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The first pillar, Shahadah, gives us a clear indication of just how important Muhammad is to the Muslims. This declaration of faith is the core belief of Islam. If a person does not take his/her Shahadah it is impossible for them to be considered a Muslim. To have Muhammad's name appear in such an important part of the Islamic faith gives a strong implication to his importance and status in the religion. Obviously, to testify that someone is God's servant and messenger means that you hold that person very dear. This gives us one of the clearest Islamic understandings of Muhammad's role, in Islam.

It is a well-known fact that in Islam, performing prayers five times a day is an obligation required of every Muslim. However, praying in Islam varies quiet dramatically from the traditional ideology of getting down on ones knees and praying to God. The Islamic way of praying involves physical movement and verbal recitation of verses from the Koran. An example of physical movement is prostrating with one's head on the ground, before the Lord. Although the Holy Koran states that praying five times a day is obligatory, there is only general information about how exactly to perform these prayers. It is not until we look at the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad that we begin to understand what has to be said during the prayers, the physical movements involved, the rewards of praying and other similar bits of information.

Muhammad used to fast at least three days a month. Usually he would fast on Mondays and Thursdays and of course the entire month of Ramadan, which is an Islamic obligation upon every Muslim. When asked why he chose to fast on Mondays and Thursdays, Muhammad would say:

Although Muslims are not required to fast more than the month of Ramadan, many Muslims have adopted regular habits of fasting at least those three days every month, like Muhammad used to do. It is from something like fasting that we can begin to understand the extent of a Muslim's love for the Prophet. Because Muhammad used to fast at least three days in a month, millions of Muslims around the world attempt to do the same. Obviously there are other factors influencing the Muslims' decisions to fast on these three days, however the fact that Muhammad used to do so, is reason enough for many people. To go without food, drink, intimate intercourse and other tempting things in a day is by no means an easy feat. Yet Muslims push aside these very temptations in order to please their Lord and to follow their Prophet's (Muhammad's) Sunnah.

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