The Five Pillars and Six Articles of Faith

Islamic Religious Studies · WAEC and JAMB · SS2 and SS3

The five pillars are the framework of Muslim practice and the six articles are the framework of Muslim belief, and together they are the most commonly examined section of the whole syllabus. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) set them out in well-known hadiths, and WAEC expects both the details of each and the benefits that flow from them.

What you need to know

The five pillars are the shahadah, salah, zakat, sawm in Ramadan and hajj for those able to make the journey, as stated in the hadith that Islam is built upon five.
The shahadah is the declaration that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. It is the gateway to Islam, and its two parts commit a person both to worshipping Allah alone and to following the Prophet's guidance.
Salah is performed five times daily: Fajr of two rak'ahs before sunrise, Zuhr of four after the sun passes its zenith, Asr of four in the afternoon, Maghrib of three just after sunset, and Isha of four at night. It was prescribed during the Isra and Mi'raj.
The conditions of a valid prayer include being a Muslim of sound mind, purity from major and minor impurity through ghusl or wudu or tayammum where water is unavailable, cleanliness of body, clothing and place, covering the awrah, facing the qiblah, the arrival of the prescribed time, and the intention. The adhan calls the people and the iqamah announces the start, and Friday Zuhr is replaced by the congregational Jumu'ah prayer with a sermon.
Zakat is the obligatory payment on wealth that has reached the minimum threshold, the nisab, and has been held for a full lunar year. On money, gold, silver and trade goods the rate is one-fortieth, that is two and a half per cent; the nisab is traditionally reckoned as the value of twenty dinars of gold or two hundred dirhams of silver.
Different categories of wealth carry different rates: agricultural produce is assessed at one-tenth where the land is watered by rain and one-twentieth where irrigation involves cost and labour, and livestock have their own scales. Zakat al-fitr is a separate small obligation on every member of the household, paid in staple food or its value before the Eid prayer at the end of Ramadan.
Surah At-Tawbah names eight categories entitled to zakat: the poor, the needy, those employed to administer it, those whose hearts are to be reconciled, the freeing of captives, those in debt, the cause of Allah, and the wayfarer. Zakat is therefore a right of the poor in the wealth of the rich and not a favour.
Sawm is the fast of Ramadan, the ninth month, from the break of dawn until sunset, abstaining from food, drink and sexual relations and guarding the tongue and conduct. The pre-dawn meal is suhur and the breaking of the fast at sunset is iftar.
The sick and the traveller may postpone and make up the days later; women during menstruation and post-natal bleeding do not fast then and make up the days; the chronically ill and the very elderly who cannot fast feed a poor person for each day as fidyah. Voluntary retreat in the mosque, i'tikaf, is recommended in the last ten days, in which Laylatul Qadr is sought.
Hajj is obligatory once in a lifetime on every adult Muslim of sound mind who has the physical and financial means and a safe route, and it is performed in the month of Dhul Hijjah. Umrah may be performed at any time and is not a substitute for hajj.
The rites begin with entering ihram at the appointed miqat and reciting the talbiyah, and include tawaf around the Ka'bah, sa'i between Safa and Marwah, standing at Arafah on the ninth, which is the essential pillar of hajj without which it is invalid, the night at Muzdalifah, the stoning of the pillars at Mina, the sacrifice, shaving or trimming the hair, and the tawaf al-ifadah.
The six articles of faith are belief in Allah, in His angels, in His revealed books, in His messengers, in the Last Day, and in divine decree, both what is pleasing and what is not. They are stated together in the hadith of Jibril.
Belief in the angels includes knowing that they are created of light, do not disobey Allah and have appointed duties: Jibril brings revelation, Mika'il is charged with provision and rain, Israfil will blow the trumpet, Malik is the keeper of the Fire, Munkar and Nakir question the dead, and Raqib and Atid record deeds. The books named in the Qur'an are the scrolls of Ibrahim, the Tawrah given to Musa, the Zabur given to Dawud, the Injil given to Isa, and the Qur'an given to Muhammad.
Belief in the messengers means accepting all of them without distinction, including the twenty-five named in the Qur'an, of whom five are called ulul azm, those of firm resolve: Nuh, Ibrahim, Musa, Isa and Muhammad. Belief in the Last Day covers the blowing of the trumpet, the resurrection, the gathering, the handing out of records, the weighing of deeds, the crossing, and the final entry into Paradise or the Fire, while belief in qadar means accepting that Allah knows and has decreed all things, without this removing human responsibility for choices.

Key terms

Shahadah: The testimony that there is no deity but Allah and that Muhammad is His Messenger, by which a person enters Islam.
Nisab: The minimum amount of wealth a Muslim must hold for a full lunar year before zakat becomes due.
Sawm: Fasting from the break of dawn to sunset, obligatory throughout the month of Ramadan.
Ihram: The state of consecration entered at the miqat for hajj or umrah, with its distinctive dress and its prohibitions.
Arafah: The plain outside Makkah where pilgrims stand on the ninth of Dhul Hijjah, the essential rite without which hajj is not valid.
Iman: Faith; inward belief in the six articles, expressed in word and confirmed by action.
Qadar: Divine decree; the belief that Allah knows and has ordained all that happens, while human beings remain accountable for their choices.

Worked examples

Explain zakat as a pillar of Islam, stating those entitled to receive it, and give four benefits of zakat to society.

Define zakat and distinguish it from voluntary charity.
State the conditions: ownership, nisab, the passing of a lunar year, and the standard rate, with the main variations.
List the eight categories from Surah At-Tawbah 60 in full, since each may carry a mark.
Give the benefits as separate points, social and spiritual, with concrete effects.

Answer: Zakat is the third pillar of Islam, a compulsory payment taken from the wealth of those who possess more than a fixed minimum and given to specified categories of people. It is distinct from sadaqah, which is voluntary and may be given in any amount at any time. Zakat becomes due when a Muslim owns wealth in full possession that reaches the nisab, the minimum threshold traditionally reckoned as the value of twenty dinars of gold or two hundred dirhams of silver, and has held it for a complete lunar year. The rate on money, gold, silver and merchandise is two and a half per cent, that is one-fortieth. Agricultural produce is assessed at harvest, one-tenth where the crop is watered by rain and one-twentieth where irrigation requires cost and labour, and livestock are assessed on their own scales. Separately, zakat al-fitr is paid on behalf of every member of the household in staple food or its value before the Eid prayer at the end of Ramadan. The Qur'an in Surah At-Tawbah specifies eight categories of recipients: the poor; the needy; those appointed to collect and administer it; those whose hearts are to be reconciled to Islam; the freeing of slaves and captives; those burdened with debt; the cause of Allah; and the stranded traveller. Benefits to society: (i) it transfers wealth regularly from those who have to those who have not, reducing the gap between rich and poor and limiting the resentment that extreme inequality breeds; (ii) it provides an organised and dependable means of caring for orphans, widows, the disabled and the destitute, so that they do not depend on begging; (iii) it discourages hoarding and keeps wealth circulating in the economy, since unused savings are reduced each year by the levy; (iv) it purifies the giver of greed and the receiver of envy, building goodwill between the two; and (v) it frees debtors and stranded travellers from distress and funds collective needs, strengthening the whole community.

State the six articles of faith in Islam and explain any three of them.

List all six in order first, since the list itself carries marks.
Choose three you can explain in detail and treat each separately.
For each, say what the belief includes in practice, using named examples such as the angels and their duties or the named books.
Close each explanation with what the belief produces in the life of a Muslim.

Answer: The six articles of faith are belief in Allah, belief in His angels, belief in His revealed books, belief in His messengers, belief in the Last Day, and belief in divine decree, both the agreeable and the disagreeable. Belief in Allah means accepting that He is one, without partner, the Creator and Sustainer of everything, that He alone deserves worship, and that He is described by the names and attributes He has given Himself without likening Him to His creation. A Muslim who holds this belief directs all worship, fear, hope and reliance to Allah alone and rejects every form of shirk, whether idols, charms, intermediaries or the worship of graves. Belief in the angels means accepting that they are honoured creatures made of light who never disobey Allah and who carry out the duties assigned to them: Jibril brought the revelation to the prophets, Mika'il is charged with rain and provision, Israfil will sound the trumpet on the Last Day, Malik is the keeper of the Fire, Munkar and Nakir question the dead in the grave, and the recording angels write down every deed. This belief makes a Muslim conscious that nothing he does is unobserved. Belief in the Last Day means accepting that this life will end, that the trumpet will be blown, that the dead will be raised and gathered, that each person will be given his record, that deeds will be weighed, and that the outcome is Paradise or the Fire. A Muslim who truly holds this belief is restrained from oppression and cheating even where no human authority can catch him, and is encouraged to patience when the wrongdoer seems to prosper, because the final reckoning is with Allah.

The mistake to avoid

Candidates mix the pillars with the articles of faith, writing belief in angels as a pillar or zakat as an article. The pillars are what a Muslim does; the articles are what a Muslim believes. The other common error is giving the number of rak'ahs wrongly, or saying that hajj is obligatory on every Muslim without stating the condition of ability. On nisab, avoid inventing a naira figure; give the traditional gold and silver measure and say the value is worked out at current prices.

In the exam

Questions usually name one pillar and ask for its conditions, its rites and its benefits, so prepare each pillar with those three headings. Lists carry marks per item, so learn the eight recipients of zakat, the five prayers with their rak'ahs, the rites of hajj in order and the six articles in order. When asked for benefits, divide them into benefits to the individual and benefits to society, which gives your answer structure and usually more points.