Salah (Prayer)

Meaning of Salah:
The Arabic word Salah literally means ‘to Pray’ (speaking to Allah in a respectful and
humble way), ‘to Supplicate’, ‘to Petition’. So literally it has the meaning of dua.
Islamically or in Islamic terminology, it means "to worship Allah through certain
known and prescribed sayings and actions, starting with Takbeer i.e., saying ‘Allahu
Akbar’ (Allah is the greatest) and ending with Tasleem i.e., saying ‘As-Salaamu
Alaikum Wa Rahmatullah’ (May Allah’s peace and Mercy be upon you)."

Importance of Salah:
In Islam, Salah is given the importance that is not given to any other act of worship.
Its importance is indicated by following:
1 – It is the pillar of religion, and second in status to the Shahaadatayn (twin
testimony of faith) which means that it is a visible proof/evidence of the beliefs that
are in the heart. Salah is the first priority of a Muslim after belief in the Oneness of
Allah and in the Prophet-hood of Muhammad (s.a.w). It is through Salah that a
Muslim reviews his faith every few hours.
The Messenger of Allah (s.a.w) said: “Islam is built on five [pillars]: the testimony
that there is no God but Allah and that Muhammad (s.a.w) is His slave and
Messenger, establishing salah, paying zakah, performing pilgrimage to the House,
and fasting Ramadan.”

2 – Salah is the first thing for which a person will be brought to account on the Day
of Resurrection. The Messenger of Allah (s.a.w) said: “The first deed for which a
person will be brought to account on the Day of Resurrection will be his Salah. If it is
good then he will have prospered and succeeded, but if it is bad then he will be
doomed and have lost. If anything is lacking from his obligatory Salahs, the Lord will
say, ‘Look and see whether My slave did any voluntary Salahs, and make up the
shortfall in his obligatory Salahs from that.’ Then all his deeds will be dealt with
likewise.”

3 – Salah was made obligatory on the night of the Mi’raaj [Prophet’s (s.a.w) ascent to
heaven], therefore it occupies a special position among other acts of worship
because of the way in which it was made compulsory. It was not brought down to
earth by an angel, rather Allah wanted to bless His Messenger Muhammad (s.a.w) by
taking him up to heaven and addressing him directly concerning the obligation of
prayer. This is something that is unique to prayer among all the worships of Islam.

4 – Allah erases sins by means of Salah. The Messenger of Allah (s.a.w) said: “What
do you think if there was a river by the door of any one of you and he bathed in it
five times a day, would there be any trace of dirt left on him?” The companions said:
“No trace of dirt would be left on him.” He said, “That is like the five daily prayers, by
means of which Allah erases sin.”

5 – It is such an important pillar, that Muslims are called upon to perform this act of
worship in all circumstances without failing. Abandoning it is disbelief. The

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Messenger of Allah (s.a.w) said: “Between a man and shirk and kufr [disbelief] there
stands his giving up prayer.” This hadith clarifies that leaving Salah completely takes
a person to disbelief. The companions of the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w) did not
consider leaving anything to be disbelief except for Salah.

When does Salah become obligatory?

Salah becomes obligatory upon anyone who reaches the age of accountability which
is puberty. Reaching the age of accountability (i.e., puberty) is attained when one of
three signs occur in the case of males; in the case of females there is a fourth sign
other than the three signs, which is menstruation. Puberty is reached with the
occurrence of one of three things, namely:
1. Reaching the age of fifteen years (lunar years)
2. Growth of coarse pubic hair
3. Emission of maniy with desire when awake or asleep.
If one of these three things occurs, then the individual has reached puberty.
4. In the case of females, a fourth sign is added to this list, namely menstruation. If a
female menstruates, even if she is ten years old, then she has reached puberty.

The Prophet (s.a.w) commanded us to tell our children to pray when they are seven
years old, and to smack them (lightly) if they do not pray when they are ten years
old, even though they are not obliged to do that yet, so that they may be trained in
doing acts of worship and obedience and may get used to them, so that it will be
easy for them to do that after puberty.

