she may be wed. It also allowed divorce only as a last
resort. Divorce proceedings call for three distinct and separate periods, in
each of which arbiters drawn from both families try to reconcile the two
parties. Both wives and husbands can instigate these proceedings.
• Polygamy. Although the Koran permits a man to have up to four wives,
there is a growing consensus that monogamy is the ideal.
• Veiling of women. Extremes that have evolved from the Koranic injunction
are not religiously binding.
The Legacy of Muhammad
in the Modern World
• Penalties: Is Islamic law excessively harsh?
• Race relations. Islam stresses racial equality.
• Use of force. Jihad (struggle)
• How will Muslims distinguish industrial modernization from
Westernization?
• How to reconcile the Islamic emphasis on unity in light of the forces
of nationalism?
• How to hold on to truth in a pluralistic, relativizing age?
• One person out of every five or six belongs to the Islamic faith and t
he proportion is increasing.