What Are the Five Pillars of Islam?
قال نبينا محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم: "بُني الإسلام على خمس". ما هي الخمس التي بُني عليها الإسلام؟ وماذا تسمى هذه الخمس؟
The five pillars are: Testifying that there is no deity worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, performing Salah (prayer), observing Siyaam (fasting), paying Zakat (alms), and performing Hajj (going on pilgrimage) for those who are able to make the journey.
These five pillars are called the pillars of Islam.
الخمس هي: شهادة أن لا إله إلا الله وأن محمدا رسول الله، والصلاة، والصوم، والزكاة، وحج بيت الله الحرام لمن استطاع إليه سبيلا.
وتسمى هذه الخمس: أركان الإسلام.
1. Islam Is Built on Five | بُني الإسلام على خمس
The Prophet said: Islam is built on five: testifying that there is no deity worthy of worship but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, establishing the prayer, paying zakat, Hajj, and fasting Ramadan (Sahih al-Bukhari 8). The first pillar, the testimony of tawhid, is explained in the types of monotheism, and how Islam and faith relate in the difference between faith and Islam.
قال النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم: "بُني الإسلام على خمس: شهادة أن لا إله إلا الله وأن محمدا رسول الله، وإقام الصلاة، وإيتاء الزكاة، والحج، وصوم رمضان" (صحيح البخاري 8).
2. Prayer and Zakat, the Upright Way | ويقيموا الصلاة ويؤتوا الزكاة
They were only commanded to worship Allah alone with sincere devotion to Him in all uprightness, establish prayer, and pay alms-tax. That is the upright Way (98:5). Ibn Kathir explains: prayer is the noblest act of bodily worship, and zakat is kindness to the poor and the needy; and many imams, such as az-Zuhri and ash-Shafi’i, took this verse as evidence that deeds are part of faith. See whether faith is sufficient without good deeds.
وَمَا أُمِرُوا إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ مُخْلِصِينَ لَهُ الدِّينَ حُنَفَاءَ وَيُقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَيُؤْتُوا الزَّكَاةَ ۚ وَذَٰلِكَ دِينُ الْقَيِّمَةِ (سورة البينة: 5)
قال تعالى: (وما أمروا إلا ليعبدوا الله مخلصين له الدين حنفاء ويقيموا الصلاة ويؤتوا الزكاة وذلك دين القيمة) (البينة 98: 5)، قال ابن كثير: (ويقيموا الصلاة) وهي أشرف عبادات البدن، (ويؤتوا الزكاة) وهي الإحسان إلى الفقراء والمحاويج ... وقد استدل كثير من الأئمة كالزهري والشافعي بهذه الآية الكريمة على أن الأعمال داخلة في الإيمان.
3. Fasting Prescribed as for Those Before You | كتب عليكم الصيام
O believers! Fasting is prescribed for you, as it was for those before you, so perhaps you will become mindful of Allah (2:183). Ibn Kathir explains that Allah addresses the believers of this nation and commands them to fast, which is abstaining from food, drink and intimacy with a sincere intention for Allah, for in it is the purification and cleansing of the soul from harmful impurities and base manners.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الصِّيَامُ كَمَا كُتِبَ عَلَى الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ (سورة البقرة: 183)
قال تعالى: (يا أيها الذين آمنوا كتب عليكم الصيام كما كتب على الذين من قبلكم لعلكم تتقون) (البقرة 2: 183)، قال ابن كثير: يقول تعالى مخاطبا للمؤمنين من هذه الأمة وآمرا لهم بالصيام، وهو: الإمساك عن الطعام والشراب والوقاع بنية خالصة لله عز وجل، لما فيه من زكاة النفس وطهارتها وتنقيتها من الأخلاط الرديئة والأخلاق الرذيلة.
4. Hajj for Whoever Is Able | من استطاع إليه سبيلا
Pilgrimage to this House is an obligation by Allah upon whoever is able among the people (3:97). Ibn Kathir explains that for most scholars this is the verse by which Allah made Hajj obligatory. Several hadiths state that it is one of the pillars of Islam, the Muslims agree on this by consensus, and it is due once in a lifetime from the one who is legally accountable. The Prophet said: O people, Allah has made Hajj obligatory for you, so perform Hajj; a man asked: Every year, Messenger of Allah? The Prophet stayed silent until the man had said it three times, then said: If I said yes, it would become obligatory, and you would not be able to do it (Sahih Muslim 1337).
وَلِلَّهِ عَلَى النَّاسِ حِجُّ الْبَيْتِ مَنِ اسْتَطَاعَ إِلَيْهِ سَبِيلًا (سورة آل عمران: 97)
قال تعالى: (ولله على الناس حج البيت من استطاع إليه سبيلا) (آل عمران 3: 97)، قال ابن كثير: هذه آية وجوب الحج عند الجمهور ... وقد وردت الأحاديث المتعددة بأنه أحد أركان الإسلام ودعائمه وقواعده، وأجمع المسلمون على ذلك إجماعا ضروريا، وإنما يجب على المكلف في العمر مرة واحدة. وقال النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم: "أيها الناس، قد فرض الله عليكم الحج فحجوا"، فقال رجل: أكُلَّ عام يا رسول الله؟ فسكت حتى قالها ثلاثا، فقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: "لو قلت نعم لوجبت، ولما استطعتم" (صحيح مسلم 1337).
Scholarly Insight: Ibn Umar guarded even the wording of this hadith: when a man repeated it to him as Hajj and fasting Ramadan, he corrected him: No, fasting Ramadan and Hajj; this is how I heard it from the Messenger of Allah (Sahih Muslim 16). In al-Bukhari’s narration above, and in other narrations in Sahih Muslim from Ibn Umar, Hajj comes first; an-Nawawi, in Sharh Sahih Muslim, holds it most likely that Ibn Umar heard it from the Prophet both ways, at two different times, so the two narrations are both sound and do not conflict. Read more in the tafsir of Surah Al-Baqarah.
Frequently Asked Questions | الأسئلة الشائعة
What are the five pillars of Islam?
Testifying that there is no deity worthy of worship but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, prayer, fasting, zakat, and Hajj for those able to make the journey.
Why are they called the pillars of Islam?
Because Islam is built on them: the Prophet said, Islam is built on five (Sahih al-Bukhari 8).
Is Hajj required every year?
No. It is required of whoever is able (3:97), and only once in a lifetime, as Ibn Kathir states; the Prophet said that had he said every year, it would have become obligatory (Sahih Muslim 1337).
Why are prayer and zakat named together?
Allah commanded them together: establish prayer, and pay alms-tax. That is the upright Way (98:5).
Prepared by Eng. Ghada Homad, founder of IslamFAQ, researched and written in consultation with qualified scholars, reviewed by Professor Khaled Jassem Al-Houli, Associate Professor of Comparative Jurisprudence and Islamic Politics, Faculty of Sharia and Islamic Studies, University of Kuwait. Read more about the authors and this project →