Islam has five basic duties which Muslims must perform. These are known as the foundatiosn of Islam (Arkan-Al-Islam). These are: the declaration of faith (ash-shahadah), prayer (salah), obligatory (religious) almsgiving (zakat), fasting (sawm) and pilgrimage (Hajj).  
 

Declaration of faith (Ash-shadadah)  

The first duty of a Muslim is to declare his faith:  

"There is no God but Allah and Muhammed is His messenger."  

This statement of faith is known in Islam as ash-shahadah.  
  

Prayer (Salah)  

Muslims are required to pray five times each day (salah) - at dawn, noon, late afternoon, sunset and night. Before performing a prayer, Muslims must first prepare themsleves to be clean and pure. This is done by washing hands, feet and face (wudu). The compulsory prayers are called fard and each unit of prayer is called a rakaat. The fard comprimises two rakaat at dawn (fajr), four at noon (zuhr), four at late afternoon (asr), three at sunset (maghrib) and four at night (isha).  

On Fridays, Muslims perform the jumaah prayer of two rakaat in place of zuhr. It is a community prayer, preceded by a sermon (khutbah), offered in a congregation where Muslims of one area get together to pray.  

Funeral Prayers  

In Islam, death is the beginning of eternal life. For all Muslims, performing the special rite of funeral prayers for the deceased is considered a highly significant duty.  

When a Muslim dies, his body is given a ritual wash. This is followed by a funeral prayer (salat-ul-janazah), offered in congregation. This prayer, unlike others, has neither bowing nor prostration, and is performed while standing, All Muslims in the neighbourhood of the deceased are expected to attend the rituals (fard kifayah). The coffin is placed in front of the congregation on a bier. The funeral prayer, led by an Imam, consists of four takbirat (Allahu Akbar - God is the Greatest).  

Each person raises his hands to his ears and brings them down again, placing them on or below the chest. He then puts his right hand over the left and recites the following:  

"O Allah, Glory and Praise are for You and blessed Your name and exalted is Your Majesty and Glorious is Your praise and there is no God but You."  

Then the Imam will loudly say "Allahu Akbar", which is repeated by the followers.  

Then the follwing is recited:  

"O Allah let Your blessing come upon Muhammad (s.a.w.) and the family of Muhammad (s.a.w.) as you blessed Ibrahim and his family. Truly you are Praiseworthy and Glorious."  

After this, the second takbir will be said loudly by the Imam. Those in the congrgation will repeat quietly.  

If the deceased person is an adult male, the follwing invocation (dua) is recited:  

"O Allah, forgive those of us who are still alive and those who have passed away, those present and those absent and our young and the elderly, the males and the females. O Allah, the one who you wish to keep alive from among us make him live according to Islam and anyone who you wish to die from among us, let him die in the state of Iman (faith)."  

If the deceased is an adult women, the last phrase of this dua is replaced by:  

"O Allah, she whom you wish to keep alive from among us make her live according to Islam and she whom you wish to die from among us let her die in the state of Iman."  

If the deceased is a boy, the follwoing is recited:  

"O Allah, make him our foreunner and make him for us a reward and treasure, make him one who will plead for us and accept his pleading."  

If the deceased is a girl, the following is recited:  

"O Allah, make her our forerunner and make her for us a reward and treasure, make her one who will plead for us and accept her pleading."  

After reciting any of the above dua, the Imam loudly says "Allahu Akbar:" which the congregation repeats. Then the Imam turns his face to the right saying "Assalum Alarkum wa Rahmatu Allahi wa Barakatub" (Peace of God be upon you), and then he turns to the left, repeating the same words.  

This completes the salat-ul-janazah.  
 

