Salah (Arabic:ٱلصَّلَاةُ,romanized: aṣ-Ṣalāh) is the practice of formalworship inIslam, consisting of a series of ritual prayers performed at prescribed times daily.Facing theKaaba inMecca, it consists of units known asrak'ah, which include a specific set of physical postures, recitation from theQuran, and prayers from theSunnah.[1] The number ofrak'ah varies depending on the specific prayer. Variations in practice are observed among adherents of differentmadhahib (schools ofIslamic jurisprudence). The termsalah may denote worship in general or specifically refer to the obligatory prayers performed byMuslims five times daily, or, in some traditions, three times daily.[2][3][4]
The obligatory prayers play an integral role in the Islamic faith, and are regarded as the second and most important, aftershahadah, of theFive Pillars of Islam forSunnis, and one of theAncillaries of the Faith forShiites. In addition,supererogatorysalah, such asSunnah prayer andNafl prayer, may be performed at any time, subject to certain restrictions.Wudu, an act of ritual purification, is required prior to performingsalah. Prayers may be conducted individually or in congregation, with certain prayers, such as theFriday andEid prayers, requiring a collective setting and akhutbah (sermon). Some concessions are made for Muslims who are physically unable to perform thesalah in its original form, or are travelling.
The Arabic wordsalah (Arabic:صلاة,romanized: Ṣalāh,pronounced[sˤa.laːh] orArabic pronunciation:[sˤə.ɫaːt]) means 'prayer'.[6] The word is used primarily by English speakers to refer to the five daily obligatory prayers. Similar terms are used to refer to the prayer inMalaysia,Brunei,Indonesia,Somalia,Tanzania, and by someSwahili speakers.
The origin of the word is debated. Some have suggested thatsalah derives from thetriliteral rootو-ص-ل (w-ṣ-l) which means 'linking things together',[7] relating it to the obligatory prayers in the sense that one connects to Allah through prayer. In some translations, namely that ofQuranistRashad Khalifa,salah is translated as the 'contact prayer',[8] either because of the physical contact the head makes with the ground during theprostration, or again because the prayer connects the one who performs it to Allah. Another theory suggests the word derives from the triliteral rootص-ل-و (ṣ-l-w), the meaning of which is not agreed upon.[9][full citation needed][10]
The wordsalah is mentioned 83 times in theQuran as a noun.[12][13]
Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh) divides human actions into five categories, known as "the fiverulings" (al-aḥkām al-khamsa), and acts of worship will be classified accordingly;mandatory (farḍ orwājib),recommended (mandūb ormustaḥabb),neutral (mubāḥ),reprehensible (makrūh), andforbidden (ḥarām).[14][15]Salah is generally classified into obligatory or mandatory (fard) prayers and supererogatory prayers, the latter being further divided intoSunnah prayers andNafl prayers.
Hanafifiqh does not consider both terms as synonymous and makes a distinction between "fard" and "wajib"; In Hanafi fiqh, two conditions are required to impose the fard rule. 1.Nass, (only verses of the Qur'an can be accepted as evidence here, nothadiths) 2.The expression of the text referring to the subject must be clear and precise enough not to allow other interpretations. The term wajib is used for situations that do not meet the second of these conditions.[16] However, this understanding may not be sufficient to explain every situation. For example, Hanafis accept 5 daily prayers as fard. However, some religious groups such asQuranists andShiites, who do not doubt that the Quran existing today is a religious source, infer from the same verses that it is clearly ordered to pray two or three times,[17][18][19][20][21] not five times. In addition, in religious literature, wajib is widely used for all kinds of religious requirements, without expressing any fiqh definition.
