Shahadah                   The profession of faith: 'I testify there is no God but Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.'

Salah- The faithful must turn towards Mecca and recite a prescribed prayer five times daily at dawn, just after midday, asr (mid afternoon), just after sunset and before midnight. In some Muslim countries the activities of the day stop at the time of prayer. The muezzin calls to prayer, chanting from the minaret of each mosque. For obvious practical reasons, not all Muslims go to a mosque for prayer. Shopkeepers and businessmen will offer prayers on their premises, usually on a mat set to one side. Non-Muslims should not be embarrassed if they happen to witness this. The most important prayer is the Friday prayer, delivered from a pulpit of the mosque by a prayer leader. In many Muslim countries, Friday is a holiday, with banks and shops closed all day

Zakah- A compulsory payment from a Muslim's annual savings. It literally means 'purification', and is an annual payment of 2.5% of the value of cash, jewellery and precious metals above a specified minimum amount (a separate rate applies to animals, crops and minerals). Zakah can only be used for helping the poor and needy, the disabled, the oppressed, debtors and other welfare purposes defined in the Qur'an and Sunnah.

Ramadan- All Muslims are required to fast during the Holy Month of Ramadan (a lunar month of 29 or 30 days, which falls 11 days earlier each year, depending on sightings of the moon). All Muslims abstain totally from food, drink, sex and tobacco from dawn to sunset. Non-Muslims should respect this practice and wherever possible avoid infringing these laws in front of Muslims, since this would be considered an insult. Practically speaking, when Ramadan falls during the summer months, the abstentions become a test of endurance. Often shops and restaurants will open much earlier and close during the afternoons and in smaller towns some will close altogether, but some businesses do open at night. Straight after sunset most, if not all, Muslims will break their fast, and little business or travel will be practical for the visitor at this time.
Originally the festival celebrated the month during which the Quran was first revealed and later when Muhammad's followers won a great victory over opponents to his faith in Mecca. Eid al-Fitr, an official holiday in some Muslim countries of three or more days, takes place after the end of Ramadan. It is a celebratory feast when those luxuries which have been denied are enjoyed with relish.
The Hajj- The pilgrimage to Mecca. Every Muslim who can afford it and is fit enough must make the journey. Some Muslims, especially those in Saudi Arabia, make the pilgrimage more than once. At the time of the pilgrimage, the pilgrim (Hajji/Hajja) enters the holy precincts of Mecca wearing a white, seamless garment (ihram) and performs the sevenfold circumambulation of the Kaabah (the black stone housed in the centre of the Holy Mosque) and the sevenfold course between the little hills of Safa and Marwah near Mecca. Muslims perform this in memory of Haggar who is mentioned in the Old Testament, who ran seven times between Safa and Marwah seeking a spring for her thirsty son. The Hajj lasts from the seventh to the eighth day of Dhu-al-Hijja. On the ninth day pilgrims stand praying on the mountain Arafat - an essential part of the ritual of the Hajj. The pilgrimage formally ends with Eid al-Adha (Feast of the Sacrifice), which is an official holiday of four or more days, in which a camel, sheep or horned domestic animal is sacrificed on the tenth day of Dhu-al-Hijja. After shaving the head (which is performed only by men), the ihram is discarded and normal dress (ihlal) resumed. As long as the hajji/hajja is in a muhrim (sanctified place) he/she must refrain from sexual intercourse, the shedding of blood, hunting and the uprooting of plants. All of the different activities of the Hajj are symbolic and have stories associated with them. .

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