الرئيسية
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التسجيل
من طرف Prayer - Salaat - Namaaz
Introduction
“Verily Salat prevents one from shameful and forbidden things; and the remembrance of Allah is the greatest” (QURAN 29:45)
“Salat is the best of all that has been ordained by Allah” (HOLY PROPHET P.B.U.H)
Salat is the second most important pillar of Islam after Iman. Salat is the essence of all Islamic practices and deeds. The Holy Qur’an has stressed the importance of it numerous amounts of times. If the Salat is offered with full regard to all the inward and outward requirements including a sincere heart, proper devotion and mental concentration the benefits are innumerable. The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is reported to have said:
“That which separates a believer from infidelity is simply the Salat.”
“He has no share in Islam who does not offer Salat”
What a great act of virtue and piety to offer Salat regularly and how catastrophic it is to abandon it. The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) stated in the following hadeeth which brilliantly summarizes how the Salat is essential to the Muslim:
“Whoever will offer the Salat properly and regularly it will be for him on the Last Day a source of light, a proof of his faith and a means to salvation. (On the other hand) Whoever will not offer it carefully and regularly it will be for him neither a source of light, nor a proof of faith, nor a means of salvation and the end of such a person will be with Qarun, Fir’aun, Haman and Ubai-bin-Khalaf.”
The Holy Qur'an states “The day that the sin shall be laid bare, and they shall be summoned to bow in adoration, but they shall not be able, their eyes shall be cast down – ignominy will cover them, seeing that they had been summoned aforetime to bow in adoration while they were hale and healthy (and had refused). (67:42)
According to the above Qur’anic verse mankind will be summoned to bow down in adoration before Allah (swt) on the Last Day. Only the fortunate ones, who had during their lifetime made it a practice to be regular in their Salat, will find no difficulty in bowing down. Those who in spite of being healthy and strong, had not prayed in this world, will discover that their backs had suddenly grown stiff which means they will remain standing with the infidels unable to prostrate before their Lord and Creator. Such will be the humiliation and disgrace for the defaulters of Salat! May Allah (swt) save us from such humiliation! Ameen
“Successful indeed are the believers who are humble in their Salat” (23:1-2)
Requirements of Salaat
1. Cleanliness and Purity
The Qur’an states: “O Believers, when you rise to offer Salat, you must wash your faces and hands and arms up to the elbows and wipe your heads with wet hands and wash your feet up to the ankles; and if you have become unclean, cleanse yourselves with a full bath”. (Surah 5: V 6)
2. Punctuality
The Qur’an states: “Indeed Salat is a prescribed duty that has to be performed at the appointed times by the Believers.” (Surah 4: V103)
3. Regularity
The Qur’an states about the true Believers are those: “who are regular in their Prayers”. (70: 23)
4. Lining up for Prayers in a congregation
The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) stated “O People! Keep your rows straight and balanced, otherwise Allah might turn your hearts one against the other”. (Muslim)
On another occasion he (Peace and blessings be upon him) stated “Keep your rows straight in the Prayer, because proper balancing and alignment of the rows is a necessary condition of establishing the Prayer”.
