practices

• The five pillars are the five most important duties for all muslims
• The five pillars are the fundamental practices of Islam which everything else is built from
• The five pillars are seen as key to living a perfect muslim life
• The ten obligatory acts combine the five pillars with some additional duties - they are followed by Twelver Shi'a muslims
• The five pillars:

  1. SHAHADAH - the declaration of faith
  2. SALAH - prayer
  3. ZAKAH - charitable giving
  4. SAWM - fasting
  5. HAJJ - pilgrimage
• the ten obligatory acts:

  1. Salah - prayer
  2. Sawm - fasting
  3. Zakah - charitable giving
  4. Khums - 20% tax (half to religious leaders half to charity)
  5. Hajj - pilgrimage
  6. Jihad - struggle to maintain faith and defend islam
  7. Amr-birl-Maruf - encouraging people to do what is good
  8. Nahi Anil Munkar - discouraging people from doing what is wrong
  9. Tawallah - showing love for God and people who follow him
  10. Tabarra - not associating with the enemies of God
• Shahadah - "There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is the prophet of Allah" - important phrase to muslims as it expresses the core beliefs of Islam
• Shahadah is considered the foundation for the four other pillars (which tell a muslim how to live according to the beliefs expressed in the Shahadah)
• Shi'a muslims add an extra phrase to the Shahadah - "and Ali is the friend of God" - expresses their belief that Ali was the true successor to Muhammad
• To become a muslim a person only has to recite the Shahadah in front of a muslim witness with meaning
• The Shahadah is recited many times in a muslim's life - if born into a muslim family it is the first thing they hear and if possible the last thing they say when they die
• Sunni muslims pray 5 times a day
• Shi'a muslims pray 3 times a day
• Muslims perform Wudu (ritual washing) before praying to make themselves spiritually clean
• Muslims always face the city of Makkah when praying
• Sunni muslim prayer times:

  1. Fajr - just before sunrise
  2. Zuhr - just after midday
  3. Asr - afternoon
  4. Maghrib - just after sunset
  5. Isha - night
• Shi'a muslims combine the afternoon and midday prayer
• Shi'a muslims also combine the sunset and night prayer
• Shi'a muslims believe in only using natural elements while prostrating themselves in prayer - place a clay tablet in the spot where their forehead will rest
• Wudu - washing of face, hands and feet under running water (if water isn't available muslims will use sand or dust instead - Wudu is about becoming spiritually clean not physically)
• in a mosque the mihrab (small niche in the qiblah wall) indicates the direction of Makkah - they can also use a special compass
• The purification of wudu helps muslims fully focus on God in their prayers
• Praying in the same direction means all muslims are focusing on one place associated with God
• Prayers in the mosque are lead by an imam
• Men and women pray at the same time but in separate places
• Prayers are made up of a number of rak'ah (set sequences of actions and recitations)
• The rak'ah (set sequences of actions and recitations) changes slightly depending on which prayer it is used in
• The rak'ah usually follows these steps:

  1. stand and recite the first chapter from the Qur'an
  2. bow (to show respect to God) and recite in Arabic "Glory be to my Lord who is the very greatest) 3 times
  3. stand and make a recitation praising God
  4. kneel with the forehead, nose, hands, knees and toes touching the floor (prostration) - shows obedience to God
  5. recite "How perfect is my Lord the most high"
  6. recite "God is the greatest" while sitting then while prostrating
• The Jummah prayer is a special communial prayer held every Friday at midday
• All men are expected to attend a mosque for the Jummah prayer - women may do if they wish
• After the Jummah prayer the imam will give a sermon that reminds muslims about their duties to God
• Muslims are usually allowed to pray at home and women often do so if they have children to look after or find it hard to attend a mosque
• Muslims still perform Wudu when praying at home but they don't need a special prayer room
• Some muslims emphasise the ritualistic parts of prayer but others focus more on the spiritual quality of prayer
• Prayer is important because it helps muslims become closer to god
• Prayer is important for muslims because it unites muslims around the world as they all pray in the same way
• Prayer motivates muslims to do God's will
• Muslims believe they have been commanded by God to pray - making it important
• The action of prostrating and bowing reminds muslims that God is greater than them
• Ramadan is the most important month in the islamic calendar as it is when the angel Jibril started to reveal the Qur'an to Muhammad