What Is the Hajj?

The Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca) is one of the Five Pillars of Islam. Every Muslim who is physically and financially able to perform the Hajj must do so at least once in life. The Hajj takes place annually during the last month (Dhu al-Hijjah) of the Islamic lunar calendar.

Many Muslims, however, fail to realize that the pilgrimage to Mecca was once a pagan practice, and that the traditions associated with the Hajj have pagan origins.

What Is Sawm?

Sawm is an Arabic word for “fasting” (derived from a Syriac term meaning “to abstain”); however, in its religious context, sawm refers specifically to Islamic fasting as prescribed in the Qur’an and the Hadith.

When fasting, Muslims are required to abstain from food, beverages (including water), and sexual intercourse during daylight hours (from dawn to sunset).

Sawm is especially associated with Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. Muslims who are physically able and not otherwise exempt (e.g., while traveling or waging jihad) are required to fast from dawn to sunset for the entire month. Fasting during Ramadan is one of the Five Pillars of Islam.

The Qur’an discusses fasting in Surat al-Baqarah:

Qur’an 2:183-185—O ye who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you, even as it was prescribed for those before you, that ye may ward off (evil); (Fast) a certain number of days; and (for) him who is sick among you, or on a journey, (the same) number of other days; and for those who can afford it there is a ransom: the feeding of a man in need—but whoso doeth good of his own accord, it is better for him: and that ye fast is better for you if ye did but know. The month of Ramadan in which was revealed the Qur'an, a guidance for mankind, and clear proofs of the guidance, and the Criterion (of right and wrong). And whosoever of you is present, let him fast the month, and whosoever of you is sick or on a journey, (let him fast the same) number of other days. Allah desireth for you ease; He desireth not hardship for you; and (He desireth) that ye should complete the period, and that ye should magnify Allah for having guided you, and that peradventure ye may be thankful.

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What Is Zakat?

Zakat (“that which purifies”) is one of the Five Pillars of Islam. It refers to alms-giving, which is obligatory for all Muslims who meet a minimum wealth requirement (called the nisab). Zakat is distinguished from sadaqat (voluntary contributions made by Muslims) and from jizyah (tribute money paid by subjugated non-Muslims).

Muslims are required to give 1/40 of the monetary wealth (exceeding the nisab) they have held for an entire year. They are also required to give various percentages of agricultural products, livestock, and other goods.

Alms are to be distributed to specific groups according to the Qur’an:

Qur’an 9:60—The alms are only for the poor and the needy, and those who collect them, and those whose hearts are to be reconciled, and to free the captives and the debtors, and for the cause of Allah, and (for) the wayfarer; a duty imposed by Allah. Allah is Knower, Wise.

“Those whose hearts are to be reconciled” (al-Mu’allafatu Qulubuhum) refers to non-Muslims or to weak believers, to whom money is given in order to draw them to Islam. Ibn Kathir comments:

There are several types of Al-Mu'allafatu Qulubuhum. There are those who are given alms to embrace Islam. For instance, the Prophet of Allah gave something to Safwan bin Umayyah from the war spoils of Hunayn, even though he attended it while a Mushrik [idolater]. Safwan said, "He kept giving me until he became the dearest person to me after he had been the most hated person to me.” . . . Some of Al-Mu'allafatu Qulubuhum are given from alms so that they become better in Islam and their heart firmer in faith. For instance, the Prophet gave some of the chiefs of the Tulaqa' a hundred camels each after the battle of Hunayn, saying, “I give a man (from the alms) while another man is dearer to me than him, for fear that Allah might throw him on his face in the fire of Jahannam.” It is recorded in the Two Sahihs that Abu Sa`id said that `Ali sent the Messenger of Allah a gold nugget still in its dirt from Yemen. The Prophet divided it between four men: Al-Aqra` bin Habis, `Uyaynah bin Badr, `Alqamah bin `Ulathah and Zayd Al-Khayr, saying, “To draw their hearts closer.” Some people are given because some of his peers might embrace Islam, while others are given to collect alms from surrounding areas, or to defend Muslim outposts. (Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Commentary on 9:60)

Surah 9:60 also mentions “the cause of Allah,” which refers to jihad. Ibn Kathir notes: “In the cause of Allah is exclusive for the benefit of the fighters in Jihad, who do not receive compensation from the Muslim Treasury.”

