By Sami N. Makarem – via Ismaili Web Amaana
While the Sunnis believe in five pillars in Islam, the Isma’ilis raise them to seven. Al-Qadi an-Nu’man devoted the first volume of his famous book Da’a’im al-Islam to the description of these pillars and an elaboration of them. The first of these seven pillars, as al-Qadi an-Nu’man mentions, is Faith (Iman). He also calls it walaya, which means allegiance or devotion. The other six are successively Ritual Purification (tahara), prayer (salat), Alms Tax (zakat), Fasting (sawm), Pilgrimage (hajj), and Holy War (jihad).
The association of faith (iman) with allegiance (walaya) is very fundamental in Ismailism.
Read more at the source Philosophical Significance of the Imam in Ismailism | Ismaili Web Amaana.
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