Five Pillars of Islam

Shahadah (The Declaration): The basic creed of Islam- “There is no one worthy of worship but the One and Only God and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.”

Salat (Prayer): Special form of worship or prayer, practice five times a day.

Fasting:  abstaining from food, drink and other forms of gratification, during the day time for the lunar month of Ramadan in the Hegira Calendar.

Zakat (Charity): A specified portion of one’s wealth and income given as mandatory charity to the poor.

Hajj: Pilgrimage to Mecca, at least once in a person’s life, if he/she is capable both physically and financially.

Six Beliefs

Allah (God): One God, Creator and Sustainer of the universe, the seen, and the unseen.  God has no wife or consort, no son or daughter, no partner at all in his divinity.

Messengers: Allah sends many messengers to the earth to guide and better life and peace within all relations.

Angels: angels created by God from light, they carry out God’s commandments.

Afterlife:  Al-akhirah (life after death), crucial to the Islamic Faith such that any doubts amount to the denial of Allah.

Holy Book:  Allah sends his commands with his messengers. There are many holy books.

Qadar (Fact & Destiny):  Implies the measuring out of something or fixing a limit to it, and every thing belongs to Allah.

– Sadiq Al-Tloa

Interfaith Scholar 2008-2009

Published in the Winter 2008 Issue of the Interfaith Review