Learning to Pray

A good friend of mine found these videos online a while ago, and mailed the list to a group of convert sisters. I also shared it with someone who was struggling with learning how to say the Arabic parts of the salah and she found it helpful too. So I'm posting it here for anyone else who might be looking for help in learning and memorizing the prayer, and needs a tutorial that goes very slowly.

1. Introduction and Surah Al-Fatihah (Chapter 1 of Quran, recited 17 times total in our 5 daily prayers):

http://www.islamictube.com/watch/9187da8e5ed4f7a6ea4c/1-Learn-Salat-s-Arabic-Recitation-Fatihah

2. How to begin the prayer with "Allahu akbar" (Allah is the Greatest) + Surah al Fatihah + bowing

http://www.islamictube.com/watch/f2ce038b3b0f82c7d6fb/2-Learn-Salat-s-Arabic-Recitation-Fatihah

3. What to say when bowing (rukoo) and prostrating (sajda)

http://www.islamictube.com/watch/c590ffbf1295ce92258d/3-Learn-Salat-s-Arabic-Recitation-Rukoo---Sajda

4. Learn first Tashahhud (what you say when sitting after 2nd rakat/cycle)

http://www.islamictube.com/watch/35058b1ef7b0ac1e11b6/4-Learn-Salat-s-Arabic-Recitation-Tashahhud-1

5. First Tashahhudd (continued)

http://www.islamictube.com/watch/98bfbdc8a619bef7b8f6/5-Learn-Salat-s-Arabic-Recitation-Tashahhud

6. Second Tashahhud (what you say in the last rakat/cycle of prayer while seated)

http://www.islamictube.com/watch/40027581047db105f334/6-Learn-Salat-s-Arabic-Recitation-Tashahhud

7. Second Tashahhud (contiued)

http://www.islamictube.com/watch/7de48a31f6b669e7ba26/7-Learn-Salat-s-Arabic-Recitation-Tashahhud

8. Dua (supplication) you can say after "Allahu akbar" and before Surah Al-Fatihah; and Surah Al Asr (Chapter 103; 2nd shortest chapter in Quran) to recite after Al-Fatihah

http://www.islamictube.com/watch/6b70f378a3a03d0c2638/8-Learn-Salat-s-Arabic-Recitation-Dua---Asr

9. Surah al-Ikhlas (Chapter 112) to recite after Surah Al Fatihah

http://www.islamictube.com/watch/ed14eb1e9c2580056a98/9-Learn-Salat-s-Arabic-Recitation-Surah-Ikhlas

Praying At Home?

I get it now.

Alhamdulillah, a visit from family (my husband's parents, sister, and her two sons) taught me an important lesson. I knew that it was allowed, even recommended for women to pray at home instead of at the masjid, while men are strongly encouraged to pray in the congregation at the masjid.

Until the family visit, my understanding of this subject had been purely academic--sure, women can pray at home or can go to the mosque. But I didn't realize what a mercy and blessing that is. My understanding went from "Yeah, it's nice," to "SubhanAllaah, this deen is amazing."

When my sister-in-law was visiting, with her two sons, whom I love dearly, I realized just what it might be like for a mother watching children at home. Children demand attention all the time. They don't take breaks, and sometimes like to misbehave even though your schedule doesn't really have time for it. With just two boys, it was difficult to find time for us to pray--though there were three women in the house to watch the kids! I simply can't imagine how she handles them on her own. And it's not because they boys are just being bad or trying to cause trouble, they just require lots of attention and supervision. Neither of these can be had from a mother during prayer.

In addition, taking care of a household full of people (as a newlywed, my house is not so often full) requires time--a lot of it. Things require cleaning--not to be "spic-n-span" but just so they aren't dirty. Like what? Like bathrooms, so they don't stink; tubs, so the water drains; dishes, so you can eat off them; pots and pans, so you can cook in them. Cooking meals for several people daily means constantly cooking, or cleaning in the kitchen. Then there's laundry, and the rest of the house to maintain.

Without children around, I can find extra time around my prayers to go to the mosque--but with children, the 5-10 minutes each way (10-20 minutes each prayer) will add up, and would be a tremendously difficult burden on women, if they had to go to the mosque for each prayer.

If it's hard enough to find time to pray at home, how much harder to find the time to get children ready to go pray as well--especially young ones, who need to be diapered, dressed, and fed with the help of their mothers? I didn't realize, until this last visit, how much of a blessing it is for women that they are encouraged to pray at home, their minds at ease from the difficulty of praying at the masjid.

It also pretty much negates any concept that women have an easy life, or that their jobs (as mothers, and caretakers of the house) are less important than men's. It seems like the job of women is so important that while she does take a break for prayer, she has the benefit of being able to do it at home, so she can devote more of her time and energy to her responsibilities.

Right?

Please Stay and Pray

Have you ever been sitting in a class at the masjid scheduled around the prayer time? Like, it lasts until asr, or until maghrib, for example? It tends to happen a lot, I think, since the call to prayer necessitates a break in the class and makes for a good stopping point. More importantly, it gives you the advantage to pray that salah, at least, in the masjid. That is, if you don't have a habit of performing prayers in the masjid, it gives you a reason to do so.

In my time as a Muslim, I've learned that it's not appropriate to leave the masjid after the adhan is called unless you have prayed with the congregation. Why? Here's why:

Abu Hurairah (R.A.) said, "The prophet (S.A.W.) ordered us, when we are in the Masjid and the Salah is called for, not to leave the Masjid until we pray." [Ahmad]

See? And when I took the Fiqh of Salah class from AlMaghrib I learned that you should pray that salah with the congregation even if you've already prayed it! (For example, if you're travelling, or if you follow a different opinion for asr.)

But I have at times been sitting in a class or halaqah which lasts until a prayer time--at which point nearly everyone gets up to leave. I'm not sure if I think it's bad timing or bad etiquette--I'm sure that they don't know about this hadith, or else they might be inclined to stay. After a few years, I've learned to adjust my schedule to the prayer times, and absent any extenuating circumstances, will stay for the congregational prayer if I am there for the adhan.

But what's the best way to tell people, when they are getting up to leave, if they figure that the class is over and they need to get home. Will a few more minutes (20-30 max) make that much of a difference, at 9:00pm? Do many people just not know about this hadith and etiquette? I wonder, and also wonder the best way to share it. Thoughts?

Calling on Allah

I figured I would start the Compass class by talking about du'a. With agreement that Salah is the most important thing to teach new Muslims, I decided to first explain the concept of du'a, of calling on Allah. Essentially salah is both du'a and istighfar, a means of cultivating one's relationship with Allah. Our relationship with Allah is that of slaves and master--we worship Allah. And the very essence of worship is du'a.

We should understand that our salah is a way of calling on Allah, and that we can call on Him anytime we want--and really, the more the better. Just making requests of Allah implies and fosters our belief and reliance on Him alone. Asking Him means we recognize His Hearing, His Knowledge and Power, while also acknowledging our powerlessness. So it seems that du'a is a fitting place to start.

We can call on Allah whenever we want, and know that He hears us.