According to Hadrat Abu Mas’ud, the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to pass his hand over the shoulders of the people and would tell them to get aligned lest as a consequence of crooked and irregular rows their hearts be turned one against the other. Then he would urge those of them who possessed knowledge and insight to stand close behind him, then those who were next to them, then those who were next to them. (Muslim)
5. Peace and Tranquility
The Qur’an states: “Pray neither with too loud a voice nor with too low, but follow a middle way between these two”. (17: 110)
Hadrat Abu Hurairah says that the Holy Prophet was present in the mosque in a corner when a man entered and offered the Prayer. He then came towards the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and greeted him. The Holy Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) responded to him and asked him to go back once again and repeat his Prayer. The man repeated his prayer once again and repeated his Prayer. The man repeated his Prayer for the third time and then requested: “O Messenger of Allah! Teach me the right way of performing the Prayer”. The Holy Prophet said:
“When you intend to observe the Prayer, first perform Wudu well; then face the Qiblah and begin the Prayer with Takbir (Allah o Akbar) then recite Al Fatihah and after it some easy passage; then bend down in Ruku’ and observe it with perfect peace; then stand up erect; then go down in Sajdah and observe it with perfect peace; then rise from Sajdah and sit upright, and then complete your Prayer in the same manner with perfect calmness and tranquillity”. (Bukhari and Muslim)
6. Establishing Congregational Prayer
The Qur’an states: “… and bend down in Ruku with those who bend down in Ruku”. (2: V43)
The Holy Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) has said: “The person who hears the Call of the Mu’azzin to congregational Prayer, and there is no genuine reason to prevent him from rushing to the mosque, and yet he offers his Prayer alone, his Prayer will not be accepted by Allah. When the people asked what he meant by ‘genuine reason’ he said: ‘ a danger to life or property or serious illness”. (Abu Dawud)
Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) stated “A person who attends congregational Prayers for 40 days regularly, right from the first Takbir to the end, is granted a two fold immunity; immunity from the fire of Hell and immunity against hypocrisy”. (Tirmidhi)
7. Distinctive and Clarity of Recital
The Qur’an says : “Recite the Qur’an leisurely”. (73: V 4) “The Book that We have sent down to you is blessed that people may ponder over its verses, and the thoughtful ones may learn lessons”. (38: V 29)
8. Zeal and Dedication during Prayer
The ideal Prayer is that which one places all one’s whole attention of the heart and mind and turns towards Allah. Also when one is finished with one prayer one is keenly looking forward to observing the next Prayer.
The Qur’an states: “…. You should keep aright your direction during every act of worship and invoke Him alone, dedicating your faith sincerely and exclusively to Him”. (7: V 29)
“O Believers, when you hear the Call to the Friday Prayer, hasten to the remembrance of Allah and leave your trading”. (62: V9)
9. Humility and Submission
“Take great care of your Prayers, especially of a Prayer that has excellent qualities of Salat, and stand before Allah like devoted servants”. (2: v 238)
“And (O Prophet), give good news to those who adopt an attitude of humility and submission, whose hearts tremble when they hear Allah being mentioned, and who show fortitude in affliction and establish Prayer”. (22: V 35)
“O Prophet, remember your Lord morning and evening, deep in your heart with humility and with fear, and also in a low voice with your tongue: do not be of those who are heedless”. (7: 205)
10. Devotion and Humbleness
"Successful indeed are the believers, who are humble in their Prayers and who shun what is vain". (23: V1 - 3)
11. Feeling of Divine Presence
The Holy Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) has said: "Man is nearest to his God when he prostrates himself before Him". (Muslim) One should observe the Prayer with the feeling that one is seeing Allah or at least have the feeling that Allah is watching him. The Qur'an says: "Fall prostrate and seek nearness (to Allah) (96: v19)
12. Remembrance of Allah
The Qur'an states: .. ".. And establish Prayer for My remembrance". (20: V 14) "Indeed only those people believe in Our revelations, who when reminded of them, fall prostrate, and glorify their Lord, and avoid vanity". (32: V 15) Thus performing their Ruku and Sajdah with full consciousness and utter words of Allah's praise and adoration with perfect understanding and awareness of the fact that they are standing in Prayer for the remembrance of Allah.
13. Avoiding Display
"Doomed are the praying ones who are unmindful of their Prayers and act only to be seen by others". (107: V 4) The Holy Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said "The one who prayed with the intention of being seen by others committed shirk". (Musnad Ahmad)
14. Complete Resignation to the Will of Allah (swt)
"My Salat and my rites of worship and my life and my death are all for Allah, the Lord of the universe, Who has no partner with Him. This is what I have been enjoined, and I am the first to surrender to Him". (6:V 163)
The Time of Salaat
1. The Time of Fajr Prayer
Approximately 11/2 hours before sunrise a dim whitish glow appears vertically in the eastern horizon. This is the break of dawn. The time for Fajr Salat lasts until sunrise.
