After entering the religion of Islam, it is obligatory on ever adult Muslim man and woman every to offer five prayers a day to glorify the dignity of Allah. Prayer or as Salat is the second most important pillar of Islam after Shahada (testimony of faith).
At a number of places in the Qur'an, Allah has commanded believers to offer prayers for it prayers directly connect a believer to Allah:
اِنَّنِىۡۤ اَنَا اللّٰهُ لَاۤ اِلٰهَ اِلَّاۤ اَنَا فَاعۡبُدۡنِىۡ ۙ وَاَقِمِ الصَّلٰوةَ لِذِكۡرِىۡ
"Verily I am Allah. There is no god beside Me. So, serve Me and establish Prayers to remember Me." (Surah 20 Ta Ha :14) This is the real object of Salat. It has been prescribed to remind people that they should not become neglectful of Allah by worldly diversions and that they should remember that man is not an unbridled free being but a servant of Allah. Salat has been prescribed five times a day to remind man of Allah’s presence.The five prayers are offered before dawn, noon, midafternoon, just after sunset and then at night.
Once a man asked the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) about the most virtuous deed. The Prophet (peace be upon him) stated that the most virtuous deed is prayer. The man asked again and again. The first three times, the Prophet (peace be upon him) again answered, "The prayer," then on the fourth occasion he stated, "Jihad in the way of Allah." [This is from a hadith recorded by Ahmad and ibn Hibban. According to al-Albani, the hadith is Hasan. Muhammad Nasir al-Din al-Albani, Sahih al-Targheeb wa al-Tarheeb (Beirut: al-Maktab al-Islami, 1982), vol. 1, p. 150]
The importance of offering prayers can be gauged from one of the saying of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him):
"The first matter that the slave will be brought to account for on the Day of Judgment is the prayer. If it is sound, then the rest of his deeds will be sound. And if it is bad, then the rest of his deeds will be bad." [Recorded by al-Tabarani. According to al-Albani, it is sahih. Al-Albani, Sahih al-Jami, vol.1, p. 503.In view of the importance of prayers in Islam, we have initiated a number of posts regarding prayers / As Salat to guide those who have recently come under the fold of Islam and this reference page gives out reference to all such posts so that anyone having any questions regarding prayers and its method of offering could be guided. Remember: If your feet do not lead you to prayers (As Salat), these would not lead you to Jannah (Paradise) EITHER!!
Herein under are the posts related to As Salat / Prayers in general, followed by posts specific to Ṣalāt al-Jumuʿah (The Friday Congregational Prayer):
General Information / Q&A
Please refer to our Reference Pages for knowing more about Islam and Qur'ān.
- Prayer / As Salat
- Obligatory and Voluntary prayer rakat / cycles
- How to perform ablution before offering salat
- How to perform Dry Ablution (Tayammum)
- How to offer prayer
- What is Taraweeh Prayer (during the month of Ramadan)?
- Offering congregational Prayers at home
- 10 benefits of Salat / Prayers
- How to develop Khushoo ( Humility / focused concentration ) when offering Salat
- How to make an amend to a mistake in Prayer / Salat
- Which three out of five daily prayers are more rewarding when offered in congregation (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī : Hadith 615)
- Etiquette of joining a prayer - already in progress (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: Hadith 908)
- When does a servant come nearest to his Lord (Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: Hadith 482)
- Reward of Preserving the Prayer Times (Sunan Abi Dawud: Hadith 425)
Salat ut Tahajjud
- What is Salat-ut-Tahajjud - The Night Prayer (صلاة التهجد / قِيَامِ اللَّيْلِ)
- The virtue of the Night Prayer (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: Hadith 1145)
- Sleep Early to Wake up for Night Prayer (Tahajjad) (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: Hadith 1146)
Ṣalāt al-Jumuʿah (The Friday Congregational Prayer)
- Why Friday (Youm ul Jumuʿah) assumes a special place in Islam
- Why Friday chosen for congregational prayer
- Importance of Ṣalāt al-Jumuʿah
- Reward for hurrying up for the Friday congregation
- Desirables before the Ṣalāt al-Jumuʿah
- What do we lose if we deliberately skip Ṣalāt al-Jumuʿah
May Allāh (سبحانه و تعالى) help us understand Qur'ān and follow the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, which is embodiment of commandments of Allah contained in the Qur'ān. May Allah help us to be like the ones He loves and let our lives be lived helping others and not making others' lives miserable or unlivable. May all our wrong doings, whether intentional or unintentional, be forgiven before the angel of death knocks on our door.
وَمَا عَلَيۡنَاۤ اِلَّا الۡبَلٰغُ الۡمُبِيۡنُ
(36:17) and our duty is no more than to clearly convey the Message.”
That is Our duty is only to convey to you the message that Allah has entrusted us with. Then it is for you to accept it or reject it. We have not been made responsible for making you accept it forcibly, and if you do not accept it, we shall not be seized in consequence of your disbelief, you will yourselves be answerable for your actions on Day of Resurrection.
May Allah forgive me if my posts ever imply a piety far greater than I possess. I am most in need of guidance.
Reading the Qur'ān should be a daily obligation of a Muslim - Reading it with translation will make it meaningful. But reading its Exegesis / Tafsir will make you understand it fully. It will also help the Muslims to have grasp over social issues and their answers discussed in the Qur'an and other matter related to inter faith so that they are able to discuss issues with non-Muslims with authority based on refences from Qur'an.
Note: When we mention God in our posts, we mean One True God, we call Allah in Islam, with no associates. Allah is the Sole Creator of all things, and that Allah is all-powerful and all-knowing. Allah has no offspring, no race, no gender, no body, and is unaffected by the characteristics of human life.
Please refer to our Reference Pages for knowing more about Islam and Qur'ān.
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