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For the Indian village, see Salat, Kulpahar. For the river in south-west France, see Salat River.

Salat (also salah and other transliterations) (Arabic: صلاة, Qur'anic Arabic: صلوة) is the ritual prayer practised by Muslims in supplication to God. The term is commonly used to refer to the five daily prayers, which are compulsory upon all mature Muslims.

Salat is one of the Five Pillars of Islam in Sunni Islam and one of the ten Practices of the Religion in Shia Islam. In central and south Asian languages such as Persian, Urdu, Hindi and Turkic languages it is commonly known by the term namāz (نماز).

The person performing salat is termed a musallee (مصلى), while the traditional prayer mat used to perform the prayers on is called a musalla.

Etymology

The word "salat" (صلوة) is from the root Saad (ص), Lam (ل), Waw (و) and has the following meanings, taken from classical Arabic lexicons (e.g. E. W. Lane): prayer, supplication, petition, oration, eulogy, benediction, commendation, blessing, honour, magnify, bring forth, follow closely, walk/follow behind closely, to remain attached, to contact or to be in contact. Its core underlying meaning relevant to all its usage in the Qur'an is to go/turn towards, as mentioned in the Qur'an 75:31-2.

Purpose

The purpose of salat is primarily to act as an individual's communion with God. It enables one to stand in front of God, thank and praise Him, and ask for Him to show one the "right path" (as mentioned in sura al-Fatihah which is recited in every prayer). In addition, the daily ritual prayers serve as a constant reminder to Muslims that they should be grateful for God's blessings. It ensures that every Muslim prioritises Islam over all other concerns, thereby revolving their life around God and submitting to His will. Prayer also serves as a formal method of God's remembrance.

In the Qur'an it is mentioned that:

"The true believers are those who feel a fear in their hearts (of the consequences of violating the commands of God) when God is mentioned. And when His Revelations are recited to them, they find their faith strengthened. They do their best and then put their trust in their Lord." (8:2)

and also:

"Whose hearts are filled with fear (of the consequences of violating the commands of God) when God is mentioned..." (22:35)

The salat is also mentioned as a means to keep the believer safe from social wrong and moral deviancy (Qur'an 29:45).

Preparation

Cleanliness and dress

When praying, a musallee's clothes and the place of prayer must be clean. Men and women each are directed to cover their bodies (aurah) in reasonably loose-fitting garments, with women covering all but their faces, hands, and sometimes feet, and men covering at least from their navels to their knees, with preference given to covering their chests and to just above the ankles. In accordance with tradition, many men choose to wear a kufi cap or other headcovering for prayer.

Ritual ablution

Before conducting prayers, a Muslim has to perform a ritual ablution.

The minor ablution is performed using water (wudu) or clean sand or dust (tayammum) when water is not available. In Sunni Islam, wudu consists of washing the hands, mouth, face, nose, arms, forehead and hair, ears and feet three times each in that order. Shia Muslims first wash their faces, then their arms, and then wipe their heads and feet with the moisture on their hands. Tayammum consists of wiping only the hands and face with sand or dust. Wudu is considered to cleanse a Muslim in a permanent fashion, such that he does not have to re-perform it for each salat (unless he commits an act that breaks his wudu). Tayammum however has to be re-performed before each salat.

The major ablution (ghusl) is required when a person has had sexual intercourse, ejected semen, has had menstrual bleeding or is a new convert to the faith. Ghusl may also be performed voluntarily.

Performance

File:Mosque.Qibla.01.jpg

Muslims performing salah

Salat is performed in "units" of prayer called raka'ah. One raka'ah consists of a series of positions (and movements from one position to the next), along with specific supplications and verses from the Qur'an which are read in each position. Raka'ah begin in a standing position called qiyaam and end with the musallee in a prostrate position called sujood. Different salat have different numbers of prescribed raka'ah.

The salat must be performed with sincere devotion (khushoo), otherwise it is considered invalid. Salat is performed facing the direction of qibla (i.e. towards the Kaaba in Mecca), to the best estimation of the musallee if there is no certain way to determine the correct direction.

The musallee begins the prayer by standing in qiyaam, facing qibla and reciting the niyyah (intention to pray) for the specific salat he is about to make. He then raises his hands and speaks aloud the takbir.

For fard salat, the first raka'ah commences with the recital of the Qur'anic verse "Innee wajjahtu..." followed by the first chapter of the Qur'an, al-Fatihah. For subsequent raka'ah and other types of salat, the raka'ah commence with al-Fatihah. During the first two raka'ah, following the recitation of al-Fatihah any other chapter or several verses of the Qur'an are additionally recited while in the standing position before the musallee moves into the bowing position (rukoo).

After one raka'ah is complete (and on every subsequent odd raka'ah), the musallee returns from the prostrate position (sujood ) back to the standing position to begin another raka'ah. On every second raka'ah, he first moves from sujood to an upright sitting position (jalsa) and recites the first portion of a supplication known as the tashahhud, before returning to the standing position to begin the next raka'ah.

