CHAPTER TWO — The Four Pillars

CHAPTER TWO The Four Pillars § I created the jinn and mankind only so that they might worship Me. —The Quran, 51:56 After belief in God and the Prophet, four practices enjoy the status of pillars of Islam—fasting, prayer, zakat (almsgiving) and hajj (pilgrimage to Makkah). In essence, these are the four parts which make up the whole that is called Islam. Fasting means not just abstaining from food and drink, but rising above the material world so that man may come in contact with God. Prayer, in spirit, is remembrance of God. Zakat, in reality, is a form of sacrifice meant to underline those ethical values which are known in Islam as Huqu qul Ibad, that is, fulfilment of one’s responsibilities towards others. Hajj, a re-enactment of the missionary life of the greatest preacher of truth, the Prophet Abraham, also necessarily entails sacrifice in the cause of God. Understanding and acceptance of these four pillars, as symbols of the fundamental parts of Islam, prepare one to adopt Islam fully in one’s life. Each of these four acts of worship is imbued with a particular