The UU Five Pillars (JC)

This month's theme is "Authority".  Authority is all about submitting to someone or something.  Everyday all of us give power to people, places and things with the hope that these persons, places and things will keep our and the society's best interests in mind.

 

Like authority, religion is also about submission--submitting to something bigger than ourselves whether it's God, a religious book, a congregation, or spiritual leader.  

Islam is a religion that believes in submission.  In fact the word Islam means "submission to God".  There is no ambiguity in this faith tradition--God is the authority and submission to him is paramount.  

A part of their submission means they must honor the Five Pillars . The Five Pillars of Islam are the five "obligations" that every Muslim must fulfill in order to honor their God and faith tradition.     

 

The Five Pillars:

• Shahadah: (ah-sha-ha-dah) sincerely reciting the Muslim profession of faith—“There is no god but Allah (God), and Muhammad is the messenger of God.” (It's normally sung).

• Salah:(Sa-lay) performing ritual prayers in the proper way five times a day. Facing in the direction of Mecca, the holiest sight for Muslims. (No time for trouble if you do this 5x a day!!)
• Zakah: (Za-kay) “That which purifies”- paying a tax to benefit the poor and the needy. It is a form of income redistribution. Responsible Muslims give 2.5% of their wealth after debts each year.
• Sawm: (Sy-im) fasting (abstain from eating and drinking) during the month of Ramadan, ninth month of the Islamic Lunar calendar.
• Hajj: (Hoj) pilgrimage to Mecca (if one can afford it). A Muslim will make at least one trip in his lifetime to the holiest of holy places for Muslims—Mecca.

 By practicing the five pillars, Muslims believe they are "putting their faith in action."  It is true that “Faith without works is dead."

Like a good UU, I can break these tenets down to understand their sacredness even better.  What I get from the Five Pillars is this: Profess, pray, give sacrifice, commune. 

As UUs we have a Profession of Faith:

We believe in the worth and dignity of all people and in the interdependent web of existence--the first and seventh principles.  

Prayer:
We pray, meditate or think about our lives and the lives of others.  
We take time to be thankful and grateful our lives.  We think about 
those in need, those struggling, those suffering from injustices.  

Charity:           
Many UUs are generous with their time, talent and treasure.  We work tirelessly for the marginalized and oppressed.  We give a percentage of our wealth to causes we believe in.  We make a financial pledge to our church to support its vision and mission.  Most of us understand that "Your treasure is where your heart lies."

Fasting:           
We don’t talk about this much but perhaps as UUs we can go even deeper taking a daily, monthly or annual time to fast.  This can be seen as a personal time of reflection and self-sacrifice.  Breaking away from the norm to genuflect and reflect.  When you fast from the norms you give your body time to heal and get stronger.

Pilgrimage:     
The dictionary defines pilgrimage as "a journey or search of moral or spiritual significance. Typically, it is a journey to a shrine or other location of importance to a person's beliefs and faith, although sometimes it can be a metaphorical journey in to someone's own beliefs." 

We commune with nature.  We travel to sacred spaces, we come to places like church to be with those who share our values.  And for some we go annually to the UUA General Assembly (which will be in Lousiville, Kentucky in 2013).  

We are not so different from Muslims.  We submit to powers beyond our control.  We profess, pray, give, sacrifice, and commune as a part of our lives.  When you take away all the fancy stuff we're all just human beings striving to let our better angels prevail.  Profess, pray, give, sacrifice, commune (PPGSC).  The Five Pillars of Unitarian Universalism.

Light and love,

Rev. John