Religious Duties - Gifts from God

The duties in our religion are gifts and provisions to us from God, whereby He gives us the tools to strengthen our souls in preparation for the day that we meet Him.

The Quran teaches us in many suras that Submission (in Arabic "Islam") is the religion of Abraham (please consult 2:135, 3:95, 4:125, 6:161, and 22:78). Muhammad was a follower of Abraham as we learn from 16:123. All religious practices in Submission (Islam) were given to us through Abraham; they include; 

(1) the five daily Contact Prayers (Salat),

(2) the obligatory charity (Zakat),

(3) the fasting during the month of Ramadan, and

(4) the Hajj Pilgrimage to Mecca.

How to bear witness (Shahaadah)