And when My servants ask you, [O Muhammad], concerning Me - indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of the supplicant when he calls upon Me. So let them respond to Me [by obedience] and believe in Me that they may be [rightly] guided.

Moreover, we have the benefit of Allah's response to our supplications. Firstly we might get the thing we are asking for. But if not, if Allah withholds it from us, then instead He may protect us from some other hardship we might have to face, or else it will become a reward for us on the Day of Judgment. So there's no reason not to make du'a--it's a win-win-win scenario.

But in case a person's du'a is not accepted, there may be a sin from which the person has not repented. In which case, the solution is to repent. Repentance is a topic on its own, but briefly this means the person should acknowledge the incorrect or sinful behavior in which he is or was engaged in, and correct it, ask forgiveness from Allah for it, and abstain from it in the future.

There is also an amazing story from the time of Moses and the Children of Israel. While they were wandering in the desert and suffering from a drought, Moses prayed to Allah for rain. But instead of rain it only got hotter and dryer. And then Allah revealed to Moses that one man among the Children of Israel had been sinning against Allah for some 40 years, so Moses was instructed to have that man leave the group before Allah would bring the rain.

So Moses went to the people and explained--he didn't know who the man was, but asked that the man, whoever he was, would leave. But imagine if you were that man? You knew your sins but nobody else around you knew. How hard would it be then to expose yourself? But yet if you didn't, then you and everyone else might die of thirst. And he recognized that all this time Allah had covered his sins. So he prayed, sincerely, to Allah for forgiveness and for Allah to continue to cover his sins. And then it started to rain.

But Moses asked Allah why the rain was coming even though the sinful man had not left. And Allah revealed that the same man had repented of his sins so Allah had allowed the rain for all of the people. Then Moses wanted to know who the man was, because of whom all of the Children of Israel had been first deprived of and then blessed with rain. But Allah refused, telling Moses that He had hid the man's sins for 40 years, so would He now expose them after repentance?

It's such a beautiful story and filled with loads of reminders for us today. That no matter how long we have sinned, Allah still accepts repentance. That our sins might not just be affecting us, and that if we find our prayers not being answered, perhaps we should try to correct ourselves and ask for forgiveness. And remember that we may call on Allah at any time for any need, and we should. It confirms and strengthens our belief in Allah and as an act of worship it can nurture our relationship with Him. And once we understand that, we can discuss salah with an appreciation of it as an act of submission and worship and so much more than a simple ritual.

There is much more that can be said about du'a--be patient for the result instead of hastily anticipating it, or declaring that Allah didn't answer; the best times to make du'a are after performing a good deed, like after salah or before breaking one's fast. The last third part of the night is also a great time to make du'a, as is while one is in salah during the prostration. Moreover, there are some etiquettes about making du'a in the first place which I think I will not include in this part of the class. Mostly, I don't have very much time, and I also don't want students to feel bogged down in "rules" when it comes to du'a. Is there something I'm omitting but I should include? Please let me know!

Prayers for Travel

There's nothing like going on a 2-week road trip to help you learn the du'a of the traveler. My husband and I tried to make it a habit so every day, several times a day, we would repeat this du'a. Unfortunately, we really only would say the short version, which is printed on this little card. A gift from Qabeelat Nurayn, I've kept this card in my car as a reminder, and to help me learn the du'a.

The full version begins with three takbirs ("Allahu Akbar") and then continues as below. The bold bold portion is the only section on the card:

How perfect He is, The One Who has place this (transport) at our service, and we ourselves would not have been capable of that, and to our Lord is our final destiny. O Allaah, we ask You for birr and taqwaa in this journey of ours, and we ask You for deeds which please You. O Allaah, facilitate our journey and let us cover its distance quickly. O Allaah, You are The Companion on the journey and The Successor over the family, O Allaah, I take refuge with You from the difficulties of travel, from having a change of hearts and being in a bad predicament, and I take refuge in You from an ill fated outcome with wealth and family.

So you see, the real du'a in the prayer is the part that comes after what we would read, which is praise and a reminder. The full portion we only read on occasion, when I'd dig out my du'a book. I think it's important to know this du'a and the meaning (translation) of it, to remind us especially while traveling that our welfare is not in our own hands. Firstly, our means of transport has been provided by Allah, whether we are driving, flying, etc. And we should try, regardless of where we're traveling, to continue to do good deeds, and try to maintain a life of righteousness (birr) and God-consciousness (taqwaa.) And it's good to remember that Allah can take care of us while we are traveling and our families left at home.

When arriving back home, we are supposed to read the above du'a followed by an additional line:

We return, repent, worship and praise our Lord.

Why? Repent for any sins committed along the way, maybe, and just as a general rule we should be asking forgiveness. And Allah has made us return so we should praise Him.

There's also a du'a, while traveling, to make upon entering a new town or village. Honestly we didn't make this du'a very much; the only time I can remember making it was in Sedona, AZ, where we planned to stay for a few days. But looking back, I think we should have made this a regular nightly practice, as we pulled in to our hotels. Maybe we should have even said it wherever we stopped for meals, prayers, or shopping.

O Allaah, Lord of the seven heavens and all that they envelop, Lord of the seven earths and all that they carry, Lord of the devils and all whom they misguide, Lord of the winds and all whom they whisk away. I ask You for the goodness of this village, the goodness of its inhabitants and for all the goodness found within it and I take refuge with You from the evil of this village, the evil of it’s inhabitants and from all the evil found within it.

It would have been good to recite this at our stops because we would have know way of knowing what in a town was good or evil, or which of the inhabitants would guide us in one direction or the other. A lot of times we didn't know what was a good or safe part of town, or what kind of trouble we might run in to.

There's another kind of du'a to make for the locals, which I wish I'd been more diligent about making. Honestly, we had a lot of help from locals along our trip: where to find a starbucks, a good breakfast, or a decent hotel, for instance. Also, which places had the best meals, where to buy particular souvenirs, reports on weather and road conditions. Was it too much to ask that we make du'a for them in return? I think not, and so that is one regret from my trip.

Here is the du'a of the traveler for the resident:

I place you in the trust of Allaah, whose trust is never misplaced.

There's also some supplications a resident should make for a traveler, which I hope to remember should I come across anyone traveling:

(1) I place your religion, your faithfulness and the ends of your deeds in the trust of Allaah.

(2) May Allaah endow you with taqwaa, forgive your sins and facilitate all good for you, wherever you be.

Traveling across the country, we drove through a couple mountain ranges, and I wish I had known about this narration:

Jaabir said: While ascending, we would say:
(i)‘Allaah is the greatest.’
…and when descending, we would say:
(ii)‘How perfect Allaah is.’

Driving through Shasta-Trinity and Six Rivers National Forests, this might have been especially nice--we would have been making dhikr all afternoon! And then come evening, there is a du'a to make while stopping for lodging.

I take refuge in Allaah’s perfect words from the evil that He has created.

This du'a kind of reminds me of the importance of Qur'an and reading it, and again a reminder that we don't know where evil might be lurking on a journey. There's also a prayer for the traveler as dawn approaches--I'm guessing a good time to make this du'a would be right after praying fajr.

