he next faculty of consciousness and the highest. Our heart is pulled down by our desires that are created because of our bodies and senses, and pulled upwards towards our spirit and true Self. This explains the nature of human consciousness, like a struggle between truth and purity of reality to the desires and wants of our compelling self. Each thing we do or each thought usually puts our heart at a different position within the line of battle between the spirit and the body. In order to elevate our positioning of the heart, it is best to want to know God, and strive to be good and moral. For Muslims it would be to follow the Koran as well as looking at the Sunnah and Hadith for reference and use it all as a guide in worshipping Allah. To see how Muslims attain their ultimate goal in life, go to heaven and have knowledge of God, we observe Islam Methodologically. In the Koran it tells Muslims how to achieve this through ritual practices, called the Five Pillars. The five pillars in Islam are Shahada, Salat, Zakat, Sawm, and Hajj. Along with these five pillars, Muslims are to follow the command of God according to the Koran and follow the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad as well as to follow the Islamic code of law, the Shariah. The Shariah gives guidelines and creates laws that use reason to create order within society (an Islamic society is called Ummah). It reaches all aspects of life economically, socially, politically, and even legally. Many Islamic countries use the code of Shariah and include it within their own government policies. Muslims methodology starts with the belief (in God), Shahada the basis of Islam and the admittance of Faith. For new converts to Islam, the process of Shahada represents their acceptance of Islam and all of its aspects. Shahada in Arabic is, “La ilaha illa Allah, wa Muhammad rasul Allah” and means “There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is His messengers”. This...
