Salat or the prescribed Prayer, has been mentioned in the Holy Quran as an essential characteristic of a true believer. The Holy Quran states:
This is the perfect Book, there is no doubt in it. It is a guidance for the righteous, who believe in the Unseen, observe Prayer, and spend out of what we have provided for them. (2:3-4)
Prayer, Salat helps us to get rid of sins; inclines us more and more towards God and goodly things and so gradually purifies us. But this is not the end. Prayer does much more than this. It brings man closer to his Creator. The worshipper tries to imitate God in His most excellent attributes and is constantly transformed from a lowly and worldly person to a highly noble and sublime servant of God. The Holy Quran mentions this distinctive quality of Salat by saying:
Recite that which has been revealed to you of the Book and observe Prayer. Surely Prayer restrains one from indecency and manifest evil. Verily, the remembrance of Allah possesses the highest beneficence. And Allah knows what you do. (29:46)
Prayer is indeed a sure and well-tried prescription for purity of the heart and the soul. It is through Salat alone that we are able to establish a living communion with Allah. The Quran says:
Surely those who follow the Book of Allah and observe Prayer and spend out of that which we have provided for them, secretly and openly, are pursuing a commerce that suffers no loss, for Allah will give them their full reward, and will add to them out of His bounty. He is surely, Most Forgiving, Most Appreciating. (35:30-31)
According to the Holy Prophet, on whom be and blessings of Allah, Salat is the pinnacle of the spiritual life of the believer. It is the highest form of Divine worship. The Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, is further reported to have observed:
Prayer brings the believer into communion with his Lord.
It must be realised that sincere prayer never goes in vain. Sometimes, the deep spiritual experience of the intense love of God brings tears to the eyes. Sometimes, a milder pleasure of love fills the heart with sublime happiness. These experiences are signs of the Prayer being alive, meaningful and fruitful. Otherwise, just a performance of formality is not enough to benefit man. That would be obeying an order without one’s heart being in it. That is why it is highly essential that every beginner should keep this noble objective before him and always try to make his Prayers come alive.
The Salat combines all forms and degrees expressive of humility and submission. The worshippers stand in rows and respectfully behind the Imam.
All the worshippers who line up behind the Imam must follow his movements at his call. The call for every movement is Allahu Akbar except when the Imam straightens himself from the position of Ruku, i.e; the bowing position, when instead of saying Allahu Akbar, he says Same Allahu Liman Hamidah which means most certainly God listens to those who praise Him. At this call, all the followers also straighten up with arms by their sides, saying Rabbana Wa Lakal Hamd Hamdan Katheeran Tayyiban Mubarakan Feehe.
Sincerity and humility are the essence of prayer. Allah enjoins believers:
Successful indeed are the believers, who are humble in their Prayers. (23:2-3)
The Holy Prophet, on whom be the peace and blessings of Allah, has said: No servant of Allah humbles himself for the sake of Allah, but Allah thereby brings about his Raf’a. Raf’a is an Arabic word meaning ‘to raise’. It does not mean that Allah will lift him bodily to heaven. Obviously it means that Allah will exalt his status before Him.
True humility can only be achieved by mentally concentrating on the attributes of Allah. When His immense greatness dawns on someone, one has no choice but to be humbled.
Conditions for Prayer
Some prerequisites and conditions exist regarding the offering of Prayers. They are as follows:
- Determination of Intention: The intention to perform a Prayer must be made prior to the beginning of the Prayer.
- The Prayer should be offered within the fixed time allotted for that particular Prayer. However, it should be remembered that if one fails to perform a Prayer in time due to some compelling reasons, that Prayer can be offered whenever one remembers it. However, it should not be offered at forbidden times.
At the time of the revelation of Islam, there was no information available to the then populated world that in the future, such regions of the world would be discovered where days run into other days continuously and nights run into nights continuously as compared to a normal 24-hour day, making both days and nights of much longer duration. For example, for people at the Poles, daylight lasts for 6 months at a time.
The question arises that if the timings for Prayer and fasting, etc., are associated with the duration of sunlight, with the rotation of the earth and the relative position of the sun and moon, how could one determine the timings of Prayer and fasting in extreme Southern and Northern areas where the duration of days and nights are longer than twenty-four hours? It should be noted that the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon, replying to a question from a Companion explained that in those areas where the days and nights are of longer duration as compared to the normal 24-hour day, Muslims should offer their Prayers by measuring time in accordance with the normal length of a day.
- One should be clean in body and, as far as possible, in mind and spirit also. Cleanliness here is a term which means:
a) The body should be clean from all filth.
b) If one has answered the call of nature and has been to the toilet, one should wash oneself properly so that all remnants of faeces or urine have been properly washed away.
c) After conjugation, whether ejaculation has taken place or not or when, in whatever manner, ejaculation has taken place, for instance during sleep, cleanliness would mean not just washing oneself partially, but a full bath becomes essential.
d) A full bath is also essential for women after menstruation, and after post-parturition bleeding (bleeding following childbirth).
- The place and mat of Prayer must be neat and clean.
- The body must be properly covered during the Prayer.
- Qibla Direction: All Muslims must face towards the Ka’aba. Qibla means facing the Ka’aba in Makkah, the first House of worship built on earth.
All Muslims throughout the world should always face the general direction of the Ka’aba during every Prayer. However, during a journey and when travelling, if one fails to determine the direction properly or when one is unable to face towards the Ka’aba because of illness, for it is beyond one’s capacity to do so, then one is not obliged to face towards the Qibla. Also, when on a journey, riding on a mount, train, boat or plane, one should say one’s Prayers facing in the same direction towards which one is moving, or indeed any convenient position will be acceptable.