According to riwāya, prayer is held to be extremely important in Islam, and according to all four of themadhabs, those who have a disdain towards prayer are no longer seen asMuslims.[22][23]
While some sects claimed that those killed in this way remained Muslims, others claimed that they hadapostatized from the religion. In this case, Islamic duties could not be made for their funerals, they would not be buried in Muslim cemeteries, and their heirs could not claim inheritance rights from the property they left behind, and would be public property.[24] However, even if today's dominant understanding defines the abandonment of worship assinfulness, does not approve of giving worldly punishment for them. However, in sharia governments, their testimony against a devout Muslim may not be accepted, they may be humiliated and barred from certain positions because of this tag. In practice, since early on in Islamic history, criminal cases were usually handled by ruler-administered courts or local police using procedures which were only loosely related to Sharia.[25][26]
In sermon language, the main purpose of thesalah is given as acting as a means of communication withAllah.[27] Other emphases include cleansing the heart, getting closer to God, and strengthening faith. It is believed that the soul requires prayer and closeness to Allah to stay sustained and healthy, and that prayer spiritually sustains the human soul, just as food provides nourishment to the physical body.[28]Tafsir (exegesis) of the Quran can give four reasons for the observation ofsalah. First, in order to commendGod, Allah's servants, together with the angels, dosalah ("blessing, salutations").[29][a] Second,salah is done involuntarily by all beings in creation, in the sense that they are always in contact with Allah by virtue of him creating and sustaining them.[30][b] Third, Muslims voluntarily offersalah to reveal that it is the particular form of worship that belongs to the prophets.[c] Fourth,salah is described as the second pillar of Islam.[6]
There is consensus on the vast majority of the major details of thesalah, but there are different views on some of the more intricate details. A Muslim is required to performWudu (ablution) before performingsalah,[31][32][33] and making theniyyah (intention) is a prerequisite for all deeds in Islam, includingsalah. Someschools of Islamic jurisprudence hold that intending to pray suffices in the heart, and some require that the intention be spoken, usually under the breath.[34]
The person praying begins in a standing position known asQiyam, although people who find it difficult to do so may begin while sitting or lying on the ground.[6] This is followed by raising the hands to the head and recitation of the takbir, an action known as the Takbirat al-Ihram (Arabic:تكبيرة الإحرام,romanized: Takbīrat al-Iḥrām). The hands are then lowered, and may be clasped on the abdomen (qabd), or hang by one's sides (sadl). A Muslim may not converse, eat, or do things that are otherwisehalal after the Takbirat al-Ihram. A Muslim must keep their vision low during prayer, looking at the place where their face will contact the ground during prostration.[34][35][36]
A prayer may be said before the recitation of the Quran commences. Next,Al-Fatiha, the first chapter of the Quran, is recited. In the first and second rak'a of all prayers, a surah other than Al-Fatiha or part thereof is recited after Al-Fatiha. This is followed by another takbir after which the person praying bows down their waist in a position known asruku with their hands on their knees (depending on themadhhab, rules may differ for women). While bowing, specific versions oftasbih are uttered once or more. As the worshipper straightens their back, they say the Arabic phrase "سمع الله لمن حمده" (lit.'Allah hears the one who praises him.'), followed by the phrase "ربنا لك الحمد" (lit.'Our Lord, all praise is for you.')[34]
Following the recitation of these words of praise, the takbir is recited once again before the worshipper kneels and prostrates with the forehead, nose, knees, palms and toes touching the floor, a position known assujud. Similar to ruku, specific versions of tasbih are uttered once or more in sujud. The worshipper recites the takbir and rises up to sit briefly, then recites takbir and returns to sujud once again. Lifting the head from the second prostration completes arak'ah. If this is the second or last rak'a, the worshipper rises up to sit once again and recites theTashahhud,Salawat, and other prayers.[34] Many Sunni scholars, includingMuhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab[37] andAl-Albani[38] hold that the right index finger should be raised when reciting the prayers in this sitting position,[34] Once the worshipper is done praying in the sitting position in their last rak'a, they perform the taslim, reciting lengthened versions of the Islamic greetingAs-salamu alaykum, once while facing the right and another time while facing the left. Taslim represents the end of prayer.[39][40][41]