2. The Time for Dhuhr Salaat
The time for Dhuhr Salat begins immediately after Zawaal or mid-day. The time of mid-day or Zawaal is calculated by dividing the hours of daylight by two, and adding the result to the time of sunrise.
3. The Time for Asr Salaat
Asr time begins immediately upon the expiry of Dhuhr time, and lasts until sunset. However, it is Makrooh (reprehensible) to delay the performance of Asr Salat until the sun’s ray become yellowish and dim as is the case before sunset.
4. The Time for Maghrib Salaat
Immediately after sunset the time for Maghrib Salat commences, and it lasts until the disappearance of the twilight. It is better to offer it as soon as the time for Maghrib Salat has started.
5. The Time for Isha Salaat
The time for Isha Salat begins immediately after expiry of the time of Maghrib, i.e. immediately after the white glow of twilight disappears. Isha time lasts until Fajr Awwal or Subh sadiq (True Dawn). The moment Fajr Awwal enters, Isha time expires.
6. The Time for Witr Salaat
This Witr Prayer may be offered immediately after the Isha Prayer; but those people who have formed the habit of rising during the later part of the night may pray Witr any time before dawn.
Rak’ahs of prayers
A Rak’ah is a unit of the prayer, which may be Fard (obligatory), Sunnat (compulsory and voluntary), Witr (compulsory), or Nafl (Voluntary)
Fajr Dhuhr Asr Maghrib Isha
2 Sunnat 4 Sunnat 4 Sunnat (vol.) 3 Fard 4 Sunnat (vol.)
2 Fard 4 Fard 4 Fard 2 Sunnat 4 Fard
2 Sunnat 2 Nafl 2 Sunnat
2 Nafl 2 Nafl
3 Witr
2 Nafl
Introduction
“Verily Salat prevents one from shameful and forbidden things; and the remembrance of Allah is the greatest” (QURAN 29:45)
“Salat is the best of all that has been ordained by Allah” (HOLY PROPHET P.B.U.H)
Salat is the second most important pillar of Islam after Iman. Salat is the essence of all Islamic practices and deeds. The Holy Qur’an has stressed the importance of it numerous amounts of times. If the Salat is offered with full regard to all the inward and outward requirements including a sincere heart, proper devotion and mental concentration the benefits are innumerable. The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is reported to have said:
“That which separates a believer from infidelity is simply the Salat.”
“He has no share in Islam who does not offer Salat”
What a great act of virtue and piety to offer Salat regularly and how catastrophic it is to abandon it. The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) stated in the following hadeeth which brilliantly summarizes how the Salat is essential to the Muslim:
“Whoever will offer the Salat properly and regularly it will be for him on the Last Day a source of light, a proof of his faith and a means to salvation. (On the other hand) Whoever will not offer it carefully and regularly it will be for him neither a source of light, nor a proof of faith, nor a means of salvation and the end of such a person will be with Qarun, Fir’aun, Haman and Ubai-bin-Khalaf.”
