{"id":1625,"date":"2016-03-25T18:31:41","date_gmt":"2016-03-25T18:31:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/?p=1625"},"modified":"2018-03-28T21:10:41","modified_gmt":"2018-03-29T02:10:41","slug":"the-second-pillar-of-islam-the-prayer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/en\/the-second-pillar-of-islam-the-prayer\/","title":{"rendered":"The Second Pillar of Islam: The Prayer"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>By Imam Kamil Mufti<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Salah<\/em> is the daily ritual prayer enjoined upon all Muslims as one of the five Pillars of Islam.\u00a0 It is performed five times a day by all Muslims.\u00a0 <em>Salah<\/em> is a precise worship, different from praying on the inspiration of the moment.\u00a0 Muslims pray or, perhaps more correctly, worship five times throughout the day:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Between first light and sunrise.<\/li>\n<li>After the sun has passed the middle of the sky.<\/li>\n<li>Between mid-afternoon and sunset.<\/li>\n<li>Between sunset and the last light of the day.<\/li>\n<li>Between darkness and midnight.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Each prayer may take at least 5 minutes, but it may be lengthened as a person wishes.\u00a0 Muslims can pray in any clean environment, alone or together, in a mosque or at home, at work or on the road, indoors or out.\u00a0 Under special circumstances, such as illness, journey, or war, certain allowances in the prayers are given to make their offering easy.<\/p>\n<p>Having specific times each day to be close to God helps Muslims remain aware of the importance of their faith, and the role it plays in every part of life.\u00a0 Muslims start their day by cleaning themselves and then standing before their Lord in prayer.\u00a0 The prayers consist of recitations from the Quran in Arabic and a sequence of movements: standing, bowing, prostrating, and sitting.\u00a0 All recitations and movements express submission, humility, and homage to God.\u00a0 The various postures Muslims assume during their prayers capture the spirit of submission; the words remind them of their commitments to God.\u00a0 The prayer also reminds one of belief in the Day of Judgment and of the fact that one has to appear before his or her Creator and give an account of their entire life.\u00a0 This is how a Muslim starts their day.\u00a0 In the course of the day, Muslims dissociate themselves from their worldly engagements for a few moments and stand before God.\u00a0 This brings to mind once again the real purpose of life.<\/p>\n<p>These prayers serve as a constant reminder throughout the day to help keep believers mindful of God in the daily stress of work, family, and distractions of life.\u00a0 Prayer strengthens faith, dependence on God, and puts daily life within the perspective of life to come after death and the last judgment.\u00a0 As they prepare to pray, Muslims face Mecca, the holy city that houses the Kaaba (the ancient place of worship built by Abraham and his son Ishmael).\u00a0 At the end of the prayer, the<em>shahada<\/em> (testimony of faith) is recited, and the greeting of peace, &#8220;Peace be upon all of you and the mercy and blessings of God,&#8221; is repeated twice.<\/p>\n<p>Though individual performance of <em>salah<\/em> is permissible, collective worship in the mosque has special merit and Muslims are encouraged to perform certain<em>salah<\/em> with others.\u00a0 With their faces turned in the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca, the worshipers align themselves in parallel rows behind the <em>imam<\/em>, or prayer leader, who directs them as they execute the physical postures coupled with Quran recitations.\u00a0 In many Muslim countries, the &#8220;call to prayer,&#8221; or \u2018Adhan,\u2019 echo out across the rooftops.\u00a0 Aided by a megaphone the muezzin calls out:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em>Allahu Akbar (God is the greatest),<\/em><br \/>\n<em> Allahu Akbar (God is the greatest),<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Allahu Akbar (God is the greatest),<\/em><br \/>\n<em> Allahu Akbar (God is the greatest),<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Ash-hadu an-laa ilaaha il-lal-lah (I witness that none deserves worship except God).<\/em><br \/>\n<em> Ash-hadu an-laa ilaaha il-lal-lah (I witness that none deserves worship except God).<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Ash-hadu anna Muhammadar-Rasool-ullah (I witness that Muhammad is the messenger of God).<\/em><br \/>\n<em> Ash-hadu anna Muhammadar-Rasool-ullah (I witness that Muhammad is the messenger of God).<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Hayya \u2018alas-Salah (Come to prayer!)<\/em><br \/>\n<em> Hayya \u2018alas-Salah (Come to prayer!)<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Hayya \u2018alal-Falah (Come to prosperity!)<\/em><br \/>\n<em> Hayya \u2018alal-Falah (Come to prosperity!)<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Allahu Akbar (God is the greatest),<\/em><br \/>\n<em> Allahu Akbar (God is the greatest),<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>La ilaaha il-lal-lah (None deserves worship except God).<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Friday is the weekly day of communal worship in Islam.\u00a0 The weekly convened Friday Prayer is the most important service.