Salaat, or the prayer, is an obligation upon every Muslim male and female. Islam considers salaat the “foundation of religion” and it is the next most important pillar after the Shahaadah, or declaration of faith. It is also the first of the actions about which a person will be questioned on the Day of Judgement; if his prayers are in good order, then he will succeed and prosper; but if they are defective, then he will fail and will be a loser
Salaat is also the decisive criterion between a Muslim and a non-Muslim, the true believer and the hypocrite. Anyone who does not perform it is, strictly speaking, a non-Muslim. The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “The covenant between us and them (i.e. the disbelievers) is the prayer, so if anyone abandons it, he has become a disbeliever.” (Reported by Ahmad, At-Tirmidhee and An-Nasaa’ee) He also said, “What lies between a man, polytheism and disbelief (kufr) is the abandonment of salaat.” (Reported by Muslim, Abu Dawood and An-Nasaa’ee)
Because of its importance, its numerous merits and Allah’s great love for it, Allah (aile has made it obligatory upon every mature sane Muslim and ordained it five times a day and night. Allah (celom says, “Establish [regular] prayer; indeed, prayer has been enjoined on the believers at stated times.” (Surat An-Nisaa’, 4:103)
Informing us about the inhabitants of Hell, Allah ( says: “[The people in Hell will be asked:] What has caused you to enter Hell? They will say: We were not among those who used to pray, nor did we feed the poor, and we used to talk falsehood (all that which Allah hated) with vain-talkers, and we used to deny the Day of Recompense, until there came to us that which is certain (i.e., death). So no intercession of [any] intercessors will benefit them.” (Surat Al-Muddath-thir, 74:42-48)
Mentioning the prayer once, the Prophet (ﷺ) said, “If anyone keeps to it, it will be light, evidence and salvation for him on the Day of Resurrection. But if anyone does not keep to it, it will not be light, evidence and salvation for him on the Day of Resurrection, and on that Day he will be associated with Qaroon, Pharaoh, Hamaan and Ubayy ibn Khalaf.” (Reported by Ahmad, At-Tabaraanee and Ibn Hibbaan)
This means he will be in Hell-fire with the worst of Allah’s creation: Qaroon was ungreatful to Allah for His countless blessings upon him, Pharoah was the arrogant Egyptian King who claimed he was god himself; Hamaan was his wicked advisor; and Ubayy ibn Khalaf was an enemy of Islam from among the Quraish.
The frequency and timings of the obligatory prayers never let a Muslim forget the reason for which Allah ( created him in the midst of worldly activities. The five stated obligatory prayers are:
Salaat-ul-Fajr
the dawn prayer, whose time begins with the true dawn and lasts until sunrise. It is preferred, however, to offer it early at its permissible time.
Salaatu-dh-Dhuhr
the Dhuhr prayer, whose time begins when the sun has crossed the celestial meridian and continues until an object’s shadow is about the same length as the object itself.
Salaat-ul-‘Asr
the afternoon prayer, whose time begins in the afternoon when the shadow of an object is of the same length as the object itself and continues until sunset.
Salaat-ul-Maghrib
the sunset prayer, whose time begins with the disappearance of the sun and lasts until the red twilight ends.
Salaat-ul-‘Ishaa
the night prayer, whose time begins with the disappearance of the red twilight and continues up to half the night
The merit of Salaat is beyond compare and its virtues are limitless. Those who observe it in the right manner acknowledge the greatness of Allah, and their hearts experience a unique feeling of awe and fear of Him; and this helps them to avoid all sinful acts by affording them opportunities of direct communion with their Creator five times a day. It is no wonder then that The Qur’an
says, “Observe Salaat. Surely, Salaat restrains [one] from indecency and manifest evil; and
remembrance of Allah indeed is the greatest virtue.” (Surat Al-‘Ankaboot, 29:45)
Salaat also teaches Muslims to observe punctuality as it is prescribed at stated times, “Verily, Salaat has been enjoined on the believers at fixed times.” (Surat An-Nisaa’, 4:103)
It is also an abundant source of courage and patience and a great support in times of distress and difficulty. The Qur’an says, “And seek help in patience and Salaat.” (Surat Al-Baqarah, 2:45)
When the faithful observe it regularly, they develop a strong desire to do virtuous deeds, anticipating Allah’s reward in the hereafter. When they perform it in congregation, they establish strong social relationships with others and strengthen these brotherly ties with such qualities as love, kindness, respect and co-operation,
How to Perform the Prayer
A Muslim first intends to perform the prayer without expressing this intention aloud.
