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General knowledge · Religion & belief

The Five Pillars of Islam

Islam — the five duties that frame a Muslim life

The five practices that Sunni Islam treats as the framework of religious life: the declaration of faith, the five daily prayers, the giving of alms, the fast of Ramadan and the pilgrimage to Mecca. The Arabic arkan means the supports that hold up a building. Shia Islam teaches the same obligations but organises them differently — Twelvers speak of five roots of religion and ten ancillary practices rather than five pillars.

How to spot them

  • ▸Shahada, salat, zakat, sawm, hajj — in that order
  • ▸Arkan al-Islam: arkan means pillars or supports
  • ▸Five prayers a day: fajr, dhuhr, asr, maghrib, isha
  • ▸Zakat is fixed at one fortieth — 2.5 per cent — of qualifying savings

Key facts

'There is no god but God, and Muhammad is the messenger of God' — said sincerely, it makes one a Muslim

The shahada; it is also whispered into a newborn's ear and said at the point of death

Fajr, dhuhr, asr, maghrib and isha — five appointments a day, facing the qibla

Salat; the direction of prayer was changed from Jerusalem to the Kaaba at Mecca in 624

A yearly levy of one fortieth of qualifying wealth, not of income

Zakat — 2.5 per cent; the Quran names eight categories of recipient

Nothing eaten or drunk between dawn and sunset through the ninth month, broken each evening

Sawm in Ramadan; the evening meal is iftar, the pre-dawn one suhur

Once in a lifetime, for those with the health and the means to do it

The hajj to Mecca, in the month of Dhu al-Hijjah

The Arabic word means the supports that hold a building up

Arkan, singular rukn

Twelver Shia teach five roots of religion and ten ancillary duties instead of this scheme

The usul al-din and furu al-din, which add jihad, khums and commanding the good

The month of fasting ends with the Festival of Breaking the Fast

Eid al-Fitr; Eid al-Adha, the greater of the two, falls at the end of the pilgrimage

Key ideas

  • Four of the five are individual acts, but all are practised communally: the noon prayer on Friday is congregational, the fast is broken together, and the pilgrimage brings millions to one place at one time.

Quick-fire facts

  • •The five are shahada (declaration of faith), salat (prayer), zakat (alms), sawm (fasting) and hajj (pilgrimage)
  • •Arkan al-Islam means the pillars or supports of Islam
  • •The five daily prayers are fajr (dawn), dhuhr (just after noon), asr (afternoon), maghrib (sunset) and isha (night)
  • •The direction of prayer is the qibla, towards the Kaaba in Mecca; it was originally towards Jerusalem
  • •The call to prayer is the adhan, given by a muezzin; Friday midday prayer, jumu'ah, is congregational
  • •Zakat is normally 2.5 per cent of qualifying wealth held for a year, and the Quran (9:60) lists eight categories of legitimate recipient
  • •Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar, so it moves about eleven days earlier each solar year
  • •The fast runs from first light to sunset; the pre-dawn meal is suhur, the meal that breaks the fast iftar
  • •Ramadan ends with Eid al-Fitr; the hajj ends with Eid al-Adha, the feast of sacrifice
  • •Twelver Shia Islam sets out five usul al-din (roots of religion) and ten furu al-din (branches), covering the same duties in a different scheme

Drill it — 7 cards

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Sources