Encyclopedia of Islam

Further reading: Marshall G. S. Hodgson, The Venture of 

Islam. Vol. 1, The Classical Age of Islam (Chicago: Uni-

versity of Chicago Press, 1974); Wilferd Madelung, The 

Succession to Muhammad: A Study of the Early Caliph-

ate (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997); 

Fatima Mernissi, The Veil and the Male Elite: A Feminist 

Interpretation of Women’s Rights in Islam (Philadelphia: 

Perseus Books, 1992).

Five Pillars

The Five Pillars are five ritual acts required of all 

Muslims, based on injunctions in the q

Uran

 and 

elaborated in the 

sUnna

 of the Prophet m

Uham

-

mad

 and in law (

fiqh

) developed by the principal 

legal schools of Islam. The pillars nurture two 

primary relationships for individual Muslims: 

the relationship with God and with the entire 

community of Muslim believers, the 

umma

. The 

first pillar, the 

shahada

, is a verbal witnessing of 

the unity of God and of Muhammad’s position in 

Islam as the bearer of the final revelation, with 

the words “There is no god but God, and Muham-

mad is the messenger of God.” Shia add, “and Ali 

is the friend of God,” in reference to their first 

imam

,  a

li

 

ibn

  a

bi

  t

alib

 (d. 661). Uttering the 

shahada sincerely in the presence of two Muslim 

witnesses is all that is necessary to become a Mus-

lim. The central and possibly most visible pillar 

is  salat, translated as 

prayer

, but here referring 

specifically to five daily cycles of prostrations 

after sunset, during the evening, at dawn, at mid-

day, and at mid-afternoon. Prayer is performed 

anywhere ritual purity can be maintained. Mus-

lim men are required to attend a congregational 

mosqUe

 (masjid) for Friday prayers. Friday prayer 

in a mosque is not a required activity for Mus-

lim women or for Shia. The third pillar, zakat,

K  242  

Five Pillars

---

usually translated as 

almsgiving

, asks Muslims 

to give as charity a percentage of their wealth 

attained from profit on certain kinds of income 

and represents part of a larger attitude of charity 

(sadaqa) encouraged by the umma. Muslims who 

are not ill, traveling, menstruating, or nursing 

fast from dawn to dusk during r

amadan

, the 

ninth month of the Islamic lunar 

calendar

, to 

fulfill the fourth pillar of Islam. The prohibition 

on eating, drinking, smoking, and sexual activ-

ity during the day acts as a social leveler that is 

enhanced by the communal activities and shar-

ing of 

Food

 

and

 

drink

  in the evening. Finally, 

the fifth pillar, the 

haJJ

, takes place as an annual 

pilgrimage to m

ecca

 and the surrounding area, 

including a series of ritual acts required of every 

Muslim one time during his or her lifetime if 

physically and fiscally possible.

See also 

adhan

; 

Fasting

; 

holidays

; s

hiism

.

Margaret Leeming