The Five Pillars of Sunni Islam and the Ten Obligatory Acts of Shi'a Islam, and the Shahadah as the first Pillar.

What this dot point is asking

Edexcel wants you to explain the Five Pillars of Sunni Islam and the Ten Obligatory Acts of Shi'a Islam, their nature, history and purpose, the diversity of practice between Sunni and Shi'a Muslims, and the Shahadah as the first Pillar. These are the framework of Muslim practice and open the Islam Practices section on Paper 1.

The Five Pillars of Sunni Islam

The Five Pillars are the five core duties that support a Sunni Muslim's faith, like the pillars that hold up a building.

The purpose of the pillars is to put faith into practice and to keep a Muslim in a right relationship with Allah. Each pillar shapes life: the Shahadah declares belief, Salah keeps a Muslim in regular contact with Allah, Zakah purifies wealth and helps the poor, Sawm builds self-discipline and empathy, and Hajj unites Muslims at the holiest site. Together they also unite the worldwide ummah (community), since Muslims everywhere perform the same duties in the same way. The pillars are obligatory for adult Muslims who are able, with allowances for those who are ill or unable.

The Ten Obligatory Acts of Shi'a Islam

The Ten Obligatory Acts show the diversity of practice between Sunni and Shi'a Islam. They overlap with the Five Pillars in the duties of prayer, fasting, pilgrimage and charity, but they also reflect Shi'a beliefs, especially love for the Prophet's family (linked to the imams) and the duties to command good and forbid evil. The Qur'an supports these duties of community responsibility (for example Surah 9:71 to 73 on believers enjoining good and forbidding evil). For the exam, you should know that Sunni Muslims keep the Five Pillars and Shi'a Muslims keep the Ten Obligatory Acts, and that the two share much in common.

The Shahadah, the first Pillar

The Shahadah is the first Pillar and the foundation of Muslim faith. It is the declaration: "There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah." (Shi'a Muslims often add a phrase honouring Ali.) Reciting the Shahadah sincerely, with belief, is what makes a person a Muslim, so it is the gateway to the faith.

The Shahadah declares two central beliefs: Tawhid, the oneness of Allah, and Risalah, the prophethood of Muhammad. It is woven through Muslim life: it is whispered into a newborn's ear, repeated in daily Salah, and ideally are the last words a Muslim says before death. Because it states the core of belief, many Muslims see it as the most important Pillar, the foundation on which the others rest. For the exam, link the Shahadah to Tawhid and Risalah, and be ready to evaluate whether it is the most important Pillar (because it is the foundation of belief) or whether Salah matters as much (because it is performed five times a day) and the other pillars put faith into action. A strong answer weighs the foundation of faith against faith lived out in practice.