Islam: practices

• what are the five pillars of islam

  • shahadah -delcaration of faith
  • salah - five daily prayers
  • zakah - giving of wealth as a tax
  • sawm - fasting during ramadan
  • Hajj - pilgrimage
• what are the ten obligaroty acts(furu'al-din)

  • shahadah - declaration of faith
  • salah - obligatory prayers
  • hajj - pilgrimage
  • zakah - Alms giving
  • sawm - fasting during ramadan
  • khums - annual taxation(20%)
  • amr -bil- maroof - commanding what is right
  • Nahi anil Munkar - forbidding what is wrong
  • Tawalla - loving what is good
  • Tabarra - hating what is worng and evil
• what is the sin against shahadah

  shirk
• what is the wudu

  steps taken to cleanse on'e self before praying to Allah to signify Allah's holiness
• steps for wudu

  • hands are washed
  • the mouth is rinsed(3)
  • the nose is washed and blown out (3)
  • whole face is washed(3)
  • both arms to elbow, starting with right, are washed(3)
  • both feet are washed up to ankle(shi'a just wipe them)
• what are rak'ahs

  a sequence of prayer
• what is the significace of the jumu'ah prayer

  to show devotion to worshipping Allah. they must face the makkah when praying. every friday.
• what is Du'a

  supplication. private prayer by muslims to Allah - shows his immanence.
• muslims use the prayer beads to praise Allah by reciting phrases or his 99 names. however some muslims will use their hand to count recitations(muhammed didnt use them).
• zakah means purification because it is taught to purify a person's heart of greed. the minimum amount required to pay is called the Nisab. each muslim knows they are accountable to Allah on judgement day.
• muslims may choose to make further voluntary donations known as sadaqah and shows his sincerity to the faith.
• khums, by shi'a muslims, are given to religious scholars to ensure it is utilised correctly
• when is sawm performed

  during ramadan on the ninth month of the islamic year.
• significance of participating in sawm

  • muslims belive their sins will be forgiven
  • appreciate the needs of others
  • greater sense of sympathy
  • self discipline and abedience to Allah
  • thankful for Allah
  • being midful of Allah's presence(being Muttaqi)
• during ramadan, fasting is started with suhur then broken with iftar
• importance of last ten days of ramadan

  believed to be when night of power happened, muslims aim to worship Allah as much as possible during these days.
• end of ramadan is marked by the celebration of id - ul - Fitr. kids are given gifts and its a day of celebration.
• Sequence of Hajj - pilgrimage to Makkah

  1. Muslims are validated of their faith as only muslims are allowed to enter the Makkah because it is scared to Islam

  2. TAWAF is performed - circling Kabba 7 times(they say Niyyah before)

  3. SA'Y is performed - running between 2 hills know as As-Safa and Al-Marwa(to re-enact hagar's search for water when she was left alone in the deasert with her son Isma'il)

  4. after Fajr(dawn prayer)muslims travel to the mount of mercy to ask Allah for forgiveness - most important ritual of the journey

  5. muslms move to Muzdalifah where they will complete their sunset and night prayers and collect 49 stones

  6. Iblis stoning on the tenth of Dhul-Hijjah at Mina to symbolise rejection of the devil's temptations

  7. many muslims will then sacrifice an animal to thank Allah for his gifts

  8. some muslim men will trim their hair to signify the coming out of the state of Ihram
• festival of sacrifice - Id-ul- Adha

  • major muslim fectival
  • animal sacrifice and lasts up to 3 days
• Id-ul- Ghadeer

  • celebrate Muhammed's last sermon
  • appointed Ali Ibn as his successor
  • verse of announcement was revealed to him
• Asura

  • muhammed dedicated to fasting
  • hassagn's death is understood to be symbol of struggle against injustice and oppression
  • participating in public expressions of mourning
• what is Jihad

  • one of ten obligatory acts
  • greater jihad - struggle to control bad desires and intentions - brings pleasure to Allah
  • lesser jihad - outer struggle, often linked with military struggle(link to JWT)
• sunni muslims do not celebrate Id-ul- Ghadeer because they believe muhamed only called on Ali Ibn to be respected not as his successor.
• Shia muslims celebrate Id-ul- Ghadeer because they believe that Muhammad appointed Ali ibn as his successor during this event.