1. Shahadah: Worship God (Allah) alone. (Islam)
This is “the Muslim profession of faith: ‘There is no god but Allah; Muhammad is the prophet of Allah.’… It must be recited by every Muslim at least once in a lifetime, aloud, correctly, and purposively, with a full understanding of its meaning and with an assent of the heart.” (source) However, most Muslims say this prayer everyday.
Christians must also believe that there is only one God. However, we do not consider one prophet to be the best out of all of them. The closest Christians come to the Muslim profession of faith is when we pray to accept Jesus into our hearts as our Lord and Savior. However, we do not have to accept Him into our hearts every day, but only once. He stays in and doesn’t leave. (Hebrews 13:5)
2. Salah: Pray 5 times a day. (Islam)
“Prayers are said at dawn, noon, mid-afternoon, sunset and nightfall, and thus determine the rhythm of the entire day. Although it is preferable to worship together in a mosque, a Muslim may pray almost anywhere, such as in fields, offices, factories and universities. Visitors to the Muslim world are struck by the centrality of prayers in daily life.” (source) A usual prayer goes like this: “Praise be to God, Lord of the Universe!, The compassionate, the Merciful, King of the Day of Judgment!. You alone we worship, and to you alone we turn for help. Guide us to the straight path, the path of those whom You have favored, not of those who have incurred Your wrath, nor of those who have gone astray.” (source) Muslims saying the prayers kneel on their prayer rugs, facing Mecca. If they are already in Mecca, they face the Kabbah. Some Muslims even build their houses to face Mecca!
Christians do not have a designated number of times a day they should pray, but 1 Thessalonians 5:17 says, “Pray continually.” We can pray anywhere, also. (Psalms 139: 1-16.) Matthew 6: 5-14 also gives us a guideline of how we should pray. However, we do not have to kneel or face a certain location since our prayers go to heaven. Christians usually attend church on a regular basis, also. While Muslims attend church on Fridays, most Christians attend on Sunday or Saturday night. However, the day attended is not a major difference.
3. Zakah: Give regularly to charity. (Islam)
“Zakah is to be paid once a year on savings at the rate of two and a half percent. This rate applies to cash, bank savings and gold and silver jewelry. The rate of cattle and agricultural produce is different. Payment of Zakah is a form of worship and its main importance lies in the fact that it fosters in us the qualities of sacrifice and rids us of selfishness and greed.” (source)
Christians are to give to charity secretly, not to announce it and promote themselves as generous. (Matthew 6: 1-4) Leviticus 27: 30-34 tells us that the Israelites were to give 1/10 of their earnings, as is what we do today. Our mindsets should be that since God gave us everything we have, we should be willing to give back 10% (and more.)
4. Sawm: Fast for 30 days during the period of Ramadan. (The holy month of Islam.) (Islam)
“When the night comes, people wait for a signal marking the end of Sawm for that specific day. This is marked by a gunshot…calling from the mosques; and in modern times, through TV and radio. The first thing all Muslims do is drink some water, then a traditional meal called iftar is eaten, where eating together with other people is considered very important. During the iftar, streets are totally empty, and all families are gathered in the houses.” (source) If a Muslim breaks the fast one day, he must make up for that day after Sawm.
Matthew 6: 16-18 tells us that we are to fast in secret and not tell the world that we are doing it to show how “righteous” we are. Fasting is for God alone and no one else. We are to do it quietly and try not to let it show to anyone. We do not have a certain time when all Christians do it, but those who follow the tradition of Lent do it from Ash Wednesday to Easter.
5. Hajj: Make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in your life. (Islam)
The Muslim must be pure before Allah, then he says a prayer. The pilgrim enters the Holy Mosque at Mecca, right foot first, and recites the prayer… [Then] the pilgrim performs the tawaf. This is a counter-clockwise procession which circles” (source) the Kabah, (meaning ‘the cube,’) a black box built by Abraham and Ishmael. (Thompson) “Followers of Islam who cannot go on a Hajj because of ill health or lack of money are excused from the obligation." (source)
This is probably the biggest difference between the 5 pillars of Islam and Christianity. Christians do not have to make a trip anywhere in order to complete their salvation. We believe that Christ alone is our way to heaven. God is perfectly just and knows that we all deserve to die for our sins. However, He is also a God of mercy, so He sent His perfect Son to take the punishment for us. Jesus came down to earth and willingly gave up His life on the cross, where He bore our sins. However, in 3 days He rose from the dead, something only God can do. If we accept Him into our hearts as our Savior, we will go to heaven to be with Him for all eternity. It is through Christ alone that we are saved from our sin, not by anything that we can do. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Richards)
Works Cited
Islam-NBC News Video
Richards, Lawrence O. The New Adventure Bible. Grand Rapids, Michigan: ZondervanPublishingHouse. 1989.
Thompson, Linwood. High School Level—World History: The Fertile Crescent to the American Revolution-The Rise of Islam. Chantily, VA. 1997
Muslims bowing in prayer
A Christian praying
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