In Islam, prayer means obligatory prayer, which is one of the five foundations on which this religion rests. Before every beginner, the question arises, how to do prayer? The order of the ritual is an imitation of certain postures and movements that the prophet Muhammad performed. A single pattern of prayer has been developed by practice for almost 150 years and was recorded by jurists in the 8th century. How to learn how to do namaz from scratch will be described in the article.
How the Prophet Muhammad prayed
Namaz is carried out by performing a set of postures and body movements that accompany the recitation of a prayer. Such a cycle is called "rak'at", and the prayer consists of specific formulas. In this case, each position, movement and formula follow each other in strict sequence.
Those who want to learn how to do prayer according to the sunnah, you need to remember the following. Violation of the order of actions during prayer leads to its invalidity. That is, requests addressed to the Almighty in this way will not be fulfilled.
Recall thatSunnah is an addition to the Qur'an that tells about the life of the Prophet Muhammad. Prayers should only be said in Arabic. Sometimes variations in the set of formulas are possible, depending on the interpretation of a particular theological school.
How many times to pray
The system of reciting prayers in Islam is quite complex, so you need to thoroughly understand how many times and how much to pray.
The complex, which a Muslim must carry out every day, consists of prayers, the number of which is five. But at the same time, each of them is read several times.
- In the morning - 2 times.
- At noon - 4 times.
- Before evening - 4 times.
- In the evening - 3 times.
- At night - 4 times.
In one of the most common Sunni legal schools - Hanafi (named after its founder Abu Hanifa) - there is another prayer, a night prayer, which includes an odd number of cycles (rak'ahs).
Are there options?
Is it possible to pray by combining the indicated prayers? Yes, you can. In some cases, prayers are read together: midday and evening, as well as evening and night. Each of the prayers has a strictly fixed time for its performance. More on this below.
In the sunnahs there is a rule that, in addition to the obligatory, you can do prayers, which are among the voluntary. In addition to prayers performed according to strict regulations, Islam allows the opportunity to address God directly, simplyuttering the words expressing a prayer in any language and at any convenient time.
Prayer times
Is it possible to do prayer, which is obligatory, at any convenient time? No, this is strictly prohibited. Here are some rules regarding this ban.
- Each of the prayers is assigned a time period in which it must be performed. It has a strictly marked beginning and end.
- If the prayer is performed before the due time (even when this advance is insignificant), then the prayer will not be "counted" in heaven. It must be done again - at the appointed time.
- If the time of the ritual is missed without good reason, it is a great sin. Therefore, it is necessary to try to "catch up" and perform a reparatory prayer.
How to learn to pray on time? According to Islamic tradition, the exact time of each ritual prayer was communicated by Allah to the Prophet Muhammad through the archangel Jabrail. It is determined in three ways: by the movement of the sun, by the call of the muezzin, pronounced by him from the minaret, by a special schedule of prayers (ruznam).
How to pray without falling into sin
In order not to commit a sin, you need to know not only the time when you need to pray, but also the time when it is forbidden to do so. It includes:
- The moment at which the solar disk passes through the highest point in the sky. The exception to this rule isFriday time.
- For 15 minutes before sunrise, after the morning prayer has been performed.
- After performing the obligatory afternoon ritual, before the sun has fully set on the horizon.
However, the Sunnahs tell about the words of the Prophet Muhammad, removing the above restrictions for several cases. Consider them.
Permission of the prophet
You can learn how to pray for a beginner without sin from the instructions of the prophet. It allows not to follow the rules indicated in the previous section when:
- A faithful Muslim prays at the Sacred Mosque - the main and largest in the world, which is located on the territory of Saudi Arabia, in Mecca. In its courtyard is the main Islamic shrine - the Kaaba. It symbolizes the "sacred house" and is a building in the form of a cube. Pilgrims flock to the Kaaba during the Hajj.
- Reparative prayers are performed.
- Ritual prayers are performed additionally, for certain reasons.
- Prayer is performed during a lunar or solar eclipse.
- A person prays immediately after bathing.
Conditions required for prayer
How to learn to pray, observing all the prescriptions dictated by the Sunnahs? To do this, you need to familiarize yourself with the conditions necessary for the implementation of prayer. These include the following:
- Human purity (internal and external). Inner purity is characterized by a prayerful mood, the absence of sinful thoughts, sincerityin turning to God. In order to maintain external purity, it is necessary to get rid of pollution. It includes, for example, the state of the body following the administration of natural needs, intimacy, monthly secretions of the female body, childbirth. In this case, you need to perform a ritual ablution (how to do ablution before prayer will be discussed in more detail below). It may be partial or complete, depending on the extent to which the person has been defiled.
- The cleanliness of the place. Prayer should be performed only in a clean place, there should not be animals, dirty people, things and objects nearby.
- Compliance with the rule of which direction to pray. Prayer is performed only in a position in which the person's face is turned in the direction of the Qibla. The fact is that Muslims have established a direction that is determined for any point on the Earth - towards Mecca, where the Kaaba is located. It is observed during prayers, the construction of mosques, and is also of great importance in the daily life of believers, being a symbol of spiritual unity, regardless of their location.