\u00a0 The Friday Prayer is marked by the following features:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>It falls in the same time as the noon prayer which it replaces.<\/li>\n<li>It must be performed in a congregation led by a prayer leader, an \u2018Imam.\u2019 It can not be offered individually.\u00a0 Muslims in the West try to arrange their schedules to allow them time to attend the prayer.<\/li>\n<li>Rather than \u00a0a day of rest like the Sabbath, Friday is a day of devotion and extra worship.\u00a0 A Muslim is allowed normal work on Friday as on any other day of the week. \u00a0They may proceed with their usual activities, but they must break for the Friday prayer.\u00a0 After the worship is over, they can resume their mundane activities.<\/li>\n<li>Typically, the Friday Prayer is performed in a mosque, if available.\u00a0 Sometimes, due to unavailability of a mosque, it may be offered at a rented facility, park, etc.<\/li>\n<li>When the time for prayer comes, the Adhan is pronounced.\u00a0 The Imam then stands facing the audience and delivers his sermon (known as <em>khutba<\/em>in Arabic), an essential part of the service of which its attendance is required.\u00a0 While the Imam is talking, everyone present listens to the sermon quietly till the end.\u00a0 Most Imams in the West will deliver the sermon in English, but some deliver it in Arabic.\u00a0 Those who deliver it in Arabic usually deliver a short speech in the local language before the service.<\/li>\n<li>There are two sermons delivered, one distinguished from the other by a brief sitting of the Imam.\u00a0 The sermon is commenced with words of praise of God and prayers of blessing for Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him.<\/li>\n<li>After the sermon, the prayer is offered under the leadership of the Imam who recites the Fatiha and other Quranic passages in an audible voice.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Special, large congregational prayers, which include a sermon, are also offered at late morning on the two days of festivity.\u00a0 One of them is immediately following the month of fasting, Ramadan, and the other after the pilgrimage, or hajj.<\/p>\n<p>Although not religiously mandated, individual devotional prayers, especially during the night, are emphasized and are a common practice among pious Muslims.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>From: Islamreligion<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Imam Kamil Mufti Salah is the daily ritual prayer enjoined upon all Muslims as one of the five Pillars of Islam.\u00a0 It is performed five times a day by all Muslims.\u00a0 Salah is a precise worship, different from praying on the inspiration of the moment.\u00a0 Muslims pray or, perhaps more correctly, worship five times &#8230; <a title=\"The Second Pillar of Islam: The Prayer\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/en\/the-second-pillar-of-islam-the-prayer\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about The Second Pillar of Islam: The Prayer\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2787,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1625","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-five-pillars-of-islam"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/pillar-2.jpg","uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/pillar-2.jpg",1280,720,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/pillar-2-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/pillar-2-300x169.jpg",300,169,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/pillar-2-768x432.jpg",768,432,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/pillar-2-1024x576.jpg",1024,576,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/pillar-2.jpg",1280,720,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/pillar-2.jpg",1280,720,false],"gform-image-choice-sm":["https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/pillar-2.jpg",300,169,false],"gform-image-choice-md":["https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/pillar-2.jpg",400,225,false],"gform-image-choice-lg":["https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/pillar-2.jpg",600,338,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"ASKM","author_link":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/en\/author\/askm\/"},"uagb_comment_info":1,"uagb_excerpt":"By Imam Kamil Mufti Salah is the daily ritual prayer enjoined upon all Muslims as one of the five Pillars of Islam.\u00a0 It is performed five times a day by all Muslims.\u00a0 Salah is a precise worship, different from praying on the inspiration of the moment.\u00a0 Muslims pray or, perhaps more correctly, worship five times&hellip;","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pcT0IL-qd","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8590,"url":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/de\/jonathan-abdilla-ex-christ-canada\/","url_meta":{"origin":1625,"position":0},"title":"Jonathan Abdilla, Ex-Christ, Canada","author":"Site Admin","date":"06\/20\/2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Ich f\u00fchle mich geehrt, ein Muslim zu sein\u2026Und so f\u00fchle ich mich aus verschiedenen Gr\u00fcnden. Es gibt viele Normen in der Gesellschaft, in der ich lebe, die genau das Gegenteil dessen sind, wie Muslime es tun. Und als ich zuerst zu dieser Lebensweise kam, wusste ich nicht so genau wie\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;WARUM WURDE ICH MUSLIM&quot;","block_context":{"text":"WARUM WURDE ICH MUSLIM","link":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/de\/category\/warum-wurde-ich-muslim\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8524,"url":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/de\/die-erhaltung-des-quran\/","url_meta":{"origin":1625,"position":1},"title":"Die Erhaltung des Quran","author":"Site Admin","date":"06\/20\/2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Auswendiglernen Der pr\u00e4chtige Quran, die religi\u00f6se Schrift der Muslime, wurde dem Propheten Muhammad, m\u00f6ge Gott ihn loben, auf arabisch durch den Engel Gabriel offenbart. Die Offenbarung fand St\u00fcck f\u00fcr St\u00fcck \u00fcber einen Zeitraum von 23 Jahren statt, manchmal in kurzen Versen und manchmal in l\u00e4ngeren Abschnitten.