Part of a series on the Islamic creed: Aqidah

Five Pillars (Sunni)

Shah-dah - Profession of faith „al“t - Prayers Zak-h - Paying of alms (giving to the poor) -awm - Fasting during Ramadan Hajj - Pilgrimage to Mecca

Six articles of belief (Sunni)

Tawh-d - Oneness Prophets and Messengers in Islam Islamic holy books Angels The Last Judgment Predestination

Principles of the Religion (Twelver)

Tawh-d - Oneness -Adalah - Justice Nubuwwah - Prophethood Im-mah - Leadership The Last Judgment

Practices of the Religion (Twelver)

„al“t - Prayers -awm - Fasting during Ramadan Hajj - Pilgrimage to Mecca Zak-h - Tithes Khums - One-fifth tax Jihad - Struggle Commanding what is just Forbidding what is evil Tawall-' - Loving the Ahl al-Bayt Tabarrá - Disassociating Ahl al-Bayt's enemies

Seven Pillars (Ismaili)

Wal-yah - Guardianship „ah“rah - Purity & cleanliness „al“t - Prayers Zak-h - Purifying religious dues -awm - Fasting during Ramadan Hajj - Pilgrimage to Mecca Jihad - Struggle

Others

Kharijite Sixth Pillar of Islam. This box: view - talk - edit

The Shi'a Isml- - the Nizari, Druze and Mustaali - have Pillars beyond those of the Sunni. The Shahadah (profession of faith), is not considered a Pillar and is instead seen as the foundation upon which they are built.

The Isml- Pillars

• Walayah „Guardianship“ denotes love and devotion to God, the prophets, the im-m and the du--t "missionaries". In Isml- doctrine, God is the true desire of every soul, and he manifests himself in the forms of prophets and im-ms; the appointed du--t lead believers to the right path. The Druze refer to this pillar as Tasl-m "Submission".
• Taharah „Purity“: The Druze do not include this as a Pillar.
• Salah "Prayer": Unlike Sunni and Twelver muslims, Nizari Ismliyya reason that it is up to the current im-m to designate the style and form of prayer, and for this reason the current Nizari practices resemble dua and pray them three times a day. These three times have been related with the three times that have been mentioned in the Qur'-n: sunrise, before sunset, and after sunset. In contrast, the Musta„l“ maintain five prayers and their style is generally closely related to that of the Twelvers. The Druze believe that the meaning of prayer is sidqu l-lis-n "speaking Truth (to/about God)" and do not believe in five daily prayers. They do sometimes attend prayers, which is the practice of the "uninitiated" (juhh-l) and historically was also done for reasons of taqiyya.
• Zakah "Charity": with the exception of the Druze, all Isml- madh-hab have practices resembling that of Sunni and Twelver Muslims with the addition of the characteristic Sh--a khums: payment of 1/8^th of one's unspent money at the end of the year to the im-m. In addition to khums, Isml-s pay 12.5% of their monthly gross income to the im-m, which goes to the central accounts and then spent on welfare of the humankind like education and health projects. One of the major examples of these projects is the Aga Khan Development Network, that is one of the biggest welfare networks of the world. Thus, Isml-s believe that as Prophet Muhammad was designated to take zak-t from the believers in the past, it is now the duty to pay the im-m or his representative. The Druze practice hifzu l-'Ikhw-n "Protection of One's Brothers" instead of paying a fee, a culturally complex practice of interdependence.
• Sawm „Fasting“: Nizari and Musta„l“ believe in both a metaphorical and literal meaning of fasting. The literal meaning is that one must fast as an obligation, such as during the Ramadan and the metaphorical meaning being that one is in attainment of the Divine Truth and must strive to avoid worldy activities which may detract from this goal. In particular, Isml-s believe the real and esoteric meaning of fasting is avoiding devilish acts and doing the good deeds. Not eating during the month of Ramadan has been considered as a metaphorical implementation of fasting and is not compulsory. The Druze emphasise the esoteric meaning, which they call tark „ib“dat al-awth-n "deserting idol-worship": that which detracts from communion with God is an idol (wathan).
• Hajj „Pilgrimage“: For Isml-s, this means visiting the im-m or his representative and that this is the greatest and most spiritual of all pilgrimages. The Musta„l“ maintain also the practice of going to Mecca. The Druze interpret this completely metaphorically as "fleeing from devils and oppressors" and rarely go to Mecca.^[1]
• Jihad "Struggle": The definition of jihad is controversial as it has two meanings: "the Greater Struggle" and the "The Lesser Struggle", the latter of which means a confrontation with the enemies of the faith. The Nizari are pacifist and interpret "adversaries" of the faith as personal and social vices (i.e. wrath, intolerance, etc.) and those individuals who harm the peace of the faith and avoid provocation and use force only as a final resort only in self-defense. It is unclear what the Mustaali believe. The Druze have a long history of military and political engagement, but refer to this pillar solely as R-da "Contentment" - the war to fight that which removes you from the ease of the Divine Presence, a meaning similar to that of the Nizari. In addition, the „Uqq“l "Wise Ones", the religious cadre of the Druze, are pacifists.

See also

• Sunni Five Pillars of Islam and Six articles of belief and Sixth pillar of Islam.
• Shi'a twelvers Roots of Religion and Branches of Religion
• Shi'a Druze Seven Pillars

References

1. ^ "Isma'ilism". Retrieved on 2007-04-24.