بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم الحمد لله رب العالمين اللهم صلى وسلم على سيدنا محمد وعلى آله وأصحابه و من ول و بعد
In the name of God The Infinitely-Good The Merciful, all praise to God, The Lord of all creation. Oh God grant blessing and peace to our master Muhammad and his family and his companions and the righteous and those who come after.
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Prayer
Prayer/Namaz prevents bad habits, immorality, and sin. Believers pray at fixed times. Safeguard your prayers as you safeguard your own soul. Would you find filth on someone who bathes five times a day? Woe to those who neglect themselves, delaying their meeting with their Lord. Have they forgotten they have an appointment with Him that they will neither miss nor delay: death.Who owes God prayers?
All sane, adult believers owe God 50 daily prayers, but God counts each prayer 10 times out of His Generosity and Mercy. Therefore there are 5 prayers in practice.When do we fulfill God's rights?
The timings of the prayers are:1. After Sunset
2. After Nightfall
3. Between Dawn and Sunrise
4. After Shadows begin to Grow
5. After Shadows exceed the Size of the object that Cast them
Today you can find these times according to the clock time by using many different websites or apps. To make it easy, simply google “prayer times” along with your city to find the applicable prayer times or you can find it on our Blog too.
Prayer times gradually swing back and forth across clock time throughout the solar year. {alertInfo}
Wudu - Purification
Before someone performs the prayer they perform an act of worship called “wudu”(1). Wudu washes away our bad thoughts and deeds making us ritually pure and permitted to stand before the Lord of creation.The following are the steps of Wudu:
1. Make the intention for washing in order to pray
2. With this intention in your heart, bring water to your face and wash your entire face
3. Then wash your hands up to and including your elbows
4. Then wet your hands again and wipe your head
5. Finally wash your feet up to and including your ankles
How to Pray
When one prays they must be certain that:1. They are clothed, clean, and standing facing the “Kaaba”(2) .
2. With the intention of prayer in their heart the worshipper says “Allahu akbar”(3) and has entered into the prayer with this utterance.
3. Once in this state of intimacy with God all actions are forbidden besides the ritual prayer itself.
4. A worshipper should try to have conscious awareness, focus, and concentration during their prayer.
5. At this point, recite “Surah Fatiha”(4)(a) (It is obligatory to learn how to recite everything in the original, ancient language. However, it is alright to recite in English until you are able to properly learn it in the original, ancient language.)
6. After the recitation, bow forward keeping the back straight until the hands reach the knees. Have a moment of stillness.
7. Rise to a stand and take another moment of stillness.
8. Prostrate by placing the knees, palms, and forehead on the ground. Have a moment of stillness.
9. Rise to a sitting posture then return to a second prostration, settling in each posture with a moment of stillness and reflection.
After the second prostration one has completed one cycle of prayer. Different prayers call for a different number of cycles. The prayer after dawn is two cycles. The prayer after sunset is three cycles. The other three daily prayers are four cycles.
After the first cycle the worshipper stands up from the second prostration and fulfills the second cycle (by reciting Surah Fatiha, bowing, etc.). At the end of the second cycle the worshipper does not stand, but returns to a sitting position just as he or she did between the two prostrations.
While sitting, the worshipper recites six things:
1. Greeting God(b)
2. Greeting the Messenger of God(c)
3. Greeting the people of God(d)
4. Testifying about God(e)
5. Testifying about the Messenger of God(f)
6. Asking for God to bless His Messenger and his family(g)
After reciting these things in the second cycle, the worshipper either completes the prayer or continues with the third cycle if needed. The method of completing the prayer is to say “as salamu alaykum”(5).
If the worshipper continues to the third cycle there are two possibilities:
1. This third cycle is the final cycle; or
2. this is not the final cycle.
If it is not the final cycle, then the worshipper fulfills it the same as the first cycle (standing after the second prostration). If it is the final cycle, then the worshipper fulfills it the same as the second cycle (sitting reciting the six things after the second prostration).
In the case the worshipper is fulfilling a prayer of four cycles, the fourth cycle being the final cycle will conclude with him or her sitting reciting the six things.
No matter if the prayer is two, three, or four cycles, the prayer finishes in a sitting posture with the utterance of as “salamu alaykum”.
The time between the “Allahu akbar” at the beginning and the “as salamu alaykum” at the end is a time of intimacy with God and deserves reverence. Thus do we fulfill one of the rights which God has over us, and only He grants success. None believe except with permission of their Lord, The Owner of Majesty and Honor.
There are several actions which invalidate the prayer and they were not mentioned in the first part of this series. If even one single part of the first article is missed, the prayer would be invalid. However, they were not listed out and numbered for ease in reading and understanding the instructions. {alertWarning}
1. Wudu - Ritual worship of washing↩
2. Kaaba - House of worship originally built by Prophet Abraham↩
3. Allahu akbar - “The God is greater” ie greater than my worship and greater than anything I attempt to glorify Him with↩
4. Surah Fatiha - Chapter of the Opening↩
5. As salamu alaykum - “Peace upon you” ↩
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Recitations used:
One can read from this blog, but it is preferred to memorize.
a. Surah Fatiha -
In the name of God, The Most Gracious and The Most Merciful. [All] praise is [due] to God, Lord of the worlds – The Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful, Sovereign of the Day of Recompense. It is You we worship and You we ask for help. Guide us to the straight path – The path of those upon whom You have bestowed favor, not of those who have evoked [Your] anger or of those who are astray. Ameen↩
b. Greeting God - Greetings to God↩
c. Greeting the Messenger of God - Peace upon you, oh Prophet, and the mercy and blessings of God↩
d. Greeting the people of God - Peace be upon me/us and upon God’s righteous servants↩
e. Testifying about God - I testify there is none worthy of worship except God↩
f. Testifying about the Messenger of God - And that Muhammad is the Messenger of God↩
g. Asking for God to bless His Messenger and his family - Oh God, bless my/our master Muhammad and his family.↩
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Anything I said here which is true, is from Allah. Anything I said here which is false if from myself. I ask forgiveness for my shortcomings. I seek refuge in Allah from knowledge which does not benefit. May Allah grant us understanding of things as they are. May Allah bless and grant peace to our master Muhammad and his family.
بارك الله فيك
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