#)The Five Pillars of Islam, which is also called as arkan in Arabic,is nothing but the five ritual duties that mainstream Muslims view as central to their faith.

#)These are

(1)Shahada or Kalima: Pronouncing the confession of faith

(2)Salat: Performing the five daily prayers

(3)Saum:Fasting during the month of Ramadan

(4)Zakat: Paying the alms tax

(5)Hajj: Performing, at least once in life, the major pilgrimage to Mecca

#)But in most places where Muslim is considered as  the official religion, Muslims are not punished for failing to perform these duties.

#)But in some Islamic states, however, public denial by a Muslim of the validity, importance, or centrality of the five pillars is generally considered an act of heresy and it is also  punishable by death.

SHAHADA:

#)The shahada is the Arabic statement

“La ilah illa Allah wa Muhammad rasul Allah,” which means

“There is no God but the one God and Muhammad is His prophet.”

#)But in the case of Shia Islam, they  generally add to this the Arabic phrase “wa Ali Wali Allah,” meaning “and Ali ibn Abi Talib is the friend of God.”

#)In addition to this confession of faith, they are also supposed to express their belief in the Quran, angels, and the Last Day.

#)The shahada also is uttered as part of the Muslim call to prayer  which is known as adhan.

SALAT:

#)The salat, the five obligatory daily prayers and it is also known as the namaz in countries like Iran, India, and Turkey.

#)These prayers are  performed only after the  ritual bathing and it takes place before the sunrise, at noon, in the mid-afternoon, immediately after sunset, and before midnight.

#)Mainstream Shia Muslims combine their noon and afternoon prayers and also the sunset and midnight prayers so that they need only pray three times a day.

#)Praying in Islam is also associated with a specified set of postures, such as standing, bowing, and prostrating which they follow

SAUM:

#)The saum is a mostly prescribed only for healthy, adult Muslims during the 30 days of Ramadan, whic is the ninth month in the Islamic calendar.

#)From dawn until dusk,these are things they folloe - no food, drink and many criteria.

#)Ill person and nursing women are excused, but they are expected to make the fast someother time when they become healthy

ZAKAT:

#)The zakat or alms tax is levied annually on the crops, livestock, precious metals, and cash of all those living above subsistence and whose debts do not exceed their assets.

#)It is basicall collected, and then distributed to  the poor.

#)However,there is a complain that some Islamic leaders have collected the zakat to add to their royal treasuries.

#)So for this reason, the identity of the zakat collector and distributor has often been a mystery.

#)Since the late Middle Ages ( 476-1453 AD), mainstream Shia Muslims have had the tax collected by their jurists, legal scholars of Islamic law, who act according to their self-styled role as governors of the imam.

HAJJ:

#)The hajj is the “greater” of the two pilgrimages to Mecca required for all the  Muslims.

#)All healthy adult Muslim, men and women should perform Hajj atleast once in their life time if they have sufficient means and safe transport.

#)There is a  lesser pilgrimage, called umra, Muslims must perform the hajj during the first half of the month of Dhu al-Hijja, the last month of the lunar year.

#)Those who perform the hajj can use the honorific title ,i.e  Hajji if male and Hajja if female.