The edifice of Islamic philosophy stands upon the Five Pillars - it is not a non Quranic structure that some people may suggest but it is a living principle discerned by the early philosophers of Islam through contemplation of the book Quran. These five pillars are not rituals, but luminous pathways that elevate the soul, harmonize the self, and unveil the hidden wisdom inscribed within the human conscience.
The Five Pillars of Islam - shahādah, ṣalāh, zakāh, ṣawm, and ḥajj - are not the construct of any single thinker, but timeless principles drawn from the book Quran and wisdom, embodying both spiritual depth and philosophical universality. They are recognized by Muslims as they are directly rooted in the book Quran. The terminology “Five Pillars” (Arabic: arkān al-islām) comes from the hadith literature, especially the famous narration in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī and Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, where the Hadith describes "Islam is built upon five foundational principles".-
If one fails to live the essence of these Five Principles of Islam (peaceful / sound mind), the soul remains restless, for peace of mind is not achieved through mere belief, rituals or utterances, but through alignment with the will of the divine conscience (Allah). Shahādah - is the experience that awakens the self to the unity of existence, freeing the heart from false attachments and directions. Ṣalāh connects webs of thoughts into action, turning every moment into remembrance (dhikr). Zakāh purifies / develops the thoughts, teaching that true wealth lies in sharing the possessions. Ṣaum refines desire, revealing strength in restraint and clarity in silence. And Hajj symbolizes the soul’s return to its origin, reminding man that life itself is a pilgrimage of amendments for the True Conscience. When these principles are embodied not as rituals but as living truths, the self discovers harmony, and peace of mind descends like a hidden grace.
That being said, over time, Muslim philosophers, theologians, and mystics elaborated on these pillars - interpreting their deeper meanings beyond mere rituals. For example:
Al-Fārābī (d. 950) and Ibn Sīnā (Avicenna, d. 1037) touched on the role of ritual acts in cultivating harmony between body, soul, and society, though they did not systematically define the “Five Pillars.”
Al-Ghazālī (d. 1111) gave one of the most influential spiritual-philosophical treatments, showing how each pillar purifies the self: salah as presence, zakat as detachment, saum as mastery over desire, hajj as the journey of return.
Ibn ʿArabī (d. 1240) interpreted the pillars in a mystical, metaphysical light—for him, salah was union, zakat was effusion of Divine generosity, saum was annihilation of the ego, and hajj was the soul’s movement toward the Divine center.
Later philosophers such as Rūmī also spoke of the pillars as symbols of inner transformation rather than just external acts.
The Pillars of Islam were not a innovation by philosophers - they are Quranic in origin.
The philosophers, theologians like Al-Ghazālī, Ibn ʿArabī, Rūmī, and others gave them profound philosophical and mystical interpretations. Here follows my interpretation of 5 Pillars of Islam -
1. Shahada (The Experience of Faith)
The Kalimah is not meant to be ritually pronounced with the tongue, but a revolution within the soul, it is the turning of heart. When the seeker expresses lā ilāha illā Allāh from the heart, he actually witness, recognize, understand and experience Allah within the self - “There is no god but Allah”- The shahadah must not be a proclamation in public but a personal experience sprouting from with. For a muslim Allah is not a ilah/God but the fitrah (nature) of the Intelligent Energy understood and experienced within - he does not simply negate idols of stone or figures of imagination, but he dismantles the entire architecture of false authorities (taghut, iblees, pharaoh, satan) that rule over the heart and mind: wealth, ego, power, fear, greed, desire. It is the great purification, a thunderous “No” to all that enslaves the vibrant spirit.
Then arises the gentle affirmation: illā Allāh - “except Allah.” - One can only say "except Allah" when one knows and understands the phenomena Allah - Allah is not the God confined to forms, places, or concepts, but the One Reality that breathes through every vein of existence, the Eternal Presence that the spiritual call the Beloved. In this recognition, the self is no longer fragmented; it becomes whole, illumined by the unity of being.
The second testimony, moḥammadur rasūl Allāh - Mohammad is the rasul of Allah is the important part of the book Quran and Islamic Philosophy - note: Mohammed is not "the human messenger or a holy deputy of the religious God" - If we put the personality of Mohammed on the same pedestal along with the religious God then it is tantamount to blasphemy. The Quranic mohammad does not relate to a historical allegiance with the personality of Mohammed but it connects lifelong partnership with the rasul of Allah. Shahadah is the affirmation that all the human being must represent the Light of this lifelong partnership. Quranic mohammad represents the perfect intellect and voice of pure Conscience, the nafs (psyche) transfigured into light, a living Quran. To accept Quranic mohammad as rasul is to acknowledge that revelation is not parchment and ink, but a way of living a life connected with the divine intellect or Enlightenment - a life where mercy, truth, balance and justice flow effortlessly.
