The Five Pillars of Islam

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• Shahadah - The first pillar is the declaration of belief in Allah. The English translation of the Shahadah is 'there is no God but Allah, and Muhammed (PBUH) is His messenger.' Anyone who says these words and means it is a muslim.

The Shahadah

• Salat - The second pillar is the prayer. Muslims must pray five times a day, interupting work and pleasure several times a day reminds Muslims of the need to praise Allah and to submit to his will. The five prayers are as follows:

  1. Fajr - The Dawn Prayer, The morning prayer after the sun rises.
  2. Dhuhr - The Midday Prayer, When the sun is directly overhead.
  3. Asr - The Mid-Afternnon Prayer, When the sun is half way down.
  4. Maghrib - The Sunset Prayer, When the sun sets.
  5. Isha - The Evening Prayer, An hour and a half after Maghrib.

Muslims in the prayer position

• Zakat - The third pillar of Islam is charity. It is stated in the Qu'ran that all muslims should give part of their wealth to 'orphans, the needy, the traveller and those who ask.' This should be 2.5% of their yearly income.

• Sawm - The fourth pillar of Islam is fasting during the month of Ramadan. It is the nineth month of the Islamic calender. It is forbidden to eat, drink or smoke between the hours of sunrise and sunset. Ramadan starts when the new moon is seen at the start of the month and ends when the new moon is seen again at the end of the month. The fast reminds Muslims how difficult it is to be poor, hungry and thirsty and to thank Allah for the luxuries they have been given.

The New Moon

• Hajj - The fifth pillar of Islam is the pilgrimage. Hajj is the pilgrimage to Mecca which every Muslim must complete atleast once in their lifetime. Over two million Muslims travel to Mecca every year. It is the worlds largest annual, spiritual gathering. The Prophet Muhammed (PBUH) was born in Mecca and his mission was first revealed to him near there on Mount Hira. Due to this Allah incorporated Hajj into the Islamic faith.

Mecca

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