Five Pillar of Islam

Islam is a complete way of life which contains guidance on all aspects of life in great detail. From managing your finances, to family law, to inheritance, and even the smaller topics like keeping clean and washing your vegetable. However, there are five basic "pillars" of Islam which "hold up" your faith. These duties are incumbent on every Muslim. Read on to find out how to live according to them.

Steps

1. Believe in the Unity and Oneness of Allah Belief in Tauhid, or the Oneness of Allah is the basic tenet of Islam on which all other practices are based

• Recite the Shahadah, which reads "'ašhadu 'al-lā ilāha illā-llāhu wa 'ašhadu 'anna muħammadan rasūlu-llāh", or "I testify that there is no god (ilah) but Allah, and I testify that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah". It is remarkable how much a simple recitation of the shahadah can help prepare you for the challenges of life. A reminder that Allah is Almighty, All-Powerful can be very encouraging and comforting.

• Watch out for shirk!. Shirk is the sin of associating partners with Allah and the only unpardonable sin in Islam. There are many categories and sub-categories of shirk. Watch out for them.
  Shirk in Lordship is of two types. Shirk by association and shirk by negation. Shirk by association comes from believing anyone other than Allah to be God. The belief that the souls of saints and other righteous humans can affect the affairs of this world is shirk. Bear in mind that even a prophet can not get a person's sins forgiven - not even his close relatives'. Shirk by negation comes from denying the existence of God either explicitly or implicitly. That is, in some cases God's non-existence is stated (Atheism), while in other cases His existence is claimed, but the way in which He is conceived actually denies His existence (e.g. Pantheism)
  


• Shirk in attributes is, again, of two types. Humanization is the act of attributing human or animal attributes to God, while Deification is the act of giving Allah's attributes to his creation, or claiming them. The former happens when God is portrayed like one of his creations (usually a human being), for example in paintings and idols, or he is said to possess human attributes like reproduction or the need of bodily organs etc. Deification occurs when a creation is said to have, or claims to have, Allah's attributes, for example during the era of Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) there was a man in a region of Arabia called Yamamah, who claimed to be a prophet and took the name Rahman which, in Islam, belongs only to God.
  


• Shirk in worship arises from worship directed towards someone other than God, or from seeking reward from the Creation rather than the created. This includes making dua, salaat, some other form of worship, or asking for help, from someone besides Allah. Beautifying or prolonging prayer because someone else is watching is also shirk and comes under this category

2. Establish Prayer. Prayer, or Salaat is an obligation on all Muslims. Start by praying the zuhr, asr, and maghrib prayers, as the fajr prayer might be too early and the ishaa prayer too long. Make ahabit of performing all the compulsory as well as the optional rakaats. After one week, start waking up early and incorporate the fajr prayer into your schedule. Then move on to the ishaa prayer. Try to keep up the habit of performing all five daily prayers. Remember that missing prayer is excused only under certain special circumstances and is otherwise unacceptable.

3. Start fasting in Ramadan. Sawm is the Arabic word for fasting, and becomes obligatory on every Muslim after puberty. Of course, as different people experience puberty at different ages, it becomes obligatory at a different time for everybody. You can leave a fast if you are traveling, sick such that you need medication or that a lack of food will worsen your condition, or, if you are a woman, while menstruating. You can make it up later by fasting when Ramadan is over.

• Fasting starts at fajr. The fajr adhaan signals the start of the day's fast. It is preferable to eat a small meal before fajr. Eating a few dates and drinking water provides enough energy for the day.

• During the day, you are to abstain from eating food, drinking water, using foul language, and engaging in sexual activity. If you eat or drink by mistake i.e. you forget that you are fasting, your fast is not broken. In case that happens, throw out whatever is in your mouth and rinse your mouth with water, and continue fasting as usual. If you break a fast intentionally by drinking, eating, or having sex, you either fast for 60 consecutive days, feed and clothe 60 needy people, 'or' free a wrongfully accused Muslim, and there are many nowadays.
  


• You "open" your fast at the time of the Maghreb prayer. This time is signaled by the Maghreb azaan. Most Muslims would eat a few dates and drink some water, following the sunnah of the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him), and follow it with a meal after the Maghreb prayers.
  



4. Pay Zakaat if you are self sufficient. Muslims with savings above the nisaab are considered to be self-sufficient. 2.5% of your savings are to be paid annually to poor people, freed prisoners, those heavily indebted, or new converts to Islam, in certain cases. It is also good to use Zakaat to help out needy family members. However, Zakaat can not be paid to some family members i.e the wife, children, parents, and grandparents, because their financial needs are already your responsibility. Please seek help from a religious expert for details on nisaab and zakaat to be paid on gold and silver (e.g. jewelery) and land e.t.c. Zakaat is paid on the money that you have had for a whole year.





5. Perform Hajj. This is the pilgrimage to Mekkah that every able Muslim must perform once in his lifetime. Able is defined in terms of finances as well as physical health, so it is advisable to perform the Hajj when young, if able to.

Source by WIKIHOW.COM