What the five pillars mean in your life

Five pillars can sound like a lot when you are new. Here is some good news: the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, taught Islam in order, one step at a time. When he sent his companion Muadh ibn Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him) to teach the people of Yemen, he told him:

invite them to testify that none is worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. If they obey you in that, tell them that Allah has enjoined on them five prayers every day and night. If they obey you in that, tell them that Allah has enjoined Zakah on them, to be taken from the rich amongst them and given to the poor amongst them.

Sahih al-Bukhari 1496 and Sahih Muslim 19

First the shahada, then prayer, then zakah. The Prophet also said:

Indeed, the religion is easy. No one overburdens himself in the religion except that he will be overwhelmed by it. So, seek uprightness (be moderate) and try to be close to it and receive the glad tidings.

Sahih al-Bukhari 39

Shahada: your foundation

You have already taken this step. Keep it alive by saying it in your prayers, repeating it after the call to prayer, and thinking about its meaning. Every other pillar grows from it.

Prayer: your daily meeting with Allah

Prayer is the first practice to focus on after the shahada. It is required of every adult Muslim, five times a day. Allah says:

Indeed, I am Allah. There is no deity except Me, so worship Me and establish prayer for My remembrance.

Quran 20:14 (Saheeh International translation)

If you do not know all the words yet, you are not alone. Learn step by step: first wudu (the washing before prayer), then the movements, then the words. Pray the five prayers as best you can while you learn, and keep improving. The Prophet said: "do as much as you can of what I have ordered you" (Sahih al-Bukhari 7288 and Sahih Muslim 1337).

Zakah: sharing, once you have enough

Zakah is not a tax on every amount you earn. It is due only on savings that reach a minimum amount called the nisab. The Prophet said:

Zakah is not due on what is less than five ounces, nor on what is less than five camels, nor on what is less than five Wasqs.

Sahih al-Bukhari 1447 and Sahih Muslim 979

The hadith covers silver, camels, and harvested crops (a wasq is a measure of grain), and the five ounces are of silver. For money, scholars today use the value of gold or silver to set the nisab, and your local masjid can help you work it out. When your savings stay at or above the nisab for a full lunar year, you give one fortieth of them (2.5 percent) to people in need (Sahih al-Bukhari 1454). If your savings are below the nisab, you do not owe zakah. Voluntary charity (sadaqah) of any amount is always open to you.

Fasting Ramadan: a month of closeness

Once a year, in the month of Ramadan, Muslims fast from dawn until sunset (Quran 2:187). Allah says:

O you who have believed, decreed upon you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you that you may become righteous

Quran 2:183 (Saheeh International translation)

Mercy is built into the fast. Someone who is ill or traveling may skip those days and make them up later (Quran 2:184), and Allah says in the same passage: "Allah intends for you ease and does not intend for you hardship" (Quran 2:185). The reward is great:

Whoever fasts Ramadan, out of faith and in pursuit of reward, his past sins will be forgiven.

Sahih al-Bukhari 38 and Sahih Muslim 760

Hajj: once in a lifetime, if you are able

Hajj is the pilgrimage to the Kaaba in Makkah. The Quran makes it due from those who are able to find a way to it (Quran 3:97): healthy enough, with the means to travel and a safe way to get there. When a companion asked whether Hajj is every year, the Prophet said it is once, and anything more is voluntary (Sunan Abi Dawud 1721, graded sahih by al-Albani).

If Hajj is not possible for you now, you are not falling short. Hold a sincere intention to go one day. As you learned earlier in this step, Allah writes down a good intention as a good deed.

Your own pace

You do not need to make up prayers or fasts from before you became Muslim. As you saw earlier in this step, Islam wipes out what came before it (Sahih Muslim 121). Start from where you are today.

You have finished this step. Next in this path, you will learn how to prepare for prayer and how to pray, one movement at a time.