The 5 pillars of Islam explained

What are the five pillars of Islam?

Five acts, named by the Prophet in a hadith narrated by Ibn 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with him. Each comes below with what it is in plain words, a verse of the Quran about it, and where to learn it in practice.

1. 1

   Shahadah: the testimony of faith

   Bearing witness that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.

   فَٱعْلَمْ أَنَّهُۥ لَآ إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا ٱللَّهُ

   مُّحَمَّدٌ رَّسُولُ ٱللَّهِ

   • Shahadah: meaning and contextMeaning and context
2. 2

   Salah: prayer

   Establishing the prayer, with its recitation and movements. Al-Maidah 5:6 tells believers rising for prayer to "wash your faces, and your hands up to the elbows, and lightly rub your heads and (wash) your feet up to the ankles": the washing called wudu.

   حَـٰفِظُوا۟ عَلَى ٱلصَّلَوَٰتِ وَٱلصَّلَوٰةِ ٱلْوُسْطَىٰ وَقُومُوا۟ لِلَّهِ قَـٰنِتِينَ

   • How to perform wuduPractical guide
   • How to pray Salah: learn the sequenceGuide
   • Al-Fatihah: understanding what you reciteQuran lesson
3. 3

   Zakat: charity from wealth

   Giving a share of your wealth in charity. Who gives it, on what and how much are rulings with details of their own, so they sit in the zakat lesson.

   إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَمِلُوا۟ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتِ وَأَقَامُوا۟ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَءَاتَوُا۟ ٱلزَّكَوٰةَ لَهُمْ أَجْرُهُمْ عِندَ رَبِّهِمْ وَلَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ

   • Zakat: principles and getting the calculation rightGuide
4. 4

   Sawm: fasting in Ramadan

   Fasting through Ramadan, the month in which the Quran was revealed (Al-Baqarah 2:185). Al-Baqarah 2:187 says to "eat and drink until the white thread becomes distinct to you from the black thread of the dawn. Then strictly observe the fast till nightfall".

   يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ ٱلصِّيَامُ كَمَا كُتِبَ عَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ

   • Ramadan and fasting: prepare and learnThe hub
5. 5

   Hajj: the pilgrimage

   The pilgrimage to the House: the Kaaba in Makkah, which Al-Maidah 5:97 calls the Sacred House.

   وَلِلَّهِ عَلَى ٱلنَّاسِ حِجُّ ٱلْبَيْتِ مَنِ ٱسْتَطَاعَ إِلَيْهِ سَبِيلًا

   • The Kaaba: history and its place in worshipGuide

2AuthenticSahih Muslim 16

What order do the five pillars come in?

The list above puts fasting before Hajj, as Sahih Muslim 16a and 16d and the hadith of Jibril (the angel Gabriel, peace be upon him) do. In Muslim 16a, after Ibn 'Umar narrated the five, a man said: "Hajj, and fasting in Ramadan." Ibn 'Umar answered: no, "fasting in Ramadan, and Hajj". That, he said, is how he heard it from the Messenger of Allah.

فَقَالَ رَجُلٌ الْحَجِّ وَصِيَامِ رَمَضَانَ قَالَ لاَ ‏.‏ صِيَامِ رَمَضَانَ وَالْحَجِّ ‏.‏ هَكَذَا سَمِعْتُهُ مِنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ

2AuthenticSahih Muslim 16

Other wordings, among them Sahih al-Bukhari 8, put Hajj before fasting. The Ilmwell team compared six wordings on sunnah.com on 21 October 2026:

In all six, an item about Allah's oneness comes first; four word it as the testimony. Prayer and zakat follow. Only fasting and Hajj change places, and the narrations give no reason for either order.

What are the five pillars of Islam in Arabic?

The hadith opens with these words:

The hadith's Arabic has no word for pillars: it says Islam is built on five. Here is each pillar as Sahih al-Bukhari 8 words it.

Sahih Muslim 16a says siyam for fasting, from the same root as sawm.

Where do the five pillars come from? The hadith of Jibril

In the hadith of Jibril (Sahih Muslim 8, graded sahih), the Prophet answered "What is Islam?" with the five: the testimony, prayer, zakat, fasting in Ramadan and Hajj. For a fuller beginner's answer, see What is Islam?

'Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, said that one day a man none of them knew came and sat down with the Prophet and said: "Muhammad, tell me about Islam."

The Prophet answered that Islam is to testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. It is to establish the prayer, give zakat, fast Ramadan, and make Hajj to the House if you are able to find a way to it. The man said: "You have spoken the truth." He went on to ask about iman (faith), ihsan (worshipping Allah as though you see Him) and the Hour (the Day of Judgement).

Then the man left, and 'Umar stayed a long while. The Prophet asked him whether he knew who the questioner was, and told him it was Jibril, who had come to teach them their religion.

الإِسْلاَمُ أَنْ تَشْهَدَ أَنْ لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ وَأَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ وَتُقِيمَ الصَّلاَةَ وَتُؤْتِيَ الزَّكَاةَ وَتَصُومَ رَمَضَانَ وَتَحُجَّ الْبَيْتَ إِنِ اسْتَطَعْتَ إِلَيْهِ سَبِيلاً

3AuthenticSahih Muslim 8