Why do Muslims...? Short, sourced answers
Clear answers to the questions people ask most about Muslim practice, written for curious non-Muslims and for Muslims who want the sources. Each one gives the short answer first, then the Quran, the hadith, the wisdom scholars mention, and the ruling, Hanafi first.
Why do Muslims not eat pork?
Allah forbids it in four verses of the Quran. What counts as pork, and the one exception.
Why do Muslims wear the hijab?
Why Muslim women cover their hair: the two verses, the first women who wore it, and the face.
Why do Muslims wash their feet?
Part of wudu before prayer: the verse that names the feet, and the hadith on the heels.
Why do Muslims pray five times a day?
Fifty prayers became five on the Night Journey. The verses, the times and the river hadith.
Why do Muslims go to Makkah?
Hajj, the fifth pillar, and Umrah: the house Ibrahim built, and why pilgrims circle it.
Why do Muslims have beards?
"Let the beard grow and trim the moustache": the hadith, the length, and each school's view.
Why do Muslims eat halal?
What halal means, why it matters, and how halal meat is slaughtered.
Why do Muslims say peace be upon him?
Why Muslims add ﷺ after the Prophet's name: Quran 33:56 and the reward of ten.
Why do Muslims shave a baby's head?
The seventh-day aqiqah: shaving the hair, its weight in silver, and the naming.
Why do Muslims face Makkah when praying?
The qibla: Quran 2:144, the change from Jerusalem, and why the Kaaba is not worshipped.
Why do Muslims not drink alcohol?
Quran 5:90-91, the three stages of the ban, and "every intoxicant is khamr".
Why do Muslims get circumcised?
Khitan: the first act of fitrah, the way of Ibrahim, the age, and converts.
Elsewhere on AmalKit
More answers in our guides
Why do Muslims fast in Ramadan?
Quran 2:183, taqwa, and what the Prophet ﷺ taught about the purpose of fasting.
Why do Muslims call God Allah?
Allah is the Arabic word for the one God, used by Arab Christians too.
Why do Muslims pray on Friday?
Jumuah, the weekly congregational prayer, and how it is prayed.
Why do Muslims sacrifice an animal at Eid?
Qurbani at Eid al-Adha, following Ibrahim, and who must give it.
Why do Muslims celebrate Eid?
The two Eids, their dates in 2027, and the sunnahs of the day.
Our method
How we answer these questions
Every answer starts with the plain reason a Muslim would give: Allah commanded it, or the Prophet ﷺ taught it. Then it shows where, with the verse in Arabic, transliteration and English, and the hadith with its collection, number and grading. If a practice comes from the Sunnah and not from a verse, we say so.
Next come the benefits scholars have reflected on. We label these clearly as wisdom, not the reason, because Muslims would keep these practices even if no benefit were known. Last comes the ruling: the Hanafi position first, then the Shafi'i, Maliki and Hanbali views where they differ. AmalKit cites the scholars; it does not issue fatwas, and the scholars on our team are reviewing every page.
Want to go deeper? Start with what is Islam, the six articles of faith, or our guide for new Muslims.
The rulings on this page are pending review by the scholars on our team.
Questions
Good to know
Where do these answers come from?
From the Quran, in the Uthmani Arabic text with the Sahih International translation, and from hadith in the major collections, each with its grading. Rulings give the Hanafi position first, then the Shafi'i, Maliki and Hanbali views where they differ.
Why do you separate "wisdom" from "reason"?
Because Muslims follow these practices first because Allah and His Messenger ﷺ commanded them. Health or social benefits are reflections scholars have offered, not the ground of the ruling, so we label them as wisdom.
I am not Muslim. Can I ask a Muslim about these things?
Yes. Most Muslims are happy to explain their faith to a curious, respectful question. These pages give you the short answer and the sources behind it.
Is there a page on why Muslims fast?
Yes, our full answer is why Muslims fast in Ramadan, with the verses of fasting and what the Prophet ﷺ taught about its purpose.