Salat

The Fajr Prayer is said from dawn to sunrise, and is said to be God’s favourite prayer, as everyone else in the world is probably asleep when it is being said. As it is also the first prayer of the day, the Fajr is regarded as the best and most necessary one for a congregation of Muslims in the Mosques.

Dhuhr and Asr can almost be described as the same, or very similar for the times they are said, pretty much straight after one another. Dhuhr comes straight after the proper noon and can continue until Asr begins, which is the afternoon prayer.

Maghrib and Isha’a are also very close together, Maghrib is held from after sunset until dusk and Isha’a is from true dusk until the beginnings of dawn. It is not wise to say Isha’a after midnight however, as it is frowned upon and is not liked at all. So it is probably better to say Isha’a between dawn and midnight. Non-Muslims often get confused by all of the regulations governing the times and what type of prayers go with which time, but they soon become accustomed to the variations. There are also slight variations between the Sunni and the Shi’ite Muslims as to what is actually said.

The first of these is the Wajib Salat, which are compulsory and definitely should not be neglected or worse, forgotten. Then again, this has differences of opinion, depending on which way you are seeing it. One school of thought happens to think that while this one is necessary, it makes the other prayers optional. On the other hand not believing that it is obligatory automatically will label you as a sinner. This depends on the use of the word preceding it. If you say that this prayer is obligatory but do not believe that so, makes you into a disbeliever.  But if you simply deny that it is obligatory then you are not a disbeliever, which is rather complicated to an outsider.

There are several prayers that are as confusing as this one, but one that is encouraged to be said just not at certain times, unlike the others is the nafl salat. These prayers are purely voluntary and can be given at any time you would like, except for the following: Sunrise, proper midday or at the setting of the sun. This may, if they are used then, be misconstrued as sun worship. Majority of Muslims pray five times a day as it is a compulsion. On the other hand, a minority of people perform optional salat and praying rituals.

Salat,

Along with the prayers, there are body movements that must be followed strictly. The different postures express the feelings at the time for Allah, be they adoration, submission or modesty. Prophet Muhammad, Sall-Allahu-Alayhi-Wasalam describes these movements as “Praying to Allah as if you see Him; because though you don’t see Him, He surely sees you.”

The prayer is an extremely important part of the day, for prayer to the Muslim will purify him or her, and keep wrongful thoughts and deeds away from him or her. It also purifies a person and takes him or her nearer to Allah. The Holy Book or Qur’an makes a point of encouraging Muslims to make a tradition of prayer to help them against wronging anyone and anything. For performing salat, Muslims have to follow a proper dress code which includes covering from head to toe for woman and men as well. Before performing salat ablution is a must.

There are various parts that are compulsory to perform and speak during Salat. The prayers themselves can be divided in several ways, but each has its appropriate section which should not be ignored or omitted, or the whole Salat is wasted and is not acceptable to Allah.  So this is the basic premise of Salat or the Daily Prayers which is indispensable to the Muslim religion.