Islamic Blog for New Muslims: Support for New Muslim Converts

Some acts and sayings in prayers must be done, or your prayer will be invalid. However, there are also Sunnahs in prayer. A Sunnah is an act that Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, performed or encouraged us to perform and is optional, and if enacted, you would get rewarded more by Allah. If not completed, there is no harm, and your prayer will remain valid. 

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In Muslim countries, Prayer is publicly announced to the community—not by bells—but by an Islamic chant or call of Prayer known as Adhan in Arabic. Before we start our prayer, we make our Adhan and iqamah, the Islamic chant or call of prayer, which is given to call people if there will be other people joining you. If one is praying alone, there is no need to perform adthan or igama, but it's Sunnah.

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Muslims all face the same direction when praying Salah. We pray with our face and body facing the direction of Mecca, in present-day Saudi Arabia, where the Holy House of God—known as the Kaaba—is situated. Muslims from all over the globe face this direction, where the first House was built on Earth to worship the One God. Of course, we do not worship the Kaaba; we only use the Holy House as a direction to face while worshipping the One God as instructed by God Himself. Prayers are only directed to God, our Creator.    

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Before the prayer begins, a Muslim is required to perform ablution (wudu in Arabic), which is the act of cleaning and purifying oneself from physical bodily fluids such as blood, urine, or any impurity with water. A Muslim must be clean and free of impurities in his body, clothing, and the area where the Prayer will be performed. One drop of waste matter presents anywhere would void one's Prayer. 

 Wudu was the first ritual legislated in Islam, legislated right after the second Revelation. Wudu is half of our faith. The passing of urine, stool, windbreaks, eating camel meat, losing consciousness, and falling asleep while lying down on one's Wudu. Ghusl, a full body bath is required after sexual intercourse or when sperm is discharged. If one does not break his wudu and the following prayer comes in, they can pray with the same Wudu Ablution performed prior. Our Prophet Muhammad PBUH stated that were it not difficult for my nation, I would have commanded my nation to perform Wudu Ablution every time they stood up to pray. This is to show us the importance of and encourage us to perform a lot of Wudu in our lives. On Judgement Day, those who performed a perfect wudu will be identifiable by the light shining from the areas they washed in wudu. Every time we make Wudu, sins fall with the drops of water from our skin, so the repetition of Wudu cleanses our sins, and we should get into the habit of performing ablution regularly.

O believers! When you rise up for prayer, wash your faces and your hands up to the elbows, wipe your heads, and wash your feet to the ankles. And if you are in a state of ˹full˺ impurity, then take a full bath. But if you are ill, on a journey, or have relieved yourselves, or have been intimate with your wives and cannot find water, then purify yourselves with clean Earth by wiping your faces and hands. It is not Allah's Will to burden you, but to purify you and complete His favour upon you, so perhaps you will be grateful. (Quran 5:6)

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The Salah prayer is specifically a human form of worship. All other creatures of God, including animals and plants, submit without question to the Almighty in their unique way. Everything in the Sky and Earth declares Allah's perfection and worships Him in their way, a pattern we humans may not understand. All other creations of God are in continuous glorification, praise, and remembrance of God and worship in their own way. Just like the other members of creation-worship Allah, man is expected to worship God.

"Do not you see that Allah - glorify Him whoever (is) in the Heavens and the Earth and the birds (with) wings outspread? Each one certainly knows its Prayer and its glorification. And Allah (is) All-Knower of what they do" (Quran 24:41)

Humanity was created for Prayer and Divine worship. God states in the Quran:

"And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me" (Quran 51:56)

God commands humanity to establish and perfect their Prayer by praying properly with concentration and the utmost humility. Every Muslim must work and practice to improve their prayer technique, which is a lifetime commitment. Muslims must engage in a lifelong effort to master this art of communication with their Creator. The ones that fall into a habitual routine of reciting their words without concentration and humility would miss the point of Prayer, not benefitting from their Prayer nearly as much as those who pray earnestly and with full concentration and mindfulness.

 Neglecting mandatory Prayer is a grave sin in the Islamic faith. Allah, the glorious, shares a dialogue in the Holy Koran in which the residents of Paradise ask the people of the hellfire as to the reason for their condemnation, and the condemned respond:

"They will say, 'We were not of those who prayed, nor did we used to feed the poor, and we used to indulge in vain talk with the vain talkers, and we used to deny the Day of Recompense, Until there came to us the certainty'" (Quran 74:43-47)

The state of one's Prayer will be the first thing to be asked of each on the Great Day of Judgement. If one's Prayers were in order, everything else would fall into place. If one's Prayer were not in order, they would be doomed. The Messenger of Allah stated: 'The first of man's deeds for which he will be called to account on the Day of Resurrection will be Salat. If it is found to be perfect, he will be safe and successful; but if it is incomplete, he will be unfortunate and a loser…." (At-Tirmidhi).

