The two testimonies are to testify that none has the right to be worshipped except Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. They are the foundation of Islam and the first requirement for entering it. No act of worship is valid until their foundation is realized.

Allah obligated five prayers upon the Muslim each day and night: Fajr, Dhuhr, Asr, Maghrib, and Isha. Prayer is the greatest practical pillar of Islam after the two testimonies, and it is the repeatedly renewed bond between the servant and his Lord.

The hadith does not merely say to perform prayer; it says to establish it. Establishing prayer includes observing its times, purification, conditions, pillars, and obligatory acts, performing it with humility and calmness according to one's ability, and caring for congregational prayer where it is obligatory.

Prayer is not a set of movements performed without the heart being present, just as humility alone does not replace learning its correct form. A Muslim combines correct action with sincerity of heart and begins by learning what is necessary for the prayer to be valid. Its practical form is explained in How to Pray Salah Correctly.

Zakah is a financial act of worship and an obligatory right due from specific forms of wealth when its conditions are met. It is distributed among the recipients identified by Allah. It is not an optional donation, nor is it replaced by taxes or general charity that the giver did not intend as zakah.

Zakah purifies a Muslim from miserliness, teaches that wealth is a blessing and a trust, and meets the needs of eligible recipients. However, it is not due on every form of wealth or from every Muslim merely because the person is Muslim. Its rulings vary according to the type of wealth, whether it reaches the nisab, the time when it becomes due, and its other conditions.

This concerns zakah on wealth. Zakat al-Fitr is a separate obligatory zakah with its own cause, time, amount, and rulings; neither replaces the other.

Its foundations and recipients are detailed in Zakat in Islam. For the calculation method, see Zakat on Wealth: Nisab, Hawl and Calculation.

Fasting Ramadan is worshipping Allah by abstaining, with the intention to fast, from everything that breaks the fast from true dawn until sunset. It is obligatory for the Muslim who meets its conditions, together with the concessions Allah has legislated for the sick, the traveler, and others according to their circumstances.

The purpose of fasting is not hunger and thirst, but attaining taqwa. The fasting person leaves what Allah has ordinarily permitted during the day in obedience to His command, thereby training to leave what Allah has prohibited at all times. The person guards the tongue and limbs and increases in recitation of the Quran, remembrance, charity, and other acts of obedience.

Fasting must not be turned into a season of extravagance, staying awake all night, and neglecting prayer. The effect of true fasting appears in a Muslim's awareness of Allah and good character. We have gathered the foundational rulings in Ramadan Fasting for Beginners.

Hajj is traveling to the Sacred House of Allah and the sacred sites to perform the prescribed rites at their specified times and in their specified manner, worshipping Allah alone and following His Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him.

The obligatory Hajj is due once in a lifetime from the Muslim who is an adult, of sound mind, and able. Ability is not merely desire; according to a person's circumstances, it includes the necessary physical and financial capacity and safety of the route, without neglecting the maintenance of dependents or another obligatory right. A person who is unable has the ruling appropriate to the type of inability, and Allah does not burden any soul beyond its capacity.

Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, addressed them and said:

A man asked, “Every year, O Messenger of Allah?” He remained silent until the man asked three times. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, then said:

Narrated by Muslim.

Hajj is an act of worship founded upon revealed instruction and following. The fixed stations, times, sacred sites, and manner of the rites were defined by the Shariah. Muslims gather in it to worship one Lord. Therefore, the pilgrim does not invent a particular remembrance for every circuit or single out a place for an act of worship unsupported by evidence. Umrah is a separate act of worship and does not replace the obligatory Hajj of Islam.

For recurring questions about the rites, see Questions and Answers on Hajj and Umrah.

When Is an Act Accepted?

Each pillar is an act of worship. Among the conditions for an act of worship to be accepted are that it is sincerely devoted to Allah and performed according to the Sunnah of His Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, together with fulfilling its particular conditions of validity.

Aishah, may Allah be pleased with her, reported that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said:

Narrated by Muslim.

A Muslim therefore does not act so that people will call him devoted or generous, nor does he invent a way of drawing near to Allah that the Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, did not legislate. A good intention does not replace following the Sunnah, and the outward form of an act is of no benefit if it is intended for other than Allah.

What Is the Difference Between Islam and Iman?

The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, explained the distinction in the Hadith of Jibril. When Islam and iman are mentioned together, Islam principally refers to outward deeds, foremost among them the five pillars, while iman refers to the inward foundations of belief: belief in Allah, His angels, His Books, His messengers, the Last Day, and divine decree, its good and its difficult aspects.

Yet the outward and inward are not separable in Allah's religion. Deeds without faith and sincerity do not benefit, while a claim of faith whose effect does not appear in submission and action is deficient or false according to the person's condition. When Islam is mentioned alone, iman is included within it; when iman is mentioned alone, the deeds of Islam are included within it. The intended meaning is known from the context.

The six foundations of belief are explained in The Six Pillars of Iman.

Do the Five Pillars Represent All of Islam?

The hadith “Islam is built upon five” does not limit the religion to these acts of worship. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, called them pillars because of their immense status and because Islam's structure rests upon them. Other obligations, rights, and prohibitions remain, and a Muslim must learn them according to need.

Islam also includes honoring parents, maintaining family ties, truthfulness, chastity, fulfilling trusts, honoring contracts, kindness to neighbors, preserving people's lives, wealth, and honor, commanding what is right and forbidding what is wrong according to knowledge and ability, and avoiding riba, zina, oppression, and every other prohibition.

A person may not use prayer or Hajj to justify consuming people's rights, nor make good treatment of others a substitute for prayer and fasting. One obligation does not compensate for another, and one act of obedience does not justify a sin.

Are the Pillars Required from Every Muslim in the Same Way?

The foundation of their obligation is established, but the conditions of accountability and performance vary:

Detailed rulings cannot be derived from the name of a pillar alone. A person who is sick, traveling, unable, or has a special circumstance should learn the ruling that applies from trustworthy scholars.