- the testimony
- the declaration that there is no god but God and Muhammad is His messenger — Islam's doorway
- the prayer
- the five daily devotions that pause the day and link the Muslim to God
- zakat
- the poor's rightful share in the wealthy's money, a fixed fraction paid each year
- the fast
- abstaining from food and drink dawn to dusk — a school of patience and mercy
- the Hajj
- the great Kaaba journey a Muslim performs once in life if able
- tawhid
- God's oneness and sole worship — the testimony's heart and the faith's whole root
- the qibla
- the direction Muslims face in prayer everywhere, toward the Kaaba in Mecca
- the intention
- the heart's resolve that opens every deed — deeds are judged by it
- the pillar
- the support a building stands on — thus the five devotions were named
- the ability
- the bodily and financial means required before the Hajj becomes a duty
- Ramadan
- the ninth Hijri month of fasting when Muslims devote themselves to worship
- the five pillars
- the shorthand for the fivefold foundation a Muslim's whole life stands on
