Transcript Document

The Five Pillars of Islam
This lesson:
•What are the names of the 5 pillars
•Why are they called ‘pillars’ of Islam
•Why is it important to understand them
when studying Islam
1. Shahadah
This word means ‘creed’ in Arabic.
A creed is a statement of belief- just as
when Christians say “we believe in the
Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit”.
A creed is therefore a mini-summary of
the most important beliefs in that
religion.
Q.What might the creed to your life be?
The Shahadah of Islam is:
“There is no God (Allah)
but God (Allah), and
Mohammed is his true
prophet.”
2. Salah
Salah means ‘prayer’ in Arabic.
Prayer in Islam is not identical to most
Christian examples. In Islam, prayer is at
set times during a day and is accompanied
by a series of rituals and movements, often
repeated several times.
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3. Saum
Saum means ‘fasting’ in Arabic.
This pillar is carried out every year during
the month of ‘Ramadan’. This is the name of
a month in the Muslim (lunar) calendar.
Because of the lunar basis for the calendar
the month moves from year to year.
During this month Muslims don’t eat or drink
in daylight hours.
4. Zakah
This is a difficult word to translate. It means
‘charity’- though the old fashioned idea of ‘alms’
would be better.
Alms were annual dues which medieval people
paid to the Church and was worked out on the
basis of a person’s wealth and ability to pay.
In Islam ‘zakah’ should be paid once a year, to
help poor Muslims around the Islamic world.
5. Hajj
This pillar means ‘pilgrimage’ in Arabic. It is the
once-in-a-lifetime visit which all Muslims should
make to the holy city of Makkah (the birthplace of
Mohammed and centre of Islam).
The idea of a pilgrimage may sound odd to us
today, but that it is merely a journey made for a
very special reason to visit somewhere or thing
important to you, and you can see how you may
have made a non-religious pilgrimage in your lives
already!
Why is it important to follow the 5 pillars?
•To be a ‘good’ and conscientious Muslim you
should aim to be faithful to the 5 pillars.
•If you follow them, it should encourage you to
think about God regularly and therefore assess
whether your life is in line with God’s
standards.
•DOING isn’t a substitute for FAITH, but actions
can help define you as a Muslim to others and
remind yourself of your identity.
Why are these 5 actions/beliefs called pillars?
Q what does a pillar do for a building?
SUPPORTS
BEAUTIFIES
THEREFORE- why are the 5 actions we’ve
looked at have the name PILLAR??