Five Pillars Of Islam

Testimony of Faith

"la ilaha illa Llah, Muhammadur rasoolu Allah"  Translates to There is not God but God and Muhammad is the Messenger of God.  This declaration is called the Shahada, and is the testimony pronounced by all the faithful.  With this statement you reject all forms of deity next to God, and you accept the Message sent through Muhammad.

Prayer

Prayer is performed five times a day:  Dawn, noon, mid-afternoon, sunset, and night.  Prayer is a Muslims direct link to God, and there are no intermediaries between worshipper and God in Islam.  Although preferred in congregations, prayer can be offered almost anywhere.  There are no priests and any sort of Hierarchy in Islam.  The congregation chooses a learned person that knows the Qur'an to lead the prayers.

Zakat

'Zakat' translates to the words purification and growth.  Everything belongs to God.  Wealth is held by humans in trust.  A way to purify ones possessions by setting aside for the needy.  Can be compared to pruning of plants, this cutting back balances and encourages new growth.  Normally, a Muslim pays 2.5% of their capital a year.  Muslims calculate this total individually.  One can also give voluntary charity, preferably in secret.  Here are some of the Prophets sayings on charity: 

 -Every good act is charity.

 -Doing justice between two people is charity; and assisting a man upon his beast, and lifting his baggage is charity; and pure,  comforting words are charity; and answering a questioner with mildness, is charity; and removing that which is an inconvenience to wayfarers, such as thorns and stones, is a charity.

-Every good act is charity; and verily it is a good act to meet your brother with and open countenance, and to pour water from your own water-bag into his vessel.

 -Your smiling in your brother's face is charity; and your exhorting man to virtuous deeds is charity; and your prohibiting the forbidden is charity; and your showing men the road, in the land in which they lose it, is charity; and your assisting the blind is charity.

Fasting

All Muslims worldwide fast from first light till sunset during the Month of Ramadan.  Fasting is beneficial to the health, but the true purpose is for self-purification.  During the fasting periods, Muslims abstain from food, water and sexual relations.  By cutting themselves from worldly comforts, even if just for a short period, the fasting person can better understand and truly sympathize with those who go hungry, as well as grow spiritually.  It is a matchless Islamic institution which teaches man the principle of sincere love to God, creative sense of hope, devotion, patience, unselfishness, discipline, etc.  Those that are sick, elderly, on a journey, pregnant or nursing may break their fast and make up the days at a later time.  If someone is physically unable to fast, they must feed a needy person for each day missed.

Pilgrimage

The pilgrimage is required at least once in the lifetime of all those that are physically and financially able of performing it.  The annual hajj begins on the 12th month of the Islamic year.  About 2 million Muslims attend each year (Performed only once a year). While at Makkah, Muslims wear simple garments, which eliminates distinctions of class and culture.  Everyone stands as equals before God. 

Origin of pilgrimage:  The Prophet Abraham (pbuh) wanted a son more than anything in the world.  God granted him his wish by giving his Ishmael (pbuh) when Abraham (pbuh) was nearly a hundred years of age.  When Ishmael (pbuh) was of walking age, Abraham (pbuh) was sent a dream that showed him sacrificing his son.  Abraham (pbuh) told his son about his vision, and his son replied by telling to do that which God commands.  Abraham (pbuh) had to sacrifice that which meant most to him in his life as a show of faith to God.  Abraham (pbuh) blindfolded both his sons and his own eyes, and before he could complete the sacrifice, God spared Ishmael and asked Abraham (pbuh) to sacrifice a goat instead.  Abraham and his son build the Kaba found in Makkah today.  The pilgrimage is symbolic in that you're leaving everything behind in order to worship God (Whose throne in heaven is said to be aligned with the Kaba that he had Abraham build.)  The rites of the Hajj include circling the Ka'ba seven times, and going seven times between the mountains of Safa and Marwa as did Hagar during her search for water.  It is also to remember the great assembly of the Day of Judgment when people will stand equal before Allah (swt).  Muslims go to Makkah to glorify Allah, not to worship a man.