Salah
Salah
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Category="Five Pillars of Islam"Category="Prayer" Salah (also known as "salat", "solat", "solah" and several other spellings) (Arabic: صلاة, Qur'anic Arabic: صلوة) refers to the five daily ritual prayers that Muslims offer to Allah (God). It is a pillar of the Five Pillars of Islam in Sunni Islam, and one of the eleven Branches of Religion in Shi'a Islam. As such, it is compulsory (Fard) upon every Muslim. It is widely known as "namaaz" in south Asian languages such as Urdu.The salah must be performed in the Arabic language even if the person neither speaks nor understands Arabic (although the dua afterwards need not be in Arabic). The prayers are to be recited by heart, although beginners may use written aids. The person performing salah is referred to as a musalleeh.
All salah should be conducted within their waqt (prescribed time) and with the appropriate numbers of rakaat. While they may be prayed at any point within the waqt, it is considered best to pray them exactly at the beginning of their periods, when the call to prayer (Adhan) announces the time of prayer. When far from a Mosque, the time can be inferred from the position of the sun in the sky.
The word 'salat' is from the root Saad-Lam-Waw and has the following meanings, taken from Classical Arabic lexicons (e.g. E. W Lane): prayer, supplication, petition, oration, eulogy, benediction, commendation, blessing, honour, magnifiy, bring forth, follow closely, walk/follow behind closely, to remain attached, to contact or to be in contact. Its core underlying meaning relevant to all its usage in The Quran is 'to go/turn towards' (this can be seen from Chapter 75, verse 31-32 of The Quran where it is put opposite to 'tawalla' which means 'to go/turn away'.
In Islam, praying 'salah' is the most compulsory act (after 'shahada'- declaration of faith in God)
Five daily prayers
Muslims are commanded to perform salah fives times a day; these prayers are Fard (obligatory) on every Muslim above the age of puberty, with the exception being those who are mentally ill. The waqt for each of the five prayers is listed below: - Fajr: From dawn (the time at which the faintest hint of the new day starts) to sunrise.
- Zuhr: From true noon, or when the sun begins to decline, to the time for the Asr prayer. On Fridays the Zuhr prayer is replaced by Jumu'ah (الجمعه).
- Asr: The exact start time varies between the different schools of jurisprudence. According to Imam Abu Hanifa Asar starts when the shadow of an object becomes twice its height (plus the length of its shadow at the time of Zuhr). For the rest of Imams, Asr starts when the shadow of an object becomes equal to its length (plus the length of its shadow at the time of Zuhr). The period for prayer ends just before sunset.
- Maghrib: Starts at sunset and ends right before the Isha'a time starts. According to Shi'a Imams, it starts when the reddish glow in the eastern sky passes overhead and it ends at true midnight.
- Isha'a: It starts at dusk or when the white glow in the western sky disappears and ends at the time for the Fajr prayer. According to Imam Shafi'i it starts when the reddish glow in the western sky disappears. According Shi'a Imams, it is valid at any time after the Maghrib prayer has been validly performed and ends at the time for the Fajr prayer.
Qada
In certain circumstances one may be unable to perform one's prayer within the waqt, in this case the prayer must be performed as soon as one is able to. Prayers performed after the prescribed waqt are called qada. Note: It is not permissible to deliberately miss performing the Salah within its waqt, then to perform it afterwards.Qasr and Jama
When travelling over long distances, one may shorten some prayers, a practice known as qasr. Furthermore, several prayer times may be concatenated, which is referred to as jama. Qasr involves shortening the obligatory components of the Zuhr, Asr and Isha prayers. Jama is when the Zuhr and Asr prayers are both performed either at the Zuhr or Asr time, and Maghrib and Isha'a are both performed at either of their respective times.Sunnah prayers
Sunnah, as opposed to Fard, are voluntary prayers performed by musalleehs for extra reward. The Sunnah salah (as with all other Sunnahs) originated from the practice of the Prophet who used to perform more prayers than the obligatory amount.While general Sunnah salaah may be performed at any time of the day (with certain exceptions, see below), certain Sunnahs have prescribed waqts associated with them. Shi'a Muslims have many more Sunnah prayers than Sunni Muslims.
