The Second Pillar: The prayer (with detailed videos on how to do ablution and pray)

The Prayer: The Second Pillar of Islam


Salah is the Islamic prayer, and it is the second pillar of Islam. It consists of five daily prayers: Fajr, Thuhr, Asr, Maghrib, and Isha.

Fajr is performed at dawn; Zuhr is a noon prayer; Asr is performed in the afternoon; Maghrib is the sunset prayer; and Isha'a is the last night prayer.

Each prayer consists of a certain number of raka'at. A prayer either consists of two, three, or four raka'at.

All of these prayers are recited while facing the Ka'bah in Mecca. Muslims must wash themselves before prayer (wudu, i.e. ablution). The prayer is accompanied by a series of set body postures including; bowing with hands on knees, standing, prostrating and sitting in a special position


Below are some links on how ablution (wudu) is done and how a full prayer is performed.

As we mentioned, each prayer consists of a number of raka'at. A rak'aah is the unit of prayer.

A rak'ah involves the following steps:

a. Reading Al-Fatiha
b. Reading a short sura or ayah (in the first and second rak'at)
c. Takbeer
d. Ruku (Bowing) and its tasbeeh (3 times)
e. Standing after bowing (and its duaa)
f. Takbeer
g. First sajda (prostration) and its tasbeeh (3 times)
h. Jalsa (Sitting between the two sajdas) and takbeer and its duaa
i. Second sajda (prostration) and its tasbeeh (3 times)
j. ([sitting and reading the first half of the tashahud ONLY at the end of the second
rak'ah of the salahs that consist of 3 or 4 rakaat]
OR [sitting and reading the full tashahud in the end of the last rak'ah of all
salahs)

The above steps will be shown in the videos below.


The number of rak'aahs vary in the five prayers.

They are in red below.

Fajr = dawn prayer (2)

Thuhr = noon prayer (4)

Asr = afternoon prayer (4)

Maghrib = sunset prayer (3)

Isha = night prayer (4)


Wudu’s Definition and Reward

It is the prescribed washing and wiping of certain parts of the body to achieve ritual purity. Linguistically, it means radiance and beauty, for it causes the performer of it to have spiritual beauty in this life, and both spiritual and physical beauty in the hereafter.

The reward of wudu' is great. Allah's Messenger (pbuh) said:

"When a Muslim servant of God makes ablution and rinses his mouth, his wrong deeds [committed by this organ] fall from it. As he rinses his nose, his wrong deeds fall from it. When he washes his face, his wrong deeds fall from it until they fall from beneath his eyelashes. When he washes his hands, his wrong deeds fall from them until they fall from beneath his fingernails. When he wipes his head, his wrong deeds fall from it until they fall from beneath his ears. When he washes his feet, his wrong deeds fall from them until they fall from beneath his toenails. Then his walking to the mosque and his prayer give him extra reward." (Ma, Albani: Auth)

The Prophet compared this experience of making ablution and praying five times a day to having a river running in front of one’s house. If one bathed in that river five times a day, would any filth remain on his body? Likewise, the ablution and Prayer five times a day removes one’s sins and also prevents him from sinning.

How to do wudu (Ablution):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MdGaMyct2s&feature=related

Attached is a document that includes a transliteration and a word-for-word translation of all that is said in the prayer from beginning to end.

These videos demonstrate how to perform the prayers:


Step-by-Step Guide to Prayer 1/7 (Intro & Wudu)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaKb2zX1QBs


Step-by-Step Guide to Prayer 2/7 (Reminders)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QulvzwryTc&feature=relmfu


Step-by-Step Guide to Prayer 3/7 (Fajr)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yh6plGYFM1A&feature=related


Step-by-Step Guide to Prayer 4/7 (Thuhr)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmxxZOWcBEQ&feature=relmfu


Step by Step Guide to Prayer 5/7 (Asr)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GD5m_f8rV_Y&feature=related


Step-by-Step Guide to Prayer 6/7 (Maghrib)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zf-1YzD7Bo4&feature=related


Step-by-Step Guide to Prayer 7/7 (Isha)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bz6j8tg0zkk&feature=relmfu


This is also a flash presentations on how to perform the prayer (animation):


1. If you are a beginner who needs to learn the basic steps of Prayer in Islam ( with
sound )

http://english.islamway.com/prayer/BegSound.htm

2. If you want to learn prayers from A to Z including Sunnah actions (with sound )

http://english.islamway.com/prayer/AdvSound.htm