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To speak to a friendly Muslim about Islam call (800) 662-4752 (or) 
E-Book: A Brief Illustrated Guide to Understanding Islam
The Five Pillars of Islam
The Five Pillars of Islam are the five duties incumbent upon every Muslim. They are the Shahada (testimony of faith), Salah (prayer), Zakah (alms giving), Sawm (fasting during the month of Ramadan, and Hajj (pilgrimage to Makkah).
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1. Shahada – The Testimony of Faith:
The testimony of faith is saying with conviction, "La ilaha illa Allah, Muhammadur rasoolu Allah." This saying means There is no true god (deity) but God (Allah), and Muhammad is the Messenger (Prophet) of God." The first part, There is no true god but God," means that none has the right to be worshipped but God alone, and that God has neither partner nor son. This testimony of faith is called the Shahada, a simple formula which should be said with conviction in order to convert to Islam. The testimony of faith is the most important pillar of Islam.
2. Salah – Prayer:
Muslims perform five prayers a day. Each prayer does not take more than a few minutes to perform. Prayer in Islam is a direct link between the worshipper and God. There are no intermediaries between God and the worshipper.
In prayer, a person feels inner happiness, peace, and comfort, and that God is pleased with him or her. The Prophet Muhammad said: {Bilal, call (the people) to prayer, let us be comforted by it.} Bilal was one of Muhammad's companions who was charged to call the people to prayers.
Prayers are performed at dawn, noon, mid-afternoon, sunset, and night. A Muslim may pray almost anywhere, such as in fields, offices, factories, or universities.
3. Zakah – Alms-giving:
All things belong to God, and wealth is therefore held by human beings in trust. The original meaning of the word zakat is both 'purification' and 'growth.' Giving zakat means giving a specified percentage on certain properties to certain classes of needy people. The percentage which is due on gold, silver, and cash funds that have reached the amount of about 85 grams of gold and held in possession for one lunar year is two and a half percent. Our possessions are purified by setting aside a small portion for those in need, and, like the pruning of plants, this cutting back balances and encourages new growth.
A person may also give as much as he or she pleases as voluntary alms or charity.
4. Sawm – Fasting the Month of Ramadan:
Every year in the month of Ramadan, all Muslims fast from dawn until sundown, abstaining from food, drink, and sexual relations.
Although the fast is beneficial to health, it is regarded principally as a method of spiritual self-purification. By cutting oneself off from worldly comforts, even for a short time, a fasting person gains true sympathy with those who go hungry, as well as growth in his or her spiritual life.
The end of Ramadan is marked by celebration of Eid al-Fitr (Festival of the Break Fast)
5. Hajj – The Pilgrimage to Makkah:
The annual pilgrimage (Hajj) to Makkah is an obligation once in a lifetime for those who are physically and financially able to perform it. About two million people go to Makkah each year from every corner of the globe. Although Makkah is always filled with visitors, the annual Hajj is performed in the twelfth month of the Islamic calendar. Male pilgrims wear special simple clothes which strip away distinctions of class and culture so that all stand equal before God.
Pilgrims praying at the Haram mosque in Makkah. In this mosque is the Kaaba (the black building in the picture) which Muslims turn toward when praying. The Kaaba is the place of worship which God commanded the Prophets Abraham and his son, Ishmael, to build.
The rites of the Hajj include circling the Kaaba seven times and going seven times between the hillocks of Safa and Marwa, as Hagar did during her search for water. Then the pilgrims stand together in Arafa5 and ask God for what they wish and for His forgiveness, in what is often thought of as a preview of the Day of Judgment.
The end of the Hajj is marked by a festival, Eid Al-Adha (Festival of Sacrifice), which is celebrated with prayers.
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The Six Article of Faith
1. Belief in Allah (God), the one and only one worthy of worship.
Islam's fundamental theological concept is tawheed—the belief that there is only one God. The Arabic term for God is Allāh. The first of the Five Pillars of Islam, tawheed is expressed in the shahadah (testimony), which declares that there is no god but Allah, and that Muhammad is Allah's messenger. In Islamic theology, God is beyond all comprehension; Muslims are not expected to visualize God but to worship and adore him as a protector. God is described in the chapter 112 of the Qur'an as "…God, the One and Only; God, the Eternal, Absolute; He begetteth not, nor is He begotten; And there is none like unto Him."
2. Belief in the Angels.
Belief in angels is crucial to the faith of Islam. The Arabic word for Angels (malak) means "messenger", like its counterparts in Hebrew (malakh) and Greek (angelos). According to the Qur'an, angels do not possess free will, and worship God in perfect obedience. Angels' duties include communicating revelations from God, glorifying God, recording every person's actions, and taking a person's soul at the time of death. They may also be sent to help humans as God wills.
3. Belief in the Holy Books sent by God
The Islamic holy books are the records dictated by God to prophets. They are the Suhuf Ibrahim (commonly the Scrolls of Abraham), the Tawrat (Torah), the Zabur (the Psalms), the Injeel (the Gospel), and the Qur'an. The Arabic word 'Kutub' literally means 'books' and the Qur'an uses this word to refer to revealed scriptures. Belief in all these books is a fundamental tenet of Islam. However, Islam states that the first four of the aforementioned books and all other books sent by God have been lost or corrupted, and that the Qur’an is the final and complete version of God's word. Muslims also believe the Quran is the exact word of God told to Muhammad by the Angel Jibra'il (Gabriel).
4. Belief in all the Prophets and Messengers sent by God.
A Muslim believes in all the Messengers and Prophets of God without any discrimination. All messengers were mortals, human beings, endowed with Divine revelations and appointed by God to teach mankind. The Holy Qur’an mentions the names of 25 messengers and prophets and states that there are others and the hadeeths state there are 124,000. These include Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad (peace be upon all of them). Their message is the same and it is Islam and it came from One and the Same Source; God, and it is to submit to His will and to obey His laws.
5. Belief in Resurrection (life after death) and the Day of Judgment
Belief in the Yawm al-Qiyāmah (Day of Resurrection) is also crucial to Muslim beliefs. The time of Qiyāmah is preordained by God but unknown to man. The trials and tribulations preceding and during the Qiyāmah are described in the Qur'an and the hadeeth, and also in the commentaries of Islamic scholars. The Qur'an emphasizes bodily resurrection, a break from the pre-Islamic Arabian understanding of death. It states that resurrection will be followed by the gathering of mankind, culminating in their judgment by God.
The Qur'an lists several sins that can condemn a person to hell, such as disbelief, usury and dishonesty. Muslims view paradise as a place of joy and bliss, with Qur'anic references describing its features and the physical pleasures to come.
6. Belief in Predestination.
In accordance with the Islamic belief in predestination, or divine preordainment, God has full knowledge and control over all that occurs. This is explained in Qur'anic verses such as "Say: 'Nothing will happen to us except what Allah has decreed for us: He is our protector'…" For Muslims, everything in the world that occurs, good or evil, has been preordained and nothing can happen unless permitted by God. In Islamic theology, divine preordainment does not suggest an absence of God's indignation against evil, because any evils that do occur are thought to result in future benefits people may not be able to see. According to Muslim theologians, although events are pre-ordained, man possesses free will in that he has the faculty to choose between right and wrong, and is thus responsible for his actions. According to Islamic tradition, all that has been decreed by God is written in al-Lawh al-Mahfūz, (The Preserved Tablet) |
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