Page 138 - รวมเล่มศาสนาในประเทศไทย ภาคภาษาอังกฤษ

The 5 Pillars of Islam

The 5 Pillars of Islam are the fundamental basics that all Muslims must keep in
mind to practice. They are composed of:
1. The declaration of faith, to be a Muslim, one has to recite a statement of
declaration out loud, with total sincerity and true faith. The statement is,

“There is no god but Allah (and) Muhammad is the messenger of God.”

2. Salat is the Islamic prayer, the gesture of worshipping Allah, spiritually, verbally
and physically. The prayer must be performed 5 times a day, before dawn, noon, afternoon and
in the evening when the sun sets and at nightfall. When the mind is solely connected to Allah,
one will have no chance to do any harm or wrong against the testimony.
3. To pay for Zakāt or alms-giving, is the requisite charity that Muslims must donate
to poor people, orphans, to the newly converted Muslims and to travelers, at a specific time of
year, as it is written in the Islamic law. In Thailand, rice is normally given as Zakat however, if
silver or gold is to be given instead, the estimation of the donation is equal to 2.5 percent of the
object’s value.
4. Sawm or Fasting is the abstention from food or drink daily, during the month of
Ramadan, which takes place in the 9th lunar month of Islam. The fasting begins from period of
dawn to the day’s sunset. Its practice, by abstaining from one’s daily desire to relieve hunger, is
believed to help train oneself on perseverance and honesty.
5. Hajj: Pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia; Once in a lifetime, Muslims who are
able, physically and economically, should make a pilgrimage to follow the path of Nabi Muhammad,
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the Prophet. The period is between the 8 -13 of the 12 month in the Islamic calendar.

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