The daily prayers have been obligatory for each of us 5 times a day, every day, since puberty. It is the second pillar of Islam, after the shahadah. In hadeeth, we have been told that the daily prayer is what separates the Muslim from the Kafir, and that if your salat are accepted, then your other good deeds are accepted... but if they are not, your other good deeds are not either.
Q1: So, what is it that makes the obligatory prayer so important?
- it's a daily confirmation of your faith, of your shahadah - which is the belief required to be considered a Muslim
- it's a daily, personal connection with your Creator, and helps you establish a bond with Him
- it's not necessarily seen by other people, it isn't about showing other people your faith, it's about your internal faith
- it's a one-on-one opportunity for you to re-affirm your faith and speak with God
Q2: How come the prayer has a set form and structure, unlike dua or the type of prayers said in other religions?
- Islam is about equality - a set form of prayer means that in terms of worship everyone is working to the same basic standard, and people do not influence you into doing too much or too little as suits their opinions
- the prayer contains the fundaments of faith: the basic building blocks which all Muslims need to remember and ponder if they wish to progress. It contains a re-iteration of the shahadah, recitation of surat al fatiha (which in itself makes reference to all of the most important aspects of religion - see http://www.al-rasool.co.uk/articles/worship.html for more), and has the fundamental principles which are needed to build a relationship with Allah.
- the prayer has a set form, but each of us still has an individual way of offering it; we make it our own by reciting different chapters or recommended supplications in qunut or at the end.
- the reminder from prayer gives a sense of direction - Allah knows best the most effective way of teaching us the meaning of Islam, and has compacted it and made it obligatory for us to repeat. 5 times a day we re-visit the fundaments of our faith to help us re-focus.
- Q: what about the posture of sujud? comments: it is important as it instills a sense of humility in the worshipper from an early age. Being raised as Muslims we don't always appreciate this, but reverts have often commented that putting their foreheads on the ground was a big/ difficult step for them to take, as they would never do that before any other person on earth. There is a hadeeth which states that the first sajdah on turbah signifies the creation of man from clay, and the second signifies his return to clay then resurrection afterwards.
- Q: do we think believers from other faiths miss out on not having a set prayer like this? comments: definitely, of course. They have a much more limited relationship with God, as they generally pray a lot less often and less rigorously. They can still get to the lowest reaches of heaven as they do not know any better, but cannot get to the higher stages. Their prayers however may still be considered valid as long as they come from the heart - which is the most important thing.
- Q: what about the importance of saying it in Arabic, when dua can be in any language? comments: Arabic is the language of the Quran, it has depths of meaning which would be lost in translation. Learning Arabic to be able to perform your daily salat is useful too, as it is a useful skill to let you approach the Quran and Islamic writings in the original language.
Q3: What about the emphasis on niyyah (intention) before prayer?
- it's part of a preparation for the act of prayer, just like performing ablution (wudhu) and athaan. It is a confirmation of the intent you have to perform the prayer for Allah's sake, and gets you into the right frame of mind for it.
- Q: what is the significance of speaking the niyyah when you can have it in your heart? comments: it often breaks you out of praying on "auto-pilot", out of habit, and reminds you what you're actually doing and prompts you to pay more attention. You also have to remember each salat by it's name, and be more aware of what you are saying.
Q4: what about wudhu?
- it's pretty self explanatory - the purpose is to cleanse you physically and spiritually before prayer. It's a part of getting ready and making yourself presentable before your Creator, just as you'd get ready before meeting your friends.
- it completes your tahara (purity), and gets you into the good habit of cleanliness through repetition.
Q5: what do you think is the biggest benefit from salat?
- it helps you meditate, recentre and forget about all the niggly little annoying things that distract you and annoy you in your daily life. 5 times a day you're called away from that, to remember your Creator and what the direction of your life is, and it helps you calm down and see past minor problems.
- Q: what distinguishes our prayers from the rest? how can we make them good? comments: concentration and knowing what you are saying has to be the key. We need to remember we are talking to Allah, the Lord of the Universe, and act accordingly. There is a hadeeth which states that people are split 5 ways with regards to prayers: there are some who don't pray, some who pray in a rush right at the end of it's time and dont pay much attention, some who try to pay attention and succeed sometimes but are distracted other times, some who can pray with complete concentration, and the final group who pray with all their heart and perform a spiritual journey to Allah in each prayer. Its important to note that we all start in the lowest group, and can move upwards... each category links on to the next so we can progress if we try.
Q6: How can I keep my concentration up in prayer?
- picture yourself standing in the Haram at Meccah - the Ka'bah in front of you, all the people around
- darken the room - try to minimise external distractions
- read different small chapters after al fatiha in each ruk'ah (as long as thinking which chapter to recite doesn't make you blank out!)
- think about the meaning of the words you are saying. Think each sentence in your mind before you say it out loud.
- slow your prayers down. Don't rush, and don't move on to the next line until you have understood what you have just said. Learn about the suras a bit at a time, take it slowly if you have to.
- Q: do we have enough respect for salat? some religious sunni Muslims seem very dedicated in their prayers, often more so than some shia, taking time out of lectures etc to go to the Friday prayer, perform each prayer separately at the beginning of it's time, and do their recommended prayers such as taraweeh. The Muslims who do this are usually not arab - they have had to work more at being able to perform and understand the prayer, and they place Islam foremost in their lives. Salat seems to have taken a back seat to big religious events such as Ramadan and Muharram, we should try to pay more attention to perfecting the basics in our religious efforts.
Q8: why do you (specifically) pray? have the reasons changed over time?
- in youth we all start off praying to please our parents. In our teens this progresses to seeing it as a bit of a burden, possibly rebellion and questioning the reasons for it, which starts to lead to an awareness of Islam. When you get a little older, you start enjoying prayer to be able to talk to your Lord and thank Him, to ask for things, and have a personal audience with God.
- the relationship between you and God is built slowly through the habit of salat, which starts before we can really appreciate what it means but carries on as we slowly progress in understanding and appreciation of it.
- performing the salat in youth is useful because it becomes a habit, so that it is not seen as a burden out of the ordinary when you get older, which might discourage you from praying even if you do believe. If children are encouraged to pray with their parents from an early age, it will become the norm for them and it will be easy for them to keep the habit when they're older.
- Q: what about recommended prayers? as we grow the obligatory prayers seem easy, so we can show extra devotion to Allah by performing some of the recommended prayers too. We can progress above performing the bare minimum, and go for "extra credit". It should be noted however that the 5 daily prayers are the ones which you should always do, and recommended ones are good but you shouldnt try to force yourself if there is a chance you'll start to resent prayer and hate the effort. Pray extra prayers when you are happy and motivated, to make the experience enjoyable and encourage you to do more.
Further reading: Adabus Salat by Ayatullah Khomeini http://www.al-islam.org/adab
