The essential nature and structure of Islamic faith and practice are expressed succinctly in the Five Pillars of Islam. Islam, like other great religions, contains differing sects and groups. But nearly all of them agree that the five pillars express the true heart of Islam. As the following passages attest, the pillars are mentioned in the Qur'an, but were clarified later by scholars. The pillars comprise the first, most basic duties people owe to Allah. Moreover, their straightforward manner illumines a powerful simplicity and elegance in Islamic spiritual life.
In short, the five pillars are (1) confess the faith in God and Muhammad as his prophet, (2) perform ritual prayers, (3) perform the fast at Ramadan, (4) give alms, and (5) make a pilgrimage to Mecca. The first—the profession of faith—is the bedrock of Islamic belief and gains one entrance into the community. The others, in their respective ways, are designed to properly orient individuals and the community toward God, to help them maintain daily—even hourly—submission to Allah in ritualistic and public ways, and to solidify the Islamic community both locally and globally into a civilization of submission to God and his commandments.
Muslims, like Christians, are encouraged to pray without ceasing, but they must pray at least five times a day. The following passage from the Hadith is a delightful story that speaks volumes about the relationship between Moses and God and tells how five came to be the required number of daily prayers. In Islamic countries, mosque functionaries called imams call people to prayer at specified times of the day. Muslims outside Islamic countries can fulfill this duty simply by facing Mecca and praying five times daily.
The required fast is performed during the month of Ramadan, which is the month when Muhammad first received revelations. Health permitting, Muslims during Ramadan are to refrain from food, drink, tobacco, and sexual activity from first light to full darkness. The Ramadan fast is followed by three days of feasting and rejoicing.
Almsgiving is required by law in Islamic states and is assessed as a sort of tax. In non-Muslim countries, alms are voluntary gifts collected by local communities. In both instances, the alms support the needy and facilitate the spread of Islam. Some Islamic scholars note that Muhammad was particularly sensitive to the needs of widows, orphans, and other poor people; he had been orphaned himself as a child and raised by an uncle.
Finally, Muslims whose health permits it must make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their lifetime. The annual pilgrimage to Mecca is one of the most extraordinary events on the world's religious landscape. Hundreds of thousands of Muslims gather every year for a scripted journey lasting several days that begins at the Kaaba shrine in Mecca and ends on the Arafat plain 14 miles to the east. All pilgrims wear white, symbolizing equality before God and unity with one another. Indeed, the pilgrimage is a spectacular, once-in-a-lifetime, global statement of the unity and power that the other pillars affirm on a local and personal level throughout a Muslim's daily life.
Five Pillars of Islam
Back to Top of Page