Transcript Quotations & Referencing

The Five Pillars of Islam
Aim
The aim of this session is
• To explore the five pillars of Islam and their
impact in Muslim life and culture
Back
Objectives
By the end of this session, you should be
able to…
• Identify the Five Pillars of Islam
• Understand the meaning and place of the
Five Pillars within Islam
Back
Structure
Tonight’s class will be divided into three
main sections…
1. Understanding the Five Pillars
2. The Shahadah & the Ritual Prayer
3. The Poor-due, the Fast of Ramadan &
the Pilgrimage
Section I: Understanding the Five Pillars
‘Islam is based on Five Principles’
Narrated Ibn ‘Umar (May Allah be pleased with him):
Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) said:
‘Islam is based on five pillars: To testify
that none has the right to be worshipped
except Allah and that Muhammad is the
Messenger of Allah (shahada); to pray
(salat); to pay the alms-tax (zakat); to
perform the Pilgrimage to Mecca (hajj); to
fast during the month of Ramadan (sawm)’
‘Islam is based on Five Principles’
The Five Pillars are:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
The Attestation of Faith (Shahadah)
The Ritual Prayer (Salat)
The Poor-due (Zakat)
The Fast of Ramadan (Saum)
The Pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj)
Tawhid in Action
• As we saw in the previous session, the central
message of Islam is the Oneness of God (or
tawhid in Arabic).
• Muslims are enjoined to make this Oneness a
part of their everyday lives
• Tawhid is therefore a defining characteristic of
the Muslim world-view and forms part of the
bedrock of Muslim culture
• Historically, this concrete manifestation of tawhid
has taken many forms…
• Let’s look briefly at one such example now…
Manifestations: Islamic Calligraphy
Manifestations: Islamic Calligraphy
The Purpose of Pillars
• In ritual terms, the 5 Pillars are thus seen as
the means of actualising the principal of
tawhid
• In other words, the 5 Pillars are designed to
support the superstructure of Islam
• Therefore, any attempt to understand the
diversity and richness of contemporary
Muslim cultures needs to be based upon an
understanding of the nature and impact of
the 5 Pillars.
Section II: the Shahadah & the Ritual Prayer
Witnessing: the Shahada
•
•
Literally, shahada refers to ‘witnessing’.
It is thus used in the Quran for witnesses to
business transactions:
‘That is more equitable in God’s sight, and more reliable as shahada’
(2:282)
•
•
It is also used to describe a martyr
(Shaheed)
Here though, it refers to the acceptance of
the following tenets:
None has the right to worshipped except God
(or La ilaha ill Allah in Arabic)
Muhammad is the Messenger of God
(Muhammadur Rasul Allah)
Witnessing: the Shahada
• On a deeper level, by declaring the shahada
one is said enter into true knowledge:
‘God bears witness that none has the right to be worshipped but
He – and the angels and the possessors of knowledge – upholding
justice; none has the right to be worshipped but He, the
Inaccessible, the Wise’ (3:18)
• Hence, the verbal affirmation of these two
phrases makes one a Muslim
• In an important sense, therefore, the
shahada can be seen as the gateway to
Islam
Witnessing: the Shahada
• The shahada’s centrality can be seen in
a number of ways…
• Muslims are encouraged to repeat the
shahadah
• It is whispered into the ears of a
newborn baby
• It lies at the heart of the ritual prayer
• It is the central feature of the call to
prayer (adhan)
The Call to Prayer
• The Call to Prayer (Adhan)
• This is given at mosques 5 times every day, before the
beginning of each prayer time
• If you have ever visited a Muslim country, this is what you
will often hear during the early hours
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
‘God is Great, God is Great!
God is Great, God is Great!
I testify that there is no God except God
I testify that there is no God except God
I testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of God
I testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of God
Come to Prayer, Come to Prayer!
Come to Success, Come to Success!
God is Great, God is Great!
There is no God but God’
• There is a slight variation in the early morning prayer
• Also, this is the Sunni version of the Adhan, the Shi’a
version is slightly different again
Prayer in Islam
• Prayer in Islam consists of two distinct
categories:
Supplication (Du’a)
• This is a personal prayer, with no necessarily set
formula (though many prophetic prayers exist)
and can be said at any time
Ritual Prayer: al-Salat
• Salat, by contrast, is a specific act of worship
performed at specified times, usually (though not
always) in congregation. Salat consists of a
number of distinct acts.
