Five Pillars

Islam is based on 5 Pillars:

• Faith (tawheed) - There is no God except Allah, and Muhammad s.a.w. is his Messenger.
• Prayer (salat) - Prayers are said five times a day - dawn, noon, mid-afternoon, sunset and nightfall. Friday is for communal praying at a mosque .
• Charity (zakat) - A percentage of one's wealth is donated annualy to help others in need, or to support the work of Islam.
• Fast (sawm) - No food or drink and sexual activities from sunrise to sunset during the holy month of Ramadan.
• Pilgrimage (hajj) - This ritual is perform in Mecca  at least once in a lifetime

A Bedouin came to the Prophet and said, "Tell me of a deed such that if I were to do it, I would enter Paradise (as a result)." The Prophet said,

"Worship God (Allah) without worshiping anything along with Him, offer the (five daily) prescribed prayers, pay the compulsory alms(zakat), and fast the month of Ramadan."

The Bedouin said, "(I swear) by Him in whose hands my life is, I will not do more than this."

When he (the Bedouin) left, the Prophet said, "Whoever would like to see a man of Paradise should look at this man." Narrated by Abu Hurayrah in the Sahih of Bukhari, Volume 2, p. 272-73, book 23, #480.