salah/prayer (practices)

• prayer

  • prayer is the most important way to worship Allah
  • it is a duty for all muslims to pray 5 times a day
  • Muhammad called prayer the 'pillar of religion' and it reminds them to give thanks for God's blessings and of the importance of submitting to God's will
  • it is a physical, mental and spiritual activity that draws believers close to God
• preparation of prayer

  • vital as coming into the presence of God requires a deep sense of respect and reverence
  • begins with declaration of intent (niyyah)- must be deliberate act to set aside a few minutes to focus on God and enter a state of 'God consciousness'
  • allows muslims to concentrate on God's greatness, to thank and praise him and ask for his forgiveness
• wudu (washing)

  • before starting to pray, Muslims must practice wudu
  • washing hands, mouth, nose, face, arms, head and feet in a particular order
  • an outward sign of the inner cleanliness needed to face God
• quote

  • 'salah is the pillar of the Islamic religion and whoever abandons it, demolishes the very pillar of religion'- Hadith
• how to pray

  • fajr (just after at dawn)
  • zuhr (just after midday)
  • as'r (later afternoon)
  • maghrib (just after sunset)
  • isha (after dark)
  • must find somewhere with room to stand, bow and prostrate themselves
  • can be at mosque, at home or anywhere safe and clean
  • pray facing Makkah; direction called Qibla
• sunnah

  • the record of Muhammad's way of life
• du'a

  • personal prayer
  • time found to make own, personal connection with God
  • no set times; spontaneous opportunities to spend time in the presence of God
• missed prayers

  • muslims should try to pray at allocated times but if they miss a prayer then it is acceptable to catch up later
  • it would be a sin to miss prayers regularly without a valid reason
  • 'if one of you sleeps and misses a prayer, or forgets it, let him offer the prayer when he remembers'
• aims of prayer

  • constant reminder of presence of God
  • show submission to the will of God
  • to cleanse away the corruption of the world|
  • to unite all muslims (ummah)
  • to bring about peace in the world
  • to remove sins, just as water removes dirt
• why do muslims pray 5 times a day?

  • the night journey
  • both the Qu'ran and the Hadith contain Prophet Muhammad's night journey
• night journey story

  • Muhammad is woken from his sleep and taken on a winged horse to Jerusalem and then up through seven levels of heaven, to the very presence of God
  • God reveals to Prophet Muhammad that Muslims must pray continuously, 50 times a day - worship must be a constant presence throughout life
  • Moses intervenes and says this is too much and it was agreed that there must be five prayer times each day
• friday

  • friday is the day when Muslims come together at the mosque for Jumu'ah (congregational) prayers
  • men are expected to gather for the friday midday (zuhr) prayers
  • women may attend these community prayers, but traditionally they pray at home
  • main feature is sermon given by the imam
  • friday is not seen as a 'holy' day
  • in some Muslim countries it is a day of rest, but in Western countries it is a regular day