May a witness, be witness to our praise of Allaah for His favours and bounties upon us. Our Lord, protect us, show favour on us and deliver us from every evil. I take refuge in Allaah from the fire.

Since it's most likely the traveler would be leaving his loding and accommodations in the morning, this du'a is nice to ask for protection as the beginning of the day. Any given morning we weren't sure exactly who or what we might encounter during the day. And the du'a ends with asking for protection from the worst affliction, the fire of the Hereafter.

These supplication translations are taken from Hisnul Muslim, or in English, Fortification of the Muslim, available online at makedua.com. The supplications about travel are numbers 89-99, although I didn't print them all here, and some I placed in a different order. All of these supplications should be listed there with English translations, and the Arabic forms as well.

I really hope that next time I travel anywhere I remember to make these prayers. Since I have a copy of the du'a book, I'm not really sure what my excuse is for not making them. And if I'm not making du'a, then the only one really losing is me.

Spicy Spaghetti

Now that I'm starting to feel a little more comfortable in my new Bellevue apartment with my husband, I'm trying to cook occasionally. My husband is actually quite a good cook and took it upon himself to prepare meals for our first few weeks together. I appreciated it, since upon arriving in Bellevue I was frustrated and disinterested and not really up to household duties.

But now I'm starting to share the workload. I just realized that I need to get a head start on dinner if I want to have a hope of cooking anything before he gets to working in the kitchen when he gets home. So tonight when he told me he'd be home around 8:30pm I was prepared. Since he had plenty of spaghetti noodles and a few jars of tomato sauce, whipping up dinner was relatively easy. But since I didn't have any meat to put in the sauce (hadn't had any picked up from the halal meat shop yet) I wanted to make it a little more interesting than just tomatoes (though I did add some extra tomatoes.) So I decided to add some oregano (I normally do), and some garlic powder (why not?) and some crushed red pepper (hey, husband likes spices!) and even some ground red pepper as well.

I let it simmer on the stove while I went to the masjid to pray. One nice thing about this apartment is its proximity to the masjid--a 5-10 minute walk. So I prepared myself and made wudu, and left the house about 6:50. But as I approached the masjid, I realized that the salah was not at 7pm, like I had mistakenly thought, but actually at 7:30.

Now, I haven't been able to find a table of iqamah times listed for this masjid, which is why I keep getting confused. I think it's something like fajr at 6:45am, dhuhr at 12:30, asr at 3pm, maghrib at 4:30, and isha at 7:30. But for some reason I just can't keep it straight. So I arrived at the masjid, prayed isha by myself and then left. While I didn't mind leaving the stove on for 30 minutes or so, leaving it on for an hour made me nervous. I do like being able to walk to the masjid, though. And since it hasn't been raining lately, it's been especially easy. Last Friday I walked to jumu'ah, happy to not have to worry about parking in an already cramped masjid parking lot. This way, someone else could utilize the space. Plus it's more environmentally friendly (they're all about that up here!) and healthier for me as well, since I get a bit of exercise.

Around 8pm I started boiling water for the pasta, and tossed it in after about 10 minutes. Unfortunately my husband was a little late (and I was very hungry) so I started without him but once he got home he was quick to eat everything left. And what made me most happy of all was that he really loved the spaghetti. First I had him put a lot more sauce on it than he was used to. So even though he had cooked spaghetti himself before, he assured me he liked mine better--though not because of the spices, just because it wasn't "dry."

A few days ago some sisters told me that it was satisfying to cook for one's husband but I was skeptical. I'm far from becoming some kind of foodie or gourmet chef but it's nice to have my own home, and someone who likes my cooking.

The Grand Canyon Musalleen?

Sorry for not writing in so long--it took us almost a week to get north and after leaving Sedona we had some pretty long days and by nighttime I was too tired to write much. So let me begin now where I left off.

We did have to buy new coats, and that was a really good decision--we would have frozen at the grand canyon with what we had. It had been really cold when we visited Petrified Forest National Park, and that was difficult with the coats we had. But we didn't suffer too much when actually visiting the Grand Canyon since we were bundled up pretty good.

As we traveled further north on Wednesday morning, and into higher elevations, we encountered more and more snow. First it was pretty, when the roads weren't too bad. We were driving through Coconino National Forest, which looked really pretty with the fresh snow. Closer to the canyon, roads weren't in such good condition. We had checked with the visitor's center in Sedona before leaving town and were told that all roads were open except for 180, which we could easily avoid. And alhamdulillah we didn't have any road problems on the way.

We did stop at Sunset Crater but found the roads along the route to visit there to be very bad (they hadn't been cleared at all, so the only clear sections were where the sun had melted the roadways.) It would've been nearly impossible to go see the crater anyway, so we went back to 89, the road we were taking northward to the canyon.

Around the Little Colorado River Gorge, there were a few Native American ladies who had set up their stands to sell jewelery and pottery. The piece on the right (the black one, glazed outside and inside) is one that we purchased, for about $50. The lady we bought it from also explained the meanings of all the different symbols on the pottery. My tip for anyone traveling to the grand canyon area and wanting to by some native-made (or "indian") pottery, is to buy it from stands like this one, off the side of the road.

We got a much better price from her (and from everyone there) than at any other shops we visited. We also bought a bracelet at a nearby stand. We did buy a few more pieces of pottery, but I'm really glad we stopped there and bought that particular piece. You can find basically the same kinds of stuff in tourist shops, trading posts, and these road-side stands, and you can still get the cards explaining the etchings, or how the pot was made, but I really think I had the best experience at the road-side stand. (And conveniently, the best price.)

Inside Grand Canyon National Park, the roads between those two extremes. Sections of the road which were in shade were still covered in snow, so it was at times a scary drive. When we arrived, we found about 2 feet of snow on the ground. While much of the parking areas at the scenic viewpoints had been cleared, the walkways hadn't. So if you wanted to get close enough to take pictures, you had to brave the snow. I tried that once, while my husband waited in the car, and after crossing the pile of cleared snow from the parking lot, I fell face first into that 2+ feet of snow on the sidewalk, camera and everything.

Fortunately it dried/evaporated pretty quickly, and I didn't get soaked or have to deal with freezing cold water melting on me. We stayed at that viewpoint for a while, as I tried to take pictures and then we prayed there as well. The Grand Canyon is probably the nicest of places where we prayed--on a road trip like this one, many different places can become a masjid. We took tons of pictures of the snowy Grand Canyon, but from the distance it looks like only a dusting of snow--seriously, there were feet of snow at the highest elevations.

Walking around at Desert View, it was especially nice to have the new coats, as the wind was intense. Seriously, every woman walking around there was a hijabi--the cold was nearly intolerable without wrapping up your head as well. But the view truly was beautiful. It's still my favorite place that we visited.

Muslim Day of Prayer?

How can there be an event called a "Muslim Day of Prayer" when Muslims pray 5 times (minimum!) every single day? Even Friday, the day of Jumu'ah, is a day of congregational prayer. So what does it mean to have a "Muslim Day of Prayer?"

