1. Believe in no God but Allah, and Muhammad is the prophet of Allah.
2. Pray five times a day.
3. Observe Ramadan, the holy month fasting.
4. Do charity and give to those less fortunate than you.
5. Accomplish the trip to Mecca in Saudi Arabia, where the holy house is; the trip which is requested of every Muslim man or a woman, once in their life time if able to.
These pillars are very similar to the basics of other religions, which are mainly to organize the relationship between a believer and his God.Although, we notice that some of those pillars are concerned about the society, like praying five times a day, when a Muslim should visit the
mosque. Day after day he gets connected to the others in those mosques, which helps to build a closed, strong, loving community.
But if we look closely at all the pillars of Islam, we notice that all of them, in one way or another, train and enhance the behavior of the Muslims, and encourage them to help each other, which we find in other religions, especially Christianity. What is very different is, in Islam, the religion teaches you the best way to run your life. It is a very easy, practical way to live and enjoy your life: how to stay healthy, how to get the best of your job, how to be honest, and how to behave with others.
But I believe the greatest part of Islam is the human relations, especially when it comes to family. As mentioned in the Qur’an, and also the in words of the prophet Mohamed: the most important person in life is the mother, who comes many times before the father. Parents must berespected and well looked after, especially when they get old. The Qur’an is very clear about even the way you should talk to them, how you must respect their privacy, and it even mentions the time at which you must knock on their door before entering. It teaches how you should behave if your parents force you to convert from Islam to another religion; even in this case you must treat them the best and nevermisbehave, no matter what happens.
It is amazing when you know that Islam explained even the very intimate moment between a man and his wife. It mentions how to approach your wife, and nobody could imagine talking about this 1400 years ago! All the way back then, the Qur’an, and accordingly the prophet, stressed on what is now known as foreplay! Islam was the first religion to justify the woman, and to give her rights. Unlike in Judaism and Christianity, the woman (Eve) was accused for the original sin, and she was the reason behind the punishment by God given to Adam. For thousands of years women were treated this way, and in many places in the Old and New Testament, we can read how women were disdained. While in Islam, the Qur’an explains that both Adam and Eve were responsible for the sin, so the whole of mankind, not just women! Can you imagine, 1400 years ago, the prophet Muhammad asking his men who lived in the middle of the desert to give their women all their rights of inheritance, at the same time when women were considered part of the inheritance? Can you imagine a man like the prophet Muhammad telling his people to treat women in the nicest way, simply because women are very soft and fragile and could be easily hurt and broken? This religion gives a full, detailed explanation about the rules of inheritance, according to the number of the members of the family, and how closely related they were to the deceased; not like what people love to claim now, that the man gets double what the woman gets! In fact, there are more than 34 cases; in only 4 of them the man gets double, and in 13 of them the woman gets the double, and the rest of the cases they get an equal share.
This is a religion that tells you how to love your neighbor, and how to care for your employer; how to be rewarded when you smile to the people you don’t even know, and how greatly you are appreciated by Allah when you move an obstacle from the road. Islam solved the puzzle, and tried to unite the two main religions, Judaism and Christianity. At the time when Moses said an eye for an eye, when Jesus said love your enemies, Islam said never stop fighting for your rights, punish the sinners, have mercy, and forgive your enemies. The word that annoys the West much is jihad. What does it mean? Is it to fight the others, the non-Muslims? Not at all. Jihad means the inner struggle, which is how to fight the devil inside, you how to control your desires and to behave well. It was and still is very clear: if Muslims are requested to declare a war, it is imperative to not kill civilians, to not attack men of any religion, to never destroy a temple and to never to burn a field.
