Salah, like all our good deeds, should be perfected. Allah Subhanahu wa T’ala is beautiful and He loves beauty, so it follows that we should beautify ourselves when we present ourselves before Him. This can be done by following the sunnah of our Prophet Muhammad salAllahu alayhi wassalam, who was no doubt the best pray-er ever :). Here’s a breakdown of the basics before you start:
Time is of the essence
It is forbidden to pray fard salah before stated times with the exception of combined prayers for the traveler. It is also forbidden to combine prayers unless one is considered a traveler.Also, one should not pray superogatory prayers after the fard Fajr or Asr salah.
As for when one should start praying, salah becomes obligatory on every sane Muslim at the age of puberty. Missed prayersmust be made up for.
Most crucially, pray as early as you can. Don’t delay your prayers because you’re “busy”. Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala doesn’t tell you to wait when you’re making du’a – He’s listening to you all the time. Surely, Our Lord - because of Whom we’re even able to be busy- is more important than anything else.
Intention
Intention does not need to be spoken aloud but it should contain some specific information. Firstly, be sure of what time it is and thereafter which prayer you will be praying. Next, know how many rakah you will be praying and if they are fard, sunnah, nafl or witr. Lastly and most importantly, remind yourself that you’re praying for Allah’s pleasure alone. If you’re not, it’s not hard to change that, so don’t be discouraged. Renew your intention and humble yourself by remembering that you’re standing before the All-Mighty Creator of All Things, Who sees inside your heart. All of this should be done before you begin praying but if you fall off-track during prayer, stop in whatever position you’re in, renew your intention and say “aoodhu billahee min ash-shaytaanir rajeem”, “I seek refuge in Allah from Shaytan , the rejected.”
Purity
Good intention helps us attain purity of the heart and mind, insha’Allah. Of equal importance is physical purity. So make sure you…
1) Make wudu properly
Wudu is ritual ablution. One should make the intention of wudu and say “bismillah” “in the name of Allah” and then proceed. The fard (obligatory) parts of wudu are stated in The Holy Qur’an (5:6) “O you who believe! When you rise up for prayer, wash your faces and your hands up to the elbows and lightly rub your heads (with wet hands) and (wash) your feet up to the ankles.” Hence washing these body parts once is the minimum for a valid wudu. However, it is common practice and highly recommended to do full wudu as the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wassalam did:
In this order,
-Wash your hands up to the wrists (3X).
- Rinse your mouth (3X). It’s also recommended to clean your teeth with a siwak, though a toothbrush can work, too.
-Sniff water in your nostrils and blow it out (3X).
-Wash your face from your hairline to the bottom of your chin, from ear to ear (3X).
-Wash the right arm up to the elbow (3X), repeat with the left.
-Pass wet hands over your head and rub inside and outside of ears with fingers (1X).
-Wash feet up to the ankles using your left hand, starting with the right foot (3X). Make sure you get your heels and between your toes. If wearing water-proof socks, you don’t need to take them off so long as you made wudu before you put them on. This condition holds for 24 hours for a person at home and 3 days and 3 nights forthe traveler.
Again, washing each part once or twice is okay as well, but three is best. Do not exceed three times as this is considered wasteful, even if you’re not sure you did it right.
If water is unavailable, one can perform dry ablution.
After completion, recite: “ash-hadu allaa illaaha illal-laahu wahdahoo laa shareeka lah, wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan abduhu wa rasuluh” “I bear witness that there is no God but Allah Who is One and has no partners and I bear witness that Muhammad is His Servant and Messenger”
with the option of adding “Allahummaj-‘alnee minat-tawwaabeena waj’alnee minal mutattahhireen.” “O Allah, make me among those who turn to You in repentance and make me of those who strive to be pure”
Wudu is invalidated and must be redone:
If one has passed gas, excrement or urinated.
If one has fallen into a deep sleep.
If one loses their senses in any way (madness, fainting, use of drugs, etc).
If one has touched sexual organs intentionally with naked hands or emits sexual fluid.
If one vomits.
If one has touched a person of the opposite sex who is not a mahram. (Shafi’i)
If one bleeds to the point that it runs or spits saliva consisting mostly of blood. (Hanafi)
If one comes in contact with a dog or other unclean animal. (Hanbali)
If one is already praying and suspects he has passed gas, he should not stop praying.
Narrated 'Abbas bin Tamim:
My uncle said: The Prophet said, "One should not leave his prayer unless he hears sound or smells something." (Bukhari).
2) Pray in an appropriate place
Make sure the place is clean. Also, make sure there are no photos, statues or the like around, especially not in front of you or within your view while praying. Lastly, the place should be free of chatter or excessive background noise (music, television, phone ringers, etc).
3)Wear appropriate clothing
Immodest clothing is undesirable in Islam anyway but be extra cautious of this during salah. For men, this means being covered from the naval to the knee. Also, one’s shoulders should be covered as was said by the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wassalam: “None of you should observe prayer in a single garment which does not cover his shoulders” (Bukhari& Muslim). For women, it is required that one cover everything except the hands and face, and on some authorities, the feet. Note also that one should be decent and not wear tight jeans/clothes or clothes that rise up when one bends over - this goes for men, too.
Allah Most High is the Most Merciful, the Oft-Forgiving. This does not mean that we should slack off in how we worship Him with the hopes that He will just forgive our faults. Indeed, a person who follows all of the recommended and obligatory actions to the best of his ability is still prone to error. We should be grateful that we have such perfect guidelines on how to pray transmitted by our Beloved Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasalam and do our part by following them.
