The Most
Significant Acts of Worship
Salaat is one
of the most significant acts of worship a Muslim can perform.
The
Quran says [029.045]Recite that which hath been inspired in thee of
the Scripture, and establish worship. Lo! Worship preserves from
lewdness and iniquity, but verily remembrance of Allah is more
important. And Allah knoweth what ye do.
It is said that performing five
daily prayers will clean all the sins from a person and make them
tahir (pure). Even thinking of your salaat as insignificant can
result in your prayer being void.
The Quran says [023.001]Successful indeed are the believers.
[023.002]Who are humble in their prayers.
Increase or
Decrease the Amount
of Your Hasnat
Certain
circumstances may increase or decrease the amount of your hasnat
(reward). Conditions which should be avoided are; performing your
salaat while you are exhausted, looking toward the sky and
fidgeting. The following items may increase your hasnat (reward);
praying with clean clothing, perfume, brushed teeth, and combed
hair. Men intending to perform Salaat al-Jumuah (Friday prayer) are
encouraged to perform ghusl (full bath or shower). If he should
break his wudu before the time of prayer he is not required to
repeat the ghusl. A simply wudu will be sufficient. Brothers are
required to go to the Salaat al-Jumuah (prayer on Friday), sisters
are not required to do so.
Messenger of
Allah (peace be upon him) said, "The angels sit at the doors of the
Masjids and with them are scrolls in which they record the people
[who come in]. When the Imam appears, the scrolls are rolled up."
Abu Umamah was asked, "Does the one who comes after the Imam still
have a Friday Prayer?" he said, "Certainly, but he is not one of
those who is recorded [as coming early]." [Ahmad and al- Tabarani]
Brothers and sisters you should
strive to perform your salaat as if Allah is watching every
movement, saying every word with love and fear of Allah. A Muslim
should strive and sacrifice for the sake of their prayer. I must
also add that salaat is not required of the following people:
mentally handicapped, children under the age of puberty (about
seven). women who are menstruating or having post partum bleeding
and the critically ill. May Allah accept all of our prayers.
Direction and
Location
There is
significant importance in the direction, the location and the
cleanliness of the place of your prayer. Muslims are required to
pray facing the Ka’bah. The Ka'bah which is in the city of Mecca,
inside the Masjid al- Haram. Observing the direction of the Ka'bah
can be done with a compass. It is recommended (mustahab) you recites
your obligatory Salaat in a Masjid as often as possible. The
following conditions are required of your location of your salaat;
enough room to perform standing (qiyam), bowing (ruku) and
prostration (sujud). There should be no movement in the place of
your salaat, upsetting the stillness of the body. The area that you
place your forehead must be clean (tahir). You may prefer to use a
prayer rug that can be used during prayer, rolled up and put away
until next prayer. You may also use any clean cloth or a piece
plastic in the same manner.
Removing of All
Impurities
Islam
encourages cleanliness. To ensure this is preformed, it is mandatory
that your body and clothing be clean before performing your salaat.
Your prayer will not be valid unless your body and clothing are
clean. Clothing must be considered tahir and removed of all
impurities. Impurities include blood, urine, and excrement. During
Salaat, boys and men must cover the area between the navel to the
knees. Girls and women must cover their entire body, excluding
covering the hands, feet up to the ankle, and the face. You may
prefer to obtain a prayer outfit that you can slip on at the time of
prayer then fold and reuse at the next time of prayer. The purifying
of your body is called wudu. The passing of excrement, gas, urine,
semen, touching of sexual organs without clothing, bleeding, sexual
intimacy, falling into a deep sleep, and laughing loudly during
salaat can all break your wudu. Once wudu is preformed and not
broken you may perform multiple prayers. You may refer to the page
on Purification to the left for instructions to follow for
performing wudu.
You Will Also
Find it Very Beneficial
When I began
praying I would pray in English silently to my self. I would take
with me a copy of Al-Fatiha (The Opening). Reading it in Arabic from
the paper until I had it memorized. As I would memorize each section
of the prayer I would select a new section and implement it into the
prayer. Slowly replacing my English with Arabic. Here are some short
Surahs that are easy to memorize.
-
Al-Fatiha
(The Opening)
-
Al-Asr
(Time)
-
Al-Humazah (Scandal-monger)
-
Al-Fil
(The Elephant)
-
Quraish
-
Al-Ma'un
(Neighborly Kindness)
-
Al-Kauthar (Abundance)
-
Al-Kafirun (The Unbelievers)
-
An-Nasr
(The Help)
-
Al-Lahab
(The Flame)
-
Al-Ikhlas
(Purity)
-
Al-Falaq
(The Dawn)
-
An-Nas
(Mankind)
Click
Here For Translations
You will also
find it very beneficial Inshallah if you can perform salaat with a
more experienced Muslim until you have the hang of it. When praying
with others you should stand toes to toes, shoulders to shoulders in
a straight line and you should never pray ahead of the person
leading the prayer. I have also included a link below to our page on
Salaat instructions.
The
Quran sayas[002.238] Be guardians of your prayers, and of the
midmost prayer, and stand up with devotion to Allah.
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