including one led by Ibn Zubayr, who created a
rival caliphate in Mecca that lasted from 681 to
692, when it was destroyed by Umayyad forces
from Damascus. The third major fitna began in
744–745, when Shia in Iran and Iraq rebelled
against the Umayyads. In 750, these opposition
forces defeated the Umayyad armies and replaced
their caliphate with a new one led by the Abba-
sids, rulers who claimed descent from Muham-
mad’s uncle Abbas. Other, more localized fitnas
occurred, but these three not only determined the
course of early Islamic history but also shaped
the development of the doctrines, practices, and
institutions of Sunni and Shii Islam. Indeed, one
of the chief justifications for having a strong ruler
was to prevent fitna from bringing chaos to the
community of Muslims. Also, the major hadith
collections included chapters devoted to tradi-
tions about the great fitna that would beset the
community leading up to the end of the world and
the final judgment.
Likewise, the qUran uses fitna in the negative
sense of a trial or punishment that God inflicts
upon humans or has allowed them to undergo,
usually to test their Faith. Thus, God tested the
prophets moses and david (Q 9:126; 38:24) as
well as ordinary people (Q 21:35) and permit-
ted satan to tempt the evil-minded (Q 22:53).
Evildoers will be punished with the fitna of being
forced to eat the bitter fruit of the Zaqqum tree
in hell (Q 37:62–66). Children and property are
worldly temptations that test the faith of believers
(Q 8:28).
In modern times, fitna has become a very
politically charged term. Conservative Muslim
authorities accuse Women who go without veiling
in public of being embodiments of fitna (sexual
temptation), thus undermining the moral fabric
of society. Fatima mernissi (b. 1940) and other
Muslim feminists argue that such men are invok-
ing medieval understandings of fitna to justify the
segregation of women and the curtailment their
freedoms. In algeria, syria, egypt, iraq, saUdi
arabia, and elsewhere, political demonstrations,
popular uprisings, and insurrections have often
been labeled with the term fitna by leaders and
official media sources who hope thereby to quell
the dissent or violence and maintain public order.
See also eschatology; shiism; sUnnism.Further reading: Marshall G. S. Hodgson, The Venture of
Islam. Vol. 1, The Classical Age of Islam (Chicago: Uni-
versity of Chicago Press, 1974); Wilferd Madelung, The
Succession to Muhammad: A Study of the Early Caliph-
ate (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997);
Fatima Mernissi, The Veil and the Male Elite: A Feminist
Interpretation of Women’s Rights in Islam (Philadelphia:
Perseus Books, 1992).Five Pillars
The Five Pillars are five ritual acts required of all
Muslims, based on injunctions in the qUran and
elaborated in the sUnna of the Prophet mUham-
mad and in law (fiqh) developed by the principal
legal schools of Islam. The pillars nurture two
primary relationships for individual Muslims:
the relationship with God and with the entire
community of Muslim believers, the umma. The
first pillar, the shahada, is a verbal witnessing of
the unity of God and of Muhammad’s position in
Islam as the bearer of the final revelation, with
the words “There is no god but God, and Muham-
mad is the messenger of God.” Shia add, “and Ali
is the friend of God,” in reference to their first
imam, ali ibn abi talib (d. 661). Uttering the
shahada sincerely in the presence of two Muslim
witnesses is all that is necessary to become a Mus-
lim. The central and possibly most visible pillar
is salat, translated as prayer, but here referring
specifically to five daily cycles of prostrations
after sunset, during the evening, at dawn, at mid-
day, and at mid-afternoon. Prayer is performed
anywhere ritual purity can be maintained. Mus-
lim men are required to attend a congregational
mosqUe (masjid) for Friday prayers. Friday prayer
in a mosque is not a required activity for Mus-
lim women or for Shia. The third pillar, zakat,K 242 Five Pillars