On the final raka'ah the musallee moves to the jalsa from the sujood position and recites the complete tashahhud. Sunni Muslims then conclude the prayer by turning their face toward the right shoulder and then toward the left shoulder, each time saying a salutation (taslim) to the angels that take note of your good (right shoulder) and evil (left shoulder) deeds. Shi'a Muslims end the prayer by reciting the takbir three times.

After the salat is completed it is common (but not compulsory) for Muslims to offer a supplication (du'a) to God. This supplication, which essentially gives Muslims an opportunity to ask God for forgiveness and blessings, can be offered in any language.

Types of salat

Salat may be classified into four categories of obligation: fard, wajib, sunnah and nafl.

Fard salat are compulsory, non-performance of which renders one a non-Muslim
Wajib salat are compulsory, non-performance of which renders one a sinner
Sunnah salat are optional and were additional voluntary prayers performed by the prophet Muhammad
Nafl salat are optional and regarded as extra prayers which bring more reward

Fard salat

The fard salat are the five daily prayers, the Friday prayer (Jumu'ah) and the funeral prayer (Janazah). Fard prayers (as with all fard actions) are further classed as fard al-ayn (obligation of the self) and fard al-kifayah (obligation of sufficiency). Fard al-ayn are those actions which are obligatory on each individual; he or she will be held to account if the actions are not performed. Fard al-kifayah are actions obligatory on the Muslim community at large, so that if some people within the community carry it out no Muslim is considered blameworthy, but if no one carries it out all incur a collective punishment.

Men are required to perform the fard salat in congregation (jama'ah), behind an imam. According to most Islamic scholars, performing salat in congregation is obligatory for men, but is neither required nor forbidden for women.

The five daily prayers

Muslims are commanded to perform salat fives times a day. These prayers are obligatory on every Muslim above the age of puberty, with the exception being those who are mentally ill, too physically ill for it to be possible, menstruating, or experiencing post-partum bleeding. Those who are ill or otherwise physically unable to offer their prayers in the traditional form are permitted to offer their prayers while sitting or laying, as they are able. The five prayers are all given certain prescribed times (waqt) in which they must be performed, unless there is a compelling reason for not being able to perform them on time.

Some Muslims offer voluntary prayers immediately before and after the prescribed fard prayers. Sunni Muslims classify these prayers as sunnah, while Shi'a Muslims consider them nafil. The number of raka'ah for each of the five obligatory prayers as well as the voluntary prayers (before and after) are listed below:

Name	Prescribed time period (waqt)	Voluntary before fard		Fard	Voluntary after fard
Name	Prescribed time period (waqt)	Sunni	Shi'a	Fard	Sunni	Shi'a
Fajr (فجر)	Dawn to sunrise	2 Raka'ah¹	2 Raka'ah	2 Raka'ah	-	2Raka'ah
Dhuhr (ظهر)	After true noon until Asr	4 Raka'ah¹	4 Raka'ah	4 Raka'ah²	2 Raka'ah¹	-
Asr (عصر)	See footnote³	4 Raka'ah	4 Raka'ah	4 Raka'ah	-	-
Maghrib (مغرب)	After sunset until dusk	-	3 Raka'ah	3 Raka'ah	2 Raka'ah¹	3 Raka'ah
Isha'a (عشاء)	Dusk until dawn⁴	4 Raka'ah	4 Raka'ah	4 Raka'ah	2 Raka'ah¹, 3 Witr	2 Raka'ah

¹Prayed daily by the prophet Muhammad
²Replaced by Jumu'ah on Fridays, which consists of two raka'ah.
³According to Imam Abu Hanifa, "Asr starts when the shadow of an object becomes twice its height (plus the length of its shadow at the start time of Dhuhr)." For the rest of Imams, "Asr starts when the shadow of an object becomes equal to its length (plus the length of its shadow at the start time of Dhuhr)." Asr ends as the sun begins to set.
⁴It is preferred to pray Isha'a before midnight but the waqt is valid until Fajr time. According to Shi'a Imams, it is valid at any time after the Maghrib prayer has been validly performed and ends at the time for the Fajr prayer.

Jumu'ah

Salat al-Jumu'ah is a congregational prayer performed on Friday which replaces the dhuhr prayer. It is compulsory upon men to perform it in congregation, while women may perform it so or may perform dhuhr salat instead. Salat al-Jumu'ah consists of a sermon (khutba) given by the speaker (khatib) after which two raka'ah are performed.

Janazah

Salat al-Janazah is a prayer performed at a Muslim funeral. It is classed as fard al-kifayah. It does not follow the pattern of other salat in that their are no raka'ah, instead it consists of four takbirs performed in the standing position, with various Qur'anic verses and supplications read between each.

