the five pillars are each described in some part of the quran and were , in fact , already practiced during muhammad 's lifetime : the profession of faith ( shahada ) , prayer ( salat ) , almsgiving ( zakat ) , fasting ( sawm ) , and pilgrimage ( hajj ) although some of these practices had their precedents in jewish , christian , and other middle eastern religious traditions , as a group they do distinguish islamic religious practices from those of other religions .