The Five Pillars of the Islamic Faith
Muslims believe in Allah and that he is unique, all powerful, gracious and merciful to all Muslims.
The Islamic faith is lived out according to five “pillars” that must be adhered to if one is to hope for salvation.
The Five Pillars of Islam are:
1. Reciting the two-fold Creed (shahada) (profession of faith) – ‘There is no God but Allah’ and ‘Muhammad is his prophet’ (or ‘Muhammad is the Messenger of God’).
2. Prayer (salat) – At five set-times a day while facing towards the city of Mecca.
3. Alms-giving (sakat) (zakat – means ‘purification’, an act of worship) – Both obligatory and voluntary giving to the poor.
4. Fasting (saum) – Especially during the ‘holy’ month of Ramadan.
5. Pilgrimage (hajj) – At least once in a lifetime – to Mecca, Saudi Arabia if at all possible, known as The Hajj.
Although the Hajj is well known today, it should be noted that the Black Stone was a meteorite to which great religious significance was attached even before Muhammad was born. Muhammad simply adopted the pagan practice. Thus the act of walking around the Ka’aba (“Cube”) seven times, kissing and touching the Black Stone became the “Islamic” pilgrimage of “Hajj” – one of the pillars of Islam today.
No guarantee
While a Muslim may observe each of these pillars there is still no guarantee of salvation. Islam is based on a religion of self-righteousness. Muslims often think about the Day of Judgement where they believe Allah (or an angel) will take a balance and weigh each persons deeds. His hope is that his good deeds will outweigh his bad deeds, but even then Allah’s judgement is based solely on Allah’s will – not on justice.
Another interpretation is that man’s deeds are written in a book and on the Day of Judgement Allah will open the book and the sum of a man’s account will be placed in either his right or left hand. The only sure way to paradise is to die as a martyr during an Islamic Holy War, Jihad.
Muhammad
Muhammad is Islam’s highest prophet, but the Qur’an also speaks often of Jesus, also known as Isa. The Qur’an also refers to Jesus as Kalimat Allah, which means The Word of God. Muslims do not believe in Jesus death on the cross, His resurrection nor in His deity. Although Jesus is the second highest prophet in Islam, the Isa of the Qur’an is only one prophet among 124,000.
Jinn
The belief of angels and evil spirits, also known as Jinn, plays a very prominent part in the lives of most Muslims. Although the Qur’an states that ‘good and evil comes from Allah’, this belief is not founded in orthodox Islam but is a result of pagan religions, particularly from Africa and India, being incorporated in Islam.
The Law
Islam incorporates rules for every aspect of life. Within the Qur’an and the Hadith’s there is instruction for every detail of a Muslim’s daily life. The Shari’a – the sacred law of Islam, applies to all aspects of life, not just religious practices. It describes the Islamic way of life, and prescribes the way for a Muslim to fulfill the commands of God and reach heaven.
Will stand in prayer during this time of world conflict and need for the gospel.
Welldone. keep to the good work.As God wills I ll join you in prayers. thanks
I find TDI to be misinformed about Islam and our views about God, prophets, angels, jinn etc. I have tried to explain some misconceptions on the main article “About Islam”.
I will deal with these issues piece by piece as I did on the main article.
1. No guarantee.
“While a Muslim may observe each of these pillars there is still no guarantee of salvation”
In Islam we believe that we will enter paradise based on God’s grace. This by no means suggest there is no guarantee! Read Surah 103 of the Holy Quran and God gives his guarantee to those who believe and do good works. Anyone who brings a submitting heart will “definitely” receive God’s grace and will enter paradise.
Here a question may be asked that if the person does good deeds why does he/she still require God’s grace? The reason is, whatever deeds a person may do in this world are incomparable to the reward God has promised for us in the hereafter. So if a straight forward comparison were to be made (i.e. compare apples to apples and oranges to oranges) no one is able to say to God “O God I did such and such work and now give me all the rewards of Paradise what is rightfully mine because I have paid for it in full”.
Continued…Response to Main Article.
