The Book of Asceticism · Hadith 29 (#Ḥadīth #3)

حدثنا علي بن النعمان عن ابن مسكان عن سليمان بن خالد عن أبي جعفر عليه السلام قال: الا أخبركم بالاسلام فرعه وأصله وذروته سنامه؟ قلت بلى جعلت فداك قال: إما أصله فالصلاة واما فرعه قال زكاة واما ذروته وسنامه فالجهاد.

3.ʿAlī ibn al-Nuʿmān narrated to us from Ibn Muskān, from Sulaymān ibn Khālid, from Abū Jaʿfar who said, “Should I not inform you about Islam: its branch, its root, its summit and its peak?” I said, “Yes, indeed, may I be your ransom!” He said, “As for its root [and foundation], it is prayer; as for its branch, it is zakāt (alms-tax); as for its summit and peak, it is jihād (holy struggle).”

Gradings are classical jarḥ-wa-taʿdīl, name-matched to a rijāl index (not individually re-verified).