Pillars of Islam

Most books on the five pillars introduce them. This one explains them, which is a different task and takes 223 pages rather than 40.

Prepared by a group of qualified Islamic research scholars and translated into English by Jalal Abualrub, it works through each pillar at a depth that answers the questions a short introduction leaves hanging — while staying readable for someone who has not studied fiqh.

Pillar by Pillar

• Shahadah — what the testimony of faith means, the conditions that make it valid, and what it commits a person to in belief and conduct
• Salah — its virtues, prerequisites and conditions, and its role as the daily link between a servant and his Lord
• Zakah — who is liable, on what wealth, how it is calculated, who may receive it, and how it purifies both the wealth and the giver
• Sawm — the fast of Ramadan, its objectives, its rulings, and the Taqwa it exists to produce
• Hajj — the rites, their virtues, and the conditions under which the obligation falls on a person

How and Why Together

What distinguishes the book is that it never separates the ruling from the reason. Every pillar comes with its evidence from the Qur'an and authentic Hadith, so the reader learns how an act of worship is performed and why Allah prescribed it — and the second is what stops the first becoming mechanical.

The pillars are also shown working together rather than as five separate duties. The Shahadah lays the foundation of Tawheed; the prayer keeps Allah in mind through the day; Zakah turns that inward state into generosity and social responsibility; fasting builds the self-restraint the other four require; and Hajj gathers all of it into a single act of submission alongside the whole Ummah.

Who It Is For

Muslims who know the five pillars by name and want to understand them properly. New Muslim classes that need a text with substance. Islamic schools, weekend programs, study circles and da'wah workers. Written according to the understanding of Ahlus Sunnah wal-Jama'ah, and bound as a hardback for the repeated use a reference gets.

Related Reading

• Pillars of Islam and Iman — the five pillars together with the six pillars of Iman
• Pillars of Islam: Shahadah & Salah — a short booklet on the first two pillars
• Islamic Verdicts on the Pillars of Islam — scholarly verdicts on each pillar, in two volumes