The Five Pillars of Islam (Islam, Part Nine)

[To see the entire series on Islam, click here]

The 'five pillars' of Islam are the five obligatory actions which every Muslim is supposed to fulfill.  These are the main unifying acts for Muslims around the world.

The first pillar is the confession of faith, called Shahadah. This is a very brief statement in Arabic, which when translated in English, goes like this: “There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is His Prophet.” All faithful Muslims recite the Shahadah daily. It is not only a formal statement of belief but also an act of submission to God, to be carried out in all the ways that the Quran mentions.

The second pillar is Salat, which are ritual prayer said five times a day anywhere by every Muslim above the age of puberty. The Salat must be said in the Arabic tongue, silently, while kneeling and facing Mecca. Prayers include praise to God, pleas for forgiveness, chapter one of the Quran and another part of the Quran. The prayers end by passing the peace to the believers on either side. Primarily, the prayer acts as an individual's communion with God, where he remembers God, supplicates for the right path, and then gets a response from Him to implement in his life. Then he bows and prostrates, signifying his subserviency to God, His commands and His law. On Friday, men are obligated to attend congregational prayer, including a sermon, though women are not prohibited from this.

The third pillar is Sawm, or fasting. Observance of the sawm involves abstinence from eating, drinking, smoking, sexual intercourse, unruly thoughts, and other forms of worldly pleasure during daylight hours of the month of Ramadan. 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.

The fourth pillar is Zakat, or alms-giving. Zakât refers to spending a fixed portion of one's wealth for the poor, needy, people whose hearts need to be reconciled, slaves, those in debt, in the way of Allah, and the travelers in the society. The payment of zakât is obligatory on all Muslims. In current usage it is interpreted as a 2.5% levy on most valuables and savings held for a full lunar year.

The fifth pillar of Islam is Pilgrimage to Mecca or Hajj. 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. Muslims arrive at the Port of Jeddah, and walk to Mecca. Nearing Mecca, Muslims change into a white cloth called an Ihram. This shows equality among themselves. Rich or poor, black or white, all stand side by side.

On my second trip to Israel in 1996, our tour guide for 10 days was a Muslim Palestinian, Kamel. It so happened that our trip occurred during the month Ramadan, so that Kamel had to fast throughout the day while he was with us. At first it was not obvious to us, but when I saw him not eating lunch, I asked him about it, and he explained about the fasting.

The more orthodox forms of Christianity and Judaism have certain actions that are also mandatory (though probably not so clearly spelled out as in Islam).  I think of the 'praying of the hours' that occur in certain Catholic monastery throughout the day, a practice I encountered on a weekend retreat at the Mount Savior Monastery in Elmira, NY in 1983.  On the plane over to Israel in 1993, a certain orthodox Jew put on his prayer shawl and started praying in the aisle of the plane (with the familiar bobbing), forcing those of us trying to go to the restroom to go down the other aisle.  Evangelical Christianity has normally included a requirement for 'daily devotions', which include reading a passage from the Bible and prayer time.  However, I think it is fair to say that probably most Jews and Christians do not feel that their faith requires them to perform specific daily religious acts, though at the same time those same Jewish or Christian believers do try to 'live out' their faith whenever the opportunity rises.

Shalom/Salam/Eirene/Pax/Peace. (To be continued)