Through my imagination I took a friend to a mosque in Indonesia for him to learn something new on the Islamic religion. It was surprising that the Muslims have some pillars that are a symbol that represents what they have to do in their religious duties. They are like the ten commandments of the Christians that give foundations to them spiritually and serve a religious purpose. These pillars are five in number and they are discussed in the essay.

First, the Muslims have to profess their faith by accepting and bearing witness that there is only one God. This is done by a daily recitation of a creed that professes of only one God that they serve and Muhammad being the messenger of God to the Muslims. The Muslims by reciting the creed, they show that they accept their religion and that they are fully committed to the Islamic religion. The pillar is referred to as Shahadah according to the Islamic language (Cornell, P 5).

Prayer is the second pillar of the Islamic religion. The Muslims believe in a direct relationship with God. They offer their prayers to God five times a day while they are facing Mecca a city that they believe is the holiest. On Fridays they hold a service that involves a congregation being a day where most people visit the mosque. The Muslims are usually permitted to offer their prayers at home, at their working places or even while travelling. This pillar is known as Salah in the Islamic religion (Cornell, P 5).

The Muslims also have the responsibility of serving the society by giving alms a responsibility required by the pillar that is known as Zakat (Hazen, P 18). This is done through giving some proportions of one’s wealth to the needy people in the society. The fourth pillar of the Islamic religion calls them to fast during the Ramadan period. They believe that they are seeking a stronger perception with God by fasting and they refer to this pillar as Sawm (Hazen, P 19).

The fifth and the final pillar is the pillar referred to as Hajj. This is a pillar that manifests the faith of the Islam’s and unites them in the world. The unity and faith are manifested through paying pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca. The Muslims believe that the pillar is the climax of their religion and is experienced once in a life time (Hazen, P 19).Works Cited

Cornell, V. J. Voices of Islam: Voices of tradition. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2007. Print

Hazen, Walter. Inside Islam (Enhanced eBook). Lorenz Education Press, 2002. Print