1. Profession of Belief
The first pillar is simply proclaiming faith in Allah (“The God”) for Muslims. Whether the profession takes place out-loud by reading the Qur’an or by saying daily prayers, or if the profession takes place in an internal meditation, followers of Islam live in accordance with the first pillar. The word for profession of belief is Shahada. Likewise, Christians are called to profess their faith in God in a myriad of ways. Christians can also read Scripture, pray out loud, sing songs in praise, and profess their beliefs to those who are unfamiliar with Jesus. For Christians as well as Muslims, this first idea of professing faith is a fundamental part of their respective religions.
2. Five Ritual Prayer Times Per Day
Muslims have five brief but very important prayer times in the day, ranging from the early morning hours to the evening. When saying these prayers, Muslims must be facing the city of Mecca. Muslims face the Ka’ba in Mecca, which is a single-roomed structure that is said to have been built by Abraham and his son Ishmael. While Christians do not have five times in the day that are set aside for prayer alone, they are encouraged to pray several times throughout the day to stay in touch with Jesus. Many Christians say several small prayers each day to ask for help or to give thanks to God. Therefore, close spiritual contact with God is essential in both Christianity and Islam.
3. Almsgiving
The third pillar of Islam is another virtue that is stressed highly in both Christianity and Islam. Muslims believe that almsgiving is crucial because they do not want to have a high sense of “ownership” because material possessions are only temporary and mean nothing in the afterlife. Therefore, Muslims donate to the needy because Allah gives Muslims what they have and they strive to remember that only He has true “ownership.” Christianity holds almsgiving dearly because it was so highly stressed by Jesus in His teachings. Not only did Jesus talk of giving to the poor, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and visiting the imprisoned, but He enjoyed the company of those who needed alms. Muslims and Christians are to maintain a strong charitable spirit fit for almsgiving.
4. Fasting
Fasting is most prevalent during the time of Ramadan for Muslims. For thirty days, Muslims must abstain from eating, drinking, and sex from sunrise to sunset. This action helps Muslims to ponder on the more spiritual aspects of life since they do not have to worry about getting meals during the day. Additionally, it probably helps Muslims empathize with the needy who have to struggle to find meals on a daily basis. For Christians, fasting is not as structured or rigorous, but it still is done for reasons similar to the Islamic ones. While Christians do not go through fasting processes as rigorous as the Ramadan one, they do fast on certain days during the forty days of Lent. On Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, no meat is allowed, and only one “large” meal is allowed. On every other Friday in Lent, no meat is allowed. Christians also are not supposed to eat or drink one hour before receiving the Eucharist. The fasting done during Lent brings Christians closer to Christ because He went without food or drink for forty days in the seclusion of the desert. Christians are able to understand the suffering and sacrifices Christ went through to conquer temptation and death which furthers love for Jesus during the time of Lent.
5. Pilgrimage
Muslims are supposed to make at least one journey to the holy city of Mecca during their lives. One of the reasons Mecca is so important for Muslims is that the prophet Muhammed, a central character in Islam, lived and taught in Mecca. This pilgrimage helps Muslims to deepen their faith by seeing and experiencing a place so sacred to their beliefs. The pilgrimage also gives a sense of global community since Muslims from all over the world come each year to the city of Mecca. In contrast, Christianity does not require any pilgrimages, but many Christians travel to the areas where Jesus walked or to the Vatican in Rome. As a Christian who has been blessed with the opportunity to visit the Vatican, I can testify that my faith deepened greatly in the short two or three hours that I walked through the Holy City, St. Peter’s Basilica, and the Sistine Chapel. So, while pilgrimages are at least encouraged in both Christianity and Islam, they deepen love and a sense of community in each religion.
Conclusion
While the five pillars of Islam do not match-up exactly with Christian traditions and lifestyles, the core beliefs and principles in each pillar are vital to both religions. Even though Islam is often misunderstood in today’s world, Christianity and Islam share several key virtues.