Thus, the Islamic Kalimah is both sword and balm: it cuts away illusion of separation and heals the wounded soul. To live it is to realize that true liberation is inner tawḥīd or external Oneness - where the nafs bows / agrees / accepts none but the One, and the human self shines as a witness plus the judge of divine manifestation in the world.
2. Salah (Establishment of Connection - The Ascent of the Soul)
Salah is not a mere sequence of ritual movements; it is the hidden urge of the spirit to unite, to connect with the Original Source. Its essence is not confined to five intervals of the day, but flows ceaselessly 24x7 (صَلَاتِهِمْ دَائِمُونَ) - 70:23 - like the heartbeat of the soul. It is the art of remaining attuned to the inner script (Al-Kitab / Quran) amidst the clamour and glamour of the world, preserving serenity / soundness when chaos surrounds. True Salah is a constant establishment of patience and humility, a reminder that though we are insignificant in the vastness of existence, we are yet ennobled by a direct communion with the very Source of Being. The ultimate definition of salah comes from the unquestionable source - the book Quran.
19:59-60 - But then since after them there succeeded divergent mindset (خَلْفٌ) who lost (أَضَاعُوا) connection (الصَّلَاةَ) (from their pure conscience) and followed (اتَّبَعُوا) after lusts (الشَّهَوَاتِ) soon (فَسَوْفَ) they face / meet (يَلْقَوْنَ) deviation / غَيًّا (from the right way) - (60) - Except those who repented / turned (تَابَ) and believe (آمَنَ), and do (عَمِلَ) reconciliation (صَالِحًا): for these will enter (يَدْخُلُونَ) the Hidden Garden of Enlightenment (الْجَنَّةَ) and their desire (شَيْئًا) will never be wronged (يُظْلَمُونَ).
TAFSIR OF SURAH MARYAM - 59:60
Yet, after them arose minds divided and hearts estranged from their pure conscience. They severed the bond (salah) with their inner truth and surrendered to longing desires (shahwat), and thus they moved toward their own ruin. But those who turn back in repentance, who realign faith with reason, and who reconcile the fractures within and around them - such souls shall enter the Hidden Garden of Enlightenment (jannah), where no injustice touches them, for they dwell in the harmony of the Real.
IMPORTANT POINT DERIVED FROM THESE 2 ABOVE VERSES:
a) The loss of salah (connection) is due to following shahwat - Shahwat contextually are intense desire filled with passion like carnal lust, strong emotions like anger, strong feeling of revenge, jealousy, rivalry, wishful thinking, greed, hoarding, fear, grudge and enmity. The word shahwat has a more intensive signification than إِرَادَةٌ (wish); shahwat leads to unsound state of mind. An unsound state of mind cannot establish connection (أَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ) - (4:43)
b) According to the traditional beliefs the elements that destroys our salat are the missing of solar timings or other religious beliefs like flatulence, menstruation, laughing or talking during prayers; namaz in Persian but the above verse discerns that we loss our salat due to following shahwat (negative emotions or desire), by cutting ourselves from our inner script (Al-Kitab)
c) These negative strong emotions or passionate longing desires break our connection with our unique inner script (Al-Kitab); instead of following our inner script we yearn to follow our intense temptations or intense desire (shahwat).
d) The flow of inner enlightenment ceases to flow as result we are deprived of Jannah (Hidden Garden of Enlightenment) -
e) To come back from perdition we need to reconcile / amend / correct our thought process and reconnect, rebuild ourselves for receiving the guidance from the inner script (Al-Kitab).
3. Zakat (Purification of Self)
An Arabic saying - المَالُ تَنْقُصُهُ النَّفَقَةُ وَالعِلْمُ يَزْكُو عَلَى الإِنْفَاقِ - Wealth decreases with spending, but knowledge increases with spending. The basic meaning of زَكَا, - يَزْكُو, - زَكْوٌ is to increased or augmented. In the context of the book Quran zakah often comes with salah. It signifies connection (salah) with the inner script (al-kitab) increases the intellect (zakah), knowledge (ilm) and wisdom (hikmah).
