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In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Prayer (Salah)

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Prayer is enjoined on Believers at stated times to be conducted at appointed hours (Qur'an  4:103)

Every Muslim, male or female, who has reached the age of puberty and being of sound mind, must pray.

Every Muslim who has heard the message of Prophet Muhammed, peace be upon him, must pray.

Every Muslim who is capable of performing prayers and is clean and undefiled is required to pray.

A child is required to perform obligatory prayers from the age of seven so that he will be brought up to love it and make a habit of it. He must be made to perform it at the age of 10 if by then he refuses to do so.

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.Prophet Muhammed, peace be upon him, was instructed by Allah to pray. The angel Jibreel (Gabriel) was sent by Allah to speak to Prophet Mohamed (peace be upon him). The angel Jibreel showed him how to purify himself and then how to pray.

One night while Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, was asleep he went on a night journey to Jerusalem and the heavens with the angel Jibreel (Gabriel). It was then that Muhammad was told to pray. In the beginning he was told to pray 50 times a day but the Prophet went back several times until Allah reduced it to 5 times a day. Allah is the Most Merciful.

Prayer is one of the 5 foundations (pillars) of Islam. If you remove one of those foundations, it will fall. Prayer connects us with Allah.

Allah says, concerning the disbelievers on Judgment Day, that they will be asked by the Believers:

"What led you into the Hell-fire?" They will say: "We were not of those who prayed." (Qur'an 74:42-43).

Allah also says:

"The Believers must (eventually) be prosperous who are humble in their prayers "(Qur'an 23:1-2).

Prayer is what connects the believer to Allah.

"Prayer restrains from indecency and evil. And remembrance of Allah is the greatest thing in life. And Allah knows the (deeds) that you do." (Qur'an 29:45)

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Muslims have 5 times to pray each day that are obligatory. The times for these prayers are based on the movement of the sun, so the times may vary greatly from winter to summer. These prayers only take about 5 to 10 minutes each to perform once you learn how to do them. This is not an inconvenience and the rewards of doing all the prayers are well worth the little amount of time. The names and approximate times of each prayer are as follows:

1. Fajr - Before sunrise.Sometimes called the dawn prayer.
2. Zuhr - About a half an hour after noon.
3. 'Asr - About two to three hours before sunset.
4. Maghrib - Immediately after sunset.
5. 'Isha - After the last light of the departing sun is gone from the sky.

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Shurooq  time is listed on most prayer charts which can be confusing to some new Muslims. It can be especially confusing to those who don't have other Muslims around to teach them. It's a common mistake of new Muslims to pray at the time of shurooq thinking that it is time for one of the prayers.

But shurooq is not a prayer time. Shurooq is actually the time of  sunrise, the time when the upper limb of the sun just starts to appear above the horizon. This marks the end time for fajr/morning prayers. If you have not prayed fajr prayer before the time of shurooq then you have lost the reward of praying fajr on time.

This doesn't mean not to pray the morning prayer if you oversleep until shurooq time! You just wait until the sun rises some more and then pray the morning prayer (2 rakats). And Allah knows better than us.

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Whoever sleeps through or has forgotten to pray a certain prayer should pray it when he wakes up or remembers the prayer. "There is no negligence in sleep, but negligence occurs while one is awake. If one of you forgets a prayer or sleeps through its time, then he should pray it when he remembers it."
(Abu Qatadah) Anas related that the Prophet said ,"Whoever forgets a prayer should pray it when he remembers it, and there is no expiation for it save that." (Related by Bukhari and Muslim)

"Every person is a pledge for what he has earned, Except those on the Right, (i.e. the pious true believers of Islamic Monotheism); In Gardens (Paradise) they will ask one another, About Al-Mujrimun (polytheists, criminals, disbelievers, etc.), (And they will say to them): "What has caused you to enter Hell?" They will say: "We were not of those who used to offer their Salat (prayers). "Nor we used to feed Al-Miskin (the poor); "And we used to talk falsehood (all that which Allah hated) with vain talkers "And we used to belie the Day of Recompense "Until there came to us (the death) that is certain." So no intercession of intercessors will be of any use to them. (Qur'an 74:38-48)

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Uqbah bin Amir, one of the companions of the Prophet, said, " There were 3 times at which Allah's messenger used to forbid us to pray or bury our dead.

• When the sun began to rise until it was fully up.
• When the sun was at its height at midday till it passed the meridian.
• When the sun drew near to setting till it had set." (Muslim)

In addition to the times listed above, there are other times when women can't pray. Women cannot do the 5 daily prayers when they are menstruating, or for 40 days after giving birth (or sooner if the post-partum discharge stops completely). And Allah is Most Compassionate.

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When traveling we are allowed to shorten our prayers to two rakat each and combine prayer times except for fajr (morning) prayer. It is permitted to combine Zuhr and Asr, you can: pray both at Asr or at Zuhr time. We are also allowed to combine Magrib and Isha' prayers, we may pray both at Magrib or Isha time.

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