1. No Guarantee.
TDI, can you tell me if Christians can claim they can enter the kingdom of God without God’s grace? Christians believe everyone is born in sin because of Adam and Eve and no human can/could repay for this sin, so the son of God had to come and sacrifice himself? I don’t hold these views but even so, is this not grace of God?
Continued…Response to Main Article.
1. No Guarantee
“The only sure way to paradise is to die as a martyr during an Islamic Holy War, Jihad.”
As I already explained in my previous post, guarantee is given with the only condition being that the person should come before God with a submitting heart and some good works. We believe that God may even forgive a person even if his/her bad deeds outweigh their good deeds if he/she repents and turns to God, as God is the master, but this is an exceptional case and not the norm. We believe, that if a person submits to God before death, God will forgive his/her sins and accept him/her in paradise.
With regards to Jihad I have already established on the main article site “About Islam” that in Islam only defensive wars are permitted to safeguard ones life, family, places of worship, property etc. So when God commands to fight and defend oneself, then if a person fights for his/her rights and defends the weak, and loses his life because God ordered him to fight and protect others how do you think God should treat such a person?
If a robber were to attack your family and if one of your sons stands up and fights for your family then how will you treat him? How should you treat him? Now can you imagine someone protecting God’s people and God remains thankless, non-Gracious when He is the owner of all that is in the heavens and the earth? We don’t attribute such conduct to any good human being, how can we attribute this behavior of indifference to God?
TDI, if someone seeks refuge in a church fearing death, will good Christians not fight those trying to kill the innocent person seeking refuge? And if some Christian dies protecting others, how will Jesus treat him? And if they do the unthinkable and turn over the innocent person to the killers, how will Jesus treat them?
Continued…Response to Main Article.
“Allah’s judgement is based solely on Allah’s will – not on justice.”
I disagree with the statement that Allah’s will is not just.
Of course Allah’s judgment is based on Allah’s will and thank God for that! Allah’s will is not only Just but also Gracious and Merciful. Show me any reference from Quran where Allah says or has been claimed to be unjust.
Otherwise I would like you to acknowledge that calling Allah unjust was not based on justice.
Continued…Response to Main Article.
2. Muhammad
“Although Jesus is the second highest prophet in Islam, the Isa of the Qur’an is only one prophet among 124,000.”
I am not really sure what is the point you are trying to make?
Muhammad (Peace and Blessings of Allah be on him) is the highest ranking prophet in Islam. But I don’t know from where you got the information that Jesus is the second highest prophet in Islam? Please provide a reference for me to comment on this. Also Jesus is Islam is known as Isa (a slight variation on the name ‘Yesu’ dervied from Jesus: “J” pronounced as “Y” like Yahweh), so how can you say Jesus is the second highest ranking prophet and Isa is not? This doesn’t make any sense.
Continued….Response to Main Article.
2. Muhammad (Peace and Blessings of Allah be on him)
“The Qur’an also refers to Jesus as Kalimat Allah, which means The Word of God.”
In the Quran Jesus (Peace be on him) is mentioned as one of the many words of God. Indeed God says that even if all the trees become pens and the oceans become ink, you will not be able to write down the words of Allah.
Kalima or the word of God means a specific way of creation. Indeed Allah says in the Quran the when Allah decides to create something He says Be and it begins to happen immediately, without delay according to the will of Allah. When Allah calls Jesus as a word of Allah, He is referring to the special manner of his creation (i.e. without a father, a phenomenon called parthenogenesis).
Continued…Response to Main Article.
2. Muhammad (Peace and Blessings of Allah be on him).
“Muslims do not believe in Jesus death on the cross, His resurrection nor in His deity”
Of course we don’t believe in Jesus death on the cross nor in his resurrection or his deity. Ahmadi muslims believe him to have been delivered from the cross alive. We also believe he passed away and is buried in Sri Nagar, Kashmir (see http://www.tombofjesus.com or http://www.alislam.com for details).
Continued…Response to Main Article.
3. Jinn.
In the Holy Quran the word Jinn is used as a generic word to describe things which can not be seen by the naked eye as well as on people of fiery nature and on nations outside Arabia with whom Arabs didn’t have frequent relations (i.e. Arabs didn’t see them often).
