The second pillar of Islam

Salat/Prayer

By: Hira Ahmad

Holy Quran

“Verily, I am Allah; there is no God beside Me. So serve Me, and observe Prayer for My remembrance.” [20:15] 

یقینا میں ہی هللا ہوں۔ میرے سوا اور کوئی معبو د نہیں۔ پس میری عبادت کر اور میرے ذکر کے لئے نماز کو قائم کر۔

HADITH

“The first thing that Allah made obligatory upon my Ummah was the five prayers; and the first thing from their acts of

worship that shall be taken up will be the five prayers; and the first thing that they will be questioned about will be the five

prayers.”(Kanzul `Ummal, Volume 7, Tradition 18859)

ل ما لوات الخمس و أو ل ما یرفع من أعمالھم الص لوات الخمس و أو تي الص على أم ل ما افترض هللا أولوات الخمس یسألون عـنھ الص

NIYYAH

Declaration of intention to engage in Prayer. Recited before a set of Prayers.

I have turned my full attention towards Him, Who has created the heavens and the earth, being ever inclined (towards Him), and I am not among those

who associate partners with Allah.

SPLIT WORD TRANSLATION

TAKBIR-E-TEHRIMA

Allah is the Greatest.

هللا سب سے بڑا ہے

Bring hands, palms open, up to ears, and say:

Glory to Thee, O Allah, praiseworthy and blessed is Thy name and exalted is Thy majesty and there is no worthy of worship except Thee alone.

Sana

QIYAAMAfter the Takbeer - e - Tahrima hands are folded below the chest, so

that the right hand’s wrist rests on the left . This condition is called Qiyaam (standing position ) .

SPLIT WORD TRANSLATION

I seek refuge with Allah from Satan, the accursed.

TA‘AWWUDH

SPLIT WORD TRANSLATION

In the name of God, the infinitely Compassionate and Merciful.Praise be to God, Lord of all the worlds.The Compassionate, the Merciful. Ruler on the Day of Reckoning.You alone do we worship, and You alone do we ask for help.Guide us on the straight path,the path of those who have received your grace;not the path of those who have brought down wrath, nor of those who wander astray.Aamin.

Tasmiyya & Sura al-fatiha

In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful.

Say, He is Allah, the One.

Allah, the Independent and Besought by all.

He begets not, nor is He begotten.

And there is none like unto Him.

Any Sura Of the holy quran

SPLIT WORD TRANSLATION

RUKU

Holy is my Lord, the Most Great.

You bow so that both hands resting on the knees , the back is straight and the gaze is directed between both feet.

3 times (or if more, then an odd number (5,7,9…))

SPLIT WORD TRANSLATION

QIYAAM SAANIYA

Allah hears him, who praises Him.

SPLIT WORD TRANSLATION

QIYAAM SAANIYA

O our Lord, and Thine is the Praise The Praise which is plenty, pure and blessed. .

SPLIT WORD TRANSLATION

SAJDAH

Touching the ground:

First knees,Secondly hands

Finally forehead and nose

Belly should NOT affect the tigh. Also, the forearms should not be resting on the ground. The Holy Prophet(saw)

said that dogs sit like that. (Musnad Ahmad Bin Hanbal).

SAJDAH

Holy is my Lord, the Most High.

3 times (or if more, then an odd number (5,7,9…))

SPLIT WORD TRANSLATION

JILSA

First the body is raised from the ground and then the hands.

While Jilsa the right foot is raised and the toe points towards Kaaba.

The left foot should be on the floor.The hands are on the knees.

JILSA

O Allah, forgive me, and have mercy on me, and guide me, and grant me security, and raise me up, and make good for me my shortcoming,

and provide for me.

SPLIT WORD TRANSLATION

SAJDAH

Rise to the next posture, qiyam (when it is not the second or the last rak'ah) or qa'dah (when it is the second or the last rak'ah).

Holy is my Lord, the Most High.

SPLIT WORD TRANSLATION

QA‘DAH

All verbal and physical acts of worship and financial sacrifices are due to Allah. Peace be on you, O Prophet, and the mercy of Allah and

His blessings. Peace be on us and on the righteous servants of Allah.  

I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah. And I bear witness that

Muhammad is His servant and His apostle.

Tashahud

TOHEED

Raising the index finger during the part of Toheed is Sunnah. It is said that the Holy Prophet (saw) raised his index finger while making a circle by joining His thumb and the tall finger. The other two fingers were bent, too.The finger of his left hand were just lying on the knees .

If you have to pray three or four rak'ahs , you need to stand up in Qiyaam position after Tashahud and complete the remaining RakatIF it is the last Rakat the following Prayer is recited:

SPLIT WORD TRANSLATION

DUROOD SHAREEF

Bless, O Allah, Muhammad and his people as Thou didst bless Abraham and his people. Thou

art indeed Praiseworthy, the Exalted.Prosper, O Allah, Muhammad and his people as

Thou didst prosper Abraham and his people. Thou art indeed Praiseworthy, the Exalted.

PRAYER FROM HOLY QURAN

Our Lord, bestow on us good in this world and good in the Hereafter and shield us from the

torment of the Fire.

SPLIT WORD TRANSLATION

My Lord, make me observe Prayer and my children, too. Our Lord, bestow thy Grace on

me and accept my Prayer. Our Lord grant forgiveness to me and to my parents and to the

believers on the Day of the Reckoning.

SPLIT WORD TRANSLATION

TASLEEMPeace be on you and the blessings of Allah.

