Meaning "guardianship", it denotes love and devotion to God, the prophets, the scripture, the imams and the du'āt "missionaries". In Ismā'īlī doctrine, God is one and the true desire of every soul, creator of everything. The appointed du'āt lead believers to the right path.

Walayah

Means "prayer": Nizari Ismā'īliyya reason that it is up to the current imām to designate the style and form of prayer, and for this reason the current Nizari prayer is called Du'a and they pray three times a day. These three times have been related with the three times that have been mentioned in the Qur'an: sunrise, before sunset, and after sunset. In contrast, the Musta'lī maintain five prayers and their style is generally closely related to that of the Twelvers.

Salat

Means "purity": The Ismā'īlī lay special emphasis on purity and its related practices, and the Nizari consider this in a more esoteric sense too and apply it to purity of mind, soul and action, the Musta'lis also apply it to ritual practices related to prayer and cleanliness.

Taharah

Covers "the Greater Struggle" and "the Lesser Struggle", the latter of which means a confrontation with the enemies of the faith. The Nizari are pacifist and interpret "adversaries" of the faith as personal and social vices and those individuals who harm the peace of the faith and avoid provocation and use force only as a final resort only in self-defense.

Jihad

Meaning "pilgrimage": For Ismā'īlīs, visiting the imām or his representative is one of the most aspired pilgrimages. There are two pilgrimages – the first is the visit to Mecca; the second, being in the presence of the Imam. The Musta'lī also maintain the practice of going to Mecca.

Hajj

Means "charity": All Ismā'īlī have practices resembling that of Sunni and Twelver Muslims with the addition of the characteristic Shī'a khums: payment of one fifth of all income earned at the end of the year to the imām. Nizari Ismā'īlīs donate 10% to 12.5% of their monthly net income to the Imām, an amount which includes zakat and khums.

Zakah

Means "fasting": Nizari and Musta'lī believe in both a metaphorical and literal meaning of fasting. The literal meaning is that one must fast as an obligation, such as during the Ramadan and the metaphorical meaning being that one is in attainment of the Divine Truth and must strive to avoid worldly activities which may detract from this goal.

Sawm