Paradise is called Jannah in Arabic which is from the same root word as Jin. Jannah is a garden which such thick foliage which doesn’t let sunlight to reach the ground (the same meaning of something covered or hidden is applicable here as well).
Angels are not the same as Jinn (see http://www.alislam.org/books/study-of-islam ).
The belief in angles is compulsory in Islam but not in Jinn (as a hob-goblin type creature).
Continued…Response to Main Article.
3. Jinn
“Although the Qur’an states that ‘good and evil comes from Allah’, this belief is not founded in orthodox Islam but is a result of pagan religions”
God only creates positive attributes. In Quran when Allah says good and evil comes from God, it means that Allah has created good things and evil is a consequence of absence of goodness.
For example Allah created light and darkness is the absence of light.
I agree that in places like India islam has been distorted, but a fair person would not attribute this to the teaching of Islam, rather on people who don’t follow it. (Isn’t the same true in Christianity? You also had many heretics which were crushed during inquisition).
Continued…Response to Main Article.
4. Law
“Islam incorporates rules for every aspect of life. Within the Qur’an and the Hadith’s there is instruction for every detail of a Muslim’s daily life. The Shari’a – the sacred law of Islam, applies to all aspects of life, not just religious practices. It describes the Islamic way of life, and prescribes the way for a Muslim to fulfill the commands of God and reach heaven”
First of all, if law was the curse why did God give this curse to his favored nation (i.e. the Jews)? Is this how God treats his people (i.e. by putting a curse on them?).
There is not a single saying in the Bible that is attributed to Jesus (Peace be on him) claiming the law was the curse. Please provide a reference if there is one.
Jesus (Peace be on him) says in Bible that he did not come to erase even a jot of the law but to fulfill it. Fulfillment could be done in two ways:
1) Abrogate (i.e. erase the law).
2) Complete it with what is lacking in it.
Jesus himself denied the first option. So we muslims believe he completed the law with what was lacking in it and that was the godly spirit of the law. Jews of his time had stuck to the form and had lost connection with the spirit and purpose of the law which God gave them to make them fair in their dealings and to bring them closer to God. This is not a curse! The real curse is to take this teaching away which was to bring them closer to God!
Islam provides complete guidance to become a godly person and in Islam Law is a gift of God and not a curse.
Who can say fairness in dealing with people and their issues (like distribution of inheritance, paying poor due, duty to relatives, neighbors, travelers, weak and needy etc.) is a bad thing?
If at all I find it to be a severe short-coming of the Bible to not present mankind with guidance in such matters.
I would like to emphasize though that law is there to make people fair in their dealings and to help them get closer to God. However, form without spirit is worthless. The law must be followed with the spirit and remembrance of God.
Khan..
You have many answers, but the fact remains, Islam is a violent and suppressing religeon, and its by the sword muslims try and convert and bring people into its teachings. Its is of the devil. Lets look at some things here…
There are just a few things i would like to ask you.
1. Why if islam being peaceful, are there laws against conversion from islam to christianity..i.e blaspheming the prophet? Why doesnt Allah allow people to come to him without force?
2. Mohammed writes in the Koran to listen and do as Jesus or Isa teaches (Surah 3:48-49; 5:46)
Jesus said he was God, and is the messiah. He is without sin. He was raised from the dead. He is the only way to the father.
If Allah is all knowing and powerful and using Mohammed to speak to the world, how can this be?? Jesus is the way…not Mohammed and his teachings.
2a – If the Koran is the truth and true word of God, why is this glaring mistake in the book?? doesnt Allah know he is god? If not,.why would Allah allow such a glaring mistake to be written in this revelation of himself?
3. If Jesus is without Sin as it states in the Koran…how can this be if he was born of Adam? Jesus himself said he was born from above and not of this world. Again, if you are to listen to what the Lord Jesus says by command of Allah through your own prophet..why dont you believe him then?!?!?! You are going against your own will of Allah by the teachings of Mohammed surely..
Thanks for your time to write them up…
Hi Steve,
I see you didn’t reply to my questions, but instead posed new questions to me. That’s fine. I’ll try to answer them.
