Salah (Regular Prayer)

Salah is the Arabic term for prayer, referring specifically to the particular manner in which Muslims perform it by standing, bowing and prostrating. No other form of worship can be compared to Salah, for it is the basis of religion. Salah puts Muslims in continuous communication with their Creator, while providing a constant reminder of their higher moral and spiritual mission in life. Salah (prayer) was practised in some form by the earlier prophets and their followers as an essential part of the religion of Allah. Islam, which is the final stage, the completion and confirmation of monotheistic religion, considers Salah (prayer) essential, and its denial removes one from the ranks of Islam.

Obligatory prayers are performed five times a day: at dawn, noon, mid-afternoon, sunset, and nightfall and are a direct link between the worshipper and Allah. The prayer may be performed at any clean place (home, mosque, park, the workplace, etc.) by an individual or by a group. There is no hierarchical authority or priesthood in Islam, so group prayers are led by a person learned in the Qur'an. These prayers, whether performed in congregation or individually, contain verses from the Qur'an and are said in Arabic, the language of the revelation. Personal supplications, however, can be offered in one's own language. Islamic prayer takes a special form and content, in which both body and soul are harmoniously involved; each prayer is practically speaking, an audience with Allah. Prayer, both obligatory and voluntary, is an immense spiritual treasure to be tapped. It inspires peace, purity and tranquility, and instils a continuous awareness of and feeling of closeness to Allah. It amazingly reduces the hustle-and-bustle of life to tame proportions. By their spacing throughout five times a day, beginning at dawn, prayers help worshippers to maintain a therapeutic level of well-being and practically leave no room in their consciousness for mischievous thoughts and deeds.