Introduction
The term "Islam" in Arabic means "submission" and the one who took the religion called "faithful". Islam is the youngest of the world religions. It emerged at the beginning of VII century among the nomadic and semi-nomadic peoples of the Semitic language family, who lived in the Arabian Peninsula. Islam is the second largest world religion. Today, its confession is 1/5 of the world’s population (Adler & Pouwels, 2010, pp. 200 – 205).The most important feature of Islam as a world religion is inseparable connection between the religious cult, social and political life. The influence of religion on society in Arab countries is expressed more clearly than in any other religion. The main provisions are contained in the doctrine of Islam "holy book" - the Qur’an (Adler & Pouwels, 2010, pp. 200 – 205).
Pillars of Islam
The first pillar of Islam is the shahada, or testimony of faith. It is based on the monotheistic claim that Allah is the only God and Muhammad is his prophet. People, who proclaim and truly believe in this with all their heart, become Muslims. Becoming a Muslim should be a person’s choice to rely on Allah till the end of his life and act according to his revelations (The Religion of Islam, 2006).
The second pillar of Islamis prayer. In general terms, prayer is the realization of God and communication with him one way or another. Muslims try to maintain an atmosphere of prayer all day, not for a moment forget about God. Salah prayer ritual is slightly different from accidental turning to God for whatever personal reasons. Salah is a special ritual that consists of movements and words, some words are predetermined, the other a Muslim is free to choose at will from the Qur’an. Allah requires the faithful to make this prayer five times a day at specific times. Only one common prayer in the mosque is seen as a must – a noon prayer on Fridays. This prayer substitutes a regular afternoon prayer, being more festive. Muslims pray, wearing clean clothes, as it the most important day of the week when connection to Allah is the strongest(The Religion of Islam, 2006).
The third pillar of Islam is issuance of zakat. This kind of worship to Allah is accomplished through mandatory donation of the property in favor of those who need it. Islam stipulates the categories of people who can be given zakat. A Muslim should allocate only a very small part of his property and give it to the poor and other types of people in need, which Allah mentioned in Qur’an.
The result of zakat is purification of the soul from greed, an increase of grace in the rest of the property, help to the Muslims in their needs, the appearance of love and brotherhood between them, getting rid of selfishness and excess, the release of hearts from envy. When a man gives zakat to those in need, he must do so humbly and without arrogance, with mercy and compassion(The Religion of Islam, 2006).
The fourth pillar of Islam is fasting during Ramadan. The ninth month of the Muslim calendar,Ramadan is a special time for Muslims, for Allah revealed to Muhammad the first Qur’an revelation.
The fast requires a Muslim to bring the conscious mind into a state of prayer and rest. In the daylight hours of the month are not allowed to eat, drink, smoke and have sexual relations. No one, however, does not die of hunger, for eating and drinkingare permitted after sunset until the next morning.The meaning of fasting is not only abstaining from food. If one cannot turn away from evil, violence, greed, lust, irritability and treacherous thoughts, then he should not refrain from eating and drinking. Such abstinence would be meaningless. Muslims believe in the beneficence of fasting. Some argue that the fastingis a very good wellness practice, because the stomach during fasting rests. However, the main benefit is in the spiritual and mental rehabilitation. Fasting encourages people to appreciate what they have, and helps them realize the special grace of food and drink(The Religion of Islam, 2006).
The fifth pillar of Islam - the Hajj. Hajj is slightly different from other four obligations of Muslims in a way that it is necessary for a believer to give up his personal life. Hajj is the pilgrimage to Mecca - the cradle of Islam. Every adult Muslim is obliged to secure financially at least one pilgrimage in a lifetime. If a Muslim is unable to pay all the costs associated with the pilgrimage, or burdened with a large family, he is released from the obligation to perform the Hajj.
Hajj requires from the believer considerable efforts and diligence. Some people, who live in faraway countries, need months, and even years to get to Mecca. Hajj marks three important events in Islamic history. First - forgiveness and reunion of Adam and Eve, the second - Prophet Ibrahim’ssacrifice of his sonIsmail, and the third - the obedience of the prophet Muhammad(The Religion of Islam, 2006).
How Islam contributes to a better society?
Having considered FivePillars of Islam, it can be assumed that monotheism and faith in the power of Allah are the basis for a common understanding of social processes. Religion is the source of morality for membersof the society. Islam has a strong influence on the Muslims;therefore it is a source of general morality. For example, let us compare the Islamic society with a liberal. Charles Taylor criticizes the individualism of liberal society in which every member of is trying to achieve his own selfish goals disregarding the needs of the whole society. Individualism leads to the fact that moral values shared by all members of society, disappear (Taylor, 1991, pp. 1-11). In case of Five Pillars of Islam it can be said that Allah determines the best interests of society, which are above the personal. Therefore, the Islamic society that shares values of Qur’an is more like the Aristotelian society, based on the morality of citizens, than modern western society.
It was noted that Islam has strong links with the political life of its members. This is reflected in the fact that constitution and political process are inextricably linked to the Pillars of Islam, and therefore, are filled with religious and moral sense. This means that Islamic political leaders share values of their people and their policies should be consistent with the teachings of Muhammad. In terms of representative government it can be said that politicians represent exactly what the citizens voted for. Let us take again the Western society for comparison. Jean Baudrillard described the current policy as a policy of the masses, which cannot be represented by a political party. According to Baudrillard, the masses have no ideals, so the politics will never be able to represent their interests. One of the masses’characteristic is the ability to keep silence, that is, no politicians can speak on their behalf. Therefore, all representative bodies are the simulation of social relations (Baudrillard, 1983, pp. 15-25). The Baudrillard’s concept of Western society is too negative, but shows a stark contrast to Islamic culture, where the will of Allah, and not private interest, is a key policy principle.
The third argument in favor of the social contribution of the Five Pillars of Islam is the economy. The Third Pillar of Islam, zakat requires Muslims to help the deprived categories of people. Violation of this rule contradicts the Qur’an, and therefore is compulsory. Given that the Five Pillars of Islam create moral value system of the society, such economic assistance is morally justified and does not restrictthe economic activities of Muslims. An important provision is that the economic activities of Muslims are not contrary to the public interest. In a liberal economy the dominant paradigm is self-realization, which is expressed in the personal enrichment. State and its institutions should provide support for low-income groups. The liberal principle contributes to the achievement of personal goals, but not the public. Therefore, the Five Pillars’ principles of generosity and moderation contribute to public interest in the economic sphere.
Conclusions
The Five Pillars of Islam are the moral, political and economic basis of the Muslims’ behavior. In contrast to the liberal principles of social organization, the Islamic principles are considered in the context of society, the supreme law of which is the Qur’an. Intersubjective belief in the same principles benefits the society, and is expressed in a high possibility of political representation, economic cooperation and high moral standards of society. Obviously, the Five Pillars of Islam do not always lead to positive resultsin practice, but as a theoretical justification of the society’s principles are well-founded.
References
Adler, P. J., &Pouwels, R. L. (2010). WorldCivilizations (6th ed.). Boston, USA: CengageLearning.
Aristotle (1943). Aristotle'sPolitics (B. Jowett, Trans.). NewYork: Modernlibrary.
Baudrillard, J. (1983). IntheShadowofSilentMajoritiesortheEndoftheSocial. NewYork, USA: SemiotextInc.
TheReligionofIslam (2006, February 13). FivePillarsofIslam. Retrieved June 17, 2013, from http://www.islamreligion.com/articles/193/viewall/
Taylor, C. (1991). TheEthicsofAuthenticity (11th ed.). USA: CanadianBroadcastingCorporation.