The Holy Qur'an states “The day that the sin shall be laid bare, and they shall be summoned to bow in adoration, but they shall not be able, their eyes shall be cast down – ignominy will cover them, seeing that they had been summoned aforetime to bow in adoration while they were hale and healthy (and had refused). (67:42)
According to the above Qur’anic verse mankind will be summoned to bow down in adoration before Allah (swt) on the Last Day. Only the fortunate ones, who had during their lifetime made it a practice to be regular in their Salat, will find no difficulty in bowing down. Those who in spite of being healthy and strong, had not prayed in this world, will discover that their backs had suddenly grown stiff which means they will remain standing with the infidels unable to prostrate before their Lord and Creator. Such will be the humiliation and disgrace for the defaulters of Salat! May Allah (swt) save us from such humiliation! Ameen
“Successful indeed are the believers who are humble in their Salat” (23:1-2)
Requirements of Salaat
1. Cleanliness and Purity
The Qur’an states: “O Believers, when you rise to offer Salat, you must wash your faces and hands and arms up to the elbows and wipe your heads with wet hands and wash your feet up to the ankles; and if you have become unclean, cleanse yourselves with a full bath”. (Surah 5: V 6)
2. Punctuality
The Qur’an states: “Indeed Salat is a prescribed duty that has to be performed at the appointed times by the Believers.” (Surah 4: V103)
3. Regularity
The Qur’an states about the true Believers are those: “who are regular in their Prayers”. (70: 23)
4. Lining up for Prayers in a congregation
The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) stated “O People! Keep your rows straight and balanced, otherwise Allah might turn your hearts one against the other”. (Muslim)
On another occasion he (Peace and blessings be upon him) stated “Keep your rows straight in the Prayer, because proper balancing and alignment of the rows is a necessary condition of establishing the Prayer”.
According to Hadrat Abu Mas’ud, the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to pass his hand over the shoulders of the people and would tell them to get aligned lest as a consequence of crooked and irregular rows their hearts be turned one against the other. Then he would urge those of them who possessed knowledge and insight to stand close behind him, then those who were next to them, then those who were next to them. (Muslim)
5. Peace and Tranquility
The Qur’an states: “Pray neither with too loud a voice nor with too low, but follow a middle way between these two”. (17: 110)
Hadrat Abu Hurairah says that the Holy Prophet was present in the mosque in a corner when a man entered and offered the Prayer. He then came towards the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and greeted him. The Holy Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) responded to him and asked him to go back once again and repeat his Prayer. The man repeated his prayer once again and repeated his Prayer. The man repeated his Prayer for the third time and then requested: “O Messenger of Allah! Teach me the right way of performing the Prayer”. The Holy Prophet said:
“When you intend to observe the Prayer, first perform Wudu well; then face the Qiblah and begin the Prayer with Takbir (Allah o Akbar) then recite Al Fatihah and after it some easy passage; then bend down in Ruku’ and observe it with perfect peace; then stand up erect; then go down in Sajdah and observe it with perfect peace; then rise from Sajdah and sit upright, and then complete your Prayer in the same manner with perfect calmness and tranquillity”. (Bukhari and Muslim)
6. Establishing Congregational Prayer
The Qur’an states: “… and bend down in Ruku with those who bend down in Ruku”. (2: V43)
The Holy Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) has said: “The person who hears the Call of the Mu’azzin to congregational Prayer, and there is no genuine reason to prevent him from rushing to the mosque, and yet he offers his Prayer alone, his Prayer will not be accepted by Allah. When the people asked what he meant by ‘genuine reason’ he said: ‘ a danger to life or property or serious illness”. (Abu Dawud)
Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) stated “A person who attends congregational Prayers for 40 days regularly, right from the first Takbir to the end, is granted a two fold immunity; immunity from the fire of Hell and immunity against hypocrisy”. (Tirmidhi)
7. Distinctive and Clarity of Recital
The Qur’an says : “Recite the Qur’an leisurely”. (73: V 4) “The Book that We have sent down to you is blessed that people may ponder over its verses, and the thoughtful ones may learn lessons”. (38: V 29)
8. Zeal and Dedication during Prayer
The ideal Prayer is that which one places all one’s whole attention of the heart and mind and turns towards Allah. Also when one is finished with one prayer one is keenly looking forward to observing the next Prayer.
