Salah
 This article forms part of the seriesIslam |
| Vocabulary of Islam |
| Five Pillars |
| Profession of faith |
| Prayer – Alms |
| Fasting |
| Pilgrimage to Mecca |
| Holy Cities |
| Mecca – Medina |
| Jerusalem |
| Najaf – Karbala – Kufa |
| Events |
| Hijra – Islamic calendar – Eid ul-Fitr |
| Eid ul-Adha – Aashura – Arba'in |
| Buildings |
| Mosque – Minaret |
| Mihrab – Kaaba |
| Islamic architecture |
| Functional Religious Roles |
| Muezzin – Imam – Mullah |
| Ayatollah – Mufti |
| Interpretive Texts & Practices |
| Qur'an – Hadith – Sunnah |
| Fiqh – Fatwa – Sharia |
| Sects |
| Sunni (Schools of thought: Hanafi, Hanbali, Maliki, Shafi'i) |
| Shi'a: Ithna Asharia, Ismailiyah, Zaiddiyah |
| Others: Mu'tazili – Kharijite |
| Movements |
| Sufism |
| Wahhabism – Salafism |
| Non-Mainstream Sects/Movements |
| Ahmadiyyah |
| Related Faiths |
| Druze; Bahá'í Faith |
Salah (other terms and spellings exist) is one of the Five Pillars of Islam. It refers to the five daily prayers that Muslims offer to Allah (God). Being a Pillar of Islam, it is compulsory for every Muslim. Under some circumstances, it may be prescribed for a Muslim male to perform Salah in congregation behind an Imam. At other times it may be performed individually. Outside of the daily salaat there are special prayers offered on Fridays (Jumah), Eid ul-Fitr and Eid ul-Adha.
The five prescribed daily prayers are:
- Fajr (dawn prayer)
- Dhuhr (mid-day)
- Asr (afternoon)
- Maghrib (sunset)
- Isha'a (night)
The times prescribed for the prayers vary daily as the position of the sun in the sky determines the times.
Prayers can only be conducted when a Muslim has a valid Wuduu.
Wuduu is when a Muslim washes his face, teeth, nose, arms and feet three times in a particular order.
It is essential, (especially for the Asr prayer since there is a chapter in the Qur'an Al-Kareem called Al-Asr), that all prayer are done when each "time" is commenced. However Muslims can still pray when for example the night prayer has already come and they still have to do, say, the afternoon and sunset prayers as well.
When a Muslim prays, they must first say which prayer they are currently praying, and recite the first chapter of the Qur'an called Al-Fatiha or The Opening, followed by a few short verses. After that, they get to a kneeling position and say something, then they stand upright again, only to reach the prayer mat and sit on a on their legs. They place their hands and face on the mat, and then get back up to the sitting position, and repeat this once more, before standing up and repeating the whole thing again. One of those is called a raka, and there is two for the Fajr, four for Duhr, four for Asr, three for Maghrib, and four for Isha. On every single position, something is being said.
When they finish, the greet their right angel, with "Peace be upon you", and then the left angel. Muslims believe there are two angels on either shoulder, with one on the left noting every sin you commited, to the one on the right noting every good deed done. Praying removes a sin.
As well as the five prayer times, there is also the prayers of Sunneh, which is between some of the five prayer times, and one prayer, (between midnight and Fajr), where they can do as many rakahs as they wish, providing it is at least two.
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Categories: Five Pillars of Islam