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Essay on The Five Pillars of Islam

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Like many other religions, the Muslim faith has experienced many changes and branches. Like Christianity, the original faith is still practiced by some, but others have started new branches with their own unique interpretation being Muslim. Despite these differences within the Muslim religion, one set of rules for moral guidance is central to all. These rules are the Five Pillars of Islam. The Five Pillars act as a moral compass for Muslims and are universally accepted as they are mentioned specifically in the Qur’an, the sacred Muslim book of God’s words as they were recited to Muhammad (Molloy, 425).
The first of the Five Pillars is the creed. The creed states, “There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his messenger,” (Molloy, …show more content…

This is set by the time of day. The last important component to the prayer pillar is the public day of prayer, Friday. On this day, devote Muslims join together to pray in mosques (Molloy, 432-434).
The third pillar is charity to the poor. It is expected that a good Muslim will donate so much of their annual income or product to charity, although the amount varies between Muslim countries. Muhammad, who maintained a focus on creating a more just society with less poverty, injustice or inequality, started this trend. Some Islamic countries incorporate this charity into governmental policies, which support things like welfare and disability. Other, less money-based economies, donate crops and livestock to fulfill this obligation (Molloy, 434). Another important component to this pillar is the understanding that a devote Muslim will act with generosity in mind on a daily basis. The religion assumes that believers will commit random acts of kindness throughout everyday life. These random acts can be in the form of charity or generosity (Molloy, 434).
The fourth pillar of the Five Pillars of Islam is fasting during Ramadan. Ramadan is a sacred holiday in the Muslim faith. It falls in the ninth month of the Muslim calendar and is a celebration of Muhammad’s first revelations from God. During the month of Ramadan, Muslims fast from dawn until dusk. This continues until the end of the month, when a celebratory feast

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