• It is this kind of prayer that we will explore here.
The Ritual Prayer
• If the shahada is the first fundamental pillar, the
ritual prayer is arguably of even greater
significance.
• The Prophet (pbuh) is said to have described
salat as the ‘centrepole’ of Islam, suggesting the
image of the main pole of a tent.
• The Quran commands the performance of the
ritual prayer more than any other activity.
• Such is its emphasis that images of the
congregational prayer have come to represent
Islam.
The Ritual Prayer
• Literally, the word salat means ‘to pray’ or ‘to bless’ and is used
in a variety of ways in the Quran:
• God and the Angels perform salat:
– ‘It is He who performs the salat over you, and His angels, that He
may bring you forth from the darknesses into the light’ (33:43)
• All of creation performs salat, by virtue of their innate
submission to the Divine Will:
– ‘Have you not seen that everyone in the Heavens and the earth
glorifies God and birds spreading their wings? Each one knows its
salat and its glorification’ (24:41)
• As we saw previously, Muhammad did not conceive of his faith
as new but as a continuation of past revelations.
• Thus, past prophets and communities are also believed to have
been commanded to observe the ritual prayer by God:
– ‘And We delivered [Abraham], and Lot … And We revealed to them
the doing of good deeds and the performance of the salat’ (21:7173)
The Ritual Prayer Described
• The ritual prayer is of central significance in
Islam
• Its structure attempts to remind Muslims of the
Oneness and centrality of God.
• A means of purification
• The Prophet is reported to have said:
– ‘If there was a river at the door of anyone of you and
he took a bath in it five times a day would you notice
any dirt on him? ... That is the example of the five
prayers with which God annuls evil deeds’ (Bukhari
4:330)
• Prayer is obligatory for all sane Muslims, male
and female, from puberty onwards.
The Ritual Prayer Described
• There are 5 required prayers each day, with set times:
• Fajr (‘the dawn prayer’): occurs before the sun rises
• Zuhr (approx. ‘the noon prayer’): occurs just after the sun
has passed from directly overhead
• Asr (‘the late afternoon prayer’): occurs as the sun begins to
decline into the west
• Maghrib (‘the sunset prayer’): occurs just after the sun has
disappeared beneath the horizon
• Isha (‘the night prayer’): occurs once true night has fallen
• Prayer times themselves aim to reflect tawhid…
• Marking shifts from one phase of the day to another
• Prayer is actually forbidden as sun rises, moves and sets
• God is responsible for the cycles of day and night
The Ritual Prayer Described
• To pray, a state of ritual purity (wudu) is required, which can be acquired
through a set formula of ablution
• Simplified Stages of the Prayer…
• Standing: the opening chapter (surah al-fatihah) of the Quran is recited,
along with a second portion (which can vary greatly in length)
• Bowing: the supplication ‘Glory to my Lord, the Tremendous’ is said 3
times
• Prostration: whilst touching the nose and forehead to the ground, the
supplication ‘Glory to my Lord, the Most High’ is repeated 3 times
• This is arguably the most important phase of the prayer
• Aims to symbolise complete submission to God’s will
• Along with a second prostration, this completes one prayer cycle (rak’at)
• Different prayers are made of different numbers of cycles
• After the final prostration, the prayer concludes with a sitting in which
the shahada is said and blessings are invoked upon the Prophet
• The taslim: this is the final act and it consists of saying ‘peace be upon
you’ to the right and left
Questions
?
Section III: the Remaining Pillars
Islam & Society: the Poor-due
• Zakat (the ‘poor-due’) is mentioned next to
almost every reference to prayer, underlining its
significance.
• Zakat literally means ‘purification’
• In this sense, it literally refers to the purification
of one’s wealth through the giving of charity
• Zakat is a compulsory tax of 2.5% on surplus
wealth
• Payable on a wide range of property and wealth
• Zakat is used to provide for the certain
categories of people, such as the poor and
needy, to help those in debt, to free captives and
to help travellers, amongst other things (9:60).
Islam & Society: the Poor-due
• Zakat thus attempts to convey the idea
that, because wealth comes ultimately
from God, a portion of it should be used to
help the less fortunate.
• Although only those with sufficient excess
wealth are expected to pay the Zakat, it is
considered to be an essential pillar of
Islam.
• This is because of God’s insistent
command that it be paid and also because
of its cohesive social quality.
