Five Pillars of faith are the fundamental pillars of Islam which are obligations that each Muslim must fulfill in his or her lifetime to be called as Muslim. These are as Shahadah, Salah, Zakat, Sawm, and the Hajj.

A Muslim is required to fulfill these pillars to be called as Muslim or to be remaining in Islam as these are the foundations of Islamic religion on which the whole system of life and the religion built. Whoever do not fulfill these pillar would be considered a person out of Islam according to the teachings of Islam.
 

The details of these five pillars are as follow.

Shahadah (Profession of Faith)

Shahadah or profession of faith is the first pillar of Islamic faith, in which a person require to witness that there is no God (ila) but Allah and the Prophet Muhammad SAWW is final Messenger and Prophet of Allah as His servant i.e. Muslims bear witness to the oneness of God (Allah SWT) by reciting the creed,
 

"There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah."

By saying these simple but profound words by understanding the meanings and consequences with sincerity and commitment, one becomes a Muslim.
 

Salah (Prayer)

Salah is an Islamic term which has several Islamic interpretations. One of the famous and widely used interpretations is the method of praying five times least in a day in Islamic scholar and Muslims worldwide. Muslims are bound to pray five times in a day at Fajr, Zohr, Asr, Maghrib and Isha as obligatory on them according to Islam. This is called second Pillar of Islam and faith and whoever do not do so regularly, according to Islam considered to be out of Islamic religion.

Although Salah or Nimaz can he performed alone, but it is recommended to perform it with another or with a group (with Jama’at). It is permissible to pray at home, at work, or even outdoors, however, it is strongly recommended to perform the salah (Prayer) in a mosque (Masjid).
 

Zakat (Charity)

To collect the money to fulfill the needs and hunger of needy is considered to be the third Pillar of Islamic faith namely Zakat. Zakat is a proportion of money define by Islam, which is collected from the wealthy people (who are in proportion) of the society and distributed in needy people to fulfill their economic needs, which is equal to 2.5 percent of an individual's total net worth, excluding obligations and family expenses. The means and proportions of collections are fixed as well as spending in Islam for Zakat.
 

Sawm (Fasting)

Sawm is a forth pillar of faith amongs of five pillars of Islam. Sawm is translated as fasting. Muslims fast in the whole month of Ramadan (Ramzan) from Fajr to Maghrib. Muslims are not allowed to take even halaal (Permissible) things during fasts of Ramadan between fajr to maghrib, such as eating, drinking, or having sex with better half etc. Muslim exercise fasting in whole the month of Ramadan and it is not allowed break the fast unless the condition of the person having fast has danger of death and serious health injury.

Having fasts in the month of Holy Ramadan is obligatory on every sane and adult Muslim male or female, which is described in the Holy Quran directly as,
 

“We have made fasting (In Ramadan) obligatory” (Al-Quran)

Muslims also perform extra ritual in the month of Ramadan as in Ramadan, rituals has more reward than that of other days of whole year, therefore, it seem Muslims are more compelled towards spiritual activities in Ramadan Al-Kareem comparatively, such as in Ramadan, Muslims perform tarawih, after evening prayer. It is because Ramadan is the month during which the Holy Qur'an was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad SAWW, begins with the sighting of the new moon, after which abstention from eating, drinking and other sensual pleasures is obligatory from dawn to sunset at iftar.

Allah SWT promised to Muslims to give three things in return of Fasting in Ramadan, which is iftar time when person has been having fast allowed eating after restricting oneself from sehri time, at the end of Ramadan by three days of celebration called Eid Al-Fitr, and appearance of Allah SWT at after entering men in Eden (Jannah).
 

Hajj (Pilgrimage)

The hajj is pilgrimage to mecca by Muslims having boundless of rituals and steps. Hajj as a fifth pillar of faith (Islam) is also obligatory on Muslims to perform once in their life whoever is sane and adult, male or female.

Hajj is manifestation of Islamic faith and unity in which Muslims from around the world, from Turkey, Egypt, Syria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Qatar, Jordan, Kuwait etc. and even from the none Islamic countries like United States of America, UK, Spain Australia have a yearly gathering in millions at Makkah in the month of Zul-Hajjah, to seek the blessing of Allah SWT following the steps (Manasik) of Hajj. Hajj, a pilgrim follows the order of ritual that the Prophet Muhammad performed during his last pilgrimage.

These were the basic information of the five pillars of faith of Islam which define the basic identity of Muslims, their faith, beliefs and practices. Whole the religion of Islam, its faith, beliefs and practices are based on these five pillars of Islam namely Witness, Prayer, Charity, Fasting, and Pilgrimage.

Last Updated: 21/7/2015