A Brief Guide to Muslim Prayer
Prayer is an act or invocation that is dedicated to a deity, an idol or a sense of any external source.
Humans throughout the passages of time have worshipped in one form or another.
People have and still do worship the sun, fire and idols of many forms.
Before Christianisation, Europe was populated by Paganism, the native Indians of the Americas would offer prayer sticks as means of offering to their deities.
Based on human practices over time one can believe that prayer or seeking an external force is part of human nature.
Many religions hold prayer as a fundamental rite and practice of their belief none more so than Islam.
Muslims pray five times a day and observe prayer as a religious commandment set by god (Allah) in the Holy Quran, the primary Islamic scripture, "And establish Salah and give Zakah, and bow down (in worship) along with those who bow down (in worship)" (2:43), "This is the Book in which there is no doubt, a guidance for those who have God consciousness; who believe in the unseen, and who establish prayer, and spend out of what we have provided for them" (2: 2-3), "Guard strictly the prayer, especially the middle prayer.
And stand before God with obedience.
" (2:238).
The daily prayers are regarded as one of the five pillars of Islam and are observed at the different intervals of the day: sunrise, afternoon, mid after noon, sunset and at evening.
A Muslim who is mature and free from mental illness is obliged to perform prayer in the Islamic faith.
The Islamic collective place of worship is known as the Mosque.
The Muslims gather at the Mosque to perform their five daily prayers and the communal prayer on Friday, the Islamic holy day.
Muslims can also pray at home or anywhere that is clean, prayer mats are widely used by Muslims to ensure purity.
A Mosque can be of any structure but around the world there are many Mosques of amazing architectural achievement.
Muslims believe that the first Mosque to be built was the Mosque in the Holy city of Mekkah, Saudi Arabia, known as the Ka'ba.
The Prayer itself consists of many elements which include washing before commencement.
The significant characteristic of the Islamic prayer is the physical posture that is adopted.
The Islamic prayer starts from a standing position and then moves to a bowing one which then concludes into a prostration, upon finishing the prostration the praying person returns to a standing position to repeat another unit of prayer until he/she is finished.
Units of prayer can consist of two, three or four, these are known as Ra'kah.
Muslims regard prayer as the height of spirituality and the means to draw closer to God.
Humans throughout the passages of time have worshipped in one form or another.
People have and still do worship the sun, fire and idols of many forms.
Before Christianisation, Europe was populated by Paganism, the native Indians of the Americas would offer prayer sticks as means of offering to their deities.
Based on human practices over time one can believe that prayer or seeking an external force is part of human nature.
Many religions hold prayer as a fundamental rite and practice of their belief none more so than Islam.
Muslims pray five times a day and observe prayer as a religious commandment set by god (Allah) in the Holy Quran, the primary Islamic scripture, "And establish Salah and give Zakah, and bow down (in worship) along with those who bow down (in worship)" (2:43), "This is the Book in which there is no doubt, a guidance for those who have God consciousness; who believe in the unseen, and who establish prayer, and spend out of what we have provided for them" (2: 2-3), "Guard strictly the prayer, especially the middle prayer.
And stand before God with obedience.
" (2:238).
The daily prayers are regarded as one of the five pillars of Islam and are observed at the different intervals of the day: sunrise, afternoon, mid after noon, sunset and at evening.
A Muslim who is mature and free from mental illness is obliged to perform prayer in the Islamic faith.
The Islamic collective place of worship is known as the Mosque.
The Muslims gather at the Mosque to perform their five daily prayers and the communal prayer on Friday, the Islamic holy day.
Muslims can also pray at home or anywhere that is clean, prayer mats are widely used by Muslims to ensure purity.
A Mosque can be of any structure but around the world there are many Mosques of amazing architectural achievement.
Muslims believe that the first Mosque to be built was the Mosque in the Holy city of Mekkah, Saudi Arabia, known as the Ka'ba.
The Prayer itself consists of many elements which include washing before commencement.
The significant characteristic of the Islamic prayer is the physical posture that is adopted.
The Islamic prayer starts from a standing position and then moves to a bowing one which then concludes into a prostration, upon finishing the prostration the praying person returns to a standing position to repeat another unit of prayer until he/she is finished.
Units of prayer can consist of two, three or four, these are known as Ra'kah.
Muslims regard prayer as the height of spirituality and the means to draw closer to God.
