In week 7, we learned about the Five Pillars of Islam. The Pillars include reciting the Shahada, performing Salat five times a day, fasting during the Islamic month of Ramadan, giving Zakat, and going on the pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj) at least once in a lifetime. I think having what are essentially bullet points to follow is a good thing because they provide direct rules that allow a Muslim to follow a righteous path. However, it is often hard to shape life around these five pillars, especially in parts of the western world. For example, whereas in Muslim countries the salat is performed communally after the adhaan, or call to prayer, is broadcasted throughout the town, the United States does not do that.
My project tries to combat some of this. I tried to make performing one of the five pillars, zakat, an essentially doable thing even in my own dorm room. I also included an aspect that will serve as a reminder for going on the Hajj to perform the pilgrimage.
Zakat is almsgiving. It is associated with the idea of “purification” and is linked back to a verse of the Quran which goes like, “O Prophet! Take alms of their wealth, wherewith you may purify them and may make them grow, and pray for them” (Qur’an 9:103). Additionally, the act of giving zakat instills a social conscience (compassion and sharing) and promotes a philanthropic instinct urging Muslims to share individual resources with the less privileged. In the story “The Beggar’s Strike,” zakat was also given to beggars so that the beggars would pray on behalf of the donor.
My project is essentially a Kaaba shaped piggy bank used to collect loose change. The goal is to collect a predetermined goal amount and then donate it. The Kaaba I made tries to mimic the real thing in Mecca. I made it black and adorned it with gold details. On the back of the “piggy bank” is a little see through pocket which can hold larger amounts of money. The little pocket can be written on with a dry erase marker in order to write a collection goal or to keep track of the money inside the box. The greatest component of the box is that whatever goes in essentially cannot come back out without destroying the box. That means, before any amount of money is put in, a lot of thought must be done.
I chose to make the piggy bank in the shape of the Kaaba because of its significance in Islam and its relationship to another one of the fiver pillars of Islam, the pilgrimage to Mecca. The Kaaba used to be a place of worship of idols until Prophet Muhammad re-dedicated it to the worship of one God. According to the Quran, it is the noblest and most ancient sanctuary.
On the top of the piggy bank, I handwrote Surat Al-Mā`ūn which translates to:
Have you seen the one who denies the Recompense?
For that is the one who drives away the orphan
And does not encourage the feeding of the poor.
So woe to those who pray
[But] who are heedless of their prayer –
Those who make show [of their deeds]
And withhold [simple] assistance.
This project will be used throughout the year and the money collected will be given to an organization that is to be determined.
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