“1. Why if islam being peaceful, are there laws against conversion from islam to christianity..i.e blaspheming the prophet? Why doesnt Allah allow people to come to him without force?”
Steve can you provide any reference from the Quran where such a law has been decreed by Allah? It is the crookedness of some people who ascribe coercion to Islam despite the clear and open claim of the Holy Quran that there is no compulsion in religion. Quran itself describes that there were people at the time of the Holy Prophet (saw) who accepted islam in the morning and reverted back to their previous religion in the evening.
“2. Mohammed writes in the Koran to listen and do as Jesus or Isa teaches (Surah 3:48-49; 5:46)”
Here is the translation of the verses you provided:
3:48 : And Allah will teach him the Book and Wisdom, the Law and the Gospel,
3:49:And (appoint him) an apostle to the Children of Israel, (with this message): ‘I have come to you, with a Sign from your Lord, in that I make for you out of clay, as it were, the figure of a bird, and breathe into it, and it becomes a bird by Allah’s leave: And I heal those born blind, and the lepers, and I quicken the dead, by Allah’s leave; and I declare to you what ye eat, and what ye store in your houses. Surely therein is a Sign for you if ye did believe;
5:46: And in their footsteps We sent Jesus the son of Mary, confirming the Law that had come before him: We sent him the Gospel: therein was guidance and light, and confirmation of the Law that had come before him: a guidance and an admonition to those who fear Allah.
Nowhere do these verse say what you are attributing to them. If you misquoted please provide the correct references.
2 con’td.
———–
“Jesus said he was God, and is the messiah. He is without sin. He was raised from the dead. He is the only way to the father.
If Allah is all knowing and powerful and using Mohammed to speak to the world, how can this be?? Jesus is the way…not Mohammed and his teachings.”
We do not believe Jesus was God, nor does Jesus say anywhere in the bible that he is God and people should worship him. When Jesus (peace be on him) says that I and my father are one and who has not seen me has not seen the father, he is describing the purpose for which prophets are sent. Those who do not see the truthfulness of a prophet also disbelieve in God. So a prophet or a messenger is not different from Him who sent him because whatever teachings the prophet presents he presents them because God commanded him to do so.
In their times every prophet has to say that he is the only way to the father. Claiming otherwise would be a lie.
“2a – If the Koran is the truth and true word of God, why is this glaring mistake in the book?? doesnt Allah know he is god? If not,.why would Allah allow such a glaring mistake to be written in this revelation of himself?”
I have already shown that Quran does not say what you are attributing to it.
“3. If Jesus is without Sin as it states in the Koran…how can this be if he was born of Adam? Jesus himself said he was born from above and not of this world. Again, if you are to listen to what the Lord Jesus says by command of Allah through your own prophet..why dont you believe him then?!?!?! You are going against your own will of Allah by the teachings of Mohammed surely..”
Where does in the Holy Quran does Allah say this? We do not believe in the theology of the original sin.
Steve, contrary to your claim, I do believe in lord Jesus as a prophet and messenger of the Allah. This is what the Quran tells us. You believe in the theory of original sin and also that Jesus gave his life to lift that sin from mankind. If that is true why do women still bear pain in childbirth and why do men all over the world still earn their living by the sweat of their brow?
Thank you for your comments and questions. Perhaps now you can answer my original questions.
Khan, Thank you for your response.
If you don’t believe in sin and you don’t believe in Jesus, then you are a lost soul, and I pray for your heart to repent and to face the truth because only Jesus can save you.
He died on a cross for you. The true God loves you more than you could ever know.
Allah is an impersonal idol. Where is his love? What has he done for you?!??!
The bible,. the true word of God tells us through the holy spirit inspired scriptures that Jesus is God. How can you say it doesnt say that, or that Jesus never said it?!?! Have you even read the bible?!?!?!?
John 10:30, “I and the Father are one” The jews reacted to His statement, “We are not stoning you for any of these, replied the Jews, but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God” (John 10:33). The Jews understood Jesus’ statement of claiming to be God.
