five pillars.

 

We are nearing the end of Islam’s sacred month of Ramadan, a time devoted to fasting and purification of the body and soul.  The Qur’an was revealed to the prophet Mohammed through the archangel Gabriel in the sixth century during a period of lawlessness and social chaos.  The Five Pillars of Islam are the foundation of Muslim life.  The testimony of faith professes that there is only one God (Allah) and Mohammed was his messenger.  Muslims pray facing the holy city of Mecca five times a day: dawn, noon, mid-afternoon, sunset and night.  Islam teaches that material possessions are purified through sharing with the needy; therefore, charity is an essential practice of Islam.  Fasting during the month of Ramadan is a means of purifying the body and soul.  Muslims refrain from eating and drinking from dawn to sunset, but also abstain from sexual relations, gossip, and slander.  Able Muslims are required to make the Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca, at least once in their lives.

forgiveness.

How long does it take to get over a hurt?  A day, a month, years?  What if it’s a moment?  A choice between forgiveness and nursing the pain.  That’s what it comes down to, ultimately: a choice, a decision that says I’ve had enough.  I’m done being angry, punishing you, resenting you, blaming you for my feeling unworthy.  It’s a choice that says I’m worthy of loving or being loved.  I don’t need this barrier anymore.