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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