 Prayer should be directed only to God the Almighty, as he is the Only One in complete control of everything—including man's destiny. He is All-Powerful, All-Wise, All-Knowing, and All-Hearing, and can fill anyone's needs and remove all of man's pain and miseries.

The Islamic prayer ritual expresses submission to God, showing humility, devotion toward, and love of God. Praying to the Creator daily is the best way to build a personal connection with Him while seeking His guidance, Blessings, and Forgiveness. Muslims pray to God to gain spiritual strength and peace of mind and strengthen their faith's foundation. Muslims temporarily step out of their daily activities five times a day to connect to God; to stay mindful of Him in this world of stress, struggle, and distractions. Prayers remind Muslims that Allah controls all things so they can put their worldly concerns into perspective.

 The Islamic prayer method and mode act as a spiritual diet. Such as the body requires food and water throughout the day, our spirit needs to partake in the remembrance and worship of God to stay spiritually healthy; is not the soul more valuable than the body?

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The Islamic ritual prayers come with many benefits—in this world and the next—for the ones that engage in them sincerely and mindfully, with concentration and humility. Amongst the benefits of praying is that the one that prays regularly and prays the way that they are supposed to be prayed has a promise from Allah that Allah will cause them to enter Paradise. 

 Amongst the benefits of praying is that the act of praying guards and protects a believer from sins and evil doings. 

"Recite what has been revealed to you of the Book and establish the Prayer. Indeed, the Prayer prevents from the immorality and evil deeds, and surely (the) remembrance (of) Allah (is) greatest. And Allah knows what you do" (Quran 29:45)

When one becomes lackadaisical in their worship or neglects Prayer altogether, they will experience the consequence of feeling distant from God, which may cause increased instances of sinning and evil doing. As they distance themselves from Prayer and the remembrance of God, they become easier targets for Satan to reach out to and tempt them. The one that guards and faithfully practices their prayers would be mindful of everything else that matters. The one that neglects their prayers would be neglectful of what matters in this life. 

Amongst the many benefits of Prayer is the transformative power that Prayer has on a person. Prayer transforms a person's attitude, behavior, mentality, thoughts, and priorities, redirecting these elements to what matters in life. Prayer softens one's heart toward Allah and his Creation. Muslims steadfast in their Prayer are continually looking to help others and have a genuine concern for them—not just themselves.

If one does not see their prayers' benefits and positive effects, one should question their sincerity, humility, and concentration in praying. God references the fate of past generations who did not take advantage of their prayers—wasting them.

 "But there came after them successors who neglected prayer and pursued desires; so, they are going to face Destruction" (Quran 19:59)

 Salah (Prayer) is also connected to the state of our Ummah (Muslim community). Prayer solves the many problems our nation is facing. If our Prayer is strong, everything else in our community will be healthy.

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The five prayers are obligatory for anyone who is Muslim, reached puberty, and is in his senses. The Salah prayer is not required for those mentally challenged, not in their sense. A woman that is menstruating or experiencing postnatal bleeding should not pray. 

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Before we go over how to pray, we must go over the Salah Prayer and why we perform it. The second Pillar of Islam is the mandatory round of ritual prayers that every Muslim must perform five times daily. The Islamic method of Prayer is a ritualized form of worship, which involves the recitation of Verses from the Holy Quran and supplications to God, all while standing, bowing, and prostrating. This mandatory act of worship is called Salah in Arabic and differs from merely praying or supplicating to God in an impulsive act, just speaking one's mind. Instead, the Salah prayers demand a formalized structure in which one prays a certain way at specific times, as demonstrated to us by Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, drawing direct inspiration from Angel Gabriel, who learned from God Himself.

The Arabic word 'Salah,' generally translated as Prayer in English, is linguistically derived from the Arabic word meaning 'connection'; this mode of Prayer connects the servant with his Creator. Salah is a Muslim's way of establishing direct contact with God the Almighty. Salah represents a Muslim's affirmation of servanthood and submission to his Creator's Will. In Salah, a Muslim acknowledges his weakness and neediness by seeking and begging for God's guidance, mercy, grace, and forgiveness.

Salah, or this Islamic ritualized Prayer, is one form of worship amongst many in this beautiful faith. However, Salah holds a special status in Islam because Prayer builds a relationship between a servant and his Creator. Salah is considered the center pole of the Religion of Islam; whoever demolishes or denies this practice in their life demolishes their religion. According to Islamic Scholars, this is the only form of worship that—if neglected—would exclude the disobedient from the folds of Islam.

When prayer time arrives, one is expected to discontinue their current activity and pray to connect with God, the All-Merciful, refreshing their faith for their benefit. Prayer helps remind one why they are here and for what purpose. Prayers help direct a person's thoughts and actions away from sin, from that which is not beneficial. Prayers redirect a believer's thoughts to the remembrance of God.

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