Islamic+Practice

            Islamic Practice

   **Five Pillars of Islam:** <span style="font-size: 90%; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: #ffebeb;"><span style="font-size: 90%; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: #fee6e6;"> <span style="font-size: 120%; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">  - the five religious duties __expected__ by every Muslim - fulfillment of the Five Pillars is believed to bring rewards both in life and afterlife - Daily confession of faith (shahada) - Daily ritual prayer (salat) - Paying the alms tax (zakat) - Fasting during the month of Ramadan (sawm) - Pilgrimmage to Mecca (hajj) ** <span style="font-size: 90%; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: #ff0078;"><span style="font-size: 90%; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: #f8128b;"><span style="font-size: 90%; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: #ffebeb;"><span style="font-size: 90%; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: #fee6e6;"> <span style="font-size: 120%; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Shahada: **<span style="font-size: 90%; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: #ff0078;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: #fef1f1;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: #ffebeb;"> <span style="font-size: 90%; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: #f8128b;"><span style="font-size: 90%; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <span style="font-size: 120%; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <span style="font-size: 90%; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: #fee6e6;"> - the Muslim profession of faith, expressing the two simple, fundamental beliefs - La ilaha illa Allah wa-Muhammad rasul Allah - (There is no god but God and Muhammad is the prophet of God) - sincere recitation is a requirement for those who wish to join the Muslim community - it represents acceptance to Allah and his prophet, and to the entirety of Islam
 * The Five Pillars of Islam are:

<span style="font-size: 90%; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: #ffe6e6;"> <span style="font-size: 120%; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">** Salat: ** - performed 5 times each day - dawn, midday, afternoon, sunset, and in the evening - directed in the firection of the Ka'ba shrine in Mecca - a prayer mat is used to pray on - prayers can be done indivually, but carries special merrit when done with others - before prayer, one must wash their face, hands, and feet - this can be done with water or sand - at the five prayer times, a muezzin announces a call to prayer - one can hear the muezzin on the radio or by a "salat pager" - when perforing //salat// at the mosque, worshippers are alligned in parallel rows - prayer begins with standing and moves through several postures until kneeling - specified recitations are said in each posture

<span style="font-size: 120%; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> **Zakat:** - rate = 2.5 percent, not of income, but of the value of one's pocessions - taxed pocessions include:grains; fruit; camels; cattle; sheep and goats; gold and silver; and movable goods - the recipients of the tax are the poor, debtors, slaves seeking to buy their freedon, volunteers in //jihad//, pilgrims, and the collectors of the tax - for most of history, the tax was enforced by the state - today it is mostly up to the individual *except Saudi Arabia where it is religious law

<span style="font-size: 120%; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> **Sawm Ramadan:** - 9th month of the Islamic calendar - all adult Muslims are required to abstain from food, drink and sexual intercourse during daylight hours - exceptions: travelors, soldiers, menstruating women, and the ill - Ramadan is an opportunity for increaced prayer and devotion -during the last 10 nights of Ramadan, some Muslims retreat to a mosque for even more intensive study and contemplation - the 27th of Ramadan is the "Night of Power, " the holiest day of the year

<span style="font-size: 120%; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> **Hajj: - a**t least once in a lifetime, each Muslim is expected to undertake a pilgrimage to Mecca, the sacred cily of Islam - it must take place during the month of Dhu al-Hijja (the 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 - males wear two white, seamless sheets wrapped around the body, and sandals - women dresss in white with only faces and hands uncovered while in the state of //ihram//, pilgrims must not cut their nails, or hair, engage in sexual relations, argue, fight, or hunt - when he or she enters the city of Mecca: - 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 - prays twice toawrds the Station of Abraham and the Ka'ba - and then runs seven times between the small mountains of Safa and Marwa

**Sources: http://www.religionfacts.com/islam/practices.htm

http://www.looklex.com/e.o/hajj.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramadan_(calendar_month )

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