What Is Islam?

The often asked question, is what is the religion of Islam all about?  Well In the last post I posted a Hadith(saying) of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) where he said “Islam is that you should testify that there is no deity save Allah and that Muhammad is His Messenger, that you should perform salah (ritual prayer), pay the zakah(charity), fast during Ramadan, and perform Hajj (pilgrimage) to the House (the Ka’bah at Makkah), if you can find a way to it (or find the means for making the journey to it).”

So what does this mean, why are there five answers to this.  Well these five answers are called the five pillars of Islam. These are the five Pillars of Islam simplified.

1.  Testification of Faith.

• One must believe that there is no diety of worship other than Allah.
• One must believe that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.

2.  Prayer.

• Muslims Pray 5 times a day.
• These prayers are a spiritual connection between a Muslim and Allah.

3.  Zakat(charity).

• Muslims must pay charity to the less fortunate.
• Those who are poor themselves do not have to pay charity.

4.  Fasting.

• Muslim must fast in the 9th month of the Islamic Calander, Ramadan.
• A fast lasts from Sunrise to Sunset, where Muslims abstain from eating, drinking, and sexual intercourse.

5.  Hajj(pilgrimage).

• A Muslim must once in their life make a pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca.
• A Muslim is not required to do this until he can do this financially.

Those are five pillars of Islam, which are the credentials to be a Muslim.  Later on, I will explain each of the Pillars, so please come back and learn more about the religion of Islam.