The Message inscribed at Ottoman Topkapi Palace, Istanbul
courtesy IslamiCity

2) Ritual Worship

Formal periods of worships are observed 5 times a day namely before sunrise, after midday, at mid-afternoon, shortly after sunset and in the fullness of night where Muslims direct their recitations and petitions toward the city of Mecca, the locatin of the ancient and supremely holy shrine known as the Kaaba.

3) Almsgiving (Zakat)

No specific amount has to be given; the zakat is entirely voluntary. The most one can donate is 2.5% of cash an individual holds in savings or investment in a year.

4) Fasting (observed during the holy month of Ramadan)

Ramadan is the month which the first Koranic verses are revealed to Muhammad and in which Muhammad's small band of followers achieved their first militray success. During Ramadan, between sunset and sunrise, Muslims are obliged to refrain from eating, smoking, drinking and the pleasures of the flesh (sex) unless they are ill, travelling, nursing or pregnant.

5) Pilgrimage

Muslims make the hajj to Mecca
courtesy IslamiCity

Every able bodied Muslim is expected to make a pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca at least once in their lifetime. This hajj, is the unifying force of Islam. It brings together in the experience of faith the peoples of this multiracial, international religion, for it is the event in which all sects within Islam participate side by side.