Peace be on you and the blessings of Allah.

SPLIT WORD TRANSLATION

DUA-E-QUNOOT

"O' Allah! We implore You for help and beg forgiveness of You

and believe in You and rely on You and extol Youand we are thankful to You

and are not ungrateful to Youand we alienate and forsake those who disobey You.

O' Allah! You alone do we worshipand for You do we pray and prostrate

and we betake to please Youand present ourselves for the service in Your cause

and we hope for Your mercyand fear Your chastisement. Undoubtedly,

Your torment is going to overtake infidels"O‘.

➢ Waqt (Time)

➢ Taharat (Cleanliness)

➢ Satar (Appropriate dress)

➢ Qibla (Direction)

➢ Niyyat (Intention)

5 CONDITIONS TO OFFER SALAT

IMPORTANCE OF OFFERING PRAYER AT TIME

“...Prayer is enjoined on the believers to be performed at fixed hours.” (4:104)

یقینا نماز مومنوں پر ایک وقت مقرره کی پابندی کے ساتھ فرض ہے

DAILY PRAYER IS OBLIGATORY FOR...➢ every individual , rational Muslim , young and old , sick and

healthy, travelers and non travelers . ➢ In any case no one is freed from the daily prayers.

➢ Regarding to this Allah says

➢ The Promised Messiah(as) says :

“Establish your prayer” (Sura Al Nur)

“One should offer five prayers with such humility as if you see God. No action can reach God without the element of prayer. The root of every goodness is righteousness (taqwa)..“

“A house where such prayers are offered shall never be destroyed. “

WHAT ABOUT CHILDREN?

➢ not obligatory on children until they come of age. ➢ Proper training and education is necessary for children at early age.➢ Hadith (Sunan Abi Dauood, Kitab-us-Salat).

➢ At the age of 7, parents should urge them to be regular in their Prayers

➢ At the age of 10-12 they must be admonished if they fail to offer their Prayer regularly. Parents are permtted to be somewhat strict with the children (but not curel or punish them, rather admonished in the same way as parents often admonish them for missing school)

➢ At the age of 12 , it becomes compulsory for them to offer their Prayers. At that stage, no individual or Government has the right to force them to offer their Prayers, as the Salat offered under compulsion does not mean anything

➢ Prayer ought to be offered WILLINGLY.

➢ fiddling with clothing➢ glancing sideways or to the sky➢ keeping the eyes closed➢ Praying without any head dress➢ Not placing the feet with toes

towards the Qibla (Prostration) or lifting the feet from the ground in this position

➢ Praying in an unsuitable environment, e.g., in a noisy market place

➢ Start praying when one is hungry whilst food is laid on the table

➢ Continuing the Prayer in spite of an urge to go to the toilet

➢ Praying in a cemetery while facing a grave

➢ Praying in very tight clothes so that one feels uncomfortable during the Prayer➢ Hair , arms , legs and other

body parts Shall be covered . ➢ Arms should be covered up to

the wrists and legs up to the ankles.

UNDESIRABLE ACTS DURING PRAYER

➢ Standing with one's weight shifted on to one leg alone or to do things which are below the dignity of the Prayer.

➢ To pray in an open place without a Sutra. A Sutra is an object placed before the worshipper to mark the boundary of his Prayer.

➢ To nod when someone says Assalamo Alaikum during the Prayer.

➢ Placing hands under the forehead while in prostration.

➢ Spreading forearms on the ground while performing Sajdah.

➢ To recite Quranic verses during Ruku or Sajdah.

➢ Praying without washing one's mouth after eating.

UNDESIREABLE ACTS DURING PRAYER

ACTIONS WHICH MAKE PRAYER NULL➢ When the ablution lapses.

➢ Eating or drinking while offering Prayer.

➢ To speak or to respond to anyone during Prayer.

➢ To laugh during Prayer.

➢ To turn the face to the right or to the left while praying.

SOME OTHER IMPORTANT POINTS

➢ removing or killing any harmful insect is allowed in case it is found close to where one is praying

➢ Place of worship´➢ neat , clean and the air, as far as possible, should be free of any unpleasant odour

➢ No one should in any way, e.g. by words of mouth or by his action, cause any worshipper discomfort or distraction. ➢ That is why it is not allowed to cross the path of a worshipper!

➢ Sujood-us-Suhv ➢ Before Tasleem 2 Sujood and then immediatly Tasleem

SALAT OFFERED IN CONGREGATION➢ There is one leader who leads the congregation 'Imam'.➢ All worshipper are behind the Imam in perfectly straight lines

➢ Close to each other ,shoulder to shoulder, without any distance between worshippers.

➢ They follow the Imam perfectly in everything that he does. ➢ Do not go ahead of the Imam, i.e; to go into the next posture before

the Imam➢ Even if the Imam commits a mistake and does not condone it even

after a reminder, all followers must repeat the same.

➢ No-one is permitted to reserve any special place behind the Imam. ➢ In this regard the rich and poor are treated with absolute equality, so also the old

and the young. Whoever reaches the mosque ahead of others has the prior option to sit wherever he pleases. None has the right to remove others from the place that they occupy, except for reasons of security etc., in which case it becomes an administrative measure.

Thus the Islamic system of prayer is rich not only in spiritual instruction, but also in communal and organisational instruction

HEALTH BENEFITS OF SALAT

Apart from gaining spiritual benefits from the Prayer, we also benefit physically through different postures during the Salat.But we must not take it as a physical exercise

rather we should always perform the Salat with the intention of worshipping our Allah.