Islam – The Five Pil lars of Islam

Dr. Robert Patton

The creed

The Shahada: There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is Allah’s messenger (or prophet)

First thing a baby hears Hopefully the last thing the dying

Muslim hears Repeated throughout l i fe Spoken over the dead

The Shahada

Always done in Arabic Encapsulates the main theology Must be repeat aloud Total comprehension required –

intellectually, emotionally, volit ionally

The Shahada Recited with

Sincerity Genuine love in the heart No reservations Correctly in orthodox form

Assumed to be true to death

The Shahada

Affirmation of monotheism; against polytheism, atheism, materialism, etc.

However, it declares that Muhammad is the (ult imate) prophet of God, and without him is full knowledge of God impossible

The Shahada I t is important to realize that Allah is

NOT Jehovah with a different name Implicit is the denial of the deity of

Christ and the tr inity Allah’s character is different – he is

totally transcendent, has no familial relationship with believers, can l ie, etc.

Prayer (salat) Done to praise Allah – 20:14 Cleansing ritual must be done first

Surah 5:6 Five times a day one is called to prayer

in Arabic by the Muzzin

Prayer (salat) Cleansing ritual must be done first

Surah 5:6 Mosques wil l have a water supply to do

so If necessary, sand or clean dirt can be

substituted

Cleansing ritual Quite complex, washing hands to

wrists after announcing intent in Arabic

Rinsing mouth x3 Cleansing nostri ls 3x

Cleansing ritual Washing face x3 Washing wrist to elbows x3, right,

then left Cleansing forehead, ears, neck,

and then feet & ankles

Cleansing ritual must be redone if things occur…

Invalid with bodily functions Defecation, urination, f latulance Vomiting Flow of blood or pus Fall ing asleep Touching genitals or sexual intercourse

Salat Use a prayer rug Face toward Mecca Five times daily There is a call to prayer 25 times the value when done in the

mosque

Salat

At least 17 rak’ahs bowing to ground twice

All recitation in Arabic After you may pray in another

language if you wish

Salat

Special prayers just before noon on Friday with a sermon.

No singing or musical instrument. Service lasts about one hour

Generally a mechanical act rather than spiritual communication

Salat In the mosque, remove shoes The qibla (direction of prayer toward

Mecca) is shown by a wall with prayer nitches; also a raised pulpit (minbar)

Salat Call to worship (sometimes done

with tape recorder) Women and children always

separate

Christian prayer is different

Not for outward show (hide in your closet..)

Not meaningless words – should be meaningful communication with God

Christian prayer is different

Emphasis is on INWARD purity, not outward

Muslims fear missing – punishment in hell

Christians should pray out of joy to have fellowship with Christ

Giving alms (zakat) Sometimes involuntary (l ike a

tax) and other t imes voluntary Also waqfs – a sort of gift usually

by the wealthy

Giving alms (zakat) The zakat is 2.5% of the income for

most items, but higher for some Advocated in the Qur’an (2:110), and

in the Hadith, the rich are warned if they don’t give alms

Giving alms (zakat) Often given to the poor (they do

not show appreciation – otherwise giver loses benefit)

New converts Building mosques

Giving alms (zakat) Helping travelers, those in debt Those who collect See Surah 9:60

Giving alms (zakat) Muslim giving is a duty Christian tithe should be from joy Muslim zakat often given to build

a mosque rather than help people with hospitals, clean water, etc.

Ramadan (sawm)

9 t h month of lunar calendar – 10 days earlier every year

To teach self-restraint = 2:183 All able adults and adolescents

(some even anyone above 7.

Ramadan (sawm)

Don’t drink (or even swallow saliva)

Excused: travelers, pregnant or menstruating women, elderly and sick

Ramadan (sawm) No smoke is to inhaled; also vomiting

and bloodletting are ?forbidden? If missed, even with medical orders, it is

to be made up Daylight – when one can distinguish a

black and white thread

Ramadan (sawm) Work and school hours are

usually shortened Pious Muslims spend the last 10

days in the mosque Begins with the new moon Denying the fast is a serious sin

Ramadan Read the Qur’an more – many the

entire Qur’an through More religious fervor

Kindness to fel low Muslims Persecution to non-Muslims Pray more often

Ramadan Lailatul Qadr, or the Night of power =

when Muhammad got his f irst revelation

Pray much The night of power is better than 1000

months Ends with Id-al-Fitr, a t ime of

celebration, new clothes, gifts and visits.

Ramadan vs. Christian fast Christian fast is a desire to come

closer to God Muslim fast is obedience to earn

merit toward going to heaven

The Hajj Every Muslim tries to do so at least

once in a l ifet ime – travel to Mecca The focus is on the Ka’aba, a large

block building with the black stone, supposedly built by Adam,

The Hajj Destroyed by Noah’s flood, and rebuilt

by Abraham and Ishmael (tradition) Muhammad removed the other stone

idols and established the Hajj the last year of his l i fe

The Hajj Dhu-al-Hij ja is the month set aside for

the Hajj; three months after Ramadan At Jidda on the coast, all males put on

two simple piece of white cloth to wear. No normal pleasures at this t ime

The Hajj At Mecca, the police check to see that

everyone is a genuine Muslim Many different types of accommodation

The Hajj A large mosque has been placed

around the Ka’aba the transport areas are now

modernized.

The Hajj After ritual cleansing you can enter the

area some into the Ka’aba itself; all try to kiss the black stone. They make a Tawaf, 7 t imes around the

Ka’aba

The Hajj They then go to Al-Hijr, the location of

the night journey reported by Muhammad

Then they run seven times between 2 hil ls l ike Hagar was reported to do unti l Allah made water come from the well of Zamzam

The Hajj They then go to tents outside the

city, and to the Valley of Arafat to the Mount of Mercy

They stand for an entire afternoon asking Allah for forgiveness of sins.

They then camp overnight at a different location.

The Hajj The next step is to get 49 small stones

to take to Mina, throwing them at 3 pil lars representing satan and his power of temptation.

This is t ied with the sacrif ice of Abraham of his son. A small animal is sacrif iced.

The Hajj Men then cut their hair and have fewer

prohibit ions. They return to Mecca for a second trip

around the Ka’aba, then back to Mina a second time to throw stones, and then back to Mecca for the third and f inal tr ip around the Ka’aba

The Hajj Some go to Medina to visit where

Muhammad is buried, and then to the burial sites of his wives and companions before returning home

They then have a tit le Hajj i. Some pay others to take the Hajj for

them