Every material or spiritual wealth is a trust (amanah), we are not its absolute owner. To give, share, contribute and take care of it is the essence of deen (code of peaceful life). Human beings are only trustees, assigned to follow this trust, reminded continuously to honor the inner script (al-kitab / Quran) inscribed within and become pure. The inner script is the trust bestowed upon us which we need to follow honestly. By connecting (establishing salah) with the trust we bring increase power to our growth (zakat) of the nafs - Without the connection (salah) with the script (al-kitab) we cannot bring purity / increase in intellect (zakah) for our nafs. The augmentation (zakah) of the soul comes through inherent rasul who recite over us the signs (ayah), teach us al-kitab and wisdom (hikmah) and purify us - this growth and purification is called يُزَكِّيهِمْ a derivative word of zakah (2:129) (2:151) (3:164) (62:2). When the nafs is pure in intellect it grows, the conscience only whispers justice balance and love when the nafs is pure. When one fulfills this trust, wealth ceases to be a mere accumulation of material but becomes a means of purification. Zakat is not an external transaction of money; it is the inner alchemy of the soul - refining the nafs from the rust of greed and awakening it to the fragrance of generosity. A Muslim, in purifying his inner world, naturally radiates that purity into his material world, for the outer is only a reflection of the inner. Thus, zakat is not simply charity given to uplift others, but the expansion of the self beyond the narrow limits of ego, affirming that each of us is a caretaker of one another, bound by a universal nafs (nafs e wahidah) under the One Source of Being.
Wealth is not ours to own; it is a breath of the Divine entrusted for a time, a current flowing through the vessel of the human being. In truth, nothing belongs to us - for the Giver remains the only Owner, and we are but conduits of His generosity. To hoard is to disrupt the natural rhythm of existence, but to give is to allow the river to flow as it was destined. The inner Quran inscribed within the heart teaches us this trust: wealth is a veil to be lifted, a mirror to be polished, so that the inner light may shine through.
Zakat, then, is not charity; it is the secret circulation of Divine Energy to its respective receiver. Just as blood purifies and circulates within the body by movement, zakat purifies the soul by release. By offering, the nafs is freed from the chains of greed and awakens to its true station: not as a possessor, but as a witness to the Infinite. The material world becomes purified because the inner self has surrendered its clinging. Giving becomes an act of remembrance, where the self expands beyond its narrow walls and touches the lives of others, affirming the hidden unity of all beings.
Thus, zakat is the unfolding of the Self into the cosmic weave, where every act of generosity is a ripple that returns to its Source. To give is not to lose - it is to return what was never ours, and in that return the soul is elevated to the rhythm of the Eternal.
2:277 - Truly, those who let faith blossom within, who clothe their belief with reconciliation, who establishes salah the breath of their soul and zakah the flow of their intellectual growth - such ones shall find their reward not in this fleeting world but in the embrace of their Rabb (Consciousness). For them, fear dissolves and grief is no more, as the heart that rests in the cradle of the Beloved.
4. Saum (Abstinence - The Discipline of the Nafs / Ego)
Basically the word الصِّيَامُ is root of ص و م which signifies abstinence - "... إِنِّى نَذَرْتُ لِلرَّحْمٰنِ صَوْمًا ..." means † [Verily I have vowed unto the Rehman] an abstaining from speech - 19:26To saum is to reclaim mastery over the self and disciplining it. By restraining the mind, the spirit grows. Desire reminds us of our fragility, yet also of our hidden strength. Saum is a philosophy of freedom from attachment: freedom from addiction to desire, and freedom to feel the suffering of self.
2:183 - O you who have embraced faith, abstinence has been prescribed for you, it is not enforced upon you but with your acceptance / agreement (قَبْلِكُمْ) - It is not mere denial of food or desire, but a deliberate turning inward, a discipline of the soul, so that the heart may awaken to its true nature. Through this restraint, the nafs is refined, the ego softened, and the seeker learns the subtle art of detachment from the transient life. In abstinence lies the secret doorway to righteousness, for when the self is no longer enslaved to its never ending appetites, it becomes a vessel capable of receiving the light of the Divine (Quran)
5. Hajj (The inner Pilgrimage - The Journey of self repairing to the Essence)
Ḥajj is not a journey to a city of stone and desert, but a return to the true sanctuary (masjid haram) of the soul, to that hidden chamber where the essence of being first received the breath of the Eternal Source. Every step towards the journey is a shedding - of titles, of garments, of illusions - until the seeker stands naked before Truth, clothed only in the humility of dust. The nafs, once intoxicated by pride, is silenced at the door of its own Knowledgeable Consciousness (Rabbil Aalameen), where knowledge becomes light and the self tastes its own nothingness. The significance of encircling the Ka‘bah is to revolve around the axis of one’s own existence, to affirm that all paths begin, end and connects - to the One Centre. Symbolically, Ḥajj is a continuous reminder of the final journey of meeting the lost Beloved: from drop we came, to drop we return - but in that return lays a secret, for the drop itself longs to merge with the Eternal Ocean. Thus, Ḥajj is not the final destination, but a timeless remembrance - an echo of eternity in the agitated mind (22:27) that calls the seeker back to the origin of his soul, to the place where he has always belonged.
