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157 CHAPTER 9 The Five Pillars of Islam The Five Pillars of Islam represent an outline or résumé of Islamic faith and practice. They are the basic elements, the minimum and certainly not the entirety of religion. The first of the five is a creedal statement that reflects the core of faith. The remaining four treat practice. All are understood as first principles, the pillars or foundations upon which the house of Islam stands firm. . Witnessing (Shahāda or Shahādatayn) This first principle is a statement of testimony made up of two parts: that there is but one divinity that created and powers the universe, and that Muhammad is a prophet or messenger of that great God. The first part of this testimony was considered in Part 2 when the Five Pillars of Faith were considered: “There is no god but God.” The second phrase of the shahāda declares that Muhammad is God’s messenger. Together, the phrase reads in Arabic, lā ilāha illāllah umuh . ammadun rasūlullāh.2 This is the foundational creedal statement of Islam, something equivalent in power and meaning to the Jewish testimony that is recited at least twice every day in the daily prayer service: “Pay attention, Israelites: The Lord our God is One!” (shemà yisra’el adonay eloheinu adonai eh . ad—Deut. 6:4). In addition to its centrality as the quintessential article of faith, the shahāda is also a formula for conversion . Stating the shahāda freely and without compulsion before witnesses is all that is required to become a Muslim. 158 A N I N T R O D U C T I O N T O I S L A M F O R J E W S One peculiar aspect of Arabic (that finds an exact parallel in Hebrew) is that the construct phrase, rasūlullāh, can mean either “a prophet of God” or “the prophet of God.” Because Islam accepts the prophethood of all the biblical characters who communicated with God as well as some extrabiblical characters found in the Qur’an such as the prophets Hūd and S .ālih . , the former meaning is most accurate. 2. Prayer (S .alāt) All four of the following pillars are designated by Arabic names that have direct Hebrew or Aramaic equivalents. The Aramaic equivalent of s .alāt is tzlota, which simply means prayer.3 In the Islamic system, there is a difference between the required daily prayers called s .alāt and the private petitionary prayers or invocations that are called du`ā’. S .alāt are highly regulated, formal prayers that must be recited at fixed times with a regulated liturgy and formal body postures that include bowing, kneeling, and full prostration. Du`ā’ are “superogatory” prayers, meaning additional personal prayers that are not required but of course always encouraged. There is no formal prayer book for the required prayers, since they are relatively short, include many repeated phrases, and are generally quite easy to remember. As in Judaism, it is not necessary for ordained clergy to lead the prayer service. The prayer leader must be, simply, a respected and pious member of the community who knows the rules in order to lead the congregation properly. There is also no singing or music in official prayers. Muslims may pray in any clean space without undo distraction, under a roof or in the open and with any number of people or alone, although it is preferable to pray in a mosque if one is available. A prayer rug is used simply in order to ensure that the prostrations that are the core body movement of Islamic prayer are done in a clean place. The Arabic word for the rug, sajjāda, means “a thing for prostrating.” Islamic prayer is expected to be conducted in the Arabic language. Only the Hanafi school is open to the possibility of some prayer being conducted in another language. Additionally, communal prayer is always preferable to individual prayer. According to a respected hadith found in the most respected collection of Bukhari, “The prayer that a man performs in congregation is worth 25 of his prayers in his home or in the market.”4 Prayer must be oral and recited outwardly but neither too loudly nor too softly: “Do not be too loud in your prayer and not too quiet, but seek a way between them” (Q.7:0). And prayer must be engaged soberly and calmly, with concentration...

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