1. Faith (shahada)
"There is one God, and Muhammad is His messenger."
2. Prayer (salat)
Prayers are said five times a day facing Mecca. (They are said at dawn, noon, mid-afternoon, sunset and nightfall.) The Muslim holy day is Friday when they usually will go to a mosque to pray.
3. Charity (zakat)
Muslims are asked to do good works for others. Sometimes it is in the form of giving money or service to others in need, or to support the work of Islam. (For example, in the Middle Ages giving to travelers or pilgrims to Mecca, to orphans, or those in need was part of the principle of charity. Sultans and other wealthy individuals built mosques and schools and hospitals.)
4. Fast
Muslims fast (no food or drink) from sunrise to sunset during the holy month of Ramadan. (Those who are sick or pregnant, on a difficult journey, or a young child are not expected to fast.)
5. Pilgrimage (hajj)
Muslims try to go to Mecca (sometimes spelled Makkah) to pray at the Ka'ba (a cubic shaped shrine to the one God; it is the spiritual center of Islam).
Can you take this challenge?
___ 1. Kaaba
A. A tower of a mosque, often used to call people to prayer.
___ 2. Koran (Qur'an)
B. a building for worship; a Muslim house of prayer
___ 3. mosque
C. the Arabic word for God
___ 4. Allah
D. a holy city (in Saudi Arabia) where the Ka'ba is located.
___ 5. minaret
E. Holy shrine in Mecca shaped like a cube.
___ 6. Mecca
F. Holy book of Muslims (God's words as revealed to Muhammad).
___ 7. Hejira
G. the "flight" from Mecca to Medina - the beginning point of the Muslim calendar (622 A.D.)
Return to Ibn Battuta's travels - Part One