2:196 - وَأَتِمُّوا الْحَجَّ وَالْعُمْرَةَ لِلَّهِ ۚ فَإِنْ أُحْصِرْتُمْ فَمَا اسْتَيْسَرَ مِنَ الْهَدْيِ ۖ وَلَا تَحْلِقُوا رُءُوسَكُمْ حَتَّىٰ يَبْلُغَ الْهَدْيُ مَحِلَّهُ ۚ فَمَن كَانَ مِنكُم مَّرِيضًا أَوْ بِهِ أَذًى مِّن رَّأْسِهِ فَفِدْيَةٌ مِّن صِيَامٍ أَوْ صَدَقَةٍ أَوْ نُسُكٍ ۚ فَإِذَا أَمِنتُمْ فَمَن تَمَتَّعَ بِالْعُمْرَةِ إِلَى الْحَجِّ فَمَا اسْتَيْسَرَ مِنَ الْهَدْيِ ۚ فَمَن لَّمْ يَجِدْ فَصِيَامُ ثَلَاثَةِ أَيَّامٍ فِي الْحَجِّ وَسَبْعَةٍ إِذَا رَجَعْتُمْ ۗ تِلْكَ عَشَرَةٌ كَامِلَةٌ ۗ ذَٰلِكَ لِمَن لَّمْ يَكُنْ أَهْلُهُ حَاضِرِي الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ ۚ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ شَدِيدُ الْعِقَابِ
2:196 - And complete / fulfill the Hajj [inquiry / research / argument / repairing work] and 'umrah [the efforts to live by it] for Him only [Rabb]. But if you are withheld / held back / straightened, become narrow unable to express or read the mind (أُحْصِرْتُمْ) then use whatever easily available from the guidance (الْهَدْيِ). And let not trail/trouble/distress afflict (تَحْلِقُوا) your main topic (رُءُوسَكُمْ) until the guidance (الْهَدْيُ) has reached its solution (مَحِلَّهُ). And whoever from you is deficient or unexpected / sudden rush/push with it from its main topic then a process of liberation from abstinence or process of truthfulness or devotion (نُسُكٍ). And when you are secure, then whoever took advantage with the 'umrah towards the Hajj what can be obtained with ease from the guidance. And whoever cannot find [guidance] - then a abstinence till the maturity/ ripening period in the Hajj and continuously congregating [the arguments of thoughts within] till you have reconciled all. This is the process of complete configuration. That is for those who does not have its familiarity with the enshrined state of humbleness [al-Masjid al-haram]. And be cautious of Allah and know that Allah is one who Keeps Track.
2:197 - الْحَجُّ أَشْهُرٌ مَّعْلُومَاتٌ فَمَن فَرَضَ فِيهِنَّ الْحَجَّ فَلاَ رَفَثَ وَلاَ فُسُوقَ وَلاَ جِدَالَ فِي الْحَجِّ وَمَا تَفْعَلُواْ مِنْ خَيْرٍ يَعْلَمْهُ اللّهُ وَتَزَوَّدُواْ فَإِنَّ خَيْرَ الزَّادِ التَّقْوَى وَاتَّقُونِ يَا أُوْلِي الْأَلْبَابِ
Al-Hajj is a state of [Inquiry / argument / research] is the notable manifestation of knowledge so whoever made obligatory upon himself therein the Hajj then there should be no submission/surrendering and no deviation / neglecting and no dispute in the Hajj [Arguments / research / introspection / repairing of self] and whatever you do from goodness - Allah / Conscience knows it. And take the provision, so indeed the best provision is caution. And be cautious of Me, O foremost in possession of intelligence.
QURANIC TAFSEER OF AYAT 2:196 AND 2:197
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