Salat (Prayers) [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

Prayer is one of the most important
acts in the Branches of Islam (Furooa-a-Deen). It is way to worship
Allah showing love and devotion to Him. It keeps the soul and mind
free from any pollution such as paganism. Prayer is also a cleansing
agent for our hearts and soul. It brings spiritual happiness and
prevents our souls from becoming depressed, dull, or sad. When making
prayer a habit, it discourages carelessness and helps to progress oneself
in life. If a person's prayer is accepted, then other acts of worship
are accepted. If a person thinks that prayer is unimportant and ordinary,
then he is like the person who does not pray. The word prayer in
Arabic is "salat" and in Urdu and Persian it is "namaz".

The Wajib(obligatory)
prayers

Rules for prayer

(In some conditions one
or more listed below is slightly altered.)

1) One
must be pure (tahar) and wear pure clothing.

2) Perform
ablution (Wudu).

3) Face
the correct direction towards the Kaba (Qibla).

4) Must
cover all private areas of the body (for women it must be the modest dress,
the Hijab.)

Places to Pray

1) Must
be lawful: One must receive permission to pray on the property unless
it is for public use.

2) Should
be motionless: Boats and planes should be avoided, but if there is
no other place then he/she should try to perform it and stay towards the
Qibla.

3) Leveled
area: When in prostration (sajda) the head can not be higher or lower
(four fingers

4) Infringing
the sanctity: One's back should not be face the grave of a Prophet
or Imam when praying or pray on a surface with the name of Allah, the Prophet,
or Imams written on.

5) Men
do not pray behind women: If a women prays in front of a man while
he is praying then her prayer becomes invalid and the same is for a man
if he does the same.

6) Must
be pure (Tahir): It applies particularly to the prostration position.

1) Five daily prayers:

Obligatory acts to make prayer valid:

1) Intention
(Niyyat)

2)
Standing (Qiyam)

3)
Saying "Allahu Akbar" to start the prayer (Takbiratul Ehram)

4)
Bowing (Ruku)

5)
The two prostration's (Sajdatayn)

6)
Reciting of Surat Al-Fatiha and another sura (Qira'at)

7)
Reciting in bowing (Ruku) and prostration (Sajadah), (Zikir)

8)
Bearing witness after finishing prostration (Sajadah) of the second and
last Rakat (Tashahud)

9)
Salutation (Salaam)

10)
Sequence (Tarteeb)

11)
Praying with no time or action gaps (Muwalat)

If any of these five
elements are missed from the prayer then the prayer is invalid:

1)
Intention (Niyyat)

2)
Saying "Allahu Akbar" to start the prayer (Takbiratul Ehram)

3)
Standing before bowing (Ruku), (Qiyam)

4)
Bowing (Ruku)

5)
The two prostration's (Sajdatayn)

2) Salat Al-Ayat

This prayer becomes
obligatory (wajib) when acts of Allah take place such as earthquakes,

eclipses, and cyclones.

The way this prayer is performed
is:

1)
It consists of two rakat and may be prayed individually or in a group.

2)
The intention is "Salat-e-Ayat" (prayer of the signs).

3)In
the first rakat, one says surat Al-Fatiha following it with a short sura
(such as Al-Ikhlas) and

bows
in a ruka.

4)
The person does this five times in total.

5)Then
after the fifth time, one continues the prayer until one reaches the second
rakat.

6)The
second rakat is the same as the first and then completes the prayer.

3) Salat Al-Mayyat

This prayer is obligatory
when it is burial time for the dead.

4) Salat Al-Tawaf

It is offered when one
is going around the Kaba at the time Haj. The intention is
"Salat

Al-Tawaf" and it is performed
like the morning prayer.

5) Salat Al-Nithir

When a person declares
that he/she will perform a prayer if a certain desire is fulfilled.
"SalatAl-Nithir" is the intention and prays the amount in which he/she
declared to pray.

6) Salat Al-Kasam

When one has taken an
oath, one must perform this prayer. The intention is "Salat Al-Kasam"and
prays the amount in which he/she vowed to pray.

7) Salat Al-Jumah

The Friday congregational
prayer is obligatory when Imam Mehdi (P) is present. It must be

prayed in congregation and
can replace the noon (Zhuhr) prayer. There must be at least seven

people (including the prayer-leader)
and the distance between another Friday prayer must be more than three
miles in order for the prayer to be valid. The leader should give
two sermons: one to praise Allah and the second is asking the people to
follow the religion. It is only two rakat and can be prayed like
the morning prayer.

8) Salat Al-Istejara

When a one is responsible
for offering on behalf of a person who passed away the prayers in

which he/she has omitted in
his/her lifetime. The intention is "Salat Al-Istejara" and prays
what ever prayers that were missed (for example the Thur prayer).

9) Salat Al-Qada

Prayers which are obligatory
on the oldest son to perform for his father the prayers that did not do
in his lifetime. The intention is "Salat Al-Qada" and prays the prayers
that were missed (such as the Maghrib prayer).

10) Salat Al-Ihtiyat

When there is certain
doubts which occur in the daily prayers.

Some
sayings about prayer

-
"Supposing in front of the house of one of you there is a river and you
wash yourself in it five times a day, will there still remain
any dirt on your body? The five time salawat does the same thing.
With these five daily salawat, Allah obliterates all sins and makes one
pure and clean." Prophet Mohammed (P)

-
"A person who does not attach any importance and considers it to be something
insignificant deserves chastisement in the hereafter." Holy Prophet (P)

-
(speaking about a man while praying improperly) "If this man dies and his
prayer continue to be this way, he will not depart on my religion." Holy
Prophet (P)

-
"Prayer is the pillar of religion."

Bibliography

1)Naqvi,
Ali Muhammad. A Manual of Islamic Beliefs and Practice vol. 1. pg.
173-226.

2)
Lalljee, N. Yousuf. Know Your Islam pg. 178-181.

3)
Seestani, Ali Al-Husaini. Islamic Laws pg. 260-278.