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The Five Pillars of the Islamic Faith

Islamic Beliefs & The Five Pillars

Muslims believe in one God who is unique, all powerful, gracious and merciful to all Muslims. Allah is powerful, strong and very much in control of all things. This has much in common with the Christian view of God, yet differs in that God is much more personal according to the teachings of the New Testament.

In contrast, the Islamic faith is lived out according to five “pillars” that must be adhered to if one is to hope for salvation.

The Five Pillars of Islam are:

1) Reciting the Creed (Shahada) – The profession of faith recited by all Muslims: “There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is his prophet” (or ‘Muhammad is the Messenger of God’);
2) Prayer (Salat) – At five set-times a day while facing towards the city of Mecca;
3) Alms-giving (Zakat) – Zakat means ‘purification’, and giving alms consists of both obligatory giving as well as voluntary giving to the poor;
4) Fasting (Saum) – Especially during the month of Ramadan;
5) Pilgrimage (Hajj) – At least once in a lifetime – to Mecca, Saudi Arabia if at all possible, known as The Hajj.

Pillars are no Guarantee

While a Muslim may observe each of these pillars there is still no guarantee of salvation is Islam. Belonging to a religion of self-earned righteousness, Muslims often think about the Day of Judgement where they believe Allah (or an angel) will take a balance and weigh each persons deeds. His hope is that his good deeds will outweigh his bad deeds, but even then Allah’s judgement is based solely on Allah’s will – not necessarily on justice.

See also  Pray for Muslims on Hajj

Another interpretation is that man’s deeds are written in a book and on the Day of Judgement Allah will open the book and the sum of a man’s account will be placed in either his right or left hand. The only sure way to paradise is to die as a martyr during a holy war.

Muhammad & Jesus

Muhammad is Islam’s highest prophet, but the Qur’an also speaks often of Jesus, known as Isa in Arabic. The Qur’an also refers to Jesus as the Kalimatullah, which means the Word of God. Muslims do not generally believe in Jesus’ death on the cross, His resurrection nor in His deity. Although Jesus is the second highest prophet in Islam, the Isa of the Qur’an is only one prophet among 124,000.

Jinn

The belief of angels and evil spirits, also known as Jinn, plays a very prominent part in the lives of most Muslims. Although the Qur’an states that ‘good and evil comes from Allah’, the belief in Jinn is not founded in orthodox Islam. Instead, it is a result of pagan religions, particularly from Africa and India, being incorporated in Islam.

The Law

Islam incorporates rules for every aspect of life. Within the Qur’an and the Hadith’s there is instruction for every detail of a Muslim’s daily life. The Shari’a – the sacred law of Islam, applies to all aspects of life, not just religious practices. It describes the Islamic way of life, and prescribes the way for a Muslim to fulfill the commands of God and reach heaven.

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3 Comments

  1. Khan,

    Sorry orthodox Sunni Muslims do not hold the view that Jesus (Peace be upon him) died and is buried in Sri Nagar. This is ludicrous.

    This is wrong belief, Jesus (pbuh) was raised up to heaven as a man and not God/Son of God and will return near the end of times, inshaAllah.

    Jesus did not die on the cross, but Allah put someone there and made him resemble Jesus so that it looked like he did die on the cross. And nothing is difficult for Allah.

    For those who say that there were witnesses confirming Jesus died on the cross, of course there were witnesses for what people thought was Jesus but it was not. (There is debate for who that person was, but for Muslims this does not detract from the truth)

    All praises be to Allah alone, the lord of the worlds, who has no partners.

    May he guide you to the right path and bring you all into the fold of Islam. For this is true Salvation.

    There is no diety worthy of worship except Allah and Muhammed (Peace and blessing be upon him) is his final messenger.

    Thanks

  2. No, Muhammad, peace be upon him, did not simply adopt a pagan practice. The Hajj was originally performed by Abraham, peace be upon him, then his descendents, the Arabs who later became pagans, corrupted the Kaaba, and proceeded nudely around it. Amr ibn Luhay, an ancient Arab tribal chief, introduced idol worship to the Kaaba. Also, in the Qur’an God says that the point of praying to the Kaaba is simply a mark of Islamic faith. He says that you can pray to him in any direction, even Jerusalem, but what sets us apart as Muslims is that we pray to the Kaaba, which was built by Abraham, peace be upon him. Also, the Kaaba unites us as Muslims. Almost 2 billion people around the world pray in 1 direction.

    The Qur’an says that those who believe in God and do good deeds in his name and worship him will attain salvation.

    “Islamic Holy War”

    Wow. You just exposed yourself as another Islamophobic Christian fundamentalist. News flash: Jihad is not holy war. Jihad is striving in God’s name. Doing good deeds is considered jihad. Fighting for the rights of the oppressed is considered jihad. Rasulullah, peace be upon him, said that “the best jihad is to speak a word of truth the an unjust ruler”. He also said that fighting the evils of one’s soul is the greater jihad, while fighting a physical enemy is the lesser jihad.

    Islam does not call for holy war. The Qur’an only says to kill people if they try to kill you.

    That one misinterpretation of the word “Jihad” spoke volumes about you. You are a Christian fundamentalist who wants to spread misconceptions about Islam. God has this to say to you:

    “They wish to extinguish the light of Allah with their mouths, but Allah refuses except to perfect His light, although the disbelievers detest it.”-Surah At-Tawbah, Verse 32

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