2. Salah/Salat (Five daily compulsory prayers)

There are two types of prayer - one is Duah, which is a prayer of petition (asking) and (pleading) that may be said anywhere, and at any time. It expresses the Muslims complete reliance on God. The other is Salat, which is commonly termed the second pillar.

Prayer is a basic duty performed five times each day - dawn, just after mid-day, mid afternoon, sunset, and at night, facing Mecca, the Holy city and centre of Islam, both individually and publicly in congregation. The prayer is preceded by ablution (wasu) that cleanses the body (arms, mouth, face and feet) and spirit and bestows the ritual purity necessary for divine worship. Meticulous care must be taken to perform the ablution properly - the directions are very elaborate - and in the prescribed order, otherwise the subsequent prayer will be offered in vain.

In its public and congregational form performed on Fridays and feast days, prayer is a means of reinforcing group consciousness and expressing social solidarity. The physical movements of Muslim prayer are, in addition to any spiritual dimension, a means of promoting group solidarity and individual therapy. The old kinship groups of Arab society had been reinforced by all sorts of subtle physical traits; an individual's membership of a particular tribe might be determined by a special gesture. By subjecting itself at regular daily intervals to a series of identical and physical actions, the "Umma" subsumed the features of tribal or racial identity in a common physical discipline. In the original context of Bedouin Arabia, and in parallel conditions elsewhere, the Muslim prayer had an effect similar to the discipline of the parade ground; the new recruits were welded into a single uniform body under Allah's generalship.

The physical impact of prayer was also effective at an individual level: by insisting on the interruption of ordinary mundane activities at regular intervals, it constantly reminded the believer of the superior claims of God and the community. It assisted to purify the heart and develop the mind, cultivate the conscience and comfort the soul, thus serving both spiritual and therapeutic needs.

The Islamic prayer and its unique nature is not merely a physical motion or a recital of the Qur'an. It is a formula of intellectual meditation, spiritual devotion, moral elevation and physical exercise, all combined. It is an experience where every muscle of the body joins the soul and the mind in the worship and glory of God. It is an arduous task to provide a comprehensive definition of the Salat, however, it can be said that it is:

• a lesson in discipline and willpower;
• a practise in the devotion of God and a reminder of Him;
• a seed of spiritual cultivation and moral soundness;
• a course of inner peace and stability;
• a demonstration of equality and brotherhood;
• an expression of thankfulness to and appreciation of God;
  

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Open the Salat translation in PDF format (1,555Kb. You will require Acrobat Reader to read this file).

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