The Five Pillars of Islam
A series of short films on the five pillars of Islam - the five duties obligatory for all Muslims - told through objects from Oxford collections.
Introduction
In this short film, the Yousef Jameel Curator of Islamic Art introduces the five pillars of Islam using five key objects from Oxford University collections.
Transcript
Hello, my name is Francesca Leoni and I am the Yousef Jameel Curator of Islamic art at the Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford. Today we are going to talk about the five pillars of Islam or arkan al-Islam. These are: the shahada (profession of faith); the salat (prayer); the zakat (almsgiving); the sawm (fasting), and the hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca).
The five pillars represent the five duties obligatory for all Muslims. A set of key rituals has been established around them. Although the requirements of each pillar have developed over the course of several centuries and with minor variations among the different Muslim communities, today their observance and performance are fairly consistent throughout the Muslim world.
Notice
Object information may not accurately reflect the actual contents of the original publication, since our online objects contain current information held in our collections database. Click on 'buy this publication' to purchase printed versions of our online publications, where available, or contact the Jameel Study Centre to arrange access to books on our collections that are now out of print.
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