Sunnah Associated with the Five Daily Prayers
Apart from the obligatory prayers, each of the five daily salah also have associated Sunnah prayers which may be performed either before (qab'li'atan) and/or after (ada'an) the Fard Salah. The qad'li'atan sunnah is performed between the completion of the Adhan and the start of the Iqamah, while the ada'an sunnah is performed after the completion of the Fard salah up to the next waqt. Any amount of extra Sunnah may be performed, although most madhabs prescribe a certain number of Sunnah for each salah.Witr
Witr salah is performed after the salah of Isha'a. It may contain any odd number of raka'at from one to eleven according to the different madha'ib.Tahajjud
Tahajjud salah is performed at night, after one has woken from sleep (one cannot stay up to perform Tahajjud). It thus falls between the waqts of Isha'a and Fajr.Tahiyatul Masjid
Tahiyatul Masjid, also called Masjidus Salaam, consists of two Raka'at and is performed when first entering a mosque, as a way of greeting the place of worship.Taraweeh
Taraweeh is extra salah prescribed during the month of Ramadaan. It consists of 20 raka'at, (10 sets of two) which must be performed after Isha'a. It is common practice to complete a khatm (complete recitation) of the Quran in Taraweeh during the month.Eid Salah
Eid Salah is performed on the morning of Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Adha. It is Wajib upon males to perform it. It consists of two raka'at, with the addition of extra Takbeers at the start of each raka'at. An integral part of Eid salah is listening to the khutbah after the prayers are performed.Nafl Salah
Ritual ablution
Prayer can only be conducted after a Muslim has performed Wudu (ritual Ablution). In wudu, Sunni Muslims wash their hands, teeth, faces, noses, arms, hair, ears and feet three times in a particular order. Shi'a Muslims first wash their faces, then their arms, and then wipe their heads and feet with the moisture on their hands.When no water is available, sand may be used. (If the cleansing was done using water, the Muslim is considered to have cleansed him or herself from the physical manifestations of sin in a lasting fashion that extends between prayers; unless the Muslim does something to remove this cleanliness, the cleansing would not need to be repeated before the next prayer. When sand is used, the cleansing is only temporary and regardless of whether or not the Muslim commits any physical acts of uncleanliness he or she will need to undergo the ceremonial cleansing immediately before the next prayer.)
The prayer session
[image] The prayer starts with the intention to pray (Niyyah), and by reciting the first surah of the Qur'an (Al-Fatiha, "the Opening"), followed by a few short verses. Then, the Muslim bows and says something and stands upright again, only to reach the prayer mat and sit on his legs. He places his hands and face on the mat and sits up, repeating this once more before standing up and repeating the entire sequence. Each such action is called a Raka'ah; there are two in Fajr, four for Zuhr and Asr, three for Maghrib, and again four for 'Isha'a. In each position, something is being said.Sunni Muslims end the session by looking right and left to, saying "Peace be unto you, and on you be peace" in Arabic to the believers sitting with you. (If alone, the Muslim greets his right Angel and then his left angel. Muslims believe there is one angel on each shoulder, the one on the left noting every sin you commit, and the one on the right noting every good deed. Prayer removes a sin.) Shi'a Muslims end the session by reciting "Allahu Akbar" (God is Great) three times.
Prayer in a congregation
Muslims are suggested to perform the compulsory Salah in congregation (jama'ah), behind an Imam. Jama'ah prayer is considered better and has more social and spiritual benefit than individual prayer. When the performers consist of men and women, one man is chosen as imam. In this situation, women are forbidden from being an imam. This point, though unanimously agreed on by the major schools of Islam, is disputed by some groups, based partly on a Hadith whose interpretation is controversial; see Women as imams. When the performers are all women, one woman is chosen as imam. When men, women, and children are performing, the children's rows are between men's and women's rows. There is also another configuration where man's rows and woman's rows are side by side, separated by big curtain / hijab, the main idea being that there is no direct line-of-sight between man and woman, following the Quran 24:30-31.The person chosen to be an Imam may be a scholar, or the one who has the best knowledge of the Quran. when a muslim is praying they, their clothes, and where they are praying must be clean. Women must have their hair covered and are not allowed to pray with men.
External link
- Salah according to Five Islamic Schools of Law
- An Understanding of 'salat' from Al Quran
- Islam-USA.com: Beginners' Guide To Performing Islamic Prayers
- Taraweeh and Witr
- Eid and Fasts of Shawwal