Spirituality and Self Help
Five Pillars of Islam
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said that Islam is based upon the following five pillars.
Anyone who demolishes (does not practice) these five pillars, in fact, he /she demolishes the building of Islam.
Shahadah: testifying that there is no God but Allah and Muhammad (peace be upon him) is His last Messenger.
Five mandatory prayers (Salat)
- Fajr (Morning prayers before Sunrise)
- Dhohr (Zohar) Prayer (Noon Prayer but after the noon time)
- Asr (Afternoon prayers but before sunset)
- Maghrib (right after the sunset prayers)
- Isha (late evening prayers at night) Movie on Salat
A person can offer optional prayers and may remember (Dhikr) Allah at any time
Zakat: A Muslim with certain amount of savings must pay 2.5% of his savings to the poors every year.
This is called Zakat. The optional charity called Sadqah can be given at any time and in any quantity
Fasting in Ramadhan: every Muslim adult, men or women must fast everyday from Dawn to Sunset in the month of Ramadhan. During fasting, the fasting person must avoid eating, drinking, smoking and sexual relationships. Certain people are exempted from fasting, such as children, sick, elderly (weak), travelers and women in periods. In certain situations person has to complete his / her missed fasts later on or feed the poor to compensate
for missed fasting days
Hajj: Every Muslim adult, men or women who has enough resources and physically capable to travel to Makkah must perform Hajj, at least once in the lifetime.
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