- The freshness of the garment and its compliance with Shariah rules. The clothes of the worshiper should be neat, clean, dry - not soiled with sewage, without greasy stains, without holes. Places prohibited from public viewing should not be exposed.
- Complete sobriety. In everyday life (and even more so during prayer), Muslims are forbidden to be in any form of intoxication, be it alcohol or drugs. All this refers to haram - a complete ban.
- Intention -it is necessary to have a clear intention to communicate with Allah by saying prayers.
How to do prayer: complete ablution - ghusl
The process of ablution raises many questions, especially among women. Since it is very important, let's study it. There are two types of ablution - full and small.
A full bath is called ghusl. In addition to the cases indicated above, it is performed before Friday prayers and prayers during holidays. It must be done as follows:
- Wash your hands three times.
- Treat the genitals carefully.
- Perform a small ablution.
- Completely pour water over the body in the following order: head, shoulders (right, then left), torso, legs.
- Hair tied up in a hairstyle does not bloom. The main thing during dousing is to wet the roots.
Small ablution - wudu
As you can see, a small ablution is an integral part of a full one. It must be done like this:
- Wash your hands up to the wrist line.
- Rinse your mouth twice.
- Clean the nasal cavity three times.
- Rinse your face three times.
- Wash your hands again - now up to the elbow, three times.
- Clean the ears - once each.
As a rule, a small ablution is performed before prayer on ordinary days, but there are other cases when it is necessary. So, for example, after a full bath, a situation may arise in which a person went to the toilet, lost consciousness, vomited or bled in the nose, touched the genitals. How to do namazin such situations? – It is in them that a small ablution is required.
Performing the ritual
Having familiarized ourselves with the basic conditions and rules on how to do namaz, let's move on to a direct description of how it is performed. Here are the stages of prayer during which the person praying:
- Makes ablution.
- Becomes facing the Kaaba, observing the Qibla, with arms extended along the body.
- Expresses the intention to pray.
- Raises hands to face with palms facing in accordance with Qibla and recites a formula that ex alts the Almighty, which is called "Takbir".
- The thumb and little finger of the right hand grabs the left wrist and holds it.
- The other three fingers on the right hand winds up behind the left hand, directing them towards the elbow. In this case, the hands are just below the navel.
- Pronounces the first sura from the Koran - Al-Fatiha (Opening), and after it some other, short sura, of his choice.
- Bows from the waist in praise of Allah.
- Straightening up, asks the Almighty to hear his praise.
- Kneel down, bowing to the ground.
- Stands up again and sits on his heels, asking God for forgiveness.
- Repeatedly bows to the ground and returns to sitting on heels.
This is how the first rak'ah looks like. Usually several of them are performed, for beginners at the first stage it is recommended to perform two rak'ahs. In the second and last, you need to read such a prayer formula as Tashahhud(Certificate). After their completion, a greeting is read in the final rakah, in which they wish everyone peace and God's mercy. In this case, you need to turn - now to the right, then to the left.
Istikhara prayer
In Islam, there is such a thing as istikhara, which in Arabic means "search for the good." This is a type of prayer in which a person who finds himself in a difficult situation turns to Allah for advice on how to find the right solution to the problem.
How to do Istikhara prayer? - The beginning of its commission, as in the general case, is ablution, and then two rak'ahs are pronounced, which are a voluntary prayer. After that, you need to read a special prayer, which is called "dua".
Its general meaning boils down to the fact that the believer asks the Almighty to help him with his power, showing great mercy. After all, he himself does not know what to do, but God knows everything about what is hidden for a mere mortal. Starting any important business, you need to read Istikhara once. If from the first time Allah did not give a sign, then you need to repeat the prayer until the heart feels that the answer has been received.
"Female" and "male" prayer - what is the difference?
By and large, there are few differences in how to pray for a man, and how for a woman. But still they are. What are they? So, for example, there is a special Friday prayer, which is performed by believers together in the mosque. According to Muslim canons, the obligation to perform it is assigned only to male persons. Ancient rules say that four categories of believers do notshould, these include: the sick, children, women and slaves.
The moment of the Friday prayer is the time of the end of the noon prayer before the start of the evening prayer. This prayer consists of two parts: khutba - the imam's sermon and two rak'ahs. If a Muslim, for a good reason, managed only the last rak'ah, then it is considered that he attended the Friday prayer in full. At the same time, after the prayer has ended, you need to supplement the missed cycle.
How to pray a woman on Friday
Based on the fact that Friday prayer is optional for the fairer sex, the question arises, how to pray a woman on Friday? This category of believers is invited by jurists to do four rak'ahs of the midday prayer. But if there is a desire, on Friday the ladies can attend the universal prayer in the mosque.
In this case, they, as well as other categories of believers who have performed a universal prayer, the obligation to perform the four-time noon prayer (zuhr) is removed. This conclusion is drawn from the fact that nowhere in the Muslim canons does it say that the burden falls on the believer to perform two prayers on the same day at once - both midday and Friday.
From everything that has been said about how to pray for a woman and a man, we can conclude that its performance is a very responsible matter, requiring a serious approach and careful study of the relevant rules. However, to date, verification of the thoroughness of their implementation in the Muslimtradition is not controlled by anyone, it lies on the conscience of the praying person.