Conditions of Salah:
Condition here means that which is essential and without which a thing is not
valid. There are a number of conditions which need to be fulfilled for the Salah to be
valid. If any of these conditions is not fulfilled the Salah will not be valid. These are as
follows:
1. Acceptance of lslamic Faith: Salah performed by any disbeliever is not valid nor
accepted until they believe in Allah and bear witness that there is no one worthy of
worship but Allah and bear witness that Muhammad (s.a.w) is His servant and
messenger. It is a general condition that applies to all acts of worship.
2. Sanity and consciousness: Salah is required only from persons of sound mind. A
mentally disabled person who does not understand what he is saying or doing is not
required to perform Salah and is not considered guilty for not performing it. Similarly
an unconscious person cannot perform Salah until he regains his consciousness. This
is a general condition common in all forms of worship.
3. Niyyah (Intention): This in Arabic means the intention by heart to perform a
particular Salah. The definition of ‘Intention’ (Niyyah) in Islamic Shariah is “deciding
to do an act of worship in order to draw close to Allah”. The site of intention is the
heart. By simply deciding in his heart to do an action, a person has made his
intention. Hence it is not prescribed to speak the intention out loud when one wants
to do the action. Rather speaking the intention out loud is a kind of innovation
(bid’ah) that was not narrated in the Book of Allah or in the Sunnah of His Prophet
(s.a.w), nor was it narrated from any of his Sahaabah (may Allah be pleased with

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them all). If a person prays without forming the proper intention then his Salah is
invalid.
4. Tahaarah (purity): A person must be 1) ritually pure and also 2) pure from
tangible impurity (najasah e.g. urine, stool, blood, pus, vomit etc.) for his salah to
be valid.
Ritual purity is attained either by performing Wudu or Ghusl where it is required
prior to undertaking the Salah.
Also the worshipper must avoid najasah or tangible impurity in three places: (a) The
body. (b) The clothing. (c) The place in which prayer is offered.

5. Covering the ‘awrah: If a person prays with his ‘awrah uncovered, his prayer is not
valid. ‘Awrah for a man is between the navel and the knee. Similarly his shoulders
must be covered during Salah. All of the body of an adult woman is ‘awrah when
praying, except for her hands and face. The scholars differed with regard to showing
the feet.

6. Facing the Qiblah: This means that a person when praying must face towards the
direction of the Ka'bah in Makkah. If a person offers a prayer facing anywhere other
than the qiblah, when he is able to face it, then his prayer is invalid. When a person
is not able to locate the direction by himself/herself, the person may ask another
person who may know the direction of the Qiblah. However, if no one is in sight to
guide to the right direction, then, the person should decide for himself/herself and
make the best guess of the correct direction of the Qiblah, and accordingly, perform
the prayer in that direction even though the guess may be incorrect. The prayer
performed would still be valid.
7. Timing: Salahs are to be observed in their prescribed times. Until and unless the
time of the particular Salah starts, the Salah cannot be performed. Nor is it
permissible to delay any Salah till its time has passed. A prayer offered before its
time has begun is not valid, because Allah says (translation): “Verily, As-Salah (the
prayer) is enjoined on the believers at fixed hours.” [al-Nisa’ 4:103]

Forbidden times of Salah:

There are 5 times in a day and night when performing Salah is forbidden as indicated
by the following ahadith:
1) ‘Uqbah ibn ‘Aamir al-Juhani said: “There are three times at which the Messenger
of Allah (s.a.w) forbade us to pray or to bury our dead: when the sun has clearly
started to rise until it is fully risen, when it is directly overhead at midday until it has
passed its zenith (highest point in sky), and when the sun starts to set until it has
fully set.”
2) The Messenger of Allah (s.a.w) said: “There is no prayer after Fajr until the sun has
risen fully, and no prayer after ‘Asr until the sun has set.” Hence no nawaafil must be
prayed after praying fajr and asr.

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