Five Pillars of Islam Five Pillars of Islam The Five Pillars of Islam (' ; also ' "pillars of the religion") are five basic acts in Islam, considered mandatory by believers and are the foundation of Muslim life. They are summarized in the famous hadith of Gabriel. The Shia, Ahmadiyya, and Sunni agree on the essential details for the performance and practice of these acts, but the Shia do not refer to them by the same name (see Ancillaries of the Faith, for the Twelvers, and Seven pillars of Ismailism). They make up Muslim life, prayer, concern for the needy, self-purification, and the pilgrimage,
Muslim conquest of Persia were Sunni Muslims, though today Iran is known as a stronghold of the Shi'a Muslim faith, recognizing Islam as their religion and the prophet's son in law, Ali as an enduring symbol of justice. According to Amoretti in Cambridge History of Islam, the Arab conquerors brought with them a new religion and a new language, but they did not use force to spread it. While giving freedom of choice, however, the Arab conquerors designated privileges for those who converted. During the Rashidun Caliphate, the official language of Persia (including Mesopotamia) remained Middle Persian (Pahlavi), just as the official languages of