Mistakes and doubts insalah are compensated for by prostrating twice at the end of the prayer, either before or after the taslim depending on theMadhab. These prostrations are known assujud sahwi (Arabic:سجود السهو,romanized: Sujud as-Sahw).[42]
In Islamic belief, performingsalah in congregation is considered to have more social and spiritual benefits than praying alone.[43] The majority of Sunni scholarsrecommend performing the obligatorysalah incongregation without viewing the congregational prayer as an obligation. A minority view exists viewing performing the obligatorysalah in congregation as an obligation.[44]
Women performing the Friday prayer at a mosque,Ohio, US
When praying in congregation, the people stand in straight parallel rows behind one person who leads the prayer service, called theimam. The imam must be above the rest in knowledge of the Quran, action, piety, and justness, and should be known to possess faith and commitment the people trust.[45] The prayer is offered just as it is when one prays alone, with the congregation following the imam as they offer theirsalah.[46] Two people of the same gender praying in congregation would stand beside each other, with the imam on the left and the other person to his right.[citation needed]
When the worshippers consist of men and women combined, a man leads the prayer. In this situation, women are typically forbidden fromassuming this role with unanimous agreement within the major schools of Islam. This is disputed by some, partly based on ahadith with controversial interpretations. When the congregation consists entirely of women and/or pre-pubescent children, a woman may lead the prayer.[47] Some configurations allow for rows of men and women to stand side by side separated by a curtain or other barrier,[48] with the primary intention being for there to be no direct line of sight between male and female worshippers.[49]
Salah is not performed in graveyards and bathrooms. It is prohibited from being performed after Fajr prayer until sunrise, during a small period of time around noon, and after Asr prayer until sunset. The prohibition of salah at these times is to prevent the practice ofsun worship.[50]
The word salah, when used to refer to the Sunni second pillar of Islam or the Shia ancillary of faith, refers to the five obligatory daily prayers.[51] Each of the five prayers has aprescribed time which depends on the position of the sun in the sky. Given the Islamic day begins at sunset, the first prayer of the day would beMaghrib, performed directly after sunset. It is followed by theIshasalah that is performed during the night, theFajrsalah performed before sunrise, and theDhuhr andAsr prayers performed in the afternoon.
The five daily prayers must be performed in their prescribed times. However, if extenuating circumstances prevent a Muslim from performing them on time, they must be performed as soon as possible. Severalhadith narrations quote the Islamic prophetMuhammad saying that a person who slept past the prescribed time or forgot to perform the obligatorysalah must pray it as soon as they remember.[45]
These prayers are considered obligatory upon every adult Muslim,[51] with the exception of those with some physical or mental disabilities,[52]menstruating women, and women experiencing postnatal bleeding.[53] Those who are sick or otherwise physically unable to perform theirsalah standing may perform them sitting or lying down according to their ability.[54]
Some Muslims pray three times a day, believing theQur'an mentions three prayers instead of five.[55][56][4]
Friday prayer for Muslims in the streets ofDhaka, Bangladesh
In general, Sunnis view the five daily prayers, in addition to theFridaysalah, as obligatory. There is a difference of opinion within the Sunni schools of jurisprudence regarding whether theEid andWitr prayers are obligatory on all Muslims,[57] obligatory only such that a sufficient number of Muslims perform it,[58] orsunnah.[59]
