Part 5, Islam

Islam Part 5

By Sara

What is the human condition?

-Allah created the earth and humans, so everything is perfect and good
-humans are the only animals with free choice and therefore have more pressure to follow the correct path and be good people. In Islam, being a “good person” means living life by following the five pillars, and always being grateful to Allah for everything one has
-one must surrender to Allah, meaning one must commit to following and listening to Allah. By surrendering to Allah, humans can escape other, evil forms of slavery
- To surrender one must accept the first pillar of Islam, shahada, believing there is one god, Allah and Mohammad is the prophet (there were other prophets before Mohammad, but he is the last).
-there is no original sin, though there is the belief in Ghaflah which is a sin, forgetting your divine origin
-all the basis for Islamic teachings and history is found in the Koran, the Holy Islamic book transcribed from God’s verbal teachings to Mohammad. Another collection of teachings can be found in the Hadiths, Mohammad’s collection of writings. humans learn how to follow the Islamic path in life through the Koran and the Hadiths.

Where are we going?

In Islam, there is a belief in the afterlife, or Akira. Within Akira, there is Jannah, equated to Heaven, and Jahannam, equated to Hell. Both these places are vividly described within the Koran so Islams have more incentive to reach Jannah. When people die in Islam, they must be buried within 5 days of their death, so the soul will be preserved. After a very long time, there will be a Judgment Day where the souls of everyone who died will wake up, and it will feel like an instant since they died. Everyone in the world lines up in a long line and waits for God to read a list of everything they did in their life, and each person gets a chance to explain everything they did. Allah makes a decision on whether the person goes to Jannah or Jahannam and if they get into Jannah, they skip across the bridge over the crevace of Jahannam. If they are sent to Jahannam, they get a chance to redeem themselves, and Allah can pull them out and send them to Jannah. Souls remain in Jannah for eternity, and can remain in Jahamman for eternity as well if they do not improve.

How do we get there?

In Islam, there is a prescribed way of life as stated in the Hadiths and the Koran. The main rules are called the “Five Pillars”

These are:
1. Shahada- believing that there is one god, Allah and Mohammad is his last prophet.
2. Salat- the requirement to pray five times a day, wherever the believer is
3. Zakat- the practice of charitable giving to those in need. It is the responsibility of Muslims to take care of their fellow Muslims. In Islam, it is permitted to be wealthy, but if they are they must give back to those in need. This eliminated inequality and differences of classes. However, having too much wealth can result in one of the seven sins of greed. The wealthier one is, the more of a challenge they have with rejecting greed.
4. Sawm- the requirement to fast. This occurs during the month of Ramadan, and is required for the following reasons:
a. encourages personal experience for empathy of hungry people
b. shows human life in perspective with the eternity of the universe and the everlasting aspect of Allah
c. makes one contemplate and learn about important life lessons
d. learn to control their urges
e. human fragility and their dependence on Allah
5. Hajj- the pilgrimage of Muslims all over the world to Mecca. It occurs during the Islamic month of Dhu al-Hijah
a. Represents Mohammad’s initial pilgrimage from Mecca to Medina to become the people’s leader and eventually a force to join rival tribes
b. It worships Abraham because he listened to God’s requests when he told Abraham to kill his only son

It is the duty of all Muslims to follow these five pillars throughout their lives. If Muslims follow these five pillars they will be accepted by Allah into Jannah.