(Part 1) I like what Matt did with this post. While there are differences in Christian lifestyles against the Islam lifestyles, there are some major similarities. As all religions are not equal, this shows how religions can closely be alike. In that regard, I like how this post was brought up to show the similarities and the differences. For this post, I would like to offer my view on these five pillars of Islam compared to Christian lifestyles.
ReplyDeleteThey hold the profession of faith by Christians in very high regard. While there is not a set number of times to pray a day, most Christians tend to pray at least once a day, with some multiple times. I try to pray each day, and depending on how the day has been going (good or bad), I may pray multiple times. As Matt said in the post, these are both essential to the Christian and Islamic lifestyles. Obviously, the main difference is that Islam followers worship Allah, who they believe is the Christian equivalent of God. Despite this key difference, the first pillar is similar.
In the second pillar (ritual of praying five times a day), Muslims go through their ritual of praying five times a day. As a Christian though, I would not want to have to pray five times a day. I am not saying praying five times a day would be horrible, but I believe each individual should be able to pray once to as many times as they want in a day. I think this is a strong difference (in my eyes) between the religions. Also, Muslims have to be facing the city of Mecca, meaning they can not exactly pray where they want to. I would also find this a bit strange to follow, because for Christians we can be wherever and pray. By no means am I bashing their tradition, as I respect their methods of praying.
For the third pillar, almsgiving is the central focus. Muslims believe their possessions mean nothing in the afterlife, so by giving them away while they are alive they believe they are pleasing Allah. For Christians, they also use almsgiving, as it is considered a virtue for their lifestyle. In some scenarios, God called on men to give away everything in order to achieve salvation. As a result, the man gave away all his possessions in order to focus on God’s work. God believed a man/woman did not need all their possessions in order to complete their mission. With this abandonment, the man/woman was able to contribute great help to others and themselves with almsgiving. Christians and Muslims both continue this trend today as they continue to help those in need by giving them what they need. Both Muslims and Christians use almsgiving as a way to focus on their Creator’s work and truly worship him.
The fourth pillar focuses on fasting, which lasts for thirty days during the time of Ramadan. Fasting for Muslims can be very challenging, as not eating, drinking, and abstaining from sex for thirty days can wear someone out. But, as Matt said, it causes the Muslims to ponder on the spiritual aspects of life. Muslims are said to have come out of Ramadan stronger individuals and have a deeper understanding on their spiritual aspects of life. I think fasting would be very interesting to try, because I feel it really tests the mental aspect of someone. Since Christians do not really fast, the experience would probably be really good in strengthening one’s relationship with God. Thirty days would be grueling, but with all the focus on becoming closer to God and the religion, the quality of life for the individual could be heavily strengthened. The absence of meat on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, Fridays during Lent, and giving up something for 40 days of Lent is not necessarily enough. This is why I think it would be interesting to fast for possibly 30 days during Lent. The experiment could show a new side of life for someone and teach him or her how other religions work.
(Part 2)The fifth and final pillar is pilgrimage. For the Muslims, the pilgrimage to Mecca is the strengthening of religion and to experience what Muhammed did (as Matt said earlier). Since Muslims treasure the city of Mecca greatly, this is an important journey for the Muslims, as they could end up only visiting there once. A sacred pilgrimage there would increase appreciation for Allah and also strengthen the bond, similar to what would happen to Christians. Christians are not obligated to take a pilgrimage, but I feel as if I have taken one similar to that. This January I went to Passion 2012 in Atlanta, which is a conference for college students and beyond. The main focus is God and all the things he does for us. Going into the conference I felt as if I was strong acquaintances with God, but leaving after I felt the bond between God and I become significantly stronger. To me, it felt like a mini pilgrimage. The place was like a big church, and having everyone there for God made me feel extremely blessed.
ReplyDeleteThe pillars of Islam compared to Christian lifestyles have traces that are similar. Although, Christians do not have to fast and have pilgrimage compared to the Muslims. It is fascinating to see other religions have qualities that closely resemble each other.