All Sunni schools of jurisprudence view the Fridaysalah as an obligatory prayer replacing Zuhr on Fridays exclusively. It is obligatory upon men and is to be prayed in congregation, while women have the choice to offer it in congregation or pray Zuhr at home.[60] Preceding the Fridaysalah, akhutbah (sermon) is delivered by akhatib, after which the 2 rak'a Friday prayer is performed.[61] A minority view within the Sunni schools holds that listening to the khutbah compensates for thespiritual reward of the 2 rak'a that are discounted from the prayer.[62]
The Eidsalah is offered in the morning hours of the Muslim holidays ofEid al-Fitr andEid al-Adha. It consists of 2 rak'a, with extratakbirs pronounced before the beginning of the recitation of theQuran in each. The exact number of extra takbirs is differed upon within the Sunni schools, with the majority opining that seven takbirs are pronounced in the first rak'a and five in the second. The Hanafi school holds that 3 takbirs are to be pronounced in each rak'a. After the prayer, a khutbah is delivered. However, unlike the Friday prayer, the khutbah is not an integral part of the Eid prayer.[63] The prescribed time of the Eid prayer is after that of Fajr and before that of Zuhr.[64]
Muslims may pray two obligatory prayers together at the prescribed time of one, a practice known as jam'. This is restricted to two pairs of salah: the afternoon prayers of Zuhr and Asr, and the night-time prayers of Maghrib and Isha. Within theschools of jurisprudence inSunni Islam, there is a difference of opinion regarding the range of reasons that permit one to perform jam'. With the exception of theHanafi school, the other schools of jurisprudence allow one to perform jam' when travelling or when incapable of performing the prayers separately.Hanbalis and members of theSalafi movement allow jam' for a wider range of reasons.[65][66] Some Salafis ascribing to theAhl-i Hadith movement also permit jam' without reason while preferring that the prayers be performed separately.[67][68] TheShiaJa'fari school allows one to perform jam' without reason.[69] Exclusively when traveling, a Muslim may shorten the Zuhr, Asr, and Isha prayers, which normally consist of 4rak'a, to two. This is known as qasr.[64]
Muslims may perform supererogatory salah as an act of worship at any time except the times of prohibition. Such salah is called nafil .[70] Prayers performed byMuhammad consistently, or those that he recommended be performed but are not considered obligatory, are called sunnah prayers.
Sunan ar-Rawatib (Arabic: السنن الرواتب, romanized: as-Sunan ar-Rawātib) refers to the regular voluntary (Sunnah) prayers that are associated with the five daily obligatory (Fard) prayers. These prayers are highly recommended and were regularly practiced by the Islamic Prophet Muhammad. Performing them brings great reward and helps to make up for any deficiencies in the obligatory prayers. They are performed by Sunni Muslims during the prescribed times of the five daily obligatory prayers, either before performing the obligatory prayer or after it. Within the Sunni schools of jurisprudence, these amount to 10 or 12 rak'a, spread between the five prayers except Asr. The Sunan ar-Rawatib performed before the obligatory prayers are performed between theadhan andiqama of their associated salah, while those performed after the obligatory prayer may be performed up to the end of the prescribed time of the associated salah.[citation needed]
TheSunan ar-Rawatib are classified into two categories:[citation needed]
1.Sunnah Mu'akkadah (Emphasized Sunnah): These are the prayers that the Islamic prophet Muhammad regularly performed and strongly encouraged, making them highly recommended.
2.Sunnah Ghair Mu'akkadah (Non-emphasized Sunnah): These prayers were sometimes performed by the Islamic prophet Muhammad but not as consistently, and they are not as strongly emphasized.
According to most scholars, there are12 units (rak'ahs) ofSunnah Mu'akkadah in total, associated with the five daily prayers. These are broken down as follows:
Performing theSunan ar-Rawatib offers several benefits:
– It helps to compensate for any shortcomings or deficiencies in the obligatory prayers.
– It brings great reward and draws a person closer to Allah.
– Muhammad promised that whoever regularly performs these 12 rak'ahs will have a house built in Paradise (Sahih Muslim).
In conclusion, theSunan ar-Rawatib are a valuable part of a Muslim's daily worship routine, supplementing the obligatory prayers and enhancing one's connection to Allah.
Duha salah is a prayer that can be performed after sunrise until noon. (which the time for theDhuhr Prayer begins) It consists of an even number of rak'a, starting from two and going up to twelve. This prayer is one of 4 sunnah prayers which can be done in congregation.
