The Five Pillars of Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Five Pillars of - analyze Examplencerely reciting the Muslim profession of faith, Salat performing ritual prayers in the proper way quintuplet times each day, Zakat paying an alms (or charity) tax to benefit the poor and the needy, Sawm fasting during the month of Ramadan, Hajj expedition to Mecca. (bbc.co.uk, 2009)The first newspaper column, Shahadah requires that Muslims recite There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his messenger (bbc.co.uk, 2009). This is an important requirement, a prison-breaking of which might amount to blasphemy and even apostasy. This rule ensures that an individual member of the faith completely and flatly submits himself to Allah and his messenger Prophet Muhammad.The Salat, the second pillar of Islam is a way to discipline the mind and body by offering prayers five times a day. The ideal times to perform these prayers are dawn, midday, late after(prenominal)noon, after sunset and before midnight. This habit is inculcated into children as you ng as seven years of age, so that they exit continue it in their adult lives. Since Islam was founded in the Middle-East, which is close to the equator, the Salat helped organize a day into divers(prenominal) parts. There is evidence to suggest that the Salat has been practiced by Muslims since the time of Prophet Mohammad in seventh Century A.D. (Fareed, 2008, p.60)The third pillar, c onlyed the Zakat serves a social and economic function in that it ensures that the meek and the poor secure their basic needs fulfilled. Zakat serves a function, which in modern nation-states would be termed a social welfare mechanism. What is uncommon about this observance is that it offers a practical solution to the problem of poverty among Islamic communities.The fourth pillar is the Sawm, which stands for fasting. The most devout expression of this pillar of Islam is during the month of Ramadan. During this month, Muslims do not take food or drink of any kind during day time. They also abstai n from smoking and sexual intercourse. While all Muslims aspire