How
to
Pray

Now I'm sure you remember from Level 1

that before muslims make that special Prayer they call Sala

they wash themselves in that special way they call Wudhu.

After making their intention,

they wash their hands,

they wash their mouths,

and they wash out their noses.

They wash their faces,

then their forearms,

then their heads and ears and necks.

And finally they wash their feet.

Then they make the Shahada,

and they are ready to make Sala.

Being washed and ready for Sala is known as being A'la Wudhu.

After that, muslims can make as many prayers as they wish

until such time as they go to the toilet,

or let gas out of that end,

or go to sleep.

Then they need to make Wudhu again

before they are A'la Wudhu

and once more ready to make Sala.

Each day, the Messenger made Sala prayers with the rest of the muslims at five different times.

These are known as Fardh Sala, the Essential Sala, and they all have their own Arabic names

Fajr, Dzuhr, Asr, Maghrib, and Isha.

Now there is a set of words and actions called a Raka

which is the building block of the different Fardh Sala,

and the different Sala have different numbers of Raka grouped together.

It is very easy to learn the words and actions for one Rakah,

so it was very easy for the muslims to learn how to pray.

It still is.

The actions and words for one Rakah are very simple.

You start by standing.

This is called Qiyam,

and at this time, either silently or out loud,

you recite the opening verses of the Qur'an,

known as Surah Fatiha,

and perhaps some other verses of the Qur'an as well.

Then you bow down from the waist

and put your hands upon your knees.

This position is known as Ruku.

Then you stand up straight again,

and then kneel and put your forehead on the ground.

This position is known as Sajda.

Then you sit back upon your heels.

This sitting is called Julus or Qu'ud.

Then you make Sajda for a second time,

and either sit back for the end of the rakah,

or stand up to begin another one.

That's it.

It's very easy, and it only takes a couple of minutes,

and each prayer begins with a call of "God is Greater"

and after its required number of rakas

ends with offering peace and mercy to the world.

Easy.

You know, even now, when nearly everyone has their own clock or watch,

it is really easy for humans to forget about the time.

They can get lost in their work, or in a game,

and all of a sudden the hours have slipped by

without them noticing.

Sometimes the time just seems to go really fast,

just as at other times it seems to go really slowly.

But for muslims the prayers give a rhythm to the day

which ties them to the clock in a different way.

The Fard Sala are made at different times,

Fajr in the early morning, before sunrise,

Dhuhr after mid-day,

and Asr in the afternoon.

Maghrib is made just after sunset,

and Isha is made in the dark of night.

So a muslim who is making the Sala always has to know what time of day it is,

and in mosques all around the world you can find

signs that show the local times for the five daily Sala,

the prayers that were made by Muhammad the Messenger.