I saw the flyers for the event at my masjid, though I've never heard any Muslims refer to the prayer on capitol hill as a "Day of Prayer," a title I've seen only from non-Muslims. Trying to make it sound... I dunno, evil? What's evil about prayer? Or public prayer?

I don't know how the event went overall, but when I found this article in my Google Reader I was just a little confused about the legitimacy of the criticism.

Conservative Christians need to learn be taught the values that they in fact share with Muslims. Don't they know that Muslims value the same things they value? I don't say this to capitulate to non-Muslims, but just as a simple statement. What's our excuse as Muslims (and on a personal level, my own excuse) for non-Muslims being ignorant about our beliefs?

Regular Prayer

My Lord! Make me one who establishes regular prayer, and also (raise such) among my offspring, O Our Lord! And accept my prayer.

O Our Lord! Cover (Us) with Your forgiveness: me, my parents, and (all) believers, on the day that the reckoning will be established! (14:40-41)

One of the first du'aat I learned to make in my salah was one from the Qur'an, a du'a of Ibraheem. In it, Ibraheem asks Allah to make him someone who establishes prayer--although the translation I learned inserted the word "regular," i.e., "establishes regular prayer." This du'a reminds me, at the end of every salah, the important of salah, of establishing it and praying it regularly.

On just about every prayer timetable I've seen, part of an ayah is listed somewhere on the page. One translation of the part of the ayah, 4:103, is "Verily, the prayer is enjoined on the believers at fixed hours." The idea is to remind whoever reads that prayer table about the importance of praying regularly at the appropriate times.

Now a person can view the idea of regular prayer as either a burden, or a blessing. I have a hunch most non-Muslims, and plenty of Muslims, probably see it as a burden. And undoubtedly Shaytan would rather us see it as a burden, so he can easily distract us from it, urge us to procrastinate it, and eventually even convince us to abandon it altogether. May Allah protect the believers from his whispers.

There are benefits in having the prayers spread throughout the day. It gives you a spiritual retreat at key points during the day, to help you break up the day and refresh you. And the times of the salah are intricately connected with ideal daily behavior.

We learn the prayer times from the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, who learned them from the Angel Jibreel over two days. According to Ibn Abbas, the Angel Jibreel visited the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ at the beginning of the each of the prayer times on the first day to lead him in prayer, and on the second day led him in prayer at the end of the prayer times, except for maghrib prayer. The times have been further specified by Abdullah bin 'Amr bin al-'As, based on the sun and sky, and scholars have differed slightly in their opinions as to the exact timing.

What's clear however is that the prayers are based on the timing of the sun, indicating that our days should follow a similar schedule. It also keeps us Muslims aware of the motion of the sun throughout the day, as it crosses the sky, and throughout the year as the time it takes to traverse the sky changes. In this way the timings of prayers keeps you alert, and it keeps you from forming a lazy habit or tradition when it comes to the prayer--your schedule will have to be flexible somewhat throughout the year. The beginning and end times for each prayer vary between some schools of thought, though not drastically so and not without evidence.

The first prayer of a waking day is fajr, and there is unanimous agreement regarding its start and end times. It begins at the time of the "second dawn" or "true dawn." While the sun is at one particular angle below the horizon, there will appear the "first dawn" known as the "false dawn," when the light spreads vertically. That is not the start of fajr time, which actually comes later, when the sun is high enough for the dawn light to spread laterally across the horizon. It ends when the sun rises. This means that our day should begin before the sun comes up. There's also a special blessing in the fajr time before the sun rises. While our minds and bodies are refreshed, it can be a very productive time of day before the worries and business of the day start to clog our minds.

The start time of dhuhr is also unanimously agreed upon--that it is when the sun declines from its zenith. Geographically, unless a person is at the equator he will have a small amount of shadow, even when the sun is at its zenith, but the zenith is when the shadow has reached its minimum size. There are two opinions about the end time of dhuhr, though they all agree that dhuhr ends at the time when asr begins. The first opinion, the Maliki, Shafi'i, and Hanbali opinion, is that dhuhr ends when the length of an object's shadow is equal to its height (plus the "extra shadow" just mentioned.) The second opinion, the Hanafi opinion, is that dhuhr ends when the length of an object's shadow is twice its height (plus the "extra shadow.") This is based on a hadith that dhuhr is to be delayed on hot days until the day begins to cool off.

The start time of asr is agreed by all to be the end time of dhuhr, and the same differences just mentioned apply. There is also agreement as to the end time of asr, that it be when the sun has completely set. Scholars also agree that it is better to pray asr earlier (than later) as long as its in the specified time. Hanafi scholars prefer it to be delayed as long as the sun hasn't started to change color.

By unanimous agreement, maghrib time begins when the sun has set, though there are basically three opinions regarding its end time. The first is the Maliki and new Shafi'i opinion, that basically the time for maghrib ends once enough time has passed to actually make wudhu, adhan, iqama, and pray five raka'at (3 for fard, 2 for sunnah.) In other words, maghrib needs to be prayed right away with no "extended time." The Hanbali and old Shafi'i opinion is that maghrib needs to be prayed by the time the red twilight has faded, while the Hanafi opinion is that it may be prayed until the white twilight has faded. But they all pretty much agree that it's best to pray maghrib at the beginning of its time.

When it comes to isha, there is unanimous agreement that it begins when the twilight has faded, but there are the same differing opinions about which twilight that means. The Maliki and Shafi'i opinions, for which there is no extended time, also say isha starts after the twilight has faded. When the sun sets, the first twilight is the red twilight, followed by the white twilight, followed by the blue twilight, just as a point of reference. There are two opinions about the end time of isha. The first is the Hanafi opinion, which allows for isha to be prayed up until the time for fajr arrives. The Maliki, Shafi'i, and Hanbali opinions are that isha may be prayed until the end of the first half, or first third of the night. This is calculated as the time between the beginning of isha and the beginning of fajr, then split into thirds or halves and added to the time isha begins.

The salah itself is an organizational tool, to help you structure your life. Sometimes people (you know who you are) will say that time is money. But no, time is life. Whenever a day passes, part of you goes with it. Following the salah forces you to begin your working day with fajr time--you shouldn't go to bed after salat al-fajr. You also see that there is time to take a break, for dhuhr, a good time to eat lunch, and maybe take a nap. Asr time, when the day starts to draw to a close, is the time to stop working and see to your family. Eat dinner and prepare for bed, these are things to do in the evenings.

Even the prohibited times of prayer reminds us of the appropriate structure for the day, so we don't turn into monks and try to pray the entire day--there are times that we should spend doing other things as well. But the larger point of regular prayer is to prevent other things, our life in this dunya, from stunting our relationship with Allah.

Graduate Studies

One thing I learned at the Fiqh of Salah class I took a few months ago was the importance of Qiyyam ul-Layl. Shaykh Yaser Birjas described it as an institution for the Sahabah, that they had to become like students of Qiyyam ul-Layl to develop themselves as Muslims.