Witr salah (Arabic:صلاة الوتر) is a short prayer generally performed as the last prayer of the night. It consists of an odd number of rak'a, starting from one and going up to eleven, with slight differences between the different schools of jurisprudence.[71] Witr salah often includes thequnut.[72] Within Sunni schools of jurisprudence, theHanafis view that the Witrsalah is obligatory, while the other schools consider it a sunnahsalah.
Within Sunni schools of jurisprudence,Tahajjud (Arabic:تَهَجُّد) refers to night-time prayers generally performed after midnight. The prayer includes any number of even rak'a, performed as individual prayers of two rak'a or four. Tahajjud is generally concluded with Witr salah.[71] Shia Muslims offer similar prayers, called Salawat al-Layl (Arabic:صَلَوَات اللَّيل). These are considered highly meritorious, consist of 11 rak'a: 8 nafl (performed as 4 prayers of 2 rak'a each) followed by 3 witr,[73] and can be offered in the same time as Tahajjud.[72]
Tarawih salah (Arabic:صلاة التراويح) is a sunnah prayer performed exclusively during Ramadan by Sunnis. It is performed immediately after the Isha prayer, and consists of 8 to 36 rak'a. Shi'ites hold that Tarawih is abid'ah initiated by the second Rashidun caliph,Umar. Tarawih is also generally concluded with Witr salah.
Following the sunnah of Muhammad during thesolar eclipse that followed his son Ibrahim's death, Sunni Muslims perform the solar eclipse prayer (Arabic:صلاة الكسوف,romanized: Ṣalāt al-Kusuf), and the lunar eclipse prayer (Arabic:صلاة الخسوف,romanized: Ṣalāt al-Khusuf) during solar and lunar eclipses, respectively. These consist of 2 rak'a with 2ruku in each rak'a instead of one. It is recommended to lengthen the recitation of the Quran, thebowing, andprostration in these prayers.[citation needed]
The wordistikharah is derived from the root ḵ-y-r (خير) "well-being, goodness, choice, selection".[74] Salat al-Istikhaarah is a prayer offered when a Muslim needs guidance on a particular matter. To say this salah one should pray two rakats of non-obligatory salah to completion. After completion one should request Allah that which on is better.[64] The intention for the salah should be in one's heart to pray two rakats of salah followed byIstikhaarah. The salah can be offered at any of the times where salah is not forbidden.[75] Other prayers include thetahiyyat al-masjid, which Muslims are encouraged to offer these two rakat.[76]
A Sunni Muslim (left) andShia Muslim (right) performing theFriday prayer inTehran. Some Sunnis performsalah with the hands clasped ("qabd"), while Shia offersalah with their hands at their sides ("sadl").
While most Muslims pray five times a day, some Muslims pray three times a day, believing theQur'an only mentions three prayers.[55][56]Qur'anists are among those who pray three times a day.[77]
Most Muslims believe that Muhammad practiced, taught, and disseminated thesalah in the whole community of Muslims and made it part of their life. The practice has, therefore, been concurrently and perpetually practiced by the community in each of the generations. The authority for the basic forms of the salah is neither the hadiths nor the Quran, but rather the consensus of Muslims.[78][79]
Aturbah or mohr is a small piece of soil or clay, often a clay tablet, used duringsalah to symbolize earth.
This is not inconsistent with another fact that Muslims have shown diversity in their practice since the earliest days of practice, so thesalah practiced by one Muslim may differ from another's in minor details. In some cases thehadith suggest some of this diversity of practice was known of and approved by Muhammad himself.[80]
Most differences arise because of different interpretations of theIslamic legal sources by the different schools of law (madhhabs) inSunni Islam, and by different legal traditions withinShia Islam. In the case of ritual worship these differences are generally minor, and should rarely cause dispute.[81]
Common differences, which may vary between schools and gender, include the position of legs, feet, hands and fingers, where the eyes should focus, the minimum amount of recitation, the volume of recitation, and which of the principal elements of the prayer are indispensable, versus recommended or optional.[citation needed]
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