The Five Pillars of Islam

whole life of self-denial, inculcating patience, fortitude and forbear­ance. The Prescribed Charity (Zakat) Zakat is the fourth ‘pillar’ of Islam. Zakat means setting apart for God every year a certain portion of one’s saving and wealth (generally 2.5 percent) and spending it upon religious duties and on poor and the needy. The fulfilment of this duty is, in fact, a kind of reminder that all one has is in trust for God. Man should, therefore, hold nothing