Tyler Duck

November 7, 2013
Dr. Fran Leap
Dialogue Essay One

Muslims and Jews have a similar but different practice of finding a way to
have a Sabbath and being at peace and rest. Jewish people have a Sabbath which is
Sunday, a day of rest and mostly prayer. Muslims have a belief they follow which is
the Salat. It is one of the five pillars they follow, which is a basic belief in the Muslim
religion.
The salat is one of the five pillars of Islam. There are five basic beliefs or
pillars that the Muslims follow. They make up Muslim life, prayer, concern for the
needy, self-purification and the pilgrimage. The five pillars are Shahadah, Salat,
Sawm, Zakat, and Hajj. In order to preform a valid Salat, Muslims must be in a state
of ritual purity. The actual Salat consists of words and actions called a rakat. The
main purpose of the salat in Islam is to remember the importance of God. By reciting
the first chapter of the Quran, called the opening the worshiper can now stand
before God, thank and praise him, and ask him for guidance along the right path. The
Quran is the Islamic sacred book of prayer believed to be the word of God as
dictated to Muhammad by the archangel Gabriel and written down in Arabic.
Muslims also must give thanks for Gods blessings and that submission to God takes
precedence over all other concerns in their life.
For me to be able to create the practice of the Salat in my life I must be
devoted to Islam and submit myself to God everyday. I could try praying and or
meditating but how long I would be able to stay in that state of mind would be the
hard part. It wouldnt be the fact that I would be tired of praying but more like I
wouldnt know what to say when I would be talking to God that many times in one
day. I could sit and be quiet for however the time being if that counts as meditation
because I like to stay quiet anyway so that wouldnt be very challenging anyway.
Submitting yourself to God is something that can be difficult because of the
things in life that get us sidetracked to what is important. People in todays world
have their priorities mixed up and put material things before non-material things
and dont see the true meaning of life because they are distracted. Most people dont
say their prayers before eating meals and going to sleep, so for some people it would
be nearly impossible to submit themselves to God like the Muslims do. People
become forgetful throughout the day of religion purposes and tend to think that
prayer is only for when youre in a private place but you can pray in a public place as
well or think that its okay to skip the grace of having a meal and take it for granted.
But things like this can really show how grateful you are as a person and how
blessed you can be compared to others.
By creating a practice of the Salat for yourself, you can grow closer to God
and your religious background. It requires prayer five times a day but throughout
those five times you give daily thanks and praise to God. To know that people can do
this everyday shows that their priorities are straight and they know what the real
important things in life are, God and family. It would take devotion and time for
someone like me to practice the Salat, not saying it is impossible but it would
definitely take a lot out of me to do this but I do pray before every meal and when I
go to sleep so in my own way this is my Salat that I follow everyday in my life.
For the people who are followers of Islam spend a lot of time praying and
supporting their families. They give themselves up devoting their lives day in and
out to God and their family, which really gives the idea that they are submitting
themselves. Personally I do not think I would be able to do something like that but I
give all my respect to all the followers of Islam because they are believers, have their
priorities in order and have a true meaning of living their lives.