Furūʿ al-dīn literally means the “branches of religion”.  Just like the roots feed a tree and keep it alive, branches, along with their leaves, also nourish the roots in return. The furūʿ al-dīn are ten: ṣalāt, siyam, Hajj, Zakāt, Khums, Jihad, Commanding the Good, Forbidding Evil, Tawallā and finally Tabarra. 

Ṣalāt: obligatory five daily prayers. 

Siyam: fasting during the Holy month of Ramadān. One must abstain from food, intimate relations, drink, smoking, as well as sins like gossiping. 

Hajj: The pilgrimage that every capable Muslim must make to the Holy Kaba in the city of Mecca at least once in a lifetime. 

Zakāt: Tax which eligible Muslims must pay to the poor. 

Khums: a one-fifth tax of one’s sitting income in addition to other forms of income. It is there to help fund religious institutions. 

Jihad: Struggling in the path of God, both in fighting one’s egoic self that commands evil, as well as defending one’s locality from aggressors.  

Commanding the Good and Forbidding Evil: Encouraging what God has established as the good  and discouraging people from what is evil. 

Tawalla and Tabarra: Loving the Prophet Muhammad (s) and his Ahl al-Bayt (as) and disassociating from their enemies.