Islam: practices · GCSE Religious Studies

The Five Pillars

Shahadah: the declaration of faith, 'There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.'
Salah: praying five times a day, facing Makkah (the qiblah), after wudu (ritual washing). Friday midday prayer (Jummah) is held at the mosque. Many Shi'a Muslims combine the five prayers into three sessions.
Sawm: fasting from dawn to sunset during the month of Ramadan. Children, the ill, pregnant women and travellers are among those excused. The Night of Power (Laylat al-Qadr) remembers the first revelation of the Qur'an.
Zakah: giving 2.5% of savings each year to help the poor. Shi'a Muslims also pay khums, one-fifth of surplus income.
Hajj: the pilgrimage to Makkah, required once in a lifetime for those able to go. Rituals include circling the Ka'bah (tawaf), standing at Arafat and stoning the pillars at Mina.

They include salah, sawm, zakah, khums, Hajj and jihad, as well as encouraging good, forbidding evil, loving those who love Allah, and turning away from Allah's enemies.

Greater jihad is the personal struggle to live as a good Muslim. Lesser jihad is the struggle to defend Islam, with strict conditions: for example, it must be in self-defence, declared by a proper religious authority, and must not harm civilians.

Id-ul-Fitr celebrates the end of Ramadan with special prayers, gifts, new clothes and charity.
Id-ul-Adha, at the end of Hajj, remembers Ibrahim's willingness to sacrifice his son Isma'il. An animal is sacrificed and the meat is shared, including with the poor.
Ashura: Shi'a Muslims mourn the martyrdom of Husayn, Muhammad's grandson, at Karbala in 680 CE. Many Sunni Muslims fast, remembering how Musa (Moses) was saved.

Shahadah: The Muslim declaration of faith.
Salah: Prayer five times a day.
Wudu: Ritual washing before prayer.
Qiblah: The direction of Makkah, which Muslims face to pray.
Sawm: Fasting during Ramadan.
Zakah: Giving 2.5% of savings to the poor each year.
Khums: A Shi'a tax of one-fifth of surplus income.
Hajj: The pilgrimage to Makkah.
Jihad: Struggle: the personal struggle to be a good Muslim, or the defence of Islam.
Id-ul-Fitr: The festival that celebrates the end of Ramadan.