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AL-SALAT
(Prayer)
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FUROO'
AL-DEEN
Acts of Worship
(the Rituals) |
1. Salat (Prayer) |
| 2. Saum (of Ramadhan) (Fasting) |
| 3. Zakat (Poor-due) |
| 4. Khums (Fifth) |
| 5. Haj (Pilgrimage) |
| 6. Jihad (Striving for Islam) |
| 7. Al Amru Bil Ma'ruf (Enjoining to the
good) |
| 8. Al Nahiyu unn Al Munkar (Forbidding
evil) |
Literally speaking, prayer is a Du'aa
whereby a person asks Allah (swt) for something special. It can be in any language, at anytime, anywhere. The word Prayer is not truly
synonymous with Salat although many people use it for the purpose.
Salat consists of
prescribed movements performed in a special manner, while, at the same time, saying something special in glorification of Allah. It is to be said
at certain times of the day, facing the House of Allah, the
Ka'ba in
Mecca.
Salat is a prime act of worship in
Islam, and forms an invisible link between the person praying and his Lord, Allah Almighty.
This invisible link is repeated five times a day, thus forming a continuing religious communication and worship between the person who is
worshipping and Allah, who is being worshipped.
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Salat safeguards the faith in the heart of the person in a
unique way.
►
Salat helps to protect the person from doing many improper
things.
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Salat reminds the person of his commitment to Allah and
His religion of Islam.
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Salat develops in the person a sense of internal purity.
This frequent and renewed commitment to Allah will
also be a constant reminder in the heart of the worshipper to apply Islam and its directives.
Salat is not a mere standing up and bowing down,
it is improper to call it a form of exercise. Salat is a deep, profound commitment to the directives of Allah and Islam. Salat cleanses the
inward aspects of the person, and polishes his or her outward behavior. It is a beautiful link between the created and the Creator, and its
advantages may be found at unexpected times.
Salat is a way of purifying the inner person. It
leads to virtue and goodness.
IS SALAT OBLIGATORY?
Every Muslim, male or female, has to perform the
Salat regularly, it is Fardh
meaning obligatory and required of all of us. Purposeful neglect of Salat is a grave omission. Although a child is not required to perform Salat,
it is best to teach him or her as early as possible. Children as young as 6-7 years can certainly learn Salat, if not even younger. The reason
for selecting this early age is to allow the Salat to become part of their routine so that when they are of age it becomes an integral part of
their inner self, of their psychology.
When the child reaches a certain age he will be
obliged to do the prayer on regular basis, five times a day. This is true of males as well as females. Purposeful neglect of the Prayer is a
grave thing in the sight of Allah.
TIMES OF THE SALATS
You do Salat at the following times:
Salat of: |
Rak'a Number and Time: |
1. Subh
(morning) |
Two Rak'as from Dawn to before sunrise |
2. Dhuhr (noon)
|
Four
Rak'as from Noon to before Afternoon Salat |
3. Asr
(afternoon) |
Four Rak'as from shortly after The Noon prayer to sunset |
4. Maghrib
(early evening) |
Three
Rak'as from shortly after sunset to Ishaa' Salat |
5. Ishaa' (late
evening) |
Four
Rak'as from after Maghrib prayer to midnight |
These are called the Fardh or obligatory Salats.
While it is best to do each Salat separately at its prescribed time, you may also combine two of these Salats in their chronological order, thus
having gained a great deal of elasticity in regard to frequent interventions during day or evening. In other words, you may do Dhuhr Salat
followed by Asr Salat, anytime from noon to shortly before sunset, on condition that Dhuhr Salat comes first, to be followed by Asr Salat.
You can do likewise with Maghrib and Ishaa'
Salats, by doing Maghrib Salat first to be followed by Ishaa' Salat anytime from after sunset to midnight.
Professionals and people who find interruption of
their work too demanding, will welcome this elasticity and the timing of this particular form of worship.
It is significant to know too that while
traveling on a journey, all Salats of four Rak'as are to be reduced to two Rak'as only, while the Subh Salat and Maghrib Salat remain the same.
If by chance something happens and you miss your
Salat beyond the prescribed time, or you wake up after sunrise, you can compensate for the missed Salat, by doing the same as in
Qadhaa'
or compensation.
The obligatory Salat may be done in congregation
or alone. It may be done in a mosque, at home, or anywhere. When done in congregation the Salat has a much higher merit than if done in a
solitary manner.
OTHER KINDS OF SALAT
Besides the five daily obligatory Salats there are:
Salat of Jumu’ah (Friday) in
congregation
Salat of the two Eids
Salat of Ayahs
Salat of Tawaf of Ka'ba
Salat of Janaaza (Funeral)
Salat for Mayyet
Salat of vow
Number 1, 3, and 4 above are obligatory prayers;
number 5 is conditional obligatory. (This is known Wajib Al
Kifaaya, meaning if people are doing Salat Janaaza, others have the option to join.)
