Five Pillars of Islam
The Islamic Review (UK), December 1982 Issue (Vol. 3, No. 3, p. 19)
Declaration of Faith:
The very first thing essential to put one on the road to the Islamic way of life is the public declaration of the following, which constitutes the first article of Faith:
اَشْهَدُ اَنْ لَّآ اِلٰهَ اِلَّا اللّٰهُ وَحْدَهٗ لَا شَرِيْكَ لَهٗ وَ اَشْهَدُ اَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهٗ وَرَسُوْلُهٗ
“I bear witness that there is no god but One God, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and messenger.”
Prayer:
A Muslim is required to say his prayers (Salaat) five times a day — early dawn, early afternoon, late afternoon, sunset and late evening.
Fasting:
A Muslim has to observe the whole of the lunar month of Ramadan as a month of fasting, abstaining from eating, drinking and smoking between the hours of early dawn and sunset.
Zakat:
A Muslim has to give away annually 2.5 percent of his wealth as charity to be spent on the poorer sections of the community.
Pilgrimage [Hajj]:
A Muslim must perform once in his lifetime a pilgrimage to the Kaaba in Mecca, provided he has the means to do so.
No Ritualism:
All these various observances are intended to foster a sense of the Divine majesty, self-discipline, fellow-feeling and a sense of the universal fellowship of man, irrespective of caste, colour, language or station in life. Shorn [devoid] of this inner content, warns the Quran, they carry no value with God.