Islam Practices

• the 5 pillars

  -shahadah, zakah, salah, sawm, hajj

  -central to muslim practices. they are key to living a perfect muslim life. they show obedience and dedication to god
• the 10 obligatory acts in shi'a islam

  salah, sawm, zakah, khums, hajj, jihad, amr-bil-maruf, nahi anil munkar, tawallah, tabarra
• salah - obligatory act

  -prayer
• sawm - obligatory act

  -fasting
• zakah - obligatory act

  -charitable giving
• khums - obligatory act

  -20% tax on income. half goes to charity and the other half to shi'a leaders
• hajj - obligatory act

  -pilgrimage
• jihad - obligatory act

  -the struggle to maintain the faith. greater and lesser jihad
• amr-bil-maruf - obligatory act

  -encouraging people to do what is good
• nahi anil munkar - obligatory act

  -discouraging people from doing what is wrong
• tawallah - obligatory act

  -being loved towards the friends of god, muhammad and the imams
• tabarra - obligatory act

  -disassociating from the enemies of gods
• the shahadah

  -in arabic it is 'la ilaha illa allah wa - muhammad rasul allah"

  -muslims recite this in front of muslim witnesses to join the muslim community

  -it is said many times in a muslim's life

  -it is said when a baby is born, so the first thing they hear is the basic belief of the faith they are born into

  -it is included in the daily prayers

  -if possible, it becomes the last words of a muslim before they die
• why the shahadah is important

  -it is the foundation for the other 4 pillars

  -the other pillars the shahadah put into practice

  -this also applies to the additional 5 obligatory acts found in shi'a islam
• sunni quote for the shahadah

  "there is no god but allah and muhammad is the prophet of allah"
• shi'a quote for the shahadah

  "there is no god but allah and muhammad is the prophet of allah and ali is the friend of god" -> demonstrates shi'a beliefs that ali is the true successor of muhammad
• salah - prayer - sunni muslims

  -sunni muslims are required to pray at 5 set times during the day

  -prayer times change because of the sun, therefore differs from summer to winter

  -it's a part of the self-discipline requiring in submitting themselves to god
• salah - prayer - shi'a muslims

  -shi'a muslims combine the midday and afternoon prayers and the sunset and night prayers, so they pray 3 times a day

  -fajr, zuhr, asr, mahhrib, isha
• fajr prayer time

  -just before sunrise
• zuhr prayer time

  -just after midday
• asr prayer time

  -afternoon
• mahhrib prayer time

  -just after sunset
• isha prayer time


  -night
• how muslims prepare for prayer

  -muslims must be spiritually clean before they pray

  -it is achieved by wudu

  -this is instructed in the qur'an

  -mosques have 2 special rooms, one for men and one for women

  -washing is done under running water, so they are clean

  -it symbolises spiritual cleanliness rather than physical cleanliness

  -it allows muslims to focus fully on god in their prayers
• direction of prayer

  -muslims must face the holy city of mecca

  -meaning that they are physically and mentally focusing on a place associated with god

  -all mosques have a mihrab on the qiblah wall, which shows the direction they face when praying

  -sometimes muslims have a special compass to show the way
• prayer at home

  -acceptable to pray at home

  -they perform wudu before they pray

  -the room must be clean and suitable

  -many muslims will use prayer mats and position it facing makkah (mecca)

  -women find it helpful to pray at home especially if they have children to look after
• prayer in the mosque

  -mosques have special carpets that look like rows of prayer mats, facing mihrab - giving them a suitable space

  -prayers are led by imam who is at the front of the congregation but also facing the mihrab

  -men and women are separated by a curtain or they pray in separate rooms

  -the imam's voice is broadcasted in the women's room
• jummah prayer

  -the midday friday prayer is considered special

  -all male muslims are expected to attend; and women can if they want

  -the imam delivers a sermon to remind muslims of their obligations and duties to god

  -muslims must leave their work and close their businesses to attend
• quote for jummah prayer

  "believers! when the call to prayer is made on the day of congregation, hurry towards the reminder of god and leave off your trading"
• the importance of prayer

  -one of the 5 pillars

  -motivates them to do god's will

  -unites muslims worldwide as they all pray the same

  -god commanded them to prayer

  -reciting from the qur'an reminds muslims of its importance

  -prayer gives a greater awareness of god

  -the actions of bowing reminds muslims god is greater and more important
• the rak'ah

  -sequence of actions and recitations. the rak'ah changes slightly depending on which prayer it is used in
• standing prayer

  -muslims recite the first chapter from the qur'an
• bowing prayer

  -muslims say in arabic "glory be to my lord who is the very greatest" 3 times. the bowing position shows they believe god to be great
• upright position prayer

  -they make a recitation praising god
• kneeling prayer

  -they kneel with their forehead, nose, hands, knees and toes touching the floor. this is called prostration and shows compete obedience to god. they recite 'how perfect is my lord the most high
• sitting prayer

  -they sit while reciting 'god is the greatest' and after pause for a few seconds
• prostrating prayer

  -once the number of rak'ahs' are completed, while kneeling, muslims turn their face to the right and the left. reciting "peace be upon you, and the mercy and blessings of god"
• personal prayers

  -can be added at the end of the final rak'ah. they do not have to be in arabic or follow any set form
• ramadan

  -the most important month of the islamic calendar

  -the qur'an was revealed to muhammad during ramadan

  -many will recite the whole qur'an over the 30 days of ramadan

  -muslims focus on fasting, charity and pleasing god
• fasting

  -during the daylight hours, muslims will fast (no food or drink)

  -some get up before sunrise in order to eat for the day

  -the fast is broken at sunset. the evening meal is shared with family and friends, followed by extra prayers and readings from the qur'an

  -smoking and having sex is also not allowed

  -focus for the month is on god

  -fasting purifies and cleanses the soul

  -considerable amount of discipline needed