Prayer or Salah in Arabic is the second pillar of Islam, and is the establishment of five, daily prayers.
This is obligatory for all Muslims of a mature age, except women who are menstruating. There are five daily prayers which must be prayed at specific times throughout the day: Fajr – to be performed before sunrise, Zuhr at midday, Asr between Dhur and sunset, Maghrib at sunset and Isha between Maghrib and midnight. Performing salah brings much reward, and the opportunity to move closer to Allah (swt), reminding us of God consciousness and piety.
Salah is a pillar of Islam – a core belief and practise that is intrinsic to the faith itself. The five daily prayers have been declared obligatory by Allah (swt) upon every Muslim of a mature age.
There are five prayers which take place throughout the day. Their times are not fixed and actually relate to the length of the day, and thus change each day. The five prayers are:
There are a number of rules that Muslims must follow while praying. Muslims must be wearing specific types of clothing which keep areas of their body covered, face Mecca before beginning and must recite certain phrases and passages from the Qur’an at certain points.
Each salah prayer consists of a certain number of rakaat (units), which are obligatory (fard). There are additional rakaats which are sunnah or voluntary as nafl. The fard rakaats are as follows:
Fajr:
First two rakat Sunnat Mokadda
Two rakat Fard
Zuhr:
Four rakat Sunnat Mokadda
Four rakat Fard
Two rakat sunnat Mokadda
Two rakat Nafl (Optional but spiritually beneficial)
Asr:
Four rakat sunnat ghair mokadda (Optional but spiritually beneficial)
Four rakat Fard
Maghrib
Three rakat Fard
Two rakat Sunnat Mokadda
Two rakat nafl (Optional but spiritually beneficial)
Isha:
Four rakat sunnat e Ghair Mokadda (Optional but spiritually beneficial)
Four rakat Fard
Two Rakat Sunnat Mokadda
Two rakat Nafil (Optional but spiritually beneficial)
Three rakat Wajib
Two rakat Nafil (Optional but spiritually beneficial)
Zakat – the Third pillar of Islam
At Al Mustafa Welfare Trust, we make sure 100% of your Zakat donation goes to those most in need.
Alongside salah, another pillar of Islam is to give Zakat. This beautiful obligation helps save lives around the world, and your Zakat can mean no one has to go hungry, without water or struggling to lead a good life. Find out more about our Zakat projects and donate yours today.
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.
