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Lesson 5 of 5
The Five Pillars of Islam
The five things Islam is built on, named plainly
What is Islam?
Islam is the belief that there is one God — Allah in Arabic, the same word Arabic- speaking Christians and Jews use — and that He sent prophets to guide people, ending with Muhammad ﷺ. Muslims hold that the Qur’an is God’s word, given to him. The word islam itself carries the sense of peace, and of entrusting yourself to God.
All of that is held in the first of the five pillars — the Shahada, which is simply that belief said out loud. The other four are what a Muslim does with it. Together they are what people mean by the five pillars, and you have already met two of them without anyone calling them that.
This page is a map, not a lesson. It names all five in plain words so you know what people are referring to — nothing here is something you need to act on today.
These summaries are meant only to name each pillar plainly. For anything that affects you personally, a knowledgeable person is the right place to go.
- الشهادةShahadaBelieving, and saying so
That there is no god but Allah, and that Muhammad ﷺ is His messenger. This is the belief the whole faith rests on, said out loud — the doorway in, and the one you have already met.
You learned this in lesson 1 → - الصلاةSalahPraying five times a day
Five short prayers spread across the day, from before dawn until night — the rhythm most Muslims say holds everything else together.
You learned this in lesson 3 → - الزكاةZakatGiving
Once someone has more than a set amount of wealth for a full year, a small share of it goes to people in need. It is worked out on savings, not on what you earn.
More on giving, in the Next 100 Days → - الصومSawmFasting in the month of Ramadan
For one month each year, Muslims go without food and drink from dawn until sunset. There are long-standing exemptions — including for illness, travel, pregnancy and age.
Why it’s doneMore on fasting, in the Next 100 Days →Going without on purpose is meant to build self-restraint and keep God in mind through an ordinary day. It also puts you, briefly and by choice, in the position of people who go without by necessity — which is part of why giving tends to rise in this month. And because a whole community is doing it at once, breaking the fast each evening is one of the most sociable things in the year: it is a month of gathering, not only of going without.
- الحجHajjMaking the pilgrimage, when you can
A journey to Mecca made once in a lifetime — and only by those able to make it, in health and in money, without leaving dependants short. Most Muslims go later in life, and some never do. That is not a failing.
Nothing to do about this one for now — it is here so you know it exists.
Two of the five are already part of your day. The other three come with time, and none of them is a test you can fail today.
The first pillar is what you believe. The rest are what you do about it — and they arrive at their own pace, not all at once.
Ask Rafīq about the five pillars →
That’s the first forty days.
The declaration, washing before prayer, the prayer itself, your first surahs, and the shape of the five pillars. There was no test in any of it, and there is nothing to collect at the end — every lesson stays here for whenever you want it again.