Narrated by Abdullah ibn Umar
Islam is built on five: testifying that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, establishing the prayer, giving the zakah, Hajj to the House, and fasting Ramadan.
Sahih al-Bukhari 8, Sahih Muslim 16
What this hadith teaches
The Prophet ﷺ compares Islam to a building resting on five pillars. Prayer comes straight after the shahadah, which shows its rank: without it the building cannot stand.
Reference and grade
- Grade
- Sahih: agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim
- Narrator
- Abdullah ibn Umar
- Chapter
- Why prayer matters
The hadith in Arabic نص الحديث
بُنِيَ الإِسْلاَمُ عَلَى خَمْسٍ شَهَادَةِ أَنْ لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ وَأَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ، وَإِقَامِ الصَّلاَةِ، وَإِيتَاءِ الزَّكَاةِ، وَالْحَجِّ، وَصَوْمِ رَمَضَانَ
Arabic text of Sahih al-Bukhari 8, as given on sunnah.com.