Darkthorn’s Blog

Islam – Logbook Exercise 6.3

How do the Five Pillars express islam, submissiveness?

The basic activities in which a Muslim demonstrates his commitment and submissiveness to Allah are the Five Pillars. These include the profession of faith, payer, alms giving, fasting in Ramadan and Pilgrimage.

Shahada, the first pillar of Islam, is the profession of faith by the Muslim (Crotty, 2005). It stems from the proclamation that Allah is God above all and that Muhammad is his Prophet; the kalimah recited by Muslims daily to show their submissiveness to the one God, Allah (Crotty, 2005). This phrase is repeated by Muslims throughout their lives, from the moment of their birth to their death, forever declaring their trust and faith in Allah and Muhammad to guide them correctly through life.

The second pillar is salat, the prayers said five times a day to Allah (Crotty, 2005). Salat is intended to focus the Muslim’s mind on Allah, and express their gratitude, surrender and devotion to him (Crotty, 2005). The devotee’s actions and words to Allah express their absolute surrender, a main part of this being bowing and prostrations on the floor as well as asking for his forgiveness (Welch, 1998). This prayer and submission to Allah is said to ‘restrain [one] from shameful and evil deeds’ and to have ‘remembrance of Allah [as] the greatest’ (Qur’an 29:40). Allah is the greatest, the Muslims must bow to him in submission.

The annual alms giving by Muslims, zakat, is an essential part of islam (Crotty, 2005). It is the personal responsibility of a Muslim to help others less fortunate than themselves, in order to eliminate inequality within the Islamic community (Welch, 1998). Although initially alms giving was limited to donating the surplus in a Muslim household, eventually it became a fixed proportion of a Muslim’s income (Welch, 1998). This donation of goods to the needy is an expression of submission and equality, no one household is more worthy of wealth, especially in today’s society of materialism (Welch, 1998; Watt, 1987). Voluntary charity (sadaqah) is a way to achieve further divine reward (Encyclopaedia of Islam).

During Ramadan, Muslims must fast (no drinking, eating, smoking or sexual intercourse between dawn and sunset) to uphold the fourth pillar of Islam, saum (Crotty, 2005). It is said that during the month of Ramadan, the Qur’an was revealed to the Muslims for the first time (Crotty, 2005). This period of fasting shows the Muslim’s submission to Allah’s rules, forgoing earthly pleasures in order to please him (Welch, 1998).

The pilgrimage to Mecca, hajj, is expected of a Muslim at least once in their lifetime (Crotty, 2005). It needs to occur during the twelfth month of the Islamic calendar, but it is not expected that females should make the pilgrimage (Welsh, 1998). The pilgrim’s community honours them for making the pilgrimage, but this should not be the primary reason for making the journey – it should be an expression of devotion and submission to Allah (Welsh, 1998).

The Five Pillars of Islam are present in throughout a Muslim’s life. The daily prayers and expressions of kalima, the annual fasting and alms giving, as well as the pilgrimage to Mecca, communicate the devotion to Allah and submission to Muhammad’s teachings.

Word Count – 525 words