Learning Salah
(Prayer)
Introduction to
Prayer (Audio)
To learn how to pray
Salat: How to Perform Daily Prayers
(video)
Free
program for daily Prayers and direction of Qiblah
Al-Muezzin on
Palm: Times of prayers and Qiblah for the Palm PDA
Significance of Prayer
Learning Salah
(Prayer)
Introduction to
Prayer (Audio)
To learn how to pray
Salat: How to Perform Daily Prayers
(video)
Free
program for daily Prayers and direction of Qiblah
Al-Muezzin on
Palm: Times of prayers and Qiblah for the Palm PDA
If a person really believes in Allah (God), how will
he show it? And how will it affect his life?
For a Muslim, his faith is first
demonstrated by the five daily ritual Prayers called Salah. These
Prayers are so important that they are the second Pillar of Islam after the
Testimony of Faith (“There is no god but God and Muhammad is the Messenger of
God”), obligatory for all, and they are the first thing the Muslim will be
asked about on Judgment Day.
Five times a day a Muslim is asked to stop whatever he
is doing — be it sleep, work, or play — and make a ritual ablution before
facing his Lord in Prayer. No matter what his actions, the most important thing
to a Muslim is his relationship with Allah. This relationship is demonstrated
and put into practice, as well as improved and increased, by the ritual
Prayers. Only if the Prayers are sound and proper will the deeds be sound and
proper.
In the Prayer, the Muslim faces towards the Ka‘bah in
Makkah, the symbol of the Oneness of Allah and the unity of Muslims. He stands,
bows, and prostrates to his Lord while praising Him, reciting some of the words
He revealed in the Qur’an, and asking for His forgiveness and mercy. In doing
so, the Muslim reminds himself of his position in the universe as a humble
servant of Allah and of his total dependence on his Creator, Cherisher and
Sustainer.
When the Prayer is performed properly — with due
humility and remembrance of Allah — it has a lasting effect on the person. It
fills his heart with the remembrance of Allah, and with fear of and hope in
Him. He will not want to move from that lofty position by disobeying Allah.
The Prophet compared this experience of making
ablution and praying five times a day to having a river running in front of
one’s house. If one bathed in that river five times a day, would any filth
remain on his body? Likewise, the ablution and Prayer five times a day removes
one’s sins and also prevents him from sinning.
Prayers also affect the life of the Muslim by
encouraging him to schedule his activities around their fixed times. There is
some flexibility, for each time is actually a span of one hour or more. But the
Muslim who is conscious of Allah will strive to schedule his life in such a way
that he does not miss any of the Prayers — for example, by postponing a
shopping trip until after a Prayer, or by taking a break from work, or by
sleeping earlier so as to able to rise for the Dawn Prayer.
Therefore, if one really believes in Allah, he will
show it by his commitment to the five daily Prayers, and these, in turn, will
help him to live righteously.
How to Perform Salah (Ritual Prayers)
The first step
of becoming a Muslim is to declare the Shahadah (Testimony of Faith). The words
mean, “I bear witness that there is no one worthy of worship except Allah and I
bear witness that Muhammad is the Servant and Messenger of Allah.”
Once this is done, performing the ritual Prayer called
Salah five times a day becomes obligatory. Each Prayer must be performed at its
specified time everyday.
It is highly recommended that men perform the five
daily Prayers in congregation at a mosque. However, women—especially those with
young children—may pray at home. If there is not a mosque nearby, one can pray
at home, school, the workplace, et cetera.
Conscientious performance of the ritual Prayers is an
important quality of a believer that distinguishes him from a non-believer, and
it should be done in complete humility and submissiveness to Allah. While
performing the Prayer, a person should give it his undivided attention. He
should not look around, talk to anyone, answer the door or phone, or attend to
any worldly matters during Prayer.
The words of the ritual Prayer must be said in Arabic,
though non-Arab new Muslims can pray in their own language until they learn the
Prayers in Arabic. The best way to learn how to perform Prayer is to watch
other Muslims. In sha’ Allah (If Allah wills) we will soon have online a flash
file to show you how to pray.
Names and Times of the Five Prayers
The times of the Prayer are determined by the position
of the sun. Thus the times vary from one place to another and from season to
season. Most Muslims today refer to a Prayer schedule published by their local
mosque. You can also find the exact times of the Prayers online at
www.islamicfinder.com.
For more details, visit:
Learning Salah
(Prayer)
Introduction to
Prayer (Audio)
To learn how to pray
Salat: How to Perform Daily Prayers
(video)
Free
program for daily Prayers and direction of Qiblah
Al-Muezzin on
Palm: Times of prayers and Qiblah for the Palm PDA
Times of the Five Daily Prayers
Determining the Times of Prayer in the High Latitudes
It is best to pray right after the start of the time
for the Prayer, but one may wait a bit to pray. The Prayer is considered on
time if it is offered before the end of its time period. (See below.)
Fajr or Subh (Dawn Prayer) takes place before sunrise.
At moderate latitudes, it begins approximately one hour and twenty minutes
before sunrise and ends about ten minutes before sunrise.
Zhuhr (Noon Prayer) begins just after the sun has
passed the meridian. It lasts until shortly before the ‘Asr Prayer begins.
