Reading 3

The Five Pillars

· The straight path: A path that is not crooked or corrupt, a path straightforward and direct.

· Classified actions from “forbidden,” “indifferent,” and “obligatory.”

· Great stages of religious development: -Monotheism (One God), -Ten Commandments (Rules of God), -Golden Rule (Most important rule: Treat others as you would like to be treated), Koran (how to love your neighbor)

1. Creed/Shahadah: profession of faith

2. Caniconical Prayer:

· Submitting ones will to God as it’s rightful sovereign

· God instructed Mohammad to have people pray 50 times a day; he bartered it down to 5.

3. Charity:

4. Observance of Ramadan/Fasting:

5. Pilgrimage:

· Distinctions of rank and hierarchy are removed, and prince ad pauper stand before God in their undivided humanity

Social Teachings

· Faith is intertwined with politics and society inseparably.

1. Economics

· A societies health requires that material goods be widely and appropriately distributed.

· Muslim economics are compared to the circulatory system

· Inheritance must be shared to all the children and could no longer be restricted to the eldest son

2. The Status of Woman

· Much better than how it was, even though it seems too flexible and demeaning to today’s standards

· Infanticide of girls was common, men could have as many wives as they wanted and women were treated as objects.

· Koran changed to made killing illegal, men can only have as many as four wives, but having more than one is discouraged, woman have more rights and voice

3. Race Relations: Islam stresses racial equality

4. The use of force

· Emphasis on the return of good or evil, not just turning the other cheek.

· allows an equal punishment for wrong doings, though some punishments seem severe, they are not often given because of the requirements to give the punishment, so the punishment is softened.