Islam, Ramadan, and Hajj

The Five Pillars of Islam:

1. Shahadah is a statement professing monotheism and accepting Muhammad as God's messenger. The shahadah is a set statement normally recited in Arabic "'ašhadu 'al-lā ilāha illā-llāhu wa 'ašhadu 'anna muħammadan rasūlu-llāh", translated as: "[I profess that] There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his Prophet."

2.Solat,is the second pillar of Islam , the requirement to pray five times a day at fixed times during the day. The times of day to pray are at dawn, noon, mid-afternoon, sunset, and before you go to bed. Each salah is performed facing towards the Kaaba in Mecca. Salah is intended to focus the mind on Allah; it is seen as a personal communication with Allah, expressing gratitude and worship.

3. Zakat or alms-giving is the practice of charitable giving by Muslims based on accumulated wealth, and is obligatory for all who are able to do so. It is considered to be a personal responsibility for Muslims to ease economic hardship for others and eliminate inequality.

4.Sawm also known as SiyamThree types of fasting (Sawm) are recognized by the Qur'an: Ritual fastingis an obligatory act during the month of Ramadan. Muslims must abstain from food, drink, and sexual intercourse from dawn to dusk during this month, and are to be especially mindful of other sins. The fast is meant to allow Muslims to seek nearness to Allah, to express their gratitude to and dependence on him, to atone for their past sins, and to remind them of the needy.

5. Hajj is a pilgrimage that slamic teachers say that the Hajj should be an expression of devotion to Allah, not a means to gain social standing. The believer should be self-aware and examine their intentions in performing the pilgrimage. This should lead to constant striving for self-improvement.A pilgrimage made at any time other than the Hajj season is called an Umrah, and while not mandatory is strongly encouraged.occurs during the Islamic month of Dhu al-Hijjah to the holy city of Mecca, and derives from an ancient Arab practice. Every able-bodied Muslim is obliged to make the pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their lifetime if he or she can afford it.

As I know, Islam is the second largest religion in the world that most non-muslim students know a little bit about it. They have many traditions or practices that they follows from their prophet Muhammad. Islam means acceptance of and submission to God, and believers must demonstrate this by worshiping him, following his commands, and avoiding polytheism. The word is given a number of meanings in the Qur'an. They believe to their God which is ALLAH. Some also says that their book which is the Qur'an is the continuation of the Holy Bible of the catholics. Ramadan is the one of the biggest event that our muslim brothers and sisters celebrates.Muslims believe it to have occurred on an odd-numbered night during the last 10 days of Ramadan, either the night of the 21st, 23rd, 25th, 27th or 29th (in Sunni thought) or the 19th, 21st or 23rd (in Shi'a thought). Ramadan ends with Eid ul-Fitr on the 1 of Shawwal, with much celebration and feasting. They went through fasting, all they do was to pray, and to ask forgiveness on the sins they had committed in the past, they also disciplines their selves not to commit sins. They pray five times a day, at 3:00 in the dawn, 12:oo at noon, 3:00, 5:00 and 7:00 in the afternoon and 12:00 at midnight. The Hajj is a pilgrimage that occurs during the Islamic month of Dhu al-Hijjah to the holy city of Mecca, and derives from an ancient Arab practice. It is also one of the five pillar of faith of the muslims. Every able-bodied Muslim is obliged to make the pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their lifetime if he or she can afford it. It is is very expensive that's why only those our Muslim brothers and sisters that can afford can have the opportunity to go to Mecca to attend the Hajj. It is also the highest rank that a Muslim can be!

(image source: wikipedia.org)