The Qur’an states: “…. You should keep aright your direction during every act of worship and invoke Him alone, dedicating your faith sincerely and exclusively to Him”. (7: V 29)
“O Believers, when you hear the Call to the Friday Prayer, hasten to the remembrance of Allah and leave your trading”. (62: V9)
9. Humility and Submission
“Take great care of your Prayers, especially of a Prayer that has excellent qualities of Salat, and stand before Allah like devoted servants”. (2: v 238)
“And (O Prophet), give good news to those who adopt an attitude of humility and submission, whose hearts tremble when they hear Allah being mentioned, and who show fortitude in affliction and establish Prayer”. (22: V 35)
“O Prophet, remember your Lord morning and evening, deep in your heart with humility and with fear, and also in a low voice with your tongue: do not be of those who are heedless”. (7: 205)
10. Devotion and Humbleness
"Successful indeed are the believers, who are humble in their Prayers and who shun what is vain". (23: V1 - 3)
11. Feeling of Divine Presence
The Holy Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) has said: "Man is nearest to his God when he prostrates himself before Him". (Muslim) One should observe the Prayer with the feeling that one is seeing Allah or at least have the feeling that Allah is watching him. The Qur'an says: "Fall prostrate and seek nearness (to Allah) (96: v19)
12. Remembrance of Allah
The Qur'an states: .. ".. And establish Prayer for My remembrance". (20: V 14) "Indeed only those people believe in Our revelations, who when reminded of them, fall prostrate, and glorify their Lord, and avoid vanity". (32: V 15) Thus performing their Ruku and Sajdah with full consciousness and utter words of Allah's praise and adoration with perfect understanding and awareness of the fact that they are standing in Prayer for the remembrance of Allah.
13. Avoiding Display
"Doomed are the praying ones who are unmindful of their Prayers and act only to be seen by others". (107: V 4) The Holy Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said "The one who prayed with the intention of being seen by others committed shirk". (Musnad Ahmad)
14. Complete Resignation to the Will of Allah (swt)
"My Salat and my rites of worship and my life and my death are all for Allah, the Lord of the universe, Who has no partner with Him. This is what I have been enjoined, and I am the first to surrender to Him". (6:V 163)
The Time of Salaat
1. The Time of Fajr Prayer
Approximately 11/2 hours before sunrise a dim whitish glow appears vertically in the eastern horizon. This is the break of dawn. The time for Fajr Salat lasts until sunrise.
2. The Time for Dhuhr Salaat
The time for Dhuhr Salat begins immediately after Zawaal or mid-day. The time of mid-day or Zawaal is calculated by dividing the hours of daylight by two, and adding the result to the time of sunrise.
3. The Time for Asr Salaat
Asr time begins immediately upon the expiry of Dhuhr time, and lasts until sunset. However, it is Makrooh (reprehensible) to delay the performance of Asr Salat until the sun’s ray become yellowish and dim as is the case before sunset.
4. The Time for Maghrib Salaat
Immediately after sunset the time for Maghrib Salat commences, and it lasts until the disappearance of the twilight. It is better to offer it as soon as the time for Maghrib Salat has started.
5. The Time for Isha Salaat
The time for Isha Salat begins immediately after expiry of the time of Maghrib, i.e. immediately after the white glow of twilight disappears. Isha time lasts until Fajr Awwal or Subh sadiq (True Dawn). The moment Fajr Awwal enters, Isha time expires.
6. The Time for Witr Salaat
This Witr Prayer may be offered immediately after the Isha Prayer; but those people who have formed the habit of rising during the later part of the night may pray Witr any time before dawn.
Rak’ahs of prayers
A Rak’ah is a unit of the prayer, which may be Fard (obligatory), Sunnat (compulsory and voluntary), Witr (compulsory), or Nafl (Voluntary)
Fajr Dhuhr Asr Maghrib Isha
2 Sunnat 4 Sunnat 4 Sunnat (vol.) 3 Fard 4 Sunnat (vol.)
2 Fard 4 Fard 4 Fard 2 Sunnat 4 Fard
2 Sunnat 2 Nafl 2 Sunnat
2 Nafl 2 Nafl
3 Witr
2 Nafl
