"THE FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM"

The Five Pillars of Islam (arkān al-Islām أركان الإسلام; also arkān al-dīn أركان الدين"pillars of the religion") are five basic acts in Islam, considered mandatory by believers and are the foundation of Muslim life. They are summarized in the famous hadith of Gabriel.

They make up Muslim life, prayer, concern for the needy, self purification and the pilgrimage. They are:

1. Shahadah: declaring there is no god except God, and Muhammad is God's Messenger
2. Salat: ritual prayer five times a day
3. Zakat: giving 2.5% of one’s savings to the poor and needy
4. Sawm: fasting and self-control during the holy month of Ramadan
5. Hajj: pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in a lifetime if one is able.

Muhammad

Muḥammad (Arabic: محمد‎; c. 570 – 8 June 632^[1]), full name Abū al-Qāsim Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib ibn Hāshim(ابو القاسم محمد ابن عبد الله ابن عبد المطلب ابن هاشم), was a man from Meccawho unified Arabia into a single religious polity under Islam. Believed byMuslims and Bahá'ís to be a messenger and prophet of God, Muhammad is almost universally considered by Muslims as the last prophet sent by God to mankind. While non-Muslims regard Muhammad as the founder of Islam, Muslims consider him to have restored the unalteredoriginal monotheistic faith of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, andother prophets. Muslims discuss Muhammad and other prophets of Islam with reverence, adding the phrase peace be upon him whenever their names are mentioned.

Born in about 570 CE in the Arabian city of Mecca, Muhammad was orphaned at an early age; he was raised under the care of his paternal uncle Abu Talib. After his childhood Muhammad primarily worked as a merchant. Occasionally he would retreat to a cave in the mountains for several nights of seclusion and prayer; later, at age 40, he reported at this spot, that he was visited by Gabriel and received his first revelation from God. Three years after this event Muhammad startedpreaching these revelations publicly, proclaiming that "God is One", that complete "surrender" (lit. islām) to Him is the only way (dīn) acceptable to God, and that he was a prophet and messenger of God, in the same vein as other Islamic prophets.