Islam

The 5 pillars of Islam

Muslims see the 5 pillars as cornerstones that hold up the religion

They see them as 5 duties in which to build their life around

And they follow them to please Allah when it is judgement day

Names

Shahadah

Salah

Zakah

Sawm

Hajj

Meanings

Shahadah - There is no other God then Allah

Salah - Pray 5 times a day

Zakah - Give 2.5% of your earnings to charity

Sawm - Fasting during Ramadam

Hajj - The pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia

Tawhid and shirk

Tawhid - The only God is Allah

Shirk - The sin of practising idolatry or polytheism

The prophet Muhammed

The prophet Muhammed was born in Mecca, Saudi Arabia

When he was younger lots of idols were being worshiped

When he grew up he was a caravan man and he lived a life of fairness and respect

But one day everything changed when an angel told him he was now the messenger of God

At first he was very confused but over time he gathered that he had to tell people that there was no other God but Allah

The words he said are now the words of the holy book, the Qur'an

But people didn't believe him and killed all of the people that were close to him

People wanted to kill him and eventually there was one time when he was running away from some people and he hid in a cave and above the cave was a pigeon who protected him

He then entered a new city called Medina

In Medina he was a political leader

He assembled an army of Muslims and the Muslims won their first battle

People had now admitted that Muhammed had not been lying

Muhammed gave women rights

In the year 630 AD he destroyed all of the idols inside Mecca

His death created the birth of an new Islamic era

He only wanted to be known as just a normal person