Islam based on the Five Pillars

Islam is based on five Pillars:

1- The testimony of faith:

"There is no true god except Allah, and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah”.

The requirements of this Testimony is the submission and declaration that Allah is the true God, and that all other deities are false, and are not capable of neither harming or benefiting, nor do they deserve to be worshipped.

Allah is also the Ruler who has a free hand in the disposal of the affairs of the universe. People must rule by His laws and commands.

It is only the Book of Allah to Whom men should refer their disputes and affairs. Any judicial decision other that Allah's is a decision based on ignorance or pre-Islamic era, which entails injustice and deviation. All legitimate rites of worship must be dedicated to Allah alone.

Among other requirements of the Testimony of Faith is that no one should bow down, or lower his head humbly to anyone, nor supplicate another human asking him to fulfill his needs, for only Allah is capable of fulfilling man's needs.

As for the requirements of the Testimony: 'Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah', it entails recognition of Muhammad as the true Messenger of Allah. This Testimony also attests to his veracity, trustworthiness and infallibility in everything that he related about Allah, the Exalted, about the past, the future, and the unseen world. Because everything he related is only revelation from Allah.

It is obligatory to obey his commands and to refrain from his prohibitions because obeying him is in fact obeying Allah. The Prophet, peace be upon him, is the one commissioned by Allah to convey His message, laws, and commands. Therefore, it is not permissible to disobey the Messenger, peace be upon him, for disobeying him means disobeying Allah.



2- As-Salah:

As-Salah, or prayer is the second pillar of Islam. It begins with the purification of the body and ends with the purification of the soul. It is performed five times in the day and the night. Prayer may be considered as an energizing charge man needs whenever he tends to be heedless of the remembrance of his Rubb. In order to renew the contact with his Rubb, the first thing man starts off his day with, is prayer. The time of the first prayer of the day begins with the dawn and ends with the sunset. Having spent the first half of the day working, heedlessness is apt to befall man; by then the mid-day salah or prayer becomes due for which the Muslim renews purification, and his contact with his Rubb asking His help, mercy, and success throughout this life, and forgiveness in the Hereafter to efface his sins and errors. Thus man moves from one prayer to another until he meets with his Rubb. The Messenger, peace be upon him, said:

Consider a river running by your door in which you wash yourself five times a day. Would that spare any soiled spot on your body? (His listeners) said: "Certainly not" He said: So do the five daily prayers with which Allah effaces the sins.

Performing prayer in the masjid helps Muslims maintain strong relation with one another in a brotherly atmosphere, and promotes among them love and mercy. Prayer deters reprehensible and evil deeds. It also helps the slave in all his affairs.

Allah says:

And seek help through patience and prayer.



3- Az-Zakat

Zakat is the third pillar of Islam. It is a financial act of worship, which is due on the wealth kept in possession for one year. A certain percentage is taken from every kind of property to be given out to the poor to enable them meet their needs. The Zakat fulfills the poor's needs, and purifies the donors from selfishness, a natural tendency in men.

Allah says:

And you love wealth with exceeding love.

The Zakat augments the wealth, and adds barakah to it. The Prophet, peace be upon him said: "Never will charity diminish the wealth, rather it augments it. "

Thus the Zakat is a means of augmenting the wealth, and purifying the souls from miserliness, stinginess and selfishness. It is a manifestation of social mutual responsibility among the Muslims, that the wealthy among them may sympathize with the poor and the poor among them may love the wealthy.

After all, the zakat is an act of worship dedicated to Allah and a positive response to His command and a means of gaining His pleasure.



4- As-Siyam (The fast)

As-Siyam, in the month of Ramadan is the fourth pillar of Islam. Through fasting all aspects of worship become integrated, and the sense of obedience, and the will to observe is strengthened. Fasting is an act of worship, and a means of bringing man closer to Allah, refining the manners, self-restraint and setting the behavior aright. It is also a means of maintaining the fear of Allah.

Allah says:

0, you who believe fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you, that you may attain piety.

Fasting was prescribed to previous nations too as a means of purification and help against life's inconveniences, because fasting requires patience, and patience is one of the strongest means for acquiring the happiness in the Hereafter.

Allah says:

And seek Allah's help through perseverance and prayer.



5- Hajj:

The Hajj is the fifth pillar of Islam. This pillar has the same objectives like those of the other pillars of Islam. The Hajj trains self-restraint, endurance, resisting hunger, enduring patiently the hardship of the journey, leaving the family behind, and other desirous things. The Hajj like the Zakat, has a financial aspect. It also shares with the prayer many physical aspects such as Tawaf, Sa‘ee,and moving from one ritual site to another. It includes as well, the talbiyah, the dthikr and the like. Hence, the Hajj is an act of worship involving financial and physical aspects as well as those aspects related to prayer. Like congregational prayer, Hajj also is an occasion for congregating the Muslims in one place at one time, with one more distinction, that is, all Muslims then wear the same outfit regardless of their heterogeneity, home lands, tongues, or classes. The Hajj, in its general manifestation is a convention that comprises all groups of Muslims who come from different countries and from different descents to attend and participate in this great beneficial function. The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, made his speech in Arafat conveying to the Muslims the message from his Rubb, calling on Allah to be his witness that he has indeed conveyed the Message. The Muslims have the best example in the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him. The Hajj is performed in compliance to Allah's commands. When Ibraheem, peace be upon him, had completed erecting the Ka'bah, Allah commanded him to declare to the people: Allah has enjoined Hajj on you. Therefore perform it. Allah says: And proclaim to mankind the Pilgrimage. They will come to you on foot and on every lean camel coming by every distant track.

A Muslim who fulfills the five pillars of lslam believing that Allah is his Rubb, and Islam is his faith, and Muhammad is his Prophet and Messenger, and dies while upholding this belief, will eventually gain the pleasure of his Rubb, and admittance to Jannah. But if a person has fulfilled the pillars of Islam without faith, it would not benefit him nor would it deliver him from the punishment promised by his Rubb even though he appears to be a Muslim.