وَأَقِيمُواْ الصَّلاَةَ وَآتُواْ الزَّكَاةَ وَارْكَعُواْ مَعَ الرَّاكِعِينَ

Be steadfast in Prayer,  Practice regular charity, and

Bow down with those who bow down (in worship) 2: 43

  Salat is a special Prayer in which we say certain words in a special manner, and we stand, kneel and bow down to the ground in a special way.

      Salat is said only in Arabic.  This means you will have to learn the words in Arabic.  You must learn the meaning of the words you say.  You will learn this slowly and gradually, as you study the short Surahs (Eleven Surahs Explained and the Islamic Arabic book) of the Series of Islamic Books for Beginners, or similar books.

      Once you learn the words of the Salat and pray regularly it will become a routine and easy to do.  It is good to pray with parents at home, and in a group with other Muslims in the Mosque.  Don't be discouraged if the Arabic words seem to be difficult at first, because with practice you will soon learn to say them well.

WHY DO WE HAVE TO PRAY?

      Allah Almighty (God) wants us to pray.  Through prayer we will remember God and nothing else.  Through prayer we will worship Him, Allah Himself and nothing else.  When we pray we remind ourselves that we are good Muslims, and that we should live as Islam wants us to

live, the decent way.  When we pray, we are doing a sacred Islamic duty, a duty of worship, of obedience to Allah's order and His teachings.  When we pray, we sacrifice our time and whatever we are doing at the time, and we stand with all due respect praising the Almighty, asking His Guidance, and glorifying Him and nothing else.

HOW OFTEN DO WE PRAY?

As Muslims, we are to pray five times a day.  We pray:

1.   in the morning before sunrise,

2.   at noon,

3.   in the afternoon,

4.   shortly after sunset, and

5.   in the evening.

      We pray that often because Almighty Allah wants it that way.  He knows us best and He wants the best for us.  He wants us to pray five times a day so that we will acknowledge Him often.  When we do that, we remind ourselves often that we are Muslims and we ought to follow the rest of the teachings of Islam.

      Salat is a great pillar of worship in Islam.  Muslims all over the world do the Salat regularly.  Therefore when you perform the Salat, you will be joining millions of people who also are performing it.  All will be bowing to the Almighty and obeying His command.

      Salat is for our own good.  It purifies us and it helps us to be clean inside.  We need to pray five times a day, because we need it for our own good.

HOW MANY KINDS OF SALATS ARE THERE?

There are at least two kinds of Salats (prayers). They are:

A. Obligatory Prayers consisting of the following:

1. Morning Prayer, (Salatul‑Subh),  صلاه الصـبـح

2. Noon Prayer, (Salatul‑Dhuhr),  صلاه الظـهر

3. Afternoon Prayer, (Salatul‑Asr)   صلاه  العـصـر

4. After‑sunset Prayer, (Salatul‑Maghrib)  صلاه  المــغرب

5. Evening Prayer, (Salatul‑Ishaa)   صلاه  العـشــاء

B. Other (Sunnah) Prayers: These are performed following the tradition of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).  They are usually optional, though some are not depending on the Islamic Schools of thought.

HOW CAN THE SALATS BE PERFORMED?

The obligatory prayers can be performed in two ways: 

1. They can be performed alone, when others are not available to join us in the performance.

2. They can be performed with the Jama'a (congregation,) in other words with other people when ready and available, be it in the Mosque or in other places.

On Friday, Noon Prayer is preferably done in congregation if at all possible.  The Sunnah prayers can be offered in the Mosque, at home or elsewhere.  In other words, a Muslim can perform his prayer alone, or with a group in the Mosque, at home or in other places.  It can be obligatory or Sunnah.

WHAT SHALL I THINK OF WHEN I AM PRAYING?

      When you pray, you know you are in the presence of the Almighty.  You are glorifying Him and bowing to Him.  Of course you ought to know the meaning of the words of the prayer and the meaning of each phrase you say.  When you do that you have a general idea of what is being said.  You say the words of the prayer in full respect and reverence, and you know you are performing the prayer out of obedience to the command of Allah (swt). You are performing it because He wanted you to do it regularly, everyday of your life, and wherever you are.  By performing it, you glorify Him and submit to Him, the Almighty Himself and nothing else.

WILL PRAYER HELP ME IN ANY WAY?

      Praying regularly will certainly help you a great deal.  It will make you feel that you are performing your Islamic duty faithful­ly.  It will help make you feel that you are renewing your promise to yourself of being a good Muslim.  It will help you in remembering God and dedicating yourself to His service.  It will remind you to keep performing what Almighty God had ordered you to do in Islam.  In so doing, you will hold to the Islamic values better, and you will apply them better.

