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The Five Pillars of Islam
The five pillars of Islam make up the basic foundations of belief, for a Muslim. The five pillars consist of:
1. The Belief in the Oneness of God (Allah)
and his Prophet and Messenger, Muhammad
(Peace Be Upon Him).
2. Salaat / Namaaz / or the five daily
prayers
3. Saum / Roza / or Fasting
4. Zakaah / Zakaat or the obligatory
religious tax
5. Hajj or Pilgrimage
The first pillar of Islam constitutes a Muslim's Imaan or Faith which is summed up in Arabic “La Illaha Illal lah Muhammad dur Rasool Allah” which translated literally means: “There is none worthy of worship but Allah and Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) is the messenger of Allah".
Islam is a monotheist religion and its followers are called Muslims and not Moslems and Mohammedans, as is often mistakenly reported around the world. Every Muslim, believes that Allah is completely alone. Allah has no father or mother, no son or daughter, no grandparents. Allah was not born no does he have children. Allah neither sleeps nor eats. Allah is eternal and everlasting. There is no other like Allah. He is the Creator of the entire world and universe. He commands, “Be and it is”!. Allah is free from all human qualities. Allah is divine and unlike anything we know.
Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) is the Prophet and Messenger of Allah. He is NOT the son of Allah; he is however the most revered of all Prophets in Islam and Allah’s favorite amongst the Prophets. Muhammad (PBUH) is NOT worshipped in Islam, only Allah is worshipped and Muhammad (PBUH) is regarded as Allah’s messenger. Muslims donot pray to him, but ask for his intercession for their forgiveness. The Quraan was revealed over 23 years to the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) as a guidance to his followers.
To testify and believe that ‘There is none worthy of worship except Allah and Muhammad (PBUH) is the messenger of Allah’, is what constitutes the First Pillar of Islam.
The second Pillar of Islam is Salaat / Namaaz or the five compulsory daily prayers.
Salaat occupies a high position in Islam. The performance of the five daily prayers is the foremost duty of every Muslim from the age of puberty till death.
Salaat is of such importance that even if a person is sick and not strong enough to stand and perform the prayers, he is allowed to sit and perform them and if he is not able to sit and perform them, then he is allowed to lie down and perform his salaat. This emphasizes the importance of Salaat.
The traveler is also given a concession. If a traveler, travels further than 48 miles from his home town and he is certain that he will return within 15 days, he is allowed to perform only the compulsory prayers. If however he will be away for longer than 15 days then the full Salaat must be performed.
Muhammad (PBUH) has said “Salaat is the best of all that has been ordained by Allah”.
It is during the performance of salaat that Allah’s remembrance is the greatest, that is why Salaat is of such paramount importance, being exceeded only by the proclamation of faith.
There are other types of Salaats for different reasons, i.e.: Salaat for the deceased, Salaat for the Eid festivals, Salaat for the Friday prayer.
The third pillar of Islam is Zakaah / Zakaat or the obligatory tax which is paid to the poor and needy Muslims only. Literally, Zakaah means growth, righteousness, purification and blessing. The payment of Zakaah restrains a person’s greed for material goods, and allows him the opportunity of sharing his wealth with others. It uplifts a person from a life of material greed to one of moral purpose.
Zakaat reduces a persons needs and eases and lessens his suffering. Zakaah is Islams way of ensuring that the poor and deserving are not abandoned. It creates love and unity amongst the wealthy and the destitute. Zakaah is the tax which the poor receive as their right, without any obligation to the payer. It is an act of worship and is compulsory on every Muslim, who has more wealth and possessions than he needs, for his daily living and for the needs of his dependants.
Zakaah is compulsory only on the person who is of a sound mind, he must be an Adult who is in complete ownership of his wealth and all his debts are fully paid. The rate of this tax is two and a half percent (2 ½ %).
Zakaat is payable on gold and silver jewellery, however diamonds, pearls and gemstones that are not for resale or investment purposes are exempt from this tax.
Goods in stock (goods for resale), livestock that graze, cash on hand and in the bank are all taxable for Zakaat.
Furniture, clothes, utensils etc,used on a daily basis, are exempt from Zakaat.
The fourth Pillar of Islam pertains to Saum / Roza or Fasting
Fasting is compulsory on every Muslim from the age of puberty, for the entire month of Ramadan, which is the ninth month of the Islamic year. The fast takes place from predawn to sunset for 29 – 30 days. During this period (predawn to sunset) no eating, drinking or sexual intercourse are permissible and other worldly affairs (going out on outings etc) should be replaced with as much prayer as possible. After sunset, however eating, drinking and sexual relations between husband and wife is permissible.
The intention (Niyaat) of fasting is very important, without this intention the fast will not be valid. The making of the intention can take place from the time one stops eating at predawn till noon.
If one is on a journey or sick, or pregnant, or breastfeeding, or too weak and old, or if ones life is in danger, or if a person is un-conscious or insane; they do not have to fast, however the fasts should be paid back in full once the persons health returns, if this is not possible, then a penalty called Kafaara must be paid.
A woman that is menstruating or bleeding after childbirth, may not fast. However, shetoo must payback all the fasts once Ramadaan is over. A menstuating women must carry on with her fasts
once her period stops and she has taken a bath(Ghusal) to purify herself.
There are other non compulsory fasts that a Muslim can keep for various reasons, however it is totally forbidden to fast on the two days of Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Adha and the 3 days of Hajj (11,12 and 13th day of Hajj).
The fifth and final Pillar of Islam is Hajj or Pilgrimage.
It is compulsory on every Muslim that CAN afford it, to perform at least one Pilgrimage in his/her lifetime.
The person who performs Hajj sincerely and properly returns as sinless as a newborn child, all his sins are forgiven. The performance of Hajj, is a path leading to Paradise (Jannat).
The only persons exempt from performing Hajj are the blind, no matter how wealthy they may be. The beauty of Hajj is that Muslims from all over the world gather at the Kaaba in Mecca, where the Pilgrimage takes place, regardless of sex, color, creed, race, status or wealth, and the only aim for this gathering is to Worship Allah.
The only condition placed upon a woman, is that a male accompanies her whether he be her husband, father, brother or son, just as long as it is someone she is not allowed to marry.
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