and in another wording the fast is mentioned before the pilgrimage. Building upon the first wording, however, al-Bukhari—may Allah have mercy on him—arranged what he regarded as the proper sequence, so he put the pilgrimage before the fast, even though most narrations give precedence to fasting over pilgrimage.

His statement, peace and blessings be upon him, “Islam has been built…” means that he likened Islam to a palace upheld by five columns. Plainly, the columns are the foundation of any structure: once they are removed, the building totters and collapses, and whatever is raised without columns is by nature a feeble edifice. Islam, on the other hand, is a strong and well-fortified structure that Allah, exalted is He, has legislated for His servants. He said, “Today I have perfected your religion for you, completed My favor upon you, and approved for you Islam as religion” (Q 5:3).

These supports—these five pillars—were specified by the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, when he said: “to testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.” That is: you bear witness with your tongue and believe with your heart that none is worthy of worship in truth except Allah. Everything that is worshipped besides Allah is false. There are people who worship the sun, others the moon, others the star Sirius; some worship cattle, and some even worship the private parts of women. They are disparate nations, yet the only One truly deserving of worship is Allah, exalted be He. This is required both by revelation and by sound reason, for the One who merits worship is the One who created the creation. And who created it? It is Allah, exalted is He. He says, “Were they created out of nothing, or were they themselves the creators?” (Q 52:35), and He also says, “Have you considered the semen you emit…” (Q 56:58).