Five Pillars of Islam Chanoa Maestas HUM/130 August 31, 2012 Dr.

VL Merlini

What are the central beliefs? Islam is what is considered a monotheistic religion and that is when the y only believe in one god. The one god that the Islam religion believes in is, A llah. To the Islam Allah is the creator (Pollock, 2008). They also believe that Allah is a restorer of the world (Pollock, 2008). The Islams mission is to better society and make it ethical and acceptable. In the normal practices of Islam, kids are taught to remember the Quran. The Islam thank that as people g et older the power of these words can help them in making their live better (Pol lock, 2008). The Quran states that there is only one God that should be prayed an d worshipped to. They also believe that when people had written down Gods origi nal messages the real message was possibly somehow altered and not written corre ctly. How are they reflected in the Five Pillars? The Five Pillars of Islam are what the Islam people believe to be Gods com mandments (Fisher, 2005, p. 281). The beliefs of Muslims are reflected in thes e Pillars. Like the first Pillar, Belief and Witness. The Islam believe in teach ing the Quran to others but they respect all other prophets & scriptures. The Isl am strongly believe that coercion should not ever be used while their spread the word (Fisher, 2005, p. 281). The second Pillar is the Islams daily prayers. This is reflected by the way they prey to Allah. This is a ritual that is perfor med five times a day. The third Pillar reflects their central beliefs by giving to the needy at the end of the year and this helps make society a better place. The fourth Pillar is the month long fasting that from sun up to sun down for all Islamic people except the sick, menstruating, or if they nursing a child (Fishe r, 2005, p. 283). Now the fifth Pillar is if possible only done in ones life and this is a pilgrimage to Macca. They do this to be closer to god. Which of the Five Pillars do I feel would be the easiest to fulfill? Wow, that is really not an easy answer, but I feel that maybe the Firs t Pillar. I feel this way because if you strongly believe in something it is ver y easy to stand behind the meaning a spread you belief in it. Which would be the most challenging? I believe that the Fifth Pillar would be the most challenging because a pilgrimage is not something is easy to do in ones life. The walking, making su re that the series of rituals are done. The way one needs to dressed. Maybe this is way it is usually only done once in a life time.

References Fisher, M.P. (2005). Living religions (6th ed.).New Jersey: Prentice-Hall Inc. Pollock, R. (2008). World religions. New York: Fall River Press.