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Five Pillars of Islam
There are Five Pillars of Islam. These acts of worship that the faithful of Islam are supposed to do in order to increase their sense of God and to help create discipline in their attitudes toward others and the use of their time and property. These Pillars are the Shahadah, Salat, Zakat, Sawm Ramadan, and Hajj. These came from the Qur’an and Sunnah and shape the lives of Muslims throughout the world.
The central belief and teaching of Islam is that there is no god but God and Muhammad is the messenger of God. This is also the first pillar of Islam, the Shahadah, and the statement is repeated with every prayer. This belief means that every Muslim should strive to freely accept God as having supreme power over everything and strive to live their lives according to the teachings of God. They should also work to build social institutions that reflect God.
Of the Five Pillars of Islam the easiest for me to perform would be the first or the Shahadah. Using that phrase with every prayer and trying to live up to it are not that different from what I already do. I may not state it with every prayer but it wouldn’t be hard to start doing that if I was to convert to Islam.
The most difficult of the Five Pillars would be the Sawm Ramadan. During the month of Ramadan the faithful of Islam perform a fast called Sawm. They abstain from food, water, evil thoughts, and sexual activity during the day. This is something I would struggle to complete although if I were a faithful Muslim it would be a great teacher. The Sawm is meant to cultivate discipline and also to remind the faithful of those who go hungry daily and motivate them to help bring social justice.
The Five Pillars of Islam are all centered around the main belief of Islam and doing all that is part of them will help a individual come to live the way God wants them to live.
References
Fisher, M. P. (2005). Living religions (6th ed.). New
References: Fisher, M. P. (2005). Living religions (6th ed.). New Jersey: Prentice-Hall. OCG Islam Essay-- The Five Pillars:. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.pluralism.org/resources/tradition/essays/islam7.php