NICHOLAS SIGGERS WORLD LITERATURE FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM

WHAT ARE THEY? Shahada – Daily confession Salat – Daily ritual prayer Zakat – Paying the alms tax Sawm – The act of fasting during Ramadan Hajj – The pilgrimage to Mecca

SHAHADA The Muslim profession of faith, expressing the two simple, fundamental beliefs. Sincere recitation for those joining the faith. It represents the acceptance to Allah and his prophet and to the entirety of Islam.

SALAT Performed 5 times each day. (Dawn, midday, afternoon, sunset, and evening.) Performed in the direction of the Ka’ba Shrine at Mecca. Prayer mat is used. Can be done alone, but it carries more merit when done with others. Before prayer, one must wash their face, hands, and feet with either water or sand.

SALAT, CONTINUED At the prayer times, a Muezzin announces a call to prayer. One can hear the Muezzin on the radio or by a “Salat Pager.” When performing Salat at the mosque, worshippers are aligned in parallel rows. Prayer begins with standing and moves through several postures until kneeling. Specific recitations are said in each posture.

ZAKAT Rate is 2.5%, not of income, but of the value of one’s possessions. Taxed possessions include: grain, fruit, cattle, camels, sheep and goat, gold and silver, and other movable goods. The recipient of the tax are the poor, debtors, slaves seeking to buy their freedom, volunteers in Jihad, and pilgrims. For most of history, the tax has been collected by the state. Today it is mostly up to the individual, except in Saudi Arabia where it is religious law.

SAWN RAMADAN The 9 th month of the Islamic calendar. All adult Muslims are required to abstain from food, drink, and sexual intercourse during the daylight hours. Exceptions: travelers, soldiers, menstruating women, and the ill. Ramadan is an opportunity for increased prayer and devotion. During the last 10 nights of Ramadan, some Muslims retreat to a mosque for even more intensive study and contemplation. The 27 th night is the “Night of Power,” the holiest night of the year.

HAJJ At least once in a lifetime, each Muslim is expected to undertake a pilgrimage to Mecca, the sacred city of Islam. It must take place during the month of Dhu al-Hijja (last month of the Islamic year) to fulfill the requirements of the Hajj. In modern times, about 2.5 million Muslims fulfill the Hajj each year. Upon arrival at the boundary of Mecca, pilgrims enter the state of Ihram (purity) in which they will remain throughout the Hajj.

HAJJ, CONTINUED Men wear two white, seamless sheets wrapped around the body and sandals. Women dress in white with only their eyes and hands uncovered. While in the state of Ihram, pilgrims do not cut their nails, or hair, or engage in sexual relations, argue, fight, or hunt. The pilgrim first walks around the Ka’ba seven times while reciting the Talbiya. Then kisses or touches the Black Stone in the Ka’ba. Prayers twice toward the Station of Abraham and the Ka’ba – then runs seven times between the small mountains of Safa and Marwa.