Islam As It Is
The Five Pillars of Islam
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THE FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM
Islam, according to the Prophet, was built upon five
tenets: “The sworn testimony that none is worthy of
being served besides God and that Mohammad is
His servant and Apostle; ritual prayer; the giving of
alms; pilgrimage to the House of God, and the fast
of Ramadhan.”
A building, when looked at in the mass, appears to
be the sum of its many intricate parts. But what is it
which bears aloft the entire soaring edifice? One
comes inevitably to the pillars, the underpinnings of
the whole structure. Thus, the above-cited articles of
faith, are, figuratively speaking, the “pillars” of
Islam, without which the entire Islamic edifice
would come crashing to the ground.
Human individuals are like pieces of land on which
such an edifice can be raised. But, if that edifice is to
be pleasing to God, it must be set firmly on those
five pillars of Islamic tradition. Without this, the
structure of Islam cannot be built up and supported
at the level either of the individual or of society.
According to Islam, all individuals should lead