John 8:58 is another example. Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was born, I am!” Again, in response, the Jews take up stones in an attempt to stone Jesus (John 8:59). Why would the Jews want to stone Jesus if He hadn’t said something they believed to be blasphemous, namely, a claim to be God?
John 1:1 says that “the Word was God.” John 1:14 says that “the Word became flesh.” This clearly indicates that Jesus is God in the flesh. He is the living word, the bread of life!
Thomas the disciple declared concerning Jesus, “Lord and my God” (John 20:28). Jesus does not correct him
Several times in Scripture Jesus receives worship (Matthew 2:11; 14:33; 28:9,17; Luke 24:52; John 9:38). He never rebukes people for worshiping Him. If Jesus were not God, He would have told people to not worship Him, just as the angel in Revelation had. There are many other verses and passages of Scripture that argue for Jesus’ deity.
This is what God says to you my friend,.
1 John8
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9) If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10) If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.
…Jesus has no place in your heart right now, because your pride and haughy spirit says I am without sin. This is serious dude…. you need to take a strong look at yourself.
I John2
20But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth.[d] 21I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth. 22Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the antichrist—he denies the Father and the Son. 23No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.
… Again dude…God says you are antichrist…. your father the devil is ruling your life.
I John3:1
The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.
… I am not of the world dude because i have been born again. I have a new heart…one that used to sin, but now follows Jesus, who knows Him, and who loves him.
You do not know God (jesus) because you havent been born from above. Only Jesus can do this for you.
Let me reiterate..
I john 3
He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. 9) No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. 10) This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother
You say..
You believe in the theory of original sin and also that Jesus gave his life to lift that sin from mankind. If that is true why do women still bear pain in childbirth and why do men all over the world still earn their living by the sweat of their brow?
Well God clearly tells us why in the bible…
Genesis 3
16 To the woman he said, (thats Jesus)
“I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing;
with pain you will give birth to children.
Your desire will be for your husband,
and he will rule over you.”
17 To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat of it,’
“Cursed is the ground because of you;
through painful toil you will eat of it
all the days of your life.
18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you,
and you will eat the plants of the field.
19 By the sweat of your brow
you will eat your food
until you return to the ground,
since from it you were taken;
for dust you are
and to dust you will return.”
Dude…you have to understand the true word of God… you have to understand the blessings and the curses.
WE are living in a fallen world now due to Adam’s sin. We are now fallen!! this is your first stumbling stone because you dont believe in Sin!!!
The reason pain is here is a sign post to you that all isnt well in creation now.
God made all things in 6 days and said it was good!!! Pain wasnt part of the plan!
Physical torment is a sign from God to say that physically and spiritually we are not right… we have all fallen.
There is too much to explain over this email right now. If you want to know more about sin then write back.
Only through Jesus and the work of the holy spirit that Jesus gives to all that call on his name to be saved can you reverse sin in your life.
my friend…
1 John3:16
This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.
Your God has done nothing for you. But Jesus suffered a terrible death to atone for your sin.
Dont harden your heart.
Your God doesnt even promise you that you will make it to heaven!!!
My God died for me. He promises me eternal life because i have repented, and i have faith in Jesus alone for my salvation. He bore my sins!!!! What an awesome God!!!
Only God could ever atone for the sin of man. No mere man would ever die a death like Jesus had to suffer.
His teachings, his miracles, his historical death and resurrection prove that he is God.
Jesus is doing a lot of great work right now…. many many Muslims and hindus are finding Christ.
The bible says we are saved by grace through faith.
Works is the fruit of God living in me(us) WE dont do works because he have to or that we strive to overcome. You will never ever ever succeed my friend. Works alone will do nothing.
ONly by Jesus can you be saved, and have a living breathing relationship with the true God.
ITs not religeon… its reality.
A man who was never interested in God. A born sinner, like everyone. Selfish, prideful…. slept around, drugs..lies.
But now I live for Christ.
A truely wonderful act of Grace saved me. And its there for you.
God Bless
Steve
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, if the christian god is only “all loving” then why did he create hell for?. why do people get sick ? when jesus was an infant , he needed diapers too . can you imagine a god wearing a diaper . .!!