Five Pillars

I have had some previous exposure to Islam in my studies and have always been intrigued by the historically stated fact that Muhammad had a spiritual experience (a revelation) and although reluctant, nevertheless deemed himself a prophet. From his experience a new religion is created and within that religion a set of unique criteria is determined to be devout. Criteria that is not present in any other religion that I am aware of. They are the five acts of devotion to God, usually referred to as “pillars of Islam.”

The first pillar is the “testimony” known in Arabic as shahada ~ it is something that a person needs to say only once in their life, freely and as a believer, to become a Muslim. This is a testament that there is “no god but God” and that “Muhammad is the Messenger of God.”

The second pillar is the foundation of Muslim devotion of ritual prayer service known as salat. It is practiced precisely five times a day (morning, noon, mid-afternoon, sunset and evening). This is a call to prayer where people gather in a formal manner in predetermined areas designated just for prayer and when in prayer they are faced toward the Ka’ba in Mecca.

The third pillar is Almsgiving. This is the giving of one’s wealth somewhat similar to the passing the basket at church. The latter is to support the church and its faithful. Zakat is not charity; it is more like a tax, payable once a year and computed as a percentage of ones wealth. My only previous knowledge of a similar practice is with the Mormon practice of giving approximately ten percent of one’s earnings to the Mormon Church.

The fourth pillar is fasting during the holy month of Ramadan. It is a religious daytime fast that occurs during the ninth lunar month of Ramadan. I have personally viewed this practice through my daughters’ daycare person who is Muslim. She would wake and feed her family/children before sunrise and they were not to eat again until after sunset. I had a hard time conceptualizing how you could impose such a strict practice on children (they were very young at the time). However, it was explained to me that the children were encouraged but not punished if they cannot or do not comply. I understand it is a spiritual discipline to enhance one’s awareness on one’s dependence on God and to renew one’s religious awe.

The final and fifth pillar is Hajj: The Pilgrimage to Mecca. This should be done at least once in ones lifetime, if they can afford it. I saw a film in a previous class that was just amazing in its beauty and explanation of the pilgrimage to Mecca. It addressed the entire process and captured the essence and replication of the journey from Mecca to Medina and provided a clear explanation of the underlying meaning of each day’s movement. Preparations for hajj are a solemn leave taking of one phase of a person’s life to move to a higher and more fulfilled stage. It encompassed the religious beliefs and meaning, human sacrifices and struggles, their will to live and carry their faith forward.

Muhammad, how did you do it? In the reading it stated that he was an enigmatic leader and that the revelations that became the written Quran were “unmatched poetic beauty, miraculous to Muslims, convinced many that it was indeed a revelation from God.”(Pg. 415).

Indeed.