THE FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM

The Five Pillars of Islam ~ 83 ~ lives of worship of and devotion to God. The different observances which are the warp and weft of such an existence—faith, prayer, fasting, charity, pilgrimage—are not mere rituals, but are integral virtues of the Islamic awareness. Faith, to take the most important, is in essence, belief in the truth of divine realities. Prayer is an exercise in physical and mental prostration before God, such as will banish all notions of personal greatness. Fasting—perhaps the most difficult—teaches one to be steadfast in one’s trust of God. Charity entails the recognition of others’ claims upon one, so that one shall not forfeit one’s own share in God’s bounty. Lastly, the pilgrimage serves to unite God’s servants around their Maker. Once an individual attains the high degree of piety engendered by the observance of these Islamic requirements, he can be judged to have acquired such characteristics—selflessness, patience, readiness to acknowledge the rights of others—as will gain him God’s blessings for all time to come. FAITH When one finally acknowledges God as one’s Lord