Sixth Pillar of Islam

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Part of a series on the Islamic creed: Aqidah

Five Pillars (Sunni)

Shahādah - Profession of faith Ṣalāt - Prayers Zakāh - Paying of alms (giving to the poor) Ṣawm - Fasting during Ramadan Hajj - Pilgrimage to Mecca

Six articles of belief (Sunni)

Tawhīd - Oneness Prophets and Messengers in Islam Islamic holy books Angels The Last Judgment Predestination

Principles of the Religion (Twelver)

Tawhīd - Oneness ‘Adalah - Justice Nubuwwah - Prophethood Imāmah - Leadership Qiyamah - Day of Judgement

Practices of the Religion (Twelver)

Ṣalāt - Prayers Ṣawm - Fasting during Ramadan Hajj - Pilgrimage to Mecca Zakāh - Tithes Khums - One-fifth tax Jihad - Struggle Commanding what is just Forbidding what is evil Tawallā' - Loving the Ahl al-Bayt Tabarrá - Disassociating Ahl al-Bayt's enemies

Seven Pillars (Ismaili)

Walāyah - Guardianship Ṭawhid - Oneness of God Ṣalāt - Prayers Zakāh - Purifying religious dues Ṣawm - Fasting during Ramadan Hajj - Pilgrimage to Mecca Jihad - Struggle

Others

Kharijite Sixth Pillar of Islam. This box: view • talk • edit

The term Sixth pillar of Islam refers to an addition to the Five Pillars of Islam; the five pillars of Islam explain the basic tenets of Islam, Shi'a Islam uses other concepts.

[edit] Introduction

Most Sunni Muslims believe there are precisely five Pillars of Islam, and consider the concept of a sixth pillar to be heretical. The idea of there being more than five pillars is not a mainstream idea; Sunni leaders have taught that there are only five major pillars of the faith.

A few Muslims, mainly some Kharijite groups in ancient times^{[1] [2]} and members of Islamic Jihad recently,^[3] have taught that jihad, or personal struggle, should be considered the sixth pillar of Islam. In this context, Jihad is viewed as external war against those perceived to be enemies of Islam.^{[4] [5]} However, other commentators have distinguished between fundamentalist groups such as the Taliban and Al Qaeda, identifying those groups as sharing the Kharijite view that jihad is the sixth pillar of Islam, and renewalist groups such as Islamic Jihad and Hamas, which are described as not sharing that view.^[6]

[edit] Jihad

Jihad is a term for struggle, or pursuit of a good cause. It can connote the whole range of effort necessary to promote Islam in both personal and social life. Moreover even when it refers to military matters, it need not primarily be offensive. The more ordinary reason for going to war, in the Muslim view of past history, was opposition that would have denied Muslims the chance to practice or spread the faith of Islam. Seeing such a denial as opposition to God, the Qur'an, and the prophet, Muslims have felt obliged to fight, as they could feel obliged to fight on behalf of brother and sister Muslims who come under attack.

Most experts on Islamic war suggest the protection of noncombatants, women, children, the elderly, and prisoners of war to be in accordance with Islamic ethics.

[edit] References

1. ^ Finer, S. E. (1999). The History of Government from the Earliest times. II. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 687. ISBN 0198207905. http://books.google.com/books?id=AhEab85xHAMC&pg=PA687&dq=%22sixth+pillar%22+kharijite+jihad+inpublisher:university&lr=. Retrieved on 2008-12-25. 
2. ^ Dabashi, Hamid (2002) [1989]. Authority in Islam: From the Rise of Muhammad to the Establishment of the Umayyads. New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction Publishers. p. 129. ISBN 1560005866. http://books.google.com/books?id=L_4Xped0Nh4C&pg=PA129&dq=%22sixth+pillar%22+kharijite+jihad&lr=. Retrieved on 2008-12-25. 
3. ^ Esposito, John L. (2003) [2002]. Unholy War: Terror in the Name of Islam. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 62. ISBN 0195168860. http://books.google.com/books?id=fK4XuyOJvccC&pg=PA62&dq=%22islamic+jihad%22+%22sixth+pillar%22. Retrieved on 2008-12-25. 
4. ^ Bonner, Michael David (2006). Jihad in Islamic History: Doctrines and Practice. Princeton: Princeton University Press. pp. 126-27. ISBN 0691125740. http://books.google.com/books?id=tLRLMFojFxcC&pg=PA126&dq=jihad+kharijite+enemies+war#PPA126,M1. Retrieved on 2008-12-25. 
5. ^ Appiah, Kwame Anthony (2006-01-01). "The Case for Contamination". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/01/magazine/01cosmopolitan.html?n=Top/Reference/Times%20Topics/Subjects/F/Freedom%20and%20Human%20Rights&pagewanted=all. Retrieved on 25 December 2008. 
6. ^ Kadayifci-Orellana, S. Ayse (2007). Standing on an Isthmus: Islamic Narratives on War and Peace in Palestinian Territories. Lanham, Md.: Lexington Books. p. 177. ISBN 0739111116. http://books.google.com/books?id=INnF6M8-8hgC&pg=PA177&dq=%22islamic+jihad%22+%22sixth+pillar%22&lr=#PPA177,M1. Retrieved on 2008-12-25.