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Prayer - Salaat - Namaaz
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Introduction
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“Verily Salat prevents one from shameful and forbidden things; and the
remembrance of Allah is the greatest” (QURAN 29:45)
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“Salat is the best of all that has been ordained by Allah” (HOLY PROPHET
P.B.U.H)
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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:
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“That which separates a believer from infidelity is simply the Salat.”
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“He has no share in Islam who does not offer Salat”
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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:
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“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.”
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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)
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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
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“Successful indeed are the believers who are humble in their Salat” (23:1-2)
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| Requirements of Salaat
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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)
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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)
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Regularity
The Qur’an states about the true Believers are those: “who are regular in their
Prayers”. (70: 23)
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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)
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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)
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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)
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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)
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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)
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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)
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Devotion and Humbleness
"Successful indeed are the believers, who are humble in their Prayers and who
shun what is vain". (23: V1 - 3)
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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)
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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.
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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)
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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)
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The Time of Salaat
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1. The Time of Fajr Prayer
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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.
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2. The Time for Zuhr Salaat
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The time for Zuhr 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.
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3. The Time for Asr Salaat
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Asr time begins immediately upon the expiry of Zuhr 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.
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4. The Time for Maghrib Salaat
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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.
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5. The Time for Isha Salaat
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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.
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6. The Time for Witr Salaat
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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.
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Rak’ahs of prayers
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A Rak’ah is a unit of the prayer, which may be Fard (obligatory), Sunnat
(compulsory and voluntary), Witr (compulsory), or Nafl (Voluntary)
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Fajr
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Zuhr
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Asr
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Maghrib
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Isha
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2 Sunnat
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4 Sunnat
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4 Sunnat (vol.)
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3 Fard
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4 Sunnat (vol.)
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2 Fard
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4 Fard
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4 Fard
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2 Sunnat
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4 Fard
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2 Sunnat
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2 Nafl
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2 Sunnat
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2 Nafl
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2 Nafl
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3 Witr
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2 Nafl |
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Reference: Everyday Fiqh, Vol. I, Muhammad Yusuf Islahi
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