I think Ramadan is also a kind of school, teaching us to be better Muslims. So we spend a month engaged in worship--fasting, prayer, charity, and general good deeds--but it's not supposed to stop there. In fact, it should be training us to engage in worship throughout the rest of the year. It's a "boot camp" of sorts to prepare us for the rest of our lives. But it's just the training, and we shouldn't leave everything off when Ramadan is over.

One thing that I started doing a lot more of this Ramadan is Qiyyam ul-Layl. And even though I felt like I didn't get as much from Ramadan as I had really hoped to (in terms of reading and memorizing Qur'an especially), I can at least say that Qiyyam became an easier and regular habit for me. I'm not talking about taraweeh exactly, but praying Qiyyam (specifically Tahajjud) before fajr time. Alhamdulillah that I was able to do it. Over the last few months I've really struggled in trying to make Qiyyam a regular habit, but Ramadan definitely helped me get to that point.

So I like to think now that I am going from the school of Ramadan to the school of Qiyyam ul-Layl, to another level of training and disciplining myself. I pray that Allah accepts my siyam (fasting) and also my qiyam (standing in prayer), and makes me one of those who regularly pray Qiyyam ul-Layl.

Ramadan Commitment

My roommate used to say about Ramadan that 30 days is really a commitment. You need to prepare yourself at the beginning of Ramadan to get through the entirety of it. And I know that if the next 20 days of Ramadan pass like the last 10 (well, 9, as today is the 10th) have, then I'll truly have missed out.

This year, the onset of Ramadan for me came with a few uncertainties and some big tasks on my plate. For example, I wasn't sure if I would be graduating or if I would need to take an additional class in the fall semester. I also have my own wedding coming soon inshaaAllaah which I need to plan, plus the honeymoon. While I was busy worrying about these things, I didn't make a clear plan for Ramadan, or set any goals. I pretty much had in mind some very light health and spiritual objectives, but I didn't clearly define them, so I haven't done a great job of meeting them.

And as the 10th of Ramadan is now upon us, I think my plan is past due--but I don't think it's too late, yet. Because Ramadan is a unique time of the year for spiritual development, I want to concentrate on Ramadan-specific spiritual goals (while bearing in mind that I don't want my health objectives to fall behind.) So this Ramadan, I want to finish reading a translation of the Qur'an in this month, because understanding the meaning, even a little bit of the meaning, vastly increases my faith and love for Islam. And after all, Ramadan is the month of the Qur'an, so the very least I can commit to is reading the meaning in English. I've read about 5 juz' so far, so I'm a little behind, but not devastatingly so. Another goal for me has been to listening to a Qur'an class. I found it tremendously beneficial last Ramadan, but the timing of the class is proving a difficulty. However, it might still be possible for me to fit it in if I plan ahead of time and stick to a schedule. The class is beneficial in that it helps me understand the Qur'an even more.

Another major Ramadan goal for me is to attend taraweeh prayers nightly unless I have some extreme excuse not to. Plus, I want to have khushoo' in those prayers. One night this Ramadan I spent most of the qiyyam thinking about wedding dresses--how embarrassing! Leaving the masjid after that, I decided that my worship needs to take priority. So the wedding planning will have to take a back seat for the rest of Ramadan.

I also want to make sure that I am not breaking fast alone. The first few days of Ramadan were a real blessing for me because I was able to spend them seeing people I hadn't seen in a long time--I've recently moved kind of far away from the masjid and so I haven't been around it quite as often. And truthfully, I do miss being so close. Since there are pretty much daily iftars at the masjid, I don't see any excuse to be breaking fast by myself.

These are just a few of my Ramadan goals, that I'm trying to push myself into achieving by writing them down and making them public. Maybe other people have different goals, but these are mine. Ramadan won't last forever, and I want to make the most of it while I can.

Bare Minimum

Talhah ibn 'Ubaydillah said, "A man from Najd with unkempt hair came to the Messenger of Allah, and we heard his loud voice but could not understand what he was saying, until he came near and then we came to know that he was asking about Islam. The Messenger of Allah said, '(You have to offer) five prayers each day and night.' The man asked, 'Do I have to do anything else?' The Messenger of Allah said, 'No, unless you want to offer voluntary (nafl) prayers.'" [Bukhari and Muslim]

There are longer versions of this hadith, which includes mention of the other pillars of Islam, but since I'm writing about salah what is written above will suffice inshaaAllaah.

The man from Najd in this case is a bedouin, and though the Prophet ﷺ and his Companions lived in Arabia they were not all bedouins. Mostly they considered themselves to be city people, whereas the man from Najd was what we might think of as a country person. So we can think today of someone living out in the country--that they might tend to be in their manners and speech less refined, and less subtle.

In this hadith, the man is basically asking for the minimum he has to do in Islam--the very basic question as to what is obligatory. And the man said that he would do this much, the five obligatory prayers, and not add anything to them of what was nafl or voluntary. And the Prophet ﷺ told his Companions after this incident that if the man kept his word, and kept up the five obligatory prayers, then he'd be good to go.

So what are the five obligatory prayers? The bare minimum we have to do as Muslims, and without which we will be deficient? They are fajr, dhuhr, 'asr, maghrib, and 'isha'.

Fajr prayer is the dawn prayer, consisting of two rak'ahs. Dhuhr is prayed after noon and is four rak'ahs. 'Asr is prayed in the late afternoon, also four rak'ahs, followed by maghrib immediatley after sunset which is only three rak'ahs, and the day concludes with 'isha', the night prayer, also consisting of four rak'ahs.

The witr salah is not included among these five, but the ruling on it basically includes two opinions, that it is a recommended sunnah (according to Imams Malik, Ash-Shafi'i, and Ahmad), and the second opinion that it is waajib, i.e., obligatory, (the opinion of Abu Hanifa). The question has come up even in some reports of hadith, and there are evidences to both sides. The Hanafi school would consider an obligation waajib if it were based on a hadith that was not mutawaatir (multiply narrated,) whereas Qur'an and mutawaatir hadith were sources of obligations classified as 'fard.' For the other schools, the terms waajib and fard are mostly interchangeable, and a hadith could be used to classify something as fard without being mutawaatir, provided that it was authentic.

The evidence to support the Hanafi opinion are the following two ahadith:

'Abdullah ibn 'Amr ibn al-'As narrated that the Messenger said, "Verily, Allah has added on you a salah, which is the witr." [Ahmad]

Abu Ayyub narrated that the Messenger said, "Witr is haqq (obligation) on every Muslim."

