Five pillars of Islam
Topic: Bhakti and Sufi Traditions · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 2 "Bhakti-Sufi Traditions"
Meaning
The five pillars of Islam are the basic duties that every Muslim accepts:
- shahada: declaring that there is one God, Allah, and that Muhammad is his messenger
- namaz or salat: praying five times a day
- zakat: giving alms (charity)
- sawm: fasting during the month of Ramzan
- hajj: making the pilgrimage to Mecca
In India these shared duties were combined with differences between sects (Sunni and Shi'a) and with many local customs.
Example
Arab traders who settled on the Malabar coast (Kerala) kept the five pillars. At the same time they spoke Malayalam and followed local customs of matriliny (family descent through the mother) and living in the wife's home.
Don't confuse with
- Sources of the shari'a: these are the Qur'an, hadis (the Prophet's traditions), qiyas (reasoning by analogy) and ijma (consensus). They are the sources of Islamic law, not the five duties of worship.