WAllahu ‘alim, wa billahi tawfiq.
Time is of the essence
It is forbidden to pray fard salah before stated times with the exception of combined prayers for the traveler. It is also forbidden to combine prayers unless one is considered a traveler.Also, one should not pray superogatory prayers after the fard Fajr or Asr salah.
As for when one should start praying, salah becomes obligatory on every sane Muslim at the age of puberty. Missed prayersmust be made up for.
Most crucially, pray as early as you can. Don’t delay your prayers because you’re “busy”. Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala doesn’t tell you to wait when you’re making du’a – He’s listening to you all the time. Surely, Our Lord - because of Whom we’re even able to be busy- is more important than anything else.
Intention
Intention does not need to be spoken aloud but it should contain some specific information. Firstly, be sure of what time it is and thereafter which prayer you will be praying. Next, know how many rakah you will be praying and if they are fard, sunnah, nafl or witr. Lastly and most importantly, remind yourself that you’re praying for Allah’s pleasure alone. If you’re not, it’s not hard to change that, so don’t be discouraged. Renew your intention and humble yourself by remembering that you’re standing before the All-Mighty Creator of All Things, Who sees inside your heart. All of this should be done before you begin praying but if you fall off-track during prayer, stop in whatever position you’re in, renew your intention and say “aoodhu billahee min ash-shaytaanir rajeem”, “I seek refuge in Allah from Shaytan , the rejected.”
Purity
Good intention helps us attain purity of the heart and mind, insha’Allah. Of equal importance is physical purity. So make sure you…
1) Make wudu properly
Wudu is ritual ablution. One should make the intention of wudu and say “bismillah” “in the name of Allah” and then proceed. The fard (obligatory) parts of wudu are stated in The Holy Qur’an (5:6) “O you who believe! When you rise up for prayer, wash your faces and your hands up to the elbows and lightly rub your heads (with wet hands) and (wash) your feet up to the ankles.” Hence washing these body parts once is the minimum for a valid wudu. However, it is common practice and highly recommended to do full wudu as the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wassalam did:
In this order,
-Wash your hands up to the wrists (3X).
- Rinse your mouth (3X). It’s also recommended to clean your teeth with a siwak, though a toothbrush can work, too.
-Sniff water in your nostrils and blow it out (3X).
-Wash your face from your hairline to the bottom of your chin, from ear to ear (3X).
-Wash the right arm up to the elbow (3X), repeat with the left.
-Pass wet hands over your head and rub inside and outside of ears with fingers (1X).
-Wash feet up to the ankles using your left hand, starting with the right foot (3X). Make sure you get your heels and between your toes. If wearing water-proof socks, you don’t need to take them off so long as you made wudu before you put them on. This condition holds for 24 hours for a person at home and 3 days and 3 nights forthe traveler.
Again, washing each part once or twice is okay as well, but three is best. Do not exceed three times as this is considered wasteful, even if you’re not sure you did it right.
If water is unavailable, one can perform dry ablution.
After completion, recite: “ash-hadu allaa illaaha illal-laahu wahdahoo laa shareeka lah, wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan abduhu wa rasuluh” “I bear witness that there is no God but Allah Who is One and has no partners and I bear witness that Muhammad is His Servant and Messenger”
with the option of adding “Allahummaj-‘alnee minat-tawwaabeena waj’alnee minal mutattahhireen.” “O Allah, make me among those who turn to You in repentance and make me of those who strive to be pure”
Wudu is invalidated and must be redone:
If one has passed gas, excrement or urinated.
If one has fallen into a deep sleep.
If one loses their senses in any way (madness, fainting, use of drugs, etc).
If one has touched sexual organs intentionally with naked hands or emits sexual fluid.
If one vomits.
If one has touched a person of the opposite sex who is not a mahram. (Shafi’i)
If one bleeds to the point that it runs or spits saliva consisting mostly of blood. (Hanafi)
If one comes in contact with a dog or other unclean animal. (Hanbali)
If one is already praying and suspects he has passed gas, he should not stop praying.
Narrated 'Abbas bin Tamim:
My uncle said: The Prophet said, "One should not leave his prayer unless he hears sound or smells something." (Bukhari).
2) Pray in an appropriate place
Make sure the place is clean. Also, make sure there are no photos, statues or the like around, especially not in front of you or within your view while praying. Lastly, the place should be free of chatter or excessive background noise (music, television, phone ringers, etc).
3)Wear appropriate clothing
Immodest clothing is undesirable in Islam anyway but be extra cautious of this during salah. For men, this means being covered from the naval to the knee. Also, one’s shoulders should be covered as was said by the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wassalam: “None of you should observe prayer in a single garment which does not cover his shoulders” (Bukhari& Muslim). For women, it is required that one cover everything except the hands and face, and on some authorities, the feet. Note also that one should be decent and not wear tight jeans/clothes or clothes that rise up when one bends over - this goes for men, too.
Allah Most High is the Most Merciful, the Oft-Forgiving. This does not mean that we should slack off in how we worship Him with the hopes that He will just forgive our faults. Indeed, a person who follows all of the recommended and obligatory actions to the best of his ability is still prone to error. We should be grateful that we have such perfect guidelines on how to pray transmitted by our Beloved Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasalam and do our part by following them.
WAllahu ‘alim, wa billahi tawfiq.
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