The evidence to support the opinion of Imams Malik, Ash-Shafi'i, and Ahmad, that witr is a recommended (mu'akkadah) sunnah are the following two ahadith:

'Ali ibn Abu Talib reported, "The witr prayer is not obligatory as the prescribed salah, but the Messenger of Allah observed it as his regular practice (sunnah.) He (the Prophet) said, 'Allah is witr (single) and loves what is witr. So perform witr salah. O followers of the Qur'an, observe witr salah.'" [At-Tirmidhi and Abu Dawud]

Al-Mukhdaji heard from one of the ansar, nicknamed Abu Muhammad, that the witr prayer is obligatory. He went to 'Ubadah ibn us-Samit, and mentioned to him what Abu Muhammad had said. 'Ubadah observed, "Abu Muhammad is mistaken, for I heard the Messenger of Allah say, 'Five prayers are ordained by Allah for his slaves. Whoever fulfills them properly without any shortcoming, he will have a pact with Allaah that He will admit him into Paradise. Whoever does not do them, he will have no pact with Allah, and if He wills He may punish him and if He will He may forgive him.'" [Ahmad and Abu Dawud]

I mention both opinions and their evidence lest anyone wish to dispute the matter. What is clear is that we have as an obligation (at minimum) five daily prayers. Allah calls us to remember him (at minimum) five times a day, five daily opportunities for spiritual nourishment. And for five times during the day we have a means of forgiveness for sins committed throughout the day and night. As Muslims we should build our lives around the salah, let it organize our day and serve as a tool for self-discipline.

Five prayers a day is a blessing as much as an obligation, a mercy and means of purification.

Abu Hurayrah narrated that the Messenger of Allah said, "If there was a river at the door of any one of you and he took a bath in it five times a day, would you notice any dirt on him?" They said, "Not a trace of dirt would be left." The Prophet added, "That is the example of the five prayers with which Allah blots out evil deeds." [Bukhari and Muslim]

So when we next approach our prayer, we can be grateful for the opportunity to pray, to devote a small amount of our time each day to worshiping our Lord.

No Pain, No Gain

If you want to see results, any trainer will tell you, you need to push yourself out of your "comfort zone." If you do the same thing every day, at the same level, can you really expect yourself to improve? I don't think so.

Over the last 6 months or so I've had the opportunity (alhamdulillah) to work with a personal trainer. In that time, I've seen my energy skyrocket, my entire body enhance its muscle tone, and I've even lost weight. It didn't happen sitting in a chair, and it didn't happen just by going to the gym.

Lifting a weight won't necessarily make you stronger. If it's a light weight, and is easy to lift, then you're not improving or developing your strength to lift it. And even if it's heavy, just lifting it once doesn't do much to improve your strength either. But if you want to get stronger, you have to take the hard route, and push yourself as far as you can, repeatedly. Ideally, to failure, again and again.

It's the opposite of the "If at first you don't succeed..." mantra. The goal is in fact to push yourself to the limit, i.e., to failure. And when you can't lift any more, you've pushed yourself out of your "comfort zone" and you know that you're getting stronger. (Provided of course you didn't actually injure yourself and that's the source of pain and reason you can't lift anymore... and that's very bad.) And if every week you go in and perform the same exercise, with the same intensity, and for the same amount of time, eventually you're going to stop getting results. You have to actually increase the intensity or time to see further improvements.

I know it might sound weird, but how about applying this concept to ibaadah? (worship) Instead of just performing our acts of worship (like salah, for instance) the same way all the time, why don't we push ourselves to do them better? With more sincerity, with more khushoo'. We have to move out of our "comfort zone." Now, a comfort zone for each person might be something different, and we might have different things to work on. We can't expect to just immediately have more khushoo' in our prayers, can we, without making an effort to have more khushoo'? Without making a conscious effort to improve our khushoo'?

I guess if we feel like we're in a rut with our ibaadah, then we should make a conscious effort to improve upon our weaknesses. That means, get out of the "comfort zone." And don't keep doing the same thing expecting improvement, without holding ourselves to a higher standard. A good tip might be, for example, to create a Khushoo' chart, or a chart for whatever it is you're trying to improve. List all the prayers out and give yourself a rating for each prayer on your chart, like a rating for khushoo' on a scale (like 1-10.)

I'm not sure it's even possible to get better without making a conscious effort towards improvement. And one thing about improvement--once achieved, there's motivation to keep it up and continue to avoid backsliding. Just some thoughts...

Importance of Salah in Islam

Mu'adh ibn Jabal narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "The uppermost level of the matter is Islam, its pillar is salah and the top of its hump is jihad." [Tirmidhi]

Salah, we are to understand, is the main pillar of Islam. If you can imagine a tent with five "pillars" or poles--four around the outside, at the corners, and one in the center. That center pole is the one which gives the tent its shape, and that is the salah in Islam. It is the very first obligation on a Muslim after the shahadah, based on a hadith I've related earlier from Mu'adh. It was prescribed in the heavens during the Israa' wal-Mi'raaj, without any intermediaries.

The Salah has a public call, five times a day, to remind the people. This also indicates that we should be mindful of the time, and that the call is made publicly and regularly shows the value of salah--everyone hears it, regardless of where they are or what they are doing. The men and women, young and old, all hear the reminder.

Another indication of the value of salah in Islam is that there is an obligatory state of purification necessary before beginning--wudhu. A person cannot come to prayer unless he or she is ritually pure, having washed after going to the bathroom, being intimate with a spouse, or coming clean from menstruation (for a woman.)

The fact that the obligation of salah remains even if a person is sick or traveling also indicates the importance of salah. There is a hadith to the effect that salah is the best of all deeds of worship. And the first thing we will be held to account for between us and Allah on the Day of Judgment is our salah.

History of Salah 2

In a previous post, History of Salah 1, I talked about two stages of salah during the history of Islam (after the beginning of the Message.) The first stage was the morning and afternoon prayers, and the second stages was of the night prayer. There are two more stages.

The second stage is marked by a significant event--the Israa' and Mi'raaj, which took place roughly 3 years before hijrah. It was after the Muslims had suffered under sanctions, and after the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) had lost his beloved wife Khadeejah, who had supported him emotionally and financially, and after he lost his uncle Abu Talib who had protected him against his enemies, that he was taken on the Israa' and Mi'raaj. So after one of the lowest points in his life, the Prophet (ﷺ) is taken through the heavens and he receives the tremendous gift of the five salawat.

But first, Allah enjoined fifty prayers, every day and night, and it was when the Prophet (ﷺ) reached Musa on his way down that Musa instructed him to ask Allah for a reduction of that burden because it would be too much for his Ummah. So Muhammad (ﷺ) returned to Allah and asked that they be reduced, and Allah reduced it by five. Again, Muhammad (ﷺ) encountered Musa who told him to request another reduction. Allah granted the request and this continued until there were only 5 prayers remaining, at which point He told Muhammad (ﷺ) that these are five prayers every day and night, and for every prayer there is the reward of ten, so they are like fifty prayers. And Muhammad (ﷺ) did not want to ask for any less than that.

So that is how we get five daily prayers--it is a gift from Allah (SWT), and we can also understand the value of the salah, knowing that Allah (SWT) gave the Prophet (ﷺ) this obligation directly, and that it was prescribed in the heavens.

Another part of this stage is that along with the five daily prayers came the times of those prayers and the manner in which they are performed. The Angel Jibreel led the Prophet (ﷺ) in prayer to teach him the prayer times. On the first day he prayed all the prayers at the beginning of their times, and on the second day he delayed them until the end of their times, except the maghrib prayer which he prayed at the same time on both days, and then said that the time of each salah is between those two times.

