On the authority of Ibn Omar, the son of Omar bin Al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with both, who said : I heared the messenger of Allah say : "Islam has been built on five [pillars]: testifying that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammed is the messenger of Allah, performing the prayers, paying the zakat, making the pilgrimage to Haj, and fasting in Ramadan."
Hafiz Syed Ahmed Ali did his hifz from Chicago. He has a very beautiful Qiraat and has been teaching hifz class for past two years and also been teaching Quranic reading and Tajweed to Adult brothers and teenage boys.