Calculating Zakat
• Zakat is calculated according to excess
wealth above a set limit for one year
• In contemporary Britain, the limit currently
stands at approximately £1,000 of excess
wealth
• ‘Excess wealth’ does not include necessities
such as food, clothing, housing, etc.
• A Muslim who has over this limit (nisab) is
required to pay 2.5% of their excess wealth
The Fast of Ramadan
• The Quran declares:
‘O you who have believed, decreed upon you is fasting as it was
decreed upon those before you that you may become righteous’
(2:183)
• The purpose of fasting is thus to develop the quality of
righteousness.
• The Quran defines righteousness in the following manner:
– ‘Righteousness is not that you turn your faces to the east or the
west, but [true] righteousness is [in] one who believes in God, the
Last Day, the Angels, the Book, and the prophets and gives wealth,
in spite of the love for it, to relatives, orphans, the needy, the
traveller, those who ask [for help], and for freeing slaves; [and who]
establishes prayer and gives zakat; [those who] fulfil their promise
when they make one; and [those who] are patient in poverty and
hardship…’ (2:177)
• It is also an attempt to help Muslims understand, in a direct
physical sense, the hardship of hunger and thirst, so that
they may empathise with those less fortunate than
themselves.
Ramadan
• Ramadan is the 9th month of the Islamic
calendar
• Because the calendar is a lunar one, the
timing of Ramadan shifts backwards by
about 10 days each year.
• Ramadan thus falls in different months in
different years.
• Although the fast itself is a trial, Muslims
look forward to Ramadan, as it is a time for
reflection, re-dedicating the self and for
getting together with the family
Fasting
• The fast itself commences before the beginning of
the dawn prayer and ends at sunset
• Those who are ill, on a journey or pregnant must
make up their fasts later
• During the fast, food, drink and sexual intercourse
are forbidden
• On a deeper level, the fast is also about trying to
overcome your lower desires, in order to purify
yourself
• Thus, lying, swearing and other such things are
also forbidden
After the Fast
• Once the fast has ended, families usually visit
one another for meals
• Special prayers are also said in mosques during
Ramadan, in which the entire Quran is recited.
• Individuals are also encouraged to read the
Quran and pray as much as possible
themselves.
• Ramadan ends once the new moon has been
sighted and Eid (or ‘festival’) begins.
• Eid al-fitr is a festival commemorating the end of
Ramadan and is accompanied by a special
prayer and also often by special meals.
Questions
?
Pilgrimage to the House
• The fifth pillar of Islam is the Hajj, or the
pilgrimage to the Ka’aba in Mecca
• The Ka’aba is seen by Islam as the first temple
established on earth for the worship of God.
• According to the Quran, Abraham and Ishmael
laid the foundations of the Ka’aba and initiated
the hajj.
• Muhammad is thus not seen as its originator, but
rather as its reviver.
• This is an important distinction, as the Hajj was
also observed by the Meccan opponents of
Muhammad
The Hajj
• The hajj itself takes place in the 12th month of the Islamic
calendar (dhu’l hijjah, or the month of hajj)
• As the fifth pillar, the hajj in a sense represents the final
concrete expression of Islam.
• That is, it has traditionally been seen as marking the end of
one phase of life and the beginnings of another
• This is perhaps easier to understand when we realise that it
is only with the recent arrival of air travel that travelling vast
distances has become a reality available to most people.
• The hajj has therefore traditionally been seen as a
preparation for death; before setting off, the pilgrim has to
ensure their affairs are put in order, as they may not return.
• This is also why someone returning from the pilgrimage is
accorded a certain prestige, being honoured with the term
hajji or hajjah
The Rituals of Hajj
• Although it is beyond our scope to look at
the rituals of hajj in detail here, a few
observations are in order.
• Each of the rituals is designed to focus the
mind directly on God and to link the
individual with Islam’s sacred history.
• There is a circumambulation of the Ka’aba
(known as the Bait Allah, or ‘House of
God’), as well as a ritual running between
the hills of Safa’ and Marwa, amongst
other things
The Rituals of Hajj
• The culmination of the Hajj
• Finally, sheep and goats are sacrificed and their
meat given to the poor and needy.
• This act is also performed by Muslims throughout
the world and marks the second Eid (or festival),
that of Eid al-Adha (‘the feast of sacrifice’)
• You can find out more about the hajj at:
• http://www.channel4.com/life/microsites/H/hajj/inde
x.html
• Video diaries and virtual tours are available
The Hajj in Pictures
© 2006 Abdur Rahman