Exceptional circumstances

Qada

In certain circumstances one may be unable to perform one's prayer within the prescribed time period (waqt). In this case, the prayer must be performed as soon as one is able to do so. These prayers performed after the prescribed waqt are called qada. It is not permissible to deliberately miss performing the salat within its waqt with the intention of performing it afterwards.

Qasr and jama

When travelling over long distances, one may shorten some prayers, a practice known as qasr. Furthermore, several prayer times may be joined, which is referred to as jama. Qasr involves shortening the obligatory components of the dhuhr, asr and isha'a prayers to two raka'ah. Jama combines the dhuhr and asr prayers into one prayer offered between noon and sunset, and the maghrib and isha'a prayers into one between sunset and Fajr. Neither qasr nor jama can be applied to the Fajr prayer.

Wajib salat

The wajib salat are considered compulsory and not performing them is considered a sin.

Witr

Witr is performed after the salah of Isha'a. Some Muslims consider Witr wajib while others consider it optional. It may contain any odd number of raka'ah from one to eleven according to the different schools of jurisprudence. However, Witr is most commonly offered with three raka'ah. It is preferable to perform Witr in the latter part of the night, but it is much better to perform it at the beginning of the night than not at all.

To end prayers for the night after Isha'a, the odd numbered raka'ah must have the niyyah of "Wajib-ul-Lail", which is mandatory to "close" one's salat for that day.

Eid

Eid salat is performed on the morning of Eid ul-Fitr and Eid ul-Adha. The Eid prayer is most likely an individual obligation (fard al-ayn), though some Islamic scholars argue it is only a collective obligation (fard al-kifayah)^[1]. It consists of two raka'ah, with seven takbirs offered before the start of the first raka'ah and five before the second. After the salat is completed, a sermon (khutbah) is offered. However, the khutbah is not an integral part of the Eid salat.^[2] The Eid prayer must be offered between sunrise and true noon i.e. between the time periods for fajr and dhuhr.

Sunnah salat

Sunnah salat are those prayers that are performed to emulate the practices of Prophet Muhammad. Sunni Muslims also perform sunnah prayers for extra reward.

Certain sunnah prayers have prescribed waqts associated with them. Those ordained for before each of the fard prayers must be performed between the first call to prayer (adhan) and the second call (iqama) which signifies the start of the fard prayer. Those sunnah ordained for after the fard prayers can be performed any time between the end of the fard prayers and the end of the current prayer's waqt. Any amount of extra raka'ah may be offered, but most madha'ib prescribe a certain number of raka'ah for each sunnah salah.

Nafl salat

Nafl salat (supererogatory prayers) are voluntary, and one may offer as many as he or she likes almost any time. There are many specific conditions or situations when one may wish to offer nafl prayers. They cannot be offered at sunrise, true noon, or sunset. The prohibition against salat at these times is to prevent the appearance of sun worship.

Prayer in congregation

Prayer in congregation (jama'ah) is compulsory for males (and neither compulsory nor forbidden for females) and is considered to have more social and spiritual benefit than praying by oneself. When praying in congregation, the musallees stand in straight parallel rows behind the chosen imam, facing qibla. The imam, who leads the congregation in salat, is usually chosen to be a scholar or the one who has the best knowledge of the Qur'an, preferably someone who has memorised it (a hafiz) . In the first row behind the imam, if available, would be another hafiz to correct the imam in case a mistake is made during the performance of the salat. The prayer is performed as normal, with the congregation following the actions and movements of the imam as he performs the salat.

When the worshippers consist of men and women combined, a man is chosen as the imam. In this situation, women are typically forbidden from performing this role. This point, though unanimously agreed on by the major schools of Islam, is disputed by some groups, based partly on a hadith whose interpretation is controversial. When the congregation consists entirely of women and pre-pubescent children, one woman is chosen as imam.

When men, women, and children are praying, the children's rows are usually between the men's and women's rows, with the men at the front and women at the back. Another configuration is where the men's and women's rows are side by side, separated by a curtain or other barrier, with the primary intention being for there to be no direct line of sight between male and female worshippers, following a Qur'anic injunction toward men and women each lowering their gazes (Qur'an 24:30-31).

Invalidation of prayer

Certain actions are not permissible during salat and these render the salat invalid. These include:

any action which causes the wudu to break
turning away from the qibla to a large extent
the presence of najaasah (impurity) on one's clothes, body or place where one is praying. If one does not find out about it until after the prayer, the prayer is still valid
excessive movement during the prayer for no essential reason
not performing the correct positions in the correct order, or omitting a compulsory position completely
carrying out any action which would lead another person to think one is not praying
deliberately omitting one of the obligatory parts of the recitations during prayer (e.g. not reciting al-Fatihah)
laughing out loud or speaking (unless by accident)
eating or drinking
murtad or apostasy
the revealing of the aurah

References

^ "Ruling on Eid prayers". Islam Question and Answer. Retrieved 2007-01-02.
^ "Islam Today". Islam today.