A gathering of Muslim men and children bowing down and offering Namaz prayers on the occasion of Eid’Al-Fitr 2019. They are dressed in kurta pyjamas of many colours, and wearing traditional skullcaps

Salah

Jul 18, 2024 | Articles

One of the five core pillars of Islam is to establish five daily prayers, known as salah in Arabic. Perhaps it is one of the most emphasised and important after the shahadah. God instructs Muslims to establish salah 16 times directly and highlights its importance several other times throughout the Quran. The worldly and spiritual reward and benefits of the salah are frequently stressed in religious texts. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “The likeness of the five prayers is like a flowing river going past the door of one of you, the person washes from it five times a day (leaving no dirt on the body).”[1]

The salah is a very specific physical type of worship containing recitation of the Quran, standing, bowing, prostrations, and sitting, which differs from what we may know and understand as “prayer” where one simply asks God for their requests or needs. The salah is a way of us showing gratitude to Allah, the Benefactor, for His countless blessings, and allows us to have a direct link to intimate discourse with the divine without the need of any intermediary. It also serves as a form of remembrance of God, the Quran states, “So worship me and establish the prayer for my remembrance.”[2]

The salah is preceded by a state of strict purity of body, place, and clothing as well as a legal or “ritual” washing known as wudu. Once a person has performed wudu, they can perform as much salah as they wish until the wudu is invalidated (usually by relieving oneself, sleep, or passing wind). This challenges Muslims to remain physically clean throughout the day unless there are exceptions making it difficult to do so.

The physicality of the salah presents a challenge for Muslims to devote a small portion of their time and energy to conduct the prayers on a daily basis. The five required times of establishing this fundamental form of remembrance are: 1. Dawn (Fajr). 2. Midday or early afternoon (Zhuhr) 3. Late afternoon (Asr) 4. Post-sunset (Maghrib) and 5. Night (Isha). This allows Muslims to establish a strong and continuous spiritual bond with their Creator and not fall into a state of heedlessness and ingratitude. It also serves as a daily means of great spiritual energy and self-reflection for the performer.

[1] Muslim, 284.

[2] Quran, 20:14.

Fasting Ramadan

One of the core pillars of Islam is the obligation to fast during the month of Ramadan based on the Quranic injunction: “You who believe, fasting is prescribed for you, as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you may become righteous.”

Zakah

The third of the five core pillars of Islam is to pay an amount of one’s wealth to charitable causes, known as zakah in Arabic. The Quran commands Muslims to pay the zakah in several places in the Quran and praises those who “give out from what they have been provided with”

Shahadah

The shahadah means “testification” or “witnessing” in Arabic. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Islam is based on five things: Testification that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad is His slave and messenger, establishing the prayer, giving zakah, fasting Ramadan, and pilgrimage to the House”

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