Besides the above other Salats are
Nawafil
which means voluntary. If the Rak'as of the obligatory and the Nawafil Salats are added their number will be 51 Salats per day.
PERFORMING THE SALAT
To learn about the details of performing the
Salat refer to the book "Salat" in the "Series of Islamic Books for beginners", Book No. 11. Briefly said, however, before each Salat you have to
perform Wudu,
in case you were not able to keep the one you made before.
When the Wudu is finished, you must go to a clean
place, preferably a prayer rug. You must make sure to be properly attired, especially women and girls. Make sure, too, that the place where your
forehead is going to touch during Sujood is to be of "earthen" material, such as paper, clay, etc. Performing Sujood on the rug itself is taken
not to be proper since it is a woven or synthetic material.
The direction you face during Salat is the
Qibla, and the focus is the House of Allah, the Ka'ba in Mecca.
In performing your prayer you will have joined
the millions and millions of Muslims all over the world in worshipping Allah the One, in facing toward the House of Allah, which is one, and
praying and glorifying Allah in one manner too, since the Salat has to be said in Arabic, in almost the same manner all over, and performed in
almost the same way. There is much more to the Salat than just the brief description above. You had better learn in particular what breaks a Wudu
and a Salat. You can find that in the book of "Salat" referred to above.
WHY THE WUDU?
Wudu is a process whereby you wash or wipe
certain parts of your body, in a special order. For details see the book "Salat" in the "Series of Islamic Books for Beginners", Book No. 12.
Wudu is a symbolic way of purification, but at the
same time it also cleans many parts of the body that often become dirty. Upon doing the Wudu, you will have prepared yourself for performing the
Salat. You will be in a state of "ritual" cleanliness, and you can perform as many Salats as you want to until you break the Wudu. If the Wudu is
invalidated you will have to do it once more before you are ready for another Salat.
A few things invalidate a Wudu.
They are as follows:
Sleeping or taking a nap,
Going to the bathroom, i.e.
urinating, having a bowel movement,
Passing gas,
Having had
sexual relations with one's spouse. In this case, the major Wudu called Major Wudu or Ghusl
has to be done.
TAYAMMUM
To carry on the spirit of preparation for Salat,
if water is not available, you may do Tayammum.
This is done in the spirit of preparation for the Salat but it is not done with water. Instead, you should find a clean natural spot around
you.
You then touch this area with the palm of your
hands, wipe the forehead with them, and touch this area again with the palms of your hands then touch the back of both hands. (See the book
"Salat", of the "Series of Islamic Books for beginners", Book No. 11).
SALAT OF JUMU'AH (FRIDAY PRAYER)
This is a special prayer done at noon on every
Friday. It is to be done in place of Dhuhr Salat, with other Muslims, in Congregation. If at all feasible Friday prayer is to be performed in the
Mosque. A short talk (in two parts) precedes the Salat by the person who leads the Salat. This short talk is called Khutba.
It is preferable to perform
Jumu’ah
Salat in a Mosque, because a Mosque is a gathering place for Muslims. Thus, it will be a means of sharing with others the worship in the house of
Allah. Jumu’ah Salat also gives you a chance to know other Muslims well, to share their views, and this carries a potential for friendliness and
cooperation. By performing it there a feeling of belonging to the good Muslim community will begin to develop.
WHY PERFORM SALAT IN CONGREGATION?
Performing Salat in congregation means many
things of course. In the congregation people stand on an equal footing, and we know that Allah sees people as having equal rights. When Allah
sees people as equal, people will practice that equality in the Mosque as they should at all times, be they rich or poor, influential or weak,
black or white. There is no status symbol in the Mosque. You simply take a place in the line of worshippers. Shoulder-to-shoulder you stand,
humble and in reverence, praying all together.
HOW WILL PEOPLE BE CALLED FOR SALAT?
The call for the Salat is called
Athan, and it is said in a melodic manner, loud enough to be heard well by people around. It is said phrase by phrase, in a special order.
Before you perform the
Salat, you say the Iqaama. This is done rapidly in a low voice. For details see the book Salat of Series of Islamic Books for Beginners,
Book No. 11.
ARE ALL THE SALATS THE SAME?
Salats are not the same.
Salat of Eid, be it Eid-ul-Fitr or Eid-ul-Adha have Takbirs performed a certain number of times. Salat of Janaaza is done also in a special
manner. This book however is not intended to give the details.
WILL GIRLS PRAY LIKE BOYS?
Girls pray as boys but the manner of dress is
different. Girls must cover their heads and make sure that only their faces, hands and feet are visible.
When males and females worship together in
congregation, the females should stand slightly behind and to the side of the line of the males so that they cannot be seen by the male
congregation. There is a special reason for that.
Questions