Five Pillars of Islam



The religion of Islam consists of faith (إيمان, īmān) and practice (دين, dīn). The Five Pillars of Islam is the term given to the five most fundamental obligations of a Muslim under Sharia law, and which devout Muslims will perform faithfully, believing them to be essential to pleasing Allah.
In summary the practices are:
  • The Testimony that there is none worthy of worship except God and that Muhammad is his messenger.
  • Establishing of the five daily Prayers (Salaah).
  • The Giving of Zakaah (charity), which is generally 2.5% of the yearly savings for a rich man working in trade or industry, and 10% or 20% of the produce for agriculturists. This money or produce is distributed among the poor.
  • Refraining from eating, drinking and having sex from dawn to dusk in the month of Ramadhaan (Sawm).
  • The Pilgrimage (Hajj) to Mecca during the month of Zul Hijjah, which is compulsory once in a lifetime for one who has the ability to do it.
Some Muslims, mainly belonging to the sect of the Khawarij, hold that there is a sixth pillar of Islam, jihād; (جهاد), literally meaning "struggle" or "combat", but usually understood to refer to holy war. While jihād is widely considered a duty of Muslims, the view that it is one of the pillars is not shared by most theologians.