He faces the Qiblah (the direction of the Ka’bah in Makkah), with his feet also facing it.
He raises his hands to the level of his earlobes or shoulders and says Allaahu Akbar ‘Allah is the Greatest’.
He places his right hand on the back of his left hand on the chest.
He recites Surah Al-Faatihah and then recites as much of the Qur’an as may be easy for him.
He raises his hands as he did at the beginning of the prayer, says Allaahu Akbar and bows into rukoo’. He firmly places his hands on his knees and makes sure that his back and head are straight. While in this position, he says Subhaana Rabbiyal-Adheem ‘Glory be to my Lord’ three times.
He straightens up from rukoo’ by raising his hands as he did at the beginning of the prayer and says while doing this, sami’-Allaahu liman hamidah ‘Allah hears the one who praises Him’. When his body is in the upright position again, he lowers his hands and says, Rabbanaa lakal-hamd ‘O our Lord, to You belong all the praises’.
He then says Allaahu Akbar and goes down for sujood (prostration), Seven parts are to be placed on the ground while in this position: the forehead with the nose, the hands, the knees and the feet. While in this position, he says Subhaana Rabbiyal-A’laa ‘Glory be to my Lord, the Most High’ three times. He can then pray to Allah for anything that concerns this life or life after death.
He then sits up while saying Allaahu Akbar. There is no need to raise his hands as he did before. He sits on the bottom of his left foot with the toes of his right foot pointing towards the Qiblah.
He then says, Allaahu Akbar and goes back into sujood again. He does and says the same as he did in the first prostration.
With this, one rak’ah (prayer unit) is completed. He then stands up to perform the second rak’ah, saying Allaahu Akbar without raising his hands as he did before, and he does exactly what he did in the first rak’ah.
After completing the second rak’ah, he sits down for tashahhud. In this position, he places the left palm on the left knee, makes a fist with the fingers of the right hand, thumb on the middle finger, points his index finger towards the Qiblah and looks at it while saying the tashahhud.
If the prayer consists of two rak’ahs like in As-Subh prayer, he adds to the tashahhud the prayer on the Prophet (ﷺ) and then he concludes the prayer by saying Assalaamu ‘alaikum wa rahmatullaah “May Allah’s peace and mercy be on you’,
first to the right and then to the left.
If the prayer consists of three rak’ahs (in this case Al-Maghrib prayer), he stands up after the tashahhud, raising his hands as he did before and saying Allaahu Akbar, and he adds another rak’ah in exactly the same way he did before except that he recites only Surah Al-Faatihah quietly, then he sits down for the tashahhud again as well as the prayer on the Prophet, and then he concludes the prayer in the same way he did before. The prayer with three rak’ahs consists of two tashahhuds, one after the second rak’ah and the other after the third rak’ah. To the last one the prayer on the Prophet is added.
As for the prayer that consists of four rak’ahs (Adh-Dhuhr, Al-Asrand Al-Ishaa), there are also two tashahhuds, one at the end of the second rak’ah and the other at the end of the fourth rak’ah. When we recite the tashahhud in the last rak’ah, we always make sure to recite the prayer on the Prophet first before concluding the prayer by saying Assalaamu ‘alaikum wa rahmatullaah to the right and then to the left.