‘Asr (Afternoon Prayer) begins when the length of the
shadow of an object is equal to the object’s length plus the shadow’s length at
noon. It ends about 10 minutes before sunset.
Maghrib (Sunset Prayer) begins immediately after
sunset. At moderate latitudes, it ends before complete darkness approaches.
‘Isha’ (Night Prayer) begins, at moderate latitudes,
when the sky is completely dark and ends just before the Dawn Prayer.
Conditions
of Prayer: Physical Purity
Physical purity means cleanliness of the body,
clothing and environment. According to the rules of Islam, Muslims should keep
their bodies and clothing clean from any impurities, especially the body wastes
of humans and animals.
Islam insists on the use of clean water to cleanse the
body of impurities, and only when water is not available can a person use other
things. Even the clothing should be perfectly clean from any impurities. For
that reason, Muslim bathrooms have a source of running water or pitchers of
water next to the toilet.
Similarly, any animal discharges — including the
saliva of dogs — are unclean and Muslims should make sure their clothing,
environment, and bodies are free of those impurities.
Muslims must have perfect physical purity to pray the
Salah (ritual Prayers).
Wudu’ (Ablution)
Before performing the ritual Prayer known as Salah,
the Muslim’s body must be totally purified. To be in this state, one must
perform the ritual washing known as wudu’ (ablution). The best way to learn
wudu’ is to watch others do it. Here are the steps for wudu’:
1. Have the intention of purifying your heart.
2. Wash your hands, front and back, up to and beyond
the wrist three times, right hand first, then left.
3. Rinse your mouth three times, scooping the water up
with your right hand.
4. Wash your nose three times by sniffing water up the
nostrils and blowing it out.
5. Wash your face three times.
6. Wash each arm up to and beyond the elbow three
times, right arm first and then the left.
7. Pass the wet palms of both hands over your head and
back. Then rub the inside and outside of the ears with the
thumbs and forefingers.
8. Wash your feet up to and beyond the ankle three
times, right foot first and then the left. Make sure the water gets between the
toes by using your fingers.
You are in this state of ritual purity of wudu’ until
you urinate or defecate, pass wind, sleep, or become unconscious. If you do any
of these things before or during the Salah, you must repeat the wudu’.
Ghusl (Bathing)
A state of major impurity results from actions like
sexual intercourse or sexual discharge for both men and women. A person in such
a state much perform ghusl (bathing) before praying Salah or reading the
Qur’an. Women also have to perform ghusl after their menstrual periods and
postpartum bleeding.
The procedure for ghusl (bathing) is as follows:
1. Make the intention for ghusl.
2. Wash the private parts, using the left hand. Then
wash the left hand three times.
3. Perform wudu’ (ablution) as described above, except
for the feet.
4. Pour water over your head to thoroughly wet your
hair three times.
5. Wash the whole head and body three times, starting
with the right side. Use your hands to make sure that water reaches every part
of your body.
6. Wash your feet up to and beyond the ankles three
times, making sure the water gets between the toes.
A Muslim must bathe the whole body at least once a
week. It is highly recommended that this be done each Friday before the
congregational Prayer.
Because the Salah (ritual Prayer) requires that one be
in a state of purity, a woman is excused from Salah during her menstrual
periods and after childbirth until the postpartum bleeding stops or 40 days
have passed, whichever comes first. She can and should make other kinds of
prayer, such as du‘a’ (supplication), five times a day while she is unable to
perform Salah. When her bleeding stops, she must perform ghusl (bathing) before
performing Salah.
Remembrance of Allah (Dhikr)
What deed is better than giving gold and silver?
According to the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), it is
dhikr, which means remembrance of Allah (God).
Dhikr is a form of worship that comes after the ritual
Prayer (salah) and reading Qur’an in importance. While salah has to be
performed at certain times and under certain conditions of purity, dhikr can be
made any time, any place. It can be done by repeating certain formulas to extol
and praise Allah, or it can be just thoughts of Allah in one’s heart.
Islam does not require anyone to torture himself in
order to reach a high stage of spirituality. Nor does he have to shun
everything of this world. Rather, one can be close to Allah (God) by frequently
remembering Him with his lips and heart, even as he is busy with his daily
tasks.
Dhikr can also take a more distinct form such as
tasbeeh, which is extolling Allah. This is usually done by counting on the
fingers or on prayer beads (called sibhah) and repeating phrases such as
“Subhan Allah” (Allah is Sublime), “Al-Hamdulillah” (all praise to Allah) and
“Allahu Akbar” (Allah is Greatest) thirty-three times each. Then the Muslim
says, “Laa ilaha illa Allah. Wahdhu. La Shirika lahu. Lahu al-mulk, wa lahu al-hamd, wa hua ‘ala kulli shay’in qadeer.” (There
is no god but Allah. He is One. He has no partner. To
Him is the dominion and all praise, and He has power over all things.)
Other formulas found in the Sunnah of the Prophet can
also be used in dhikr as well. When these formulas are repeated with the lips
and also felt in the heart, they are a type of meditation that puts the Muslim
in touch with his Lord, strengthens him, and relieves him of stress.