Islam practices

• The Five Pillars

  • Shahadah - the declaration of faith
  • Salah - prayer
  • Zakah - charitable giving
  • Sawm - fasting
  • Hajj - pilgrimage
• The Ten Obligatory Acts

  • Salah - prayer
  • Sawm - fasting
  • Zakah - charitable giving
  • Khums - 20% tax (half goes to charity and half to religious leaders)
  • Hajj - pilgrimage
  • Jihad - the struggle to maintain the faith and defend Islam from threat
  • Jihad - the struggle to maintain the faith and defend
  • Amr-bil-Maruf - encouraging people to do what owing love for God and people who follow
  • Nahi Anil Munkar - discouraging people from doing what owing love for God and people who follow
• Shahadah

  The Muslim declaration of faith, expressing the basic beliefs of Islam
• To become a Muslim, a person only has to sincerely recite the Shahadah in front of Muslim witnesses
• The Shahadah is recited many times during a Muslim's life, including at birth and before death
• Salah

  The duty of prayer, performed five times a day by Sunni Muslims and three times a day by Shi'a Muslims
• Performing salah

  1. Perform ritual washing (wudu) before prayer

  2. Face the direction of Makkah

  3. Pray in a mosque with men and women in separate groups, led by an imam
• Wudu

  • Washing the face, hands and feet to become spiritually clean before prayer
  • Can be done with sand or dust if water is not available
• Direction of prayer

  Muslims face the direction of Makkah when praying, indicated by the mihrab in a mosque
• Rak'ah

  The set sequence of actions and recitations that make up each part of a prayer
• Each prayer consists of a certain number of rak'ah, which include standing, bowing, kneeling and prostrating
• Jummah prayer

  A special communal prayer held every Friday at midday, which men are expected to attend
• Muslims are allowed to pray at home, but must still perform wudu and face the direction of Makkah
• Prayer is important in Islam because it unites Muslims, brings them closer to God, and motivates them to do God's will
• Ramadan

  The most important month in the Islamic calendar, when the angel Jibril started to reveal the Qur'an to Muhammad
• What Muslims do during Ramadan

  1. Fasting (not eating or drinking during daylight hours)

  2. Studying the Qur'an

  3. Giving to charity

  4. Trying to please God
• Night of Power

  The night when Jibril first started to recite the Qur'an to Muhammad
• The command to fast during Ramadan was revealed to Muhammad and can be found in the Qur'an
• Fasting during Ramadan has been obligatory for Muslims since the seventh century
• What fasting during Ramadan involves

  1. Getting up before sunrise to eat and drink

  2. Forbidden from food, drink, smoking and sex during daylight hours

  3. Breaking the fast at sunset, often with family and friends, followed by extra prayers and Qur'an readings
• Who can be excused from fasting during Ramadan

  • Children
  • People who are ill
  • Pregnant people
  • Breastfeeding people
• Purpose of fasting during Ramadan

  • Shows obedience and dedication to God
  • Inspires helping those in poverty
• The Night of Power is when Jibril first appeared to Muhammad and started revealing the Qur'an
• Qur'an 96:1-5: 'Read! In the name of your Lord who created: He created man from a clinging form [a blood clot]. Read! Your Lord is the Most Bountiful One who taught by [means of] the pen, who taught man what he did not know.'
• The exact date of the Night of Power is unclear, but it is believed to be one of the odd-numbered dates in the second half of Ramadan
• Observing the Night of Power is thought to give Muslims the benefits of worshipping for a thousand months
• Qur'an 97:2-3: 'What will explain to you what that Night of Glory is? The Night of Glory is better than a thousand months.'
• Zakah

  Requirement for Muslims to give 2.5% of their savings to charity every year
• Khums

  20% of Shi'a Muslims' savings, half of which goes to Shi'a religious leaders and half to charity
• Giving to charity is mentioned a number of times in the Qur'an
• Nisab

  The minimum amount of savings that requires a Muslim to give Zakah
• Purpose of Zakah

  • Fulfilling a duty to God
  • Strengthening the Muslim community by supporting the poorest
  • Encouraging a good attitude towards money and using wealth to please God
  • A type of purification that helps Muslims become closer to God
• Zakah vs Khums

  Zakah is 2.5% of savings, Khums is 20% of savings
• In addition to Zakah and Khums, Muslims are encouraged to voluntarily give their money and time to charity at any point of the year through Sadaqah
• Hajj is an annual pilgrimage that starts and ends in the city of Makkah (Mecca) in Saudi Arabia
• Purpose of Hajj

  • Remembers the actions of the prophet Ibrahim and his family
  • Strengthens a Muslim's faith and shows their commitment to God
• Origins of Hajj

  1. God told Ibrahim to take his wife Hajira and son Ishmael to Arabia

  2. God told Ibrahim to leave Hajira and Ishmael on their own

  3. Hajira and Ishmael survived by trading water for food and supplies

  4. Hajira prayed to God for help, and water began to gush up from the earth

  5. God told Ibrahim to build a shrine dedicated to him - the Ka'aba
• Significance of Hajj

  • Reminds Muslims of the good examples set by the prophets
  • Produces inner peace
  • Brings a person closer to God
  • Leads to a person's sins being forgiven
  • Shows self-discipline and dedication to God
  • Emphasises equality and unity
• Hajj is important because it fulfils a religious obligation
• What happens on Hajj

  1. Entering a state of Ihram

  2. Circling the Ka'aba

  3. Walking between the two hills of Safa and Marwah

  4. Standing at Arafat

  5. Throwing pebbles at Mina

  6. Sacrificing an animal