[1] Der Quran (\u201clesen\u201d oder\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;\u00dcber den Heiligen Quran&quot;","block_context":{"text":"\u00dcber den Heiligen Quran","link":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/de\/category\/ueber-den-heiligen-quran\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8672,"url":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/de\/kommentare-der-wissenschaftler-ueber-die-wissenschaftlichen-wunder-im-heiligen-quran\/","url_meta":{"origin":1625,"position":2},"title":"Kommentare der Wissenschaftler \u00fcber die wissenschaftlichen Wunder im Heiligen Quran","author":"Site Admin","date":"06\/20\/2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Es folgen einige Kommentare von Wissenschaftlern[1] \u00fcber die wissenschaftlichen Wunder im Heiligen Quran. All diese Kommentare wurden von der Videoaufnahme Dies ist die Wahrheit \u00fcbernommen. In dieser Videoaufnahme kann man die Wissenschaftler h\u00f6ren und sehen, die sich folgenderma\u00dfen \u00e4u\u00dferten. (Um das RealPlayer-Video f\u00fcr einen Kommentar zu sehen, klicken Sie auf\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;WISSENSCHAFTLICHE WUNDER&quot;","block_context":{"text":"WISSENSCHAFTLICHE WUNDER","link":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/de\/category\/wissenschaftliche-wunder\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8492,"url":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/de\/prophezeiungen-des-quran-die-sich-an-muhammad-wenden\/","url_meta":{"origin":1625,"position":3},"title":"Prophezeiungen des Quran, die sich an Muhammad wenden","author":"Site Admin","date":"06\/20\/2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Betreten von Mekkas Heiliger Moschee (al-Mas\u011fid al-Haram) Im sechsten Jahr nachdem der Prophet, Gottes Segen und Frieden seien auf ihm, gezwungen war, von Mekka nach Medina auszuwandern, sah er sich selbst Mekka besuchen und die Pilgerfahrt verrichten. Diese Vision erw\u00e4hnt auch der Qur\u00b4an:. \u201cWahrlich, Gott hat Seinem Gesandten das Traumgesicht\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;MUHAMMAD, FRIEDE SEI AUF IHM&quot;","block_context":{"text":"MUHAMMAD, FRIEDE SEI AUF IHM","link":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/de\/category\/muhammad-friede-sei-auf-ihm\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8602,"url":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/de\/steinmann-ex-secularist-uk\/","url_meta":{"origin":1625,"position":4},"title":"Steinmann, Ex-Secularist, UK","author":"Site Admin","date":"06\/20\/2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Keine andere Religion, die von so einer gro\u00dfen Gemeinschaft bezeugt wird, habe ich so verst\u00e4ndlich und ermutigend gefunden. Es scheint keinen besseren Weg zur Seelenruhe und zur Zufriedenheit im Leben zu geben, kein gr\u00f6\u00dferes Versprechen f\u00fcr die Zukunft nach dem Tod. Das menschliche Wesen ist Teil eines Ganzen; der Mensch\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;WARUM WURDE ICH MUSLIM&quot;","block_context":{"text":"WARUM WURDE ICH MUSLIM","link":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/de\/category\/warum-wurde-ich-muslim\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8664,"url":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/de\/die-erdatmosphaere\/","url_meta":{"origin":1625,"position":5},"title":"Die Erdatmosph\u00e4re","author":"Site Admin","date":"06\/20\/2020","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cBeim Himmel mit seiner Wiederkehr.\u201d (Quran 86:11) \u201c[Er] Der euch die Erde zu einer Ruhest\u00e4tte und den Himmel zu einem Bau gemacht hat... \u201d (Quran 2:22) Im ersten Vers schw\u00f6rt Gott beim Himmel[1] und seiner Funktion des Wiederkehrens ohne genau zu sagen, was wiederkehrt. In der islamischen Rechtslehre zeigt ein\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;WISSENSCHAFTLICHE WUNDER&quot;","block_context":{"text":"WISSENSCHAFTLICHE WUNDER","link":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/de\/category\/wissenschaftliche-wunder\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1625","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1625"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1625\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2850,"href":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1625\/revisions\/2850"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2787"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1625"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1625"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1625"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}