The Five Pillars Of Islam

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Investigating Islam In the investigation of Islam, the five pillars of Islam provide a glimpse of the life and obligations of the Muslim. The main pillars include confession, prayer, fasting, almsgiving, and pilgrimage. This essay will provide a brief overview of the pillars, how prayer is lived out in an individual Muslims life, and how Christians assimilate to Muslim culture in Saudi Arabia. Five Pillars of Islam. Confession The first and foundational pillar of Islamic faith is confession. The Muslim will publicly confess proclaiming “there is no God but God, and Muhammad is the apostle of God” (Corduan, 2012, p.118). In this a person is confirming submission to the authority of one God and the authority that God gave Muhammed (Corduan, …show more content…

The confession and prayers proclaim the Muslim God and prophet. Wrapped around these two, are the fasting and pilgrimage that pay honor and remembrance to the life of Muhammed. The final pillar, almsgiving, supports the Muslim community by giving to the less fortunate. Following these laws confirms the surrender of the Muslim to Allah and Muhammed, and directs them to a life of obedience. There are other laws from the Qur’an regarding such things as dress, food, and marriage but the five mentioned here represent “the central worship obligations of Muslims” (Corduan, 2012, p.125) One Pillar, One Individual The generalization of the pillars of Islam takes on a very personal meaning to the individual Muslim. The individual is obligated to pray five times per day, pray recitations, and attend special Friday Services at the Mosque (Corduan, 2012). Living out this prayer life becomes the foundation of the Muslims lifestyle and time. Scheduling time for prayers means that the Muslim is up early before sunrise and cognitive of the time. Muslims in the western world adapt their prayer schedule to their work schedule, but “in countries such as Saudi Arabia, companies must shut briefly three times a day; it’s against the law to prevent employees from praying” (Mahajan, 2013, p.130). In some areas of the world, the prayer may be heard on loudspeakers to calling Muslims to prayer (Corduan,

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