Prayers are prescribed five times a day as a duty towards Allah. Prayer strengthens and enlivens belief in Allah and inspires man to higher morality. This means abstention from food, beverages, and sexual intercourse from dawn to sunset, and curbing evil intentions and desires. Fasting teaches love, sincerity, and devotion. Zakah is a specific contribution collected from the wealth and earnings of of earnings of those above the poverty line and spent on the poor and needy in particular, and the welfare of the society in general.
Pilgrimage is prescribed once in life time, provided one has the means to do so.
The Ismaili school gave rise to the Fatimid movement of North Africa and Egypt. Iwan A rectangular, usually vaulted room, one of whose sides is entirely open to a forecourt or another hall. This type of structure was adopted by oriental Islam from Parthian or Sassanian architectural sources and is not linked to any particular function. It is found both in secular and sacred buildings.