Religion and Theology

Like every religion the foundation of Islam rests upon the five pillars that constitute the fundamental basis of cardiac faith of any person who claims of being a Muslim. These pillars not only mould the faith of a Muslim but also play a pivotal role in enhancing the belief system of Muslims as they believe that the adherence of these doctrines of the religion will help them in earning the pleasure of God and will help them ultimately in getting a place in heaven on the Day of Resurrection. Lets have a look at these pillars of faith. (Ellwood, McGraw 2009)

First and the most important pillar of Islam is the belief in the Oneness of God or the pillar of Tauheed as it is known in Islamic theology. The cardiac belief that is a salient feature of this pillar is periodically reminded at various times in the sanctimonious literature of Muslims which deals that there is no Creator or Sustainer than Almighty God who is the sole controller of all the worlds present. Moreover this pillar also strongly accentuates on the fact that Muhammad is the last messenger of God and therefore it is a general belief that those specific sects of Muslims who do not adhere to this belief are considered discarded from the influence of the religion.

Second most important pillar of the religion is that of Prayer or what is known as Salat. Offered five times a day at different intervals, the pillar of prayer is the most essential component of the religion. The significance of the pillar can be justified from the fact that the offering of prayer cannot be left in anyway whether one is ill or even paralyzed. Prayer can only be offered after performing ablution which is a pre-requisite, moreover it is always considered meritorious for males especially to offer their prayers in congregation in mosque whereas females are supposed to offer prayers in their homes.

Following prayer in terms of significance is the pillar of fasting or Saum as it is known in Arabic. Offered in the Islamic month of Ramadan, it is during this time that Muslims have to remain deprived of food and water supplies for the entire day and are only allowed to resume these activities after noon call of prayers. Fasting is significant in the way as it helps Muslims all over the world to put their tolerance and resistance at test by remaining steadfast to God by abstaining themselves from doing anything and speaking any wrong. It is worth mentioning here that fasting unlike prayer can be left in cases of travelling and disease sufferings whereas prayers are mandatory in every case.
Zakat is the next pillar of Islam which has been rewarded the status of a fundamental pillar in the religion due to its economic significance in Islam. Through the implementation of this pillar homogeneous distribution of wealth and affluence is highlighted so that it cannot get concentrated into a few hands. In addition to this it also stresses on the fact that the poor people of the society must not be neglected and that they must be provided economic benefits though the pillar of Zakat provided by the people to the state. This pillar also like fasting is subjected to various flexibilities people who do not posses enough financial capacity are immune from the adherence of this pillar. (Salamone 2004)

Last of the major pillar of Islam is that of Hajj pilgrimage. This pillar is considered as the toughest in the way that it allows a faithful follower to leave his family and sideline his financial activities to travel to the city of Mecca and Madina to offer the major components of this pillar. Hajj can only be performed in the specific time of Islamic calendar of Zil Hajj and like Zakat and Fasting it provides people the convenience of preventing the offering of pilgrimage only until they do not possess the economic capability to do so but once financial stability is achieved the performance of this pillar becomes mandatory.