The Sixth Pillar

The five pillars of Islam are widely known in the Muslim world to refer to first, a declaration (literally “I bear witness”) that there is no God but Allah, and that Mohammad is His Prophet. The name Allah is the Arabic Word for God and does not mean some other “deity.” The second pillar is the establishment of daily salat, referring to a form of worship often translated as “prayer,” but with specific protocols such as a direction to face and exact times of day to be performed. The third pillar is the zakat, which refers to a portion of one’s income to be paid to charity set aside specifically for the poor. The fourth is to fast for the month of Ramadan, and the fifth is performance of the Hajj pilgrimage to Makkah at least once in one’s lifetime if able. But there is a sixth important pillar missing from this list: reading the Quran.