Five Pillars of Islam Essay

What are the central beliefs of Islam, and how are they reflected in the â€Å"Five Pillars† (McInerney, 2003)? Which of the Five Pillars do you feel would be easiest to fulfill, and which would be the most challenging (McInerney, 2003)? Monotheism is one of the main central beliefs of Islam. This is the belief that there is only one God and that God is Allah. The Islam’s believe that their purpose for humanity is to only serve their God Allah and to construct a moral lifestyle. The five pillars are considered obligatory for all Muslims to follow. The five pillars can be found within the Qur’an which is Islam’s holy book. The first pillar is the shahadah. The Shahadah is the accepting that Muhammad is God’s messenger. Islamic culture believes that the prophet Muhammad is the founder of Islam’s faith. The second pillar is the daily prayers. In order to do this a Muslim must be in a state of ritual purity. One must prayer at least five times within a day. Muslims believe that doing so will bring them closer to God and they will be able to learn more about him. The third pillar is the fasting during Ramadan. Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar which is the Islamic month for fasting. Muslims have to avoid any type of drinking, eating and sexual relations from dawn until sunset. This is done in order for Muslims to learn about patience, humanity, and spirituality. The fourth pillar is called alms giving which is the giving of 2. 5 percent of one’s annual earnings to the poor and needy. Lastly, the fifth pillar is the pilgrimage to Mecca. This is a core practice and must be carried out at least once in a Muslims lifetime. The fourth pillar which consists of giving 2. percent of one’s annual pay to the poor and needy would be one of the easiest pillars for me to follow. I think everyone should do this. I’m a Christian and every Sunday that I go to church I always give to the needy whether its five dollars or two dollars that I have on me at the time. My religion believes that by giving we will receive blessings from our God. The pillar that would be difficult for me to follow would have to be pillar number three which is fasting. This would be difficult for me because I always have to be drinking water. I am also anemic and if I don’t eat after a while I tend to black out.