Edit: when I originally posted this I mistakenly indicated that another major difference between Islam & Christianity is highlighted in Ramadan...when I should have said "Tabaski"... which I plan to post on in the future.
Senegal is about 95% Muslim. My brother & his wife, live across the street from a mosque so each morning they hear the morning call to prayers amplified through huge speakers reverberating through the house at about 5:30 a.m. Guess we won't need to bring an alarm clock?! :)
I'm no expert here so I gleaned from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Pillars_of_Islam some basic info about the five "pillars" (essential duties/practices) of Islam:
Shahadah/profession of their faith - professing that there is no other god but Allah & accepting Muhammad as his messenger.
Salat/ prayers - Five specific times a day, facing toward Mecca - & wherever they pray must be cleaned.
Sawm/fasting - Ritual fasting is an obligatory act (except to those for whom it would be dangerous - children, sick, nursing mothers, etc.) during the month of Ramadan. Muslims are expected to put more effort into following the teachings of Islam & must abstain from food, drink, and sexual intercourse from dawn to dusk during this month, and are to be especially mindful of other sins. The fast is meant to allow Muslims to seek nearness to Allah, to express their gratitude to and dependence on him, to atone for their past sins, and to remind them of the needy.
Zakat/giving of alms - There are four principles that should be followed when giving the Zakah: The giver must declare to Allah his intention to give the Zakah, The Zakah must be paid on the day that it's due, Payment must be in kind....eiter 2.5% of his income, or If he does not have much money, he needs to pay in a different way such as good deeds and good behavior toward others, and the Zakah must be distributed in the community from which it was taken.
Hajj/ Pilgrimage to Mecca - Every able Muslim is obliged to make the pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their lifetime if he or she can afford it. The main rituals of the Hajj include walking seven times around the kabba, touching the Black Stone, traveling seven times between Mt. Safa and Mt. Marwah, and symbolically stoning the devil in Mina,
Based on the little I know of Islam, there are some big differences I see between it & Christianity. One is "highlighted" in the celebration called Tabaski, and I plan to share more on that in a future post. Another is that I gather a follower of Islam is not supposed to be in the position of relying only on faith to gain salvation. Rather, "in the end" they must be have earned it by being "good enough" as determined by their good works & obedience/adherence to Islamic law, whereas the Bible clearly teaches much differently:
Senegal is about 95% Muslim. My brother & his wife, live across the street from a mosque so each morning they hear the morning call to prayers amplified through huge speakers reverberating through the house at about 5:30 a.m. Guess we won't need to bring an alarm clock?! :)
I'm no expert here so I gleaned from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Pillars_of_Islam some basic info about the five "pillars" (essential duties/practices) of Islam:
Shahadah/profession of their faith - professing that there is no other god but Allah & accepting Muhammad as his messenger.
Salat/ prayers - Five specific times a day, facing toward Mecca - & wherever they pray must be cleaned.
Sawm/fasting - Ritual fasting is an obligatory act (except to those for whom it would be dangerous - children, sick, nursing mothers, etc.) during the month of Ramadan. Muslims are expected to put more effort into following the teachings of Islam & must abstain from food, drink, and sexual intercourse from dawn to dusk during this month, and are to be especially mindful of other sins. The fast is meant to allow Muslims to seek nearness to Allah, to express their gratitude to and dependence on him, to atone for their past sins, and to remind them of the needy.
Zakat/giving of alms - There are four principles that should be followed when giving the Zakah: The giver must declare to Allah his intention to give the Zakah, The Zakah must be paid on the day that it's due, Payment must be in kind....eiter 2.5% of his income, or If he does not have much money, he needs to pay in a different way such as good deeds and good behavior toward others, and the Zakah must be distributed in the community from which it was taken.
Hajj/ Pilgrimage to Mecca - Every able Muslim is obliged to make the pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their lifetime if he or she can afford it. The main rituals of the Hajj include walking seven times around the kabba, touching the Black Stone, traveling seven times between Mt. Safa and Mt. Marwah, and symbolically stoning the devil in Mina,
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Based on the little I know of Islam, there are some big differences I see between it & Christianity. One is "highlighted" in the celebration called Tabaski, and I plan to share more on that in a future post. Another is that I gather a follower of Islam is not supposed to be in the position of relying only on faith to gain salvation. Rather, "in the end" they must be have earned it by being "good enough" as determined by their good works & obedience/adherence to Islamic law, whereas the Bible clearly teaches much differently:
Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin. But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.
&
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Ephesians 2: 8 - 10
Ephesians 2: 8 - 10
Posted by Joyce
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