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There are five simple but essential observances that all practicing Muslims accept and follow.\u00a0 These \u201cPillars of Islam\u201d represent the core that unites all Muslims.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n 1)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The \u2018Declaration of Faith\u2019<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n A Muslim is one who testifies that \u201cnone deserves worship but Allah, and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.\u201d \u00a0This declaration is known as the \u201cshahada<\/em>\u201d (witness, testimony).\u00a0 Allah is the Arabic name for God, just as Yahweh is the Hebrew name for God.\u00a0 By making this simple proclamation one becomes a Muslim.\u00a0 The proclamation affirms Islam\u2019s absolute belief in the oneness of God, His exclusive right to be worshipped, as well as the doctrine that associating anything else with God is the one unforgivable sin as we read in the Koran:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u201cGod does not forgive anyone for associating something with Him, while He does forgive whomever He wishes to for anything else.\u00a0 Anyone who gives God partners has invented an awful sin.\u201d (Quran 4:48)<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n The second part of the testimony of faith states that Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, is a prophet of God like Abraham, Moses and Jesus before him.\u00a0 Muhammad brought the last and final revelation.\u00a0 In accepting Muhammad as the \u201cseal of the prophets,\u201d Muslims believe that his prophecy confirms and fulfills all of the revealed messages, beginning with Adam\u2019s.\u00a0 In addition, Muhammad serves as the role model through his exemplary life.\u00a0 A believer\u2019s effort to follow Muhammad\u2019s example reflects the emphasis of Islam on practice and action.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n 2)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The Prayer (Salah<\/em>)<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Muslims worship five times a day: at daybreak, noon, mid afternoon, sunset, and evening.\u00a0 It helps keep believers mindful of God in the stress of work and family.\u00a0 It resets the spiritual focus, reaffirms total dependence on God, and puts worldly concerns within the perspective of the last judgment and the afterlife.\u00a0 The prayers consist of standing, bowing, kneeling, putting the forehead on the ground, and sitting.\u00a0 The Prayer is a means in which a relationship between God and His creation is maintained.\u00a0 It includes recitations from the Quran, praises of God, prayers for forgiveness and other various supplications.\u00a0 The prayer is an expression of submission, humility, and adoration of God.\u00a0 Prayers can be offered in any clean place, alone or together, in a mosque or at home, at work or on the road, indoors or out.\u00a0 It is preferable to pray with others as one body united in the worship of God, demonstrating discipline, brotherhood, equality, and solidarity.\u00a0 As they pray, Muslims face Mecca, the holy city centered around the Kaaba – the house of God built by Abraham and his son Ishmael.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n 3)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The Compulsory Charity (Zakah)<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n In Islam, the true owner of everything is God, not man.\u00a0 People are given wealth as a trust from God.\u00a0\u00a0Zakah is worship and thanksgiving to God by supporting the poor, and through it one\u2019s wealth is purified..\u00a0 It requires an annual contribution of 2.5 percent of an individual\u2019s wealth and assets.\u00a0 Therefore,\u00a0Zakah\u00a0is not mere \u201ccharity\u201d, it is an obligation on those who have received their wealth from God to meet the needs of less fortunate members of the community.\u00a0\u00a0Zakah\u00a0is used to support the poor and the needy, help those in debt, and, in olden times, to free slaves.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n 4)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The Fast of Ramadan (Sawm<\/em>)<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar which is spent in fasting.\u00a0 Healthy Muslims abstain from dawn to sunset from food, drink, and sexual activity.\u00a0 Fasting develops spirituality, dependence upon God, and brings identification with the less fortunate.\u00a0 A special evening prayer is also held mosques in which recitations of the Quran are heard.\u00a0 Families rise before dawn to take their first meal of the day to sustain them till sunset.\u00a0 The month of Ramadan ends with one of the two major Islamic celebrations, the Feast of the Breaking of the Fast, called Eid al-Fitr, which is marked by joyfulness, family visits, and exchanging of gifts.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n 5)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The fifth Pillar is the Pilgrimage or Hajj to Mecca<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n At least once in a lifetime, every adult Muslim who is physically and financially able is required to sacrifice time, wealth, status, and ordinary comforts of life to make the Hajj pilgrimage, putting himself totally at God\u2019s service.\u00a0 Every year over two million believers from a diversity of cultures and languages travel from all over the world to the sacred city of Mecca\u00a0to respond to God\u2019s call.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Who are Muslims?<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n The Arabic word \u201cMuslim\u201d literally means \u201csomeone who is in a state of Islam (submission to the will and law of God)\u201d.\u00a0 The message of Islam is meant for the entire world, and anyone who accepts this message becomes a Muslim.\u00a0 There a over a billion Muslims worldwide.\u00a0 Muslims represent the majority population in fifty-six countries.\u00a0 Many people are surprised to know that the majority of Muslims are not Arab.\u00a0 Even though most Arabs are Muslims, there are Arabs who are Christians, Jews and atheists. \u00a0Only 20 percent of the world\u2019s 1.2 billion Muslims come from Arab countries.\u00a0 There are significant Muslim populations in India, China, Central Asian Republics, Russia, Europe, and America.\u00a0 If one just takes a look at the various peoples who live in the Muslim World – from Nigeria to Bosnia and from Morocco to Indonesia – it is easy enough to see that Muslims come from all different races, ethnic groups, cultures and nationalities.\u00a0 Islam has always been a universal message for all people.\u00a0 Islam is the second largest religion in the world and will soon be the second largest religion in America. \u00a0Yet, few people know what Islam is.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" There are five simple but essential observances that all practicing Muslims accept and follow.\u00a0 These \u201cPillars of Islam\u201d represent the core that unites all Muslims. 1)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The \u2018Declaration of Faith\u2019… 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