Salah
The five daily prayers which are the second Pillar of Islam. is the second of the The five observances which must be followed by all practising Muslims, eg Salah - to pray five times a day.. It is the belief that Muslims should pray five times each day. Prayer is important as it allows Muslims to communicate with Allah, listen to Allah and follow in the footsteps of the prophets.
Prayer is performed five times each day because of what the Qur鈥檃n says about prayer: Establish prayer at the decline of the sun [from its meridian] until the darkness of the night and [also] the Qur鈥檃n of dawn. Indeed, the recitation of dawn is ever witnessed.
(Qur'an 17:78).
There are five key things that Muslims must do when they come into contact with Allah through salah. These are:
- perform Ritual washing before salah (prayer).
- pray five times each day at set times
- face City where the Prophet Muhammad was born, and where the Ka鈥檅ah is located - often spelt Mecca.
- perform certain actions which include standing, bowing, In Islam, kneeling with forehead, hands, knees and feet touching the floor. and sitting
- recite in Arabic
When a Muslim prays, the intention (niyyah) behind the prayer must be right, otherwise Allah will know and the prayer will be meaningless. Although Muslims are expected to pray five times each day, they are allowed to perform more prayers. For example, they might say extra prayers asking for forgiveness.