Odlar yurdu university student: Rasulzada Aydan 2900x teacher: esmira gahramanova topic:İslamic culture and traditions

Islam emphasizes practice over belief. As a result, law, not theology, has always been the most important area of concern to Muslims, for it provides the "straight path" (Shariah) which the Muslim must follow to realize God's Will. At the heart of the law are five fundamental obligations or duties which constitute the five pillars of Islam: 1) the confession of faith, 2) worship, 3) almsgiving, 4) fasting, and 5) the pilgrimage to Mecca.

• Islam emphasizes practice over belief. As a result, law, not theology, has always been the most important area of concern to Muslims, for it provides the "straight path" (Shariah) which the Muslim must follow to realize God's Will. At the heart of the law are five fundamental obligations or duties which constitute the five pillars of Islam: 1) the confession of faith, 2) worship, 3) almsgiving, 4) fasting, and 5) the pilgrimage to Mecca.

• A Muslim is one who confesses that there is no God but God and that Muhammad is the messenger of God. Islam affirms a radical monotheism in which the doctrine of the oneness of God is dominant. God is the creator, ruler, and judge of the world. He is merciful and compassionate, but He is also a just judge. On the last day, He will judge each person according to his/her actions, all of which are contained in the Book of Deeds.

The second part of the confession of faith is the affirmation of Muhammad as the messenger of God, the last and final prophet, who serves as a model for the Muslim community. Though he is the ideal Muslim as Husband, father, leader, and judge, he was human, not divine.

• Muslims are called to prayer five times each day (dawn, noon, mid-afternoon, sunset, and evening) by the muezzin who stands atop the tower (minaret) of the mosque. This prayer is preceded by ablution, a cleansing of the body which purifies and thus prepares the Muslim for entering the presence of God. Facing the holy city of Mecca, Muslims worship by standing, kneeling, and prostrating while reciting verses from the Quran. On Friday, the noon prayer should be said preferably at a mosque with a congregation.

• Once every year, Islam prescribes a rigorous fast throughout the month of Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. During this period, abstention from food, drink (from sunrise to sunset) is required of all healthy adult Muslims. The emphasis is not on self-mortification and abstinence, as such, but rather on self-discipline and reflection. The end of Ramadan is marked by a feast of the breaking of the fast (Id al-Fitr).

• Every adult Muslim physically and financially able is expected to perform the duty of the pilgrimage (Hajj) at least once in his/her lifetime. Just as five times each day Muslims throughout the world are united as they face Mecca in worship, so each year many travel physically to Mecca, sacred city of Islam, where they have traveled spiritually. The equality of the pilgrimage is symbolized by exchanging one's ordinary clothing for the ihram, a white, seamless garment.

• Islam, then, provides its followers with an integrated, holistic way of life which was revealed by the God of Abraham, Isaac, Moses, and Jesus to Muhammad one final time and which was subsequently recorded in the Quran. As believers in the same God and as children of Abraham, Jews, Christians, and Muslims share more than a common geographic origin in the Middle East. Their challenge today is to understand better this common religious heritage and to draw closer not only as individuals but as communities of believers who face many similar problems in the modern world and who possess a unifying goal—world peace and justice.

https://www.usccb.org/committees/ecumenical-interreligious-affairs/introduction-islamic-tradition
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_culture
https://www.shutterstock.com/search/islamic-custom