Practices In Islam

• Five Pillars of Islam

  Five compulsory duties that Muslims must try to carry out
• Five Pillars of Islam

  • Shahadah
  • Salah
  • Zakah
  • Sawm
  • Hajj
• Shahadah


  Muslim declaration of faith
• Sunni Muslims' Shahadah: There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is the Prophet of Allah
• Shi'a Muslims' Shahadah: There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is the Prophet of Allah, and Ali is the friend of God
• The Shahadah is said multiple times a day, at birth, and before death
• A person can convert to Islam by saying the Shahadah out loud and meaning it sincerely
• Salah


  Compulsory prayer, taken part in five times a day
• Zakah


  Charitable giving, encourages generosity and compassion
• Sawm


  Obligation to fast during Ramadan, teaches self-discipline and brings Muslims closer to Allah
• Hajj


  Pilgrimage to Makkah (Mecca), compulsory at least once in a lifetime for fit and healthy Muslims who can afford it
• Shi'a Muslims follow the Five Pillars plus another five duties, together referred to as the Ten Obligatory Acts
• Ten Obligatory Acts (Shi'a Islam)

  • Salah - committing to daily prayers
  • Sawm - fasting from just before dawn until sunset
  • Zakah - giving a proportion of your wealth to help the poor
  • Hajj - pilgrimage to Makkah (Mecca)
  • Jihad - the struggle to keep belief in Allah and follow his rules, to follow the Five Pillars of Islam successfully and to defend Islam
  • Khums - 20 per cent annual tax
  • Amr-bil-Maroof - encouraging people to do what is good
  • Nahil Anril Munkar - forbidding evil by discouraging people from doing what is wrong
  • Tawalia - showing love, including both love for God and love for those who follow him
  • Tabarra - disassociation, Shi'a Muslims should not associate with God's enemies
• Shi'a Muslims follow the Five Pillars of Islam plus another five duties, together referred to as the Ten Obligatory Acts
• The Ten Obligatory Acts differentiate Shi'a religious practices from those of Sunni Muslims
• Khums


  20 per cent annual tax paid by Shi'a Muslims on any profit earned
• Five Pillars of Islam

  Compulsory duties that Muslims must try to carry out
• Ten Obligatory Acts (Shi'a Islam)


  • Five Pillars of Islam
  • Plus another five duties
• Tawhid


  The belief in the oneness of Allah
• Shahadah


  A declaration of faith that consists of the statement "There is no god but God"
• Shirk


  The sin of regarding anything as an equal or partner of Allah
• Muslims do not use statues or pictures to help them focus on worship as they believe this can lead to worshipping idols (false gods)
• Salah


  The five daily prayers which are the second Pillar of Islam
• Salah encourages self-discipline and keeps Muslims in close contact with Allah, giving them the strength to remain committed to living a good and purposeful life
• Qur'an: 'And when you have finished your prayer remember God - standing and sitting and lying down and when you are once again secure, observe your prayers fully. Verily, for all believers, prayer is indeed a sacred duty linked to particular times [of day].'
• Praying the same set prayers to the same routine as Muslims all over the world is a sign of solidarity with all other Muslims, showing that everyone is equal
• Wudu


  Ritual washing before salah (prayer)
• Mosque


  Meeting place for prayer, worship and community for Muslims
• Qiblah


  The direction Muslims face when performing Salah - towards the Ka'bah in Makkah (Mecca)
• Mihrab


  Niche in the wall of a mosque at the point nearest to Makkah that the congregation faces to pray
• Niyyah


  The statement of intention made by Muslims beginning compulsory prayer
• Rak'ah


  A unit of bodily actions and recitations from the Qur'an said during prayer
• Once the prayer is over, Muslims are instructed to disperse throughout the land and seek the bounty of Allah, and remember Allah often so they may be successful
• Shi'a Muslims


  Believe in the Imamah, leadership of Ali and his descendants after the Prophet Muhammad
• Sunni Muslims


  Believe in the successorship of Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali as leaders of the Muslim community after the Prophet Muhammad
• Shi'a Muslims combine some prayers, such as the midday and afternoon prayers, and may only pray three times a day, whereas Sunni Muslims only combine prayers if they have a good reason to
• Shi'a Muslims often use natural elements when praying, such as placing a piece of clay at the spot where their head rests, and the movements they make during prayer can also differ from Sunni Muslims
• Mosque


  Meeting place for prayer, worship and community for Muslims
• Qiblah


  The direction Muslims face when performing Salah - towards the Ka'bah in Makkah (Mecca)
• Ka'aba or Ka'bah


  The cube-shaped building in the centre of Makkah (Mecca), which is the most sacred site in Islam