Some other interesting things about this stage of salah is that the Qiblah was still towards Jerusalem, and that the prayers included 2 raka'ahs only (regardless of whether a person was traveling.) Also, it was allowed to talk during the salah. For example, if you came to the salah late, you might ask the person standing next to you, "Which raka'ah are we in?" and he might say "We're in the 2nd raka'ah." and it would be okay.

The fourth stage began the 2nd year after hijrah, and there were basically three changes to the salah. The first was changing the Qiblah from Jerusalem to Makkah. Additionally, the number of raka'ah was increased. We have this on a hadith from 'A'isha recorded yb Abu Dawud, that the prayer of the traveler was left as was originally prescribed, and the prayer of the resident was enhanced.

Lastly, talking during the salah was prohibited. Zayd ibn Arqaam narrated, "We used to talk while engaged in salah during the lifetime of Allah's Messenger, and one would talk with his companion regarding his needs in salah until this verse was revealed, 'Guard strictly the salah, especially the middle salah and stand before Allah qaaniteen (silently with obedience.)' We also have a hadith recorded by Muslim and narrated by Mu'awiyah ibn ul-Hakam, that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Talking is not befitting during the salah, for it consists only of glorifying Allah, declaring His Greatness, and the recitation of the Qur'an."

History of Salah 1

I have recently shared some information (1, 2) about the universality of the postures in salah, and their existence before Islam, which I learned about in an AlMaghrib seminar. But what was even more interesting to me was the development of salah during Islam--during the lifetime of the Prophet (saws). That development can be broken into four basic stages.

The first stage begins in the 2nd or 3rd year of the Message (i.e., 2 or 3 years after Angel Jibreel visited the Prophet Muhammad saws.) At this stage, there were two daily prayers, but we don't know the specifics about them. When the Prophet (saws) received revelation he was ordered to make two daily prayers: one in the morning, and one in the evening.

So be patient (O Muhammad SAW). Verily, the Promise of Allah is true, and ask forgiveness for your fault, and glorify the praises of your Lord in the Ashi (i.e. the time period after the midnoon till sunset) and in the Ibkar (i.e. the time period from early morning or sunrise till before midnoon.) 40:55

We can understand these prayers to be general forms of ibadah, including bowing and prostrating, but not necessarily the specific form of salah we have today. We can also understand the qiblah to be towards Jerusalem.

The second stage is of the night prayer, and this has basically two parts. The first part was when the night prayer was obligatory, as prescribed in Surat al-Muzzammil:

O you wrapped in garments (i.e. Prophet Muhammad SAW)!
Stand (to pray) all night, except a little.
Half of it, or a little less than that,
Or a little more; and recite the Quran (aloud) in a slow, (pleasant tone and) style. (73:1-4)

The Prophet (saws) and the sahabah prayed this every single night, as an obligation, for an entire year. That is based on a hadith from 'Aisha recorded by Imam Ahmad and Imam Muslim. Just now I was reading through the surah and came across this ayah, after the above passage:

Verily, the rising by night (for Tahajjud prayer) is very hard and most potent and good for governing (the soul), and most suitable for (understanding) the Word (of Allah). (73:6)

We learned in the class that this obligatory night prayer was for the sahabah and the Prophet (saws) an institution, a means of learning and also a means of establishing strength and discipline for them. Perhaps many of us might use the excuse that we will start praying tahajjud when we have more discipline. And that is the wrong approach. Instead, we should be praying tahajjud in order to achieve discipline, in order to strengthen our iman--and not because of high iman.

But after a year the tahajjud prayer was no longer obligatory--at the end of this same surah, the burden is eased.

Verily, your Lord knows that you do stand (to pray at night) a little less than two-thirds of the night, or half the night, or a third of the night, and so do a party of those with you, And Allah measures the night and the day. He knows that you are unable to pray the whole night, so He has turned to you (in mercy). So, recite you of the Quran as much as may be easy for you. He knows that there will be some among you sick, others travelling through the land, seeking of Allah's Bounty; yet others fighting in Allah's Cause. So recite as much of the Quran as may be easy (for you), and perform As-Salat (Iqamat-as-Salat) and give Zakat, and lend to Allah a goodly loan, and whatever good you send before you for yourselves, (i.e. Nawafil non-obligatory acts of worship: prayers, charity, fasting, Hajj and 'Umrah, etc.), you will certainly find it with Allah, better and greater in reward. And seek Forgiveness of Allah. Verily, Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most-Merciful. (73:20

So perhaps now we can remember that Allah has made our obligations easy--we don't have the obligation to rise and pray every night, the whole night. He knows our weaknesses. And I love the end of the ayah (the part in bold), which can serve to remind the people, once the obligation of nightly tahajjud has been lifted, the immense reward of continuing in voluntary worship. This ayah is a relief for the Muslims, and a reminder that Allah is Forgiving and Merciful. But did the Sahabah stop praying tahajjud? No! They were already trained, so they continued that legacy.

The Prophet (saws) used to stand in night prayer until his feet would swell and still said, "Shouldn't I be a grateful slave?" Shouldn't we be grateful, and show our gratitude by voluntary worship? By praying tahajjud?

to be continued...

Coming up: the last two stages of salah in Islam.

How We Pray 2

In my recent post, How We Pray 1, I talked about how the concept of salah, and some of the postures, existed before Islam. We can understand that salah, when used in the Qur'an referring to human beings (please see Definition of Salah) generally means worship. Looking at Biblical descriptions of the worship of prophets, we see them falling on their faces. But there is even more evidence in the Qur'an as to what salah looked like, or included as far as postures, in the Qur'an.

That's why this is a part 2 post, it's just further elaborating on some points I already discussed.

One thing that the Qur'an describes is praying in the House of Allah, which is the Ka'ba. This is something we can read in Surat al-Baqarah (2:125.) Surah Ale Imran describes Zakariyyah praying in a mihrab, a chamber or private room (3:39.) And Surah Sad mentions a mihrab of Dawud (38:21.) Surah Yunus describes taking houses as places of prayer for Musa and Harun in Egypt (10:87.) Surah Ale Imran includes instructions to Mary about prostrating and bowing, and it tells her to bow along with those who bow, indicating congregatoinal prayer (3:43.) Surat al-Hajj mentions standing, bowing, prostration, and circumambulation (22:26.) Also mentioned is that salah is for dhikr, rememberance of Allah, as in Surah Taha (20:14.)

I mention these references just to point out that some postures and particulars of prayer, in addition to being universal demonstrations of humility and devotion, are also part of the salah in times before Islam, one more thing which gives our daily salah special significance.

Definition of Salah

In my notes on the "linguistic" definition of salah, I have a few different points. Even though Shaykh Yaser Birjas in Fiqh of Salah discussed the linguistic root of the word salah, and so did Shaykh AbdulNasir Jangda in Vocabulary of Salah, the only summary I can give on the subject is that it's not immediately obvious what the root is, or if the word came from another language.

However, there are still some linguistic understandings inherent in the usage of the word, and that is what I will share inshaaAllaah.