Obligatory (religious) almsgiving  

The payment of zakat is a compulsory contribution by the well-to-do Muslims to the needy, wherever they might live. It is paid once a year on cash savings, gold, silver and jewellery. It is also paid on cattle and agricultural products. Zakat is an act of devotional duty (ibada) of worship and obedience, and is paid to gain Allah's favour. In Islam, wealth belongs to Allah. He is the real owner and Muslims are the trustees of His wealth. In addition to the payment of zakat, the Quran encourages Muslims to make voluntary contributions to help the poor and needy. This payment is sadagah (charity).  
 

Fasting  

Muslims are required to fast from dawn to sunset during the month of Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. This means a Muslims should not eat, drink, smoke or have conjugal relations during the hours of fasting. Travellers and people who are ill, and women during menstruation, can defer fatinf during such occasions in Ramadan and make up for it later.  

In the Quran, Allah says:  

O you who believe, fasting is prescribed for you as it was precribed for those before you, that you may learn self-restraint. (2:183)  

The month of Ramadan is of special significance to all Muslims. The Quran was first revealed in Ramadan. In the Quran (97:3), there is a night in the month referred to as 'better than a thousand months'. It is called the night of power and destiny (Lailatu Al Qadr). According to a Hadith (the prophet's sayings), this night occurs during the last ten days of Ramada.  

The month of Ramadan is a time of moderation, forgiveness, patience, kindness and concern for the welfare of others. All Muslims desire to achieve a good disposition (ahsan-ul-husna), and fasting in Ramadan is designed to achieve this state of mind  

The following acts will break the fast:  

• deliberate eating, drinking or smoking during the fasting hours; 
• the taking of anything into the body through the mouth r the nose, uncluding smoking or sniffing any powdered substance; 
• having conjugal relatiosn during fasting ours. 

An additional prayer known as tarawih (from eight to twenty rakaat) is offered during Ramadan after the night prayer (isha) and generally held in congregation. It is a Sunna prayer in which efforts are amde to recite as much of the Quran as possible.  

A Muslim must not fast on the day of the Idul Fitr, a religious holiday observed at the end of Ramadan, nor on the day of Idul Adha, which commemorates prophet Ibrahim's readiness to sacrifice his son Ismail on Allah's command.  
 

Pilgrimage (Hajj)  

Hajj is the fifth pillar of Islam. It is the pilgrimage to the Kaaba in Makkah, the house of Allah, at least once in a lifetime by those Muslims who can afford it. It is performed during the period from eighth to thirteenth Dhul-Hijja, the twelfth month of the Islamic calendar. The occasion could be caled the annual "International United Muslim Assembly of Islamic Brotherhood" when the barriers of language, territory, colour, race and cultures disappear and the bond of faith is uppermost.  

There are a number of important rituals associated with the pilgrimgae. These are:  

• putting on the ihram, the seamless white dress worn by men. (Women wear ordinary dress, preferably white) 
• circumambulating (going around)  the Kaaba seven times; 
• a fast walk between As-Safa and Marwa near Al Kaaba; 
• visiting and staying at Mina, Arafat and Muzdalifah; 
• throwing pebbles at three fixed places in Mina; 
• cutting or shortening the hair; 
• the sacrifice of an animal (sheep, goat, cow or camel). 

There are also restrictions on Muslims on the pilgrimage while in the state of ihram. They must not:  

• use perfume 
• kill or harm animals, even insects; 
• break or uproot plants; 
• hunt; 
• marry or take part in a wedding; 
• carry arms; 
• cover the head (men only); 
• cut the hair or nails; 
• have conjugal relations. 

"Here I am O Lord, at your service. Here I am. You have no partner. Here I am. Surely praise, blessings and the kingdom are for you. You have no partner."  

The place of the Kaaba in Makkah, as qibla, (the direction of prayer) is most important. It is God's first house on earth. It is the palce where Muslims make the most soulful contact with their most sacred place. It is the symbol of the unity of the Islamic community (Ummah), where the spiritual, aesthetic and the practical are suffused with an almost intoxicating sense of ecstacy - a sublime ecstasy.