The Five Pillars of Islam

The Five Pillars of Islam are the corner stones, the core beliefs of the Islamic faith. Each pillar is designed to help Muslims model their life towards Allah's wishes and live their life to the fullest.
Muslims are encouraged to enjoy the good things in life (including food, drink and sexual relations) since all good things come from Allah (God). Yet for all willing and able Muslims, one month of the Islamic calendar year is set aside for fasting. This month is called Ramadan and the 'Festival of Ramadan' or 'Saum' is the 4th Pillar of Islam.
Saum was first established in 624 CE. Before this date, no fasting of Ramadan has been recorded except for the Jewish-inspired ashura which is 1 day of intense fasting to seek redemption (ashura only started being practiced 2 years before Saum was introduced).
Ramadan is the 9th month in the Islamic calendar. It begins with the sighting of the new moon. …