      Prayers will remind you to avoid bad or evil acts.  Prayer is one way of letting you hold to the good, avoid the bad and indecent.  Prayer will help you hold to the directives of Allah, and to avoid indulging in worldly affairs.

ANYTHING ELSE?

      Prayer will make you remember Allah (swt) the All‑Powerful, the All‑Merciful.  It will make you God‑fearing.  It will remind you that you are obeying Him.  As a result, you will obey Him in your actions, in your daily affairs.  By so doing, you will do good to others.  Thus the community will be better off.  Prayer will also teach you discipline.  It will help you feel responsible, and it will help you build a respectable character.

▪    You will also learn to be regular,

▪    to watch your time, in other words, be precise,

▪    to do some exercise, and

▪    to clean certain parts of your body during Wudu.

WUDU    الوضوء 

    Wudu is required of every Muslim before he prays.  Wudu is done in a special manner, where certain parts of the body are cleaned.

(Other schools of thought in Islam categorize the attributes differently, for more details see Way of Ahlul Bayt of the Series of Islamic Books for Beginners.)

      The parts to be cleaned are the parts which often become dirty.  This way you are reminded of cleanliness not only of the body but also that of the spirit which the Islamic teachings are after.  Wudu is a way of purifying yourself before you stand to pray in the presence of God Almighty.  Thus, in so doing, you intend to purify yourself spiritually as well as physically.

HOW DO YOU DO THE WUDU?

      Wudu is simple to do.  Your parents at home will show you how, and your teacher in the Islamic Religious School will also help show you how to perform it.  The Holy Quran in Surah 5: Ayah 6 says:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ إِذَا قُمْتُمْ إِلَى الصَّلاةِ فاغْسِلُواْ وُجُوهَكُمْ وَأَيْدِيَكُمْ إِلَى الْمَرَافِقِ وَامْسَحُواْ بِرُؤُوسِكُمْ وَأَرْجُلَكُمْ إِلَى الْكَعْبَينِ

"O YOU WHO BELIEVE! WHEN YOU PREPARE FOR PRAYER, WASH YOUR FACES, YOUR HANDS (AND ARMS) TO THE ELBOW, AND WIPE YOUR HEADS (WITH YOUR WET HANDS), AND SO YOUR FEET TO THE ANKLES."

      As you can see, the Holy Quran teaches us that the essential parts of the Wudu consist of washing the face, the hands and arms up to the elbow, wiping the head and wiping the feet up to the ankles.

      You cannot pray unless you have performed Wudu, and learning how to do Wudu is the first step towards learning how to pray.  You not only follow a special order in washing or wiping the parts of your body mentioned above, but you also have to do it in a certain way.  It is best that the teacher does it in front of you and you do it in front of him or her.  If you make any mistakes, the teacher will correct you and help you do it right.

DO I HAVE TO DO WUDU WITH EACH PRAYER?

      You don't have to do Wudu with each and every prayer.  You may perform your prayer without having to do a new Wudu if you have not broken the previous Wudu.  There are certain conditions that break a Wudu and you should learn about them.

WHAT INVALIDATES A WUDU?

Certain conditions break a Wudu, some of which are:

1. sleeping or taking a nap,

2. going to the bathroom (to urinate or to have a bowel movement,)

3. passing gas.

There are other conditions besides the above, but no need to mention them here, you should learn about them as you grow in Islam.

Now suppose that you have done your Wudu and that you have prayed, if you have not had any of the conditions that break a Wudu by the time your next prayer is due, then you can do your next prayer without having to do a new Wudu.

SUPPOSE THERE IS NO WATER, HOW CAN I DO WUDU?

      Don't worry about that, because sooner or later you may be in a situation where water may not be available.  In that case, you do what is called:

Tayammum  التـيـمم .

      Tayammum consists of a few easy steps.  Your teacher will show you how to do it.  Water is not required with Tayammum, all that you need is a clean, natural spot of ground.  You touch this area with the palm of your hands, then you wipe certain parts of your body.  Your teacher will do it in front of you and you better do it in front of him so that he knows you are doing it correctly.

      Tayammum will give you a feeling that you have prepared yourself spiritually for the prayer, without having available the water for the Wudu.

WHAT KINDS OF DAILY PRAYERS ARE THERE?

      As you have learned by now, there are the five obligatory prayers.  They are called:  Fardh (or obligatory)فـرض  .

Obligatory Salats consist of:

▪    Morning Prayer

▪    Noon Prayer

▪    Afternoon Prayer

▪    After Sunset Prayer

▪    Evening Prayer 

In addition you may voluntarily pray (Optional Prayers) the:

▪    Sunnah Prayer or          .  

▪    Nafal Prayer     .