During the time of the “Rightly Guided Caliphs,” Zakat was to be paid only to the legitimate Islamic ruler. Indeed, Abu Bakr regarded Muslims who refused to pay Zakat to him as apostates:

Sahih al-Bukhari 7284—Abu Bakr said, “By Allah, I will fight him who discriminates between Zakat and Salat (prayers), for Zakat is the compulsory right to be taken from the wealth. By Allah, if they refuse to give me even a tying rope which they used to give to Allah’s Messenger, I would fight them for withholding it.”

Today, in some Muslim countries, Zakat is collected by the state as a matter of law. In other Muslim countries (and in non-Muslim countries), Zakat is considered voluntary.

What Is Salah?

Salah (or salat) is one of the Five Pillars of Islam.

While the Arabic term salah is often translated simply as “prayer,” it usually refers to Islam’s mandatory forms of ritual worship, consisting of prescribed recitations (in Arabic) along with specified bodily positions (standing, bowing, prostrating, and sitting). Before praying, a Muslim must perform ablution (ceremonial washing). Muslims are required to pray facing the Ka’ba in Mecca, and women must position themselves behind men (although it is recommended that women stay at home during prayer).

The Qur’an mentions only three daily prayers:

Qur’an 11:114—And keep up prayer in the two parts of the day and in the first hours of the night; surely good deeds take away evil deeds; this is a reminder to the mindful.

Qur’an 17:78-79—Establish regular prayers—at the sun’s decline till the darkness of the night, and the morning prayer and reading: for the prayer and reading in the morning carry their testimony. And pray in the small watches of the morning: (it would be) an additional prayer (or spiritual profit) for thee: soon will thy Lord raise thee to a Station of Praise and Glory!

Qur’an 24:58—O you who believe! let those whom your right hands possess and those of you who have not attained to puberty ask permission of you three times; before the morning prayer, and when you put off your clothes at midday in summer, and after the prayer of the nightfall; these are three times of privacy for you.

However, in the Hadith, Muhammad requires his followers to perform five daily prayers (suggesting, perhaps, that Muslim prayer practices were modified sometime between the compilation of the Qur’an and the compilation of various Hadith collections more than a century later):

Sahih al-Bukhari 528—Narrated Abu Hurairah: I heard Allah’s Messenger saying, “If there was a river at the door of anyone of you and he took a bath in it five times a day, would you notice any dirt on him?” They said, “Not a trace of dirt would be left.” The Prophet added, “That is the example of the five (daily compulsory) Salat (prayers) with which Allah blots out (annuls) evil deeds.”

The prescribed times of the five daily prayers are:

Fajr—near dawn.
Zuhr—just after midday.
Asr—late afternoon.
Maghrib—just after sunset.
Isha—after dark.

According to Muhammad, prayer is disrupted or annulled by the passing of a dog, a woman, or a donkey:

Jami At-Tirmidhi 338—Abu Dharr said that Allah’s Messenger said: “When a man performs Salat, and there is nothing in front of him like the post of a saddle, or a camel saddle, then his Salat is severed by (passing of) a black dog, a woman, and a donkey.” It was said to Abu Dharr: “What is the problem with the black dog rather than the red or white one?” He said: “O my nephew! I asked Allah’s Messenger just as you have asked me. He said: ‘The black dog is a Shaitan (devil).’”

Interestingly, the Qur’an declares that Allah prays and worships:

Qur’an 33:43—He [i.e., Allah] it is who prays for you and His angels too, to bring you forth out of the darkness into the light, for He is merciful to the believers.

Qur’an 33:56—Verily, God and His angels pray for the prophet. O ye who believe! pray for him and salute him with a salutation!

(Note: Muslim translators often mistranslate these verses in order to conceal the fact that Allah prays. However, both verses say that Allah performs salah. For more on Allah’s prayers, see Sam Shamoun’s “Islam and the Prayers of Allah.”)

The following video is a step by step guide to salah, produced by Muslims: