Religious Beliefs
Senior 4 · General and Religious Studies
Religious Beliefs
Lesson 3 of 5
40 min
The Prophet Muhammad described Islam as a building. In a hadith recorded by al-Bukhari, he taught that Islam is built upon five things: bearing witness that there is no god but God and that Muhammad is God's messenger, establishing the prayer, paying the zakat, the pilgrimage to the House in Mecca, and fasting in Ramadan. Take away a pillar and the building is weakened.
In Rwanda, Muslims were 2.0% of residents in the 2022 census, 265,317 people, most of them in towns. Five times a day their call to prayer sounds from mosques in Nyamirambo, Huye or Rubavu. This lesson explains the five pillars, the faith on which they stand, and what they do for the believer and the community.
Definition
Islam: "submission" to the will of God (Allah); the religion revealed through the Prophet Muhammad. Muslim: "one who submits", a follower of Islam.
Iman: faith; in Islam, belief in six articles: God, his angels, his scriptures, his messengers, the Last Day, and God's decree.
Shahada: the declaration of faith. Salat: the ritual prayer, five times a day. Zakat: obligatory almsgiving from wealth. Sawm: fasting, especially in the month of Ramadan. Hajj: the pilgrimage to Mecca.
Tawhid: the absolute oneness of God. Ummah: the worldwide community of Muslims.
Hadith: a report of the words or actions of the Prophet. Qibla: the direction of the Ka'bah in Mecca, which Muslims face in prayer.
Nisab: the minimum wealth a Muslim must own before zakat is due.
The pillars are acts; they rest on belief. The Qur'an describes the believer: "Each one believeth in Allah and His angels and His scriptures and His messengers" (Surah 2:285), and warns that "whoso disbelieveth in Allah and His angels and His scriptures and His messengers and the Last Day, he verily hath wandered far astray" (Surah 4:136). Together with belief in God's decree, these are the six articles of iman.
| Pillar | What a Muslim does | Qur'an (Pickthall, 1930) |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Shahada | Declares sincerely: "There is no god but God, and Muhammad is the messenger of God". Saying it with faith makes a person a Muslim. | "Say: He is Allah, the One!" (112:1); "Muhammad is the messenger of Allah." (48:29) |
| 2. Salat | Prays five times a day (dawn, midday, afternoon, sunset, night), facing the qibla, after ritual washing; men gather for the Friday congregational prayer. | "Establish worship, and pay the poor-due." (2:110) |
| 3. Zakat | Gives each year a fixed share (2.5% of savings held for a year above the nisab) to the poor and others in need. | 2:110 (above) |
| 4. Sawm | Fasts from food, drink and sexual relations from dawn to sunset during Ramadan; the sick, travellers, children and others are excused. | "O ye who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you, even as it was prescribed for those before you, that ye may ward off (evil)." (2:183) |
| 5. Hajj | Makes the pilgrimage to Mecca once in a lifetime, in the month of Dhul Hijjah, if healthy and able to afford it. | "And pilgrimage to the House is a duty unto Allah for mankind, for him who can find a way thither." (3:97) |
Worked example: calculating zakat
A shopkeeper in Rubavu has kept savings of 2,400,000 Frw for a full lunar year, above the nisab. Zakat on savings is 2.5%:
If her savings were below the nisab, no zakat would be due on them. Zakat is not a gift she may choose to give; it is a duty, and the Qur'an names who may receive it, first among them the poor and the needy. Its name means "purification": giving purifies the remaining wealth and the giver's heart from greed.
The daily prayers also add up. The five obligatory prayers contain cycles (rak'ahs) a day; over a year that is cycles of standing, bowing and prostrating before God.
| Pillar | For the believer | For the community |
|---|---|---|
| Shahada | A clear identity and commitment | One creed unites the ummah |
| Salat | Remembrance of God through the day; discipline | Rich and poor stand side by side in rows |
| Zakat | Freedom from greed | Wealth reaches the poor; social solidarity |
| Sawm | Self-control and gratitude | Shared experience of hunger builds compassion; families break the fast together |
| Hajj | A once-in-a-life renewal of faith | Pilgrims from every nation wear the same simple white clothes: equality before God |
Compare the Jewish and Christian practices you have studied: prayer, fasting (Yom Kippur, Lent), almsgiving and pilgrimage appear in all three Abrahamic faiths, although their rules differ.
Warning
Common mistakes
Important
Discuss. Which pillar do you think does most for social cohesion in a Rwandan town, and why? Compare it with one practice of your own faith or of a faith you know.
AFP News Agency: "The five pillars of Islam", about 1 minute. Match each image in the film to a pillar in the table.
Practice
Key points
Sources and credits
Written by Ganzaa: the opening, Figure 2, the tables, the worked example and the exercises.
This lesson adapts CC BY-SA material and is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Quick check
Put the five pillars of Islam in their usual order.
Tap the cards in the right order.
