5 Pillars Of Islam Essay

There are about 1.6 million Muslims in the world which means 23% of the world’s population is Muslim and this makes it the second largest religion in the world. Muslims are the adherents of the Islamic religion. The word Islam comes from the Arabic word meaning “peace” or “submission”. Muslims belong to a monotheistic faith, believing in the one almighty Allah. Islam’s adherents believe that Muhammad is the last most important prophet although they also believe in the prophets Abraham, Noah, Moses and Jesus and many others that are also mentioned in the bible. Muslims follow the 5 pillars of Islam which is a framework of Muslim life. The 5 pillars of Islam are; testimony of faith (Shahada), 5 prayers a day (Salat), giving support to the needy

The book is the collection of revelations that were verbally given by Allah to Muhammad. The Qur’an holds 114 chapters (suras) and every chapter is divided into verses (ayats) and its suras are arranged from shortest to longest. The Qur’an was originally written in Arabic and is not authentic when translated because translations are not accurate but more like interpretation or paraphrases. The revelations were memorized by people called Hafiz. After a battle in which seventy of these Hafiz were killed, it was decided that it should be written down. This made different versions develop and they were all eventually brought together making the Qur’an. The Qur’an is described as a book of guidance. It holds detail to specific historical events and emphasizes the significance of

The word Sharia comes from the Arabic word ‘shari’ah’, meaning a body of morals and religion based on religious beliefs not legislations made by humans. The Sharia covers many topics such as; crime, politics, economics, as well as the more personal issues such as hygiene, sexual intercourse, prayer, diet, everyday etiquette and fasting. The Sunni Sharia law contains four branches which differ in small matters, but like the Shia Sharia law they all agree that ‘kafirs’ (non-Muslims) are not equal to Muslims under the Sharia law.

Sharia law has five categories of behaviour which are:

1. Haraam: This is Arabic for sinful and is used to refer to an action forbidden by Allah, e.g. stealing.

2. Fard- Halal: Simply means permitted and lawful. So for example Halal foods are allowed to be eaten according to the Sharia law.

3. Mustahab: Are actions that fall between encouraged or discouraged and are neither compulsory but simply recommended.

4. Mubah: Are actions which are neither forbidden or recommended but simply indifferent.

5. Makruh: Are actions which are disliked or