The Five Pillars of Islam

The Five Pillars of Islam

The first pillar is the belief ("Iman") and the declaration  of faith : "There is no god except Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah." ("La ilaha ila Allah; Muhammadur-rasul Allah.").

The second pillar is a religious five times a day prayer ("Salat" or "Salah") facing Makkah: These five times are during  the dawn (Fajr), immediately after noon (Dhuhr), mid-afternoon ('Asr), sunset (Maghrib), and early night (Isha'). Friday is the day of public worship for Muslims. Prayers are led by any learned person who knows the Qur'an and is chosen by the congregation. He (or she, if the congregation is all women) is called the imam.  Ritual cleanliness and ablution are required before prayer, as are clean clothes and location, and the removal of shoes. Special is the Friday noon prayer, called Jum'ah. It, too, is obligatory and is to be done in a mosque, in congregation. It is accompanied by a sermon (Khutbah), and it replaces the normal Dhuhr prayer. They are said in Arabic, the language of the revelation, though personal supplications (Du'ah) can be offered in one's own language. Worshippers face the Qiblah, the direction of the Ka'bah in the city of Makkah. 

The third pillar is the daily dawn-to-sunset fasting ("Sawm" or "Saum") during the entire month of Ramadan. (Except the very old and the insane.) Those who are sick, elderly, or on a journey, and women who are menstruating, pregnant, or nursing are permitted to break the fast, but must make up an equal number of days later in the year. For the physically unable, they must feed a needy person for each day missed. Children begin to fast (and to observe the prayers) from puberty, although many is said to start earlier

The fourth pillar is the giving of "Zakat" (9:103) or alms-tax which is 2.5% of a Muslim's total savings peovided that this capital reaches a certain minimum amount that which is not consumed by its owner . This is also said to be given to the poor or to the Islamic Movement

The fifth pillar is the pilgrimage (called "Hajj") to Makkah, Saudi Arabia at least once in their lifetime, that is, if they can afford it financially and physically . To them this is the ultimate form of worship.