So the first linguistic understanding of the word is that it means du'a and istighfar, which in English means supplication and seeking forgiveness. Du'a, or invoking Allah, is the essence of prayer and worship. In English we use the word "prayer" to mean both du'a and istighfar (and even dhikr) but these words in Arabic have special connotations. We can understand however that salah means invoking Allah and asking for His forgiveness.

The second linguistic understanding of the word is that it means forgiveness and mercy. We get this interpretation, which applies to the salat of Allah, from the following ayah:

Allah sends His Salat (Graces, Honours, Blessings, Mercy, etc.) on the Prophet (Muhammad SAW) and also His angels too (ask Allah to bless and forgive him). O you who believe! Send your Salat on (ask Allah to bless) him (Muhammad SAW), and (you should) greet (salute) him with the Islamic way of greeting (salutation i.e. AsSalamu 'Alaikum). 33:56

In this translation (Muhsin Khan), the word Salat is taken to mean "Graces, Honours, Blessings, Mercy, etc." when referring to the Salat of Allah. And then the Salat of the angels is asking for Allah to bless and forgive [Muhammad, saws.] And our salat in this case means asking Allah to bless him.

The way Sh. AbdulNasir explained it was to say that if Allah is the "doer" then the salat means to have mercy on, and to grant blessings. And if the "doers" are the angels then it means that they seek forgiveness. And if the "doer" is a human being, then it simply means to worship.

One other meaning of the word salah, is that the plural form (salawat) can mean masajid, or places of prayer, as in ayah 22:40.

The technical definition of salah, however, is how we understand the term today. That is, worshiping Allah by means of particular prescribed sayings and actions in a particular order at particular prescribed times, beginning with takbir (Allaahu Akbar) and ending with tasleem (As-salaamu alaykum).

Learning to Pray

Mu`adh (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:

The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) sent me as a governor to Yemen and he instructed me thus: "You will go to people of the Scripture (i.e., the Jews and the Christians). First of all invite them to testify that La ilaha ill Allah (There is no true god except Allah) and that Muhammad (PBUH) is His slave and Messenger; and if they accept this, then tell them that Allah has enjoined upon them five Salat (prayers) during the day and night; and if they accept it, then tell them that Allah has made the payment of Zakat obligatory upon them. It should be collected from their rich and distributed among their poor; and if they agree to it, don't take (as a share of Zakat) the best of their properties. Beware of the supplications of the oppressed, for there is no barrier between it and Allah.'' [Bukhari & Muslim]

This hadith is one of my favorite, as it illustrates a level of priority to the salah for those people who embrace Islam. The very first thing taught to the new Muslim after shahadah should be salah, as the Prophet (saws) commanded that salah be taught.

As a new Muslim, learning to pray was for me one of the greatest hurdles. And I think that as a Muslim community, we do not adhere to the teachings of our Prophet (saws) when we abandon our new brothers and sisters after their shahadahs, instead of teaching them to pray.

I was listening a few weeks back to a khutbah by Muhammad Alshareef as he discussed the plight of a new Muslim. The brother was told again and again the importance of eating halal meat. And then one brother actually gave him some halal meat or took him to the halal meat shop--and we listeners are supposed to learn the importance of putting words into actions. But I can't help asking... halal meat!?

The person just accepted Islam as his deen and the most important thing to tell him is about halal meat? No!

Teach him to pray. Teach new Muslims to pray. This is a new objective for me--I am greatly disappointed that any convert to Islam can leave the masjid without learning how to pray, and I will consider it to be a personal failure if I am present and the person misses the opportunity to learn this precious and supremely important act of worship.

For someone who learned how to pray by watching his or her parents, growing up, it might not seem a strange and foreign procedure. But for a new Muslim it can be wholly intimidating. And I know there are tons of videos, books, pamphlets, and other source material to learn, but they all pale in comparison to being taught in person.

Don't assume someone else is taking the responsibility--that is perhaps our biggest mistake. I don't think Muslims intend to abandon a new Muslim, or intend to neglect his education about the deen, I truly don't. But I think we might have the impression that someone else will teach them, maybe the imam or the da'wah committee, or the uncle who is always in the first row. But we should take that responsibility--and unless the convert already knows how to pray, or has someone else already to teach him (and he specifically declines your offer), do not leave until you've shown him.

And if your excuse is that you don't know how to teach someone to pray, then my answer is that if you know how to pray, then you can teach someone. But if you don't know yourself, then you should learn, and then you can teach. (Try AlMaghrib's Divine Link, for instance!)

If there are any sisters in the Raleigh area, even anywhere in the Triangle, and you don't know how to pray, or you haven't found someone to teach you, please contact me right away, and I will teach you inshaaAllaah. If you know someone who needs to learn how to pray, please direct them to me. For any brothers in the area, inshaaAllah I will find a brother to teach you.

How We Pray 1

If you are not a Muslim, have you ever wondered why Muslims pray the way they do? If you are a Muslim, have you ever been asked the question?

Have you ever thought to answer by asking: Why doesn't everyone pray this way?

One thing we learned in Fiqh of Salah was the History of Salah, and it doesn't start with Islam. Anyone who has read the Bible might recognize the postures of salah being performed by Prophets and Messengers as far back as the time of Ibraheem! (as)

Muslims probably already know that Ibraheem, called Abraham in English, recognized salah, because it is mentioned in the Qur'an (14:37.) But did you know that even the Bible describes sajdah, prostration? In Genesis 17 (v. 3 and 17) it says that Abraham fell on his face. The son of Ibraheem, Isma'il (as) , also used to pray salah and enjoin it on his family. (19:54-55.)

The Qur'an also describes salah in the time of Musa and Harun (as) in Surah Yunus (10:87.) But the Bible describes some of their positions in salah as well. Exodus 34:8 describes Moses bowing his head in prayer, while Numbers 20:6 describes both Moses and Aaron falling on their faces.

From Surah al-Ma'idah (5:12) Muslims know that the Children of Israel were instructed to perform salah. But it is also mentioned in the Bible, that the people would lift their hands, bow their heads, and worship with their faces to the ground (Nehemiah 8:6); that Joshua fell on his face to worship (Joshua 5:14); that Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all of Jerusalem fell before the Lord to worship (2 Chronicles 20:18).

And what about during the time of Jesus? The Qur'an tells us that Mary was instructed to prostrate and bow (3:43), and that salah was also enjoined on her son (19:31). And what does the Bible say? First that Jesus fell on his face to pray (Matthew 26:39) but also it says that even his disciples fell on their faces out of fear of God (Matthew 17:6).

So clearly there is nothing bizarre or unfounded about the way Muslims pray today--the postures they exhibit in worship have been mentioned in previous scriptures and the Qur'an, long before the time of Muhammad (saws). The postures of the prayer universally represent humility and devotion, and are not exclusive even to Islam. So why not pray the way that Muslims pray? Although the exact manner of prayer today might be different than during the time of the Prophets, as Muslims we partake of their legacy every time we pray. It might be that we are the only nation in all of humanity to keep these rituals alive.