Religions - Islam: Salat: daily prayers - BBC

Salat is the obligatory Muslim prayers, performed five times each day by Muslims. It is the second Pillar of Islam. God ordered Muslims to pray ... BritishBroadcastingCorporationHomeAccessibilitylinksSkiptocontentSkiptolocalnavigationSkiptobbc.co.uknavigationSkiptobbc.co.uksearchAccessibilityHelp Thispagehasbeenarchivedandisnolongerupdated. Findoutmoreaboutpagearchiving. Religions ThisarticleisaboutSalat,theobligatoryMuslimprayersperformedfivetimeseachday. Onthispage Findoutmore Pageoptions Printthispage Salat SalatistheobligatoryMuslimprayers,performedfivetimeseachdaybyMuslims.ItisthesecondPillarofIslam. GodorderedMuslimstoprayatfivesettimesofday: Salatal-fajr:dawn,beforesunrise Salatal-zuhr:midday,afterthesunpassesitshighest Salatal-'asr:thelatepartoftheafternoon Salatal-maghrib:justaftersunset Salatal-'isha:betweensunsetandmidnight AllMuslimstrytodothis.Muslimchildrenasyoungassevenareencouragedtopray. Prayersetstherhythmoftheday ThisprayertimetablegivesMuslimsthepatternoftheirday. InIslamiccountries,thepubliccalltoprayerfromthemosquessetstherhythmofthedayfortheentirepopulation,includingnon-Muslims. AuniversalMuslimritual Theprayerritual,whichisover1400yearsold,isrepeatedfivetimesadaybyhundredsofmillionsofpeopleallroundtheworld. Carryingitoutisnotonlyhighlyspiritual,butconnectseachMuslimtoallothersaroundtheworld,andtoallthosewhohaveutteredthesamewordsandmadethesamemovementsatdifferenttimesinIslamichistory. Prayersofbody,mindandsoul Thesetprayersarenotjustphrasestobespoken. PrayerforaMusliminvolvesunitingmind,soul,andbodyinworship;soaMuslimcarryingouttheseprayerswillperformawholeseriesofsetmovementsthatgowiththewordsoftheprayer. Muslimsmakesurethattheyareintherightframeofmindbeforetheypray;theyputasidealleverydaycaresandthoughtssothattheycanconcentrateexclusivelyonGod. IfaMuslimprayswithouttherightattitudeofmind,itasiftheyhadn'tbotheredtoprayatall. Woetothosewhopray,butareunmindfuloftheirprayer,orwhoprayonlytobeseenbypeople Qur'an107:4-6 Muslimsdon'tprayforGod'sbenefit MuslimsdonotprayforthebenefitofAllah. Allahdoesnotneedhumanprayersbecausehehasnoneedsatall. MuslimspraybecauseGodhastoldthemthattheyaretodothis,andbecausetheybelievethattheyobtaingreatbenefitindoingso. MuslimspraydirecttoGod AMuslimpraysasifstandinginthepresenceofAllah. IntheritualprayerseachindividualMuslimisindirectcontactwithAllah.Thereisnoneedofapriestasanintermediary.(Whilethereisaprayerleaderinthemosque-theimam-theyarenotapriest,simplyapersonwhoknowsagreatdealaboutIslam.) Prayinginthemosque Muslimscanprayanywhere,butitisespeciallygoodtopraywithothersinamosque. PrayingtogetherinacongregationhelpsMuslimstorealisethatallhumanityisone,andallareequalinthesightofAllah. Ritualwashing Muslimsmustbecleanbeforetheypray.Theymakesureofthisbyperformingritualwashing,calledwudhu.Mosqueshavewashingfacilities. Top Findoutmore InPictures:Prayermovements InPictures:Wudhu Muslimprayercalculator Top « MoreIslam Seealso ReligionandEthicshome Interfaithcalendar Ethicsguides BBCiDBBCiDSettingsSignoutSearchterm:BBCnavigationNewsSportWeatheriPlayerTVRadioMore…CBBCCBeebiesComedyFoodHistoryLearningMusicScienceNatureLocalNorthernIrelandScotlandWalesFullA-ZofBBCsitesBBClinksMobilesiteTermsofUseAbouttheBBCPrivacyAccessibilityHelpCookiesContacttheBBCParentalGuidanceBBC©2014TheBBCisnotresponsibleforthecontentofexternalsites.Readmore.Thispageisbestviewedinanup-to-datewebbrowserwithstylesheets(CSS)enabled.Whileyouwillbeabletoviewthecontentofthispageinyourcurrentbrowser,youwillnotbeabletogetthefullvisualexperience.Pleaseconsiderupgradingyourbrowsersoftwareorenablingstylesheets(CSS)ifyouareabletodoso.