Teaching namaz to beginners often seems like hard work due to the abundance of information. Today it can be obtained from various sources. For this purpose, specialized sites are created on the Internet, publishing houses publish literature on this topic, and video channels even make releases dedicated to the daily prayer ritual in Islam. However, beginners still regularly ask the question on the forums: “How to learn namaz?” Beginners will benefit greatly from the help of relatives or older and more experienced male Muslims. But if you don’t have those, then you will have to learn this science on your own. And here the main thing is not to rush, because it is extremely important to perform prayer correctly. For beginners, the most difficult thing is to master the whole ritual and learn the words. After all, it is more valuable to read prayer in Arabic. If this seems difficult to you, pronounce the words of prayer in Russian (for beginners, this indulgence is considered acceptable and significantly facilitates the whole ceremony). For our readers, weselected material that will allow us to consider the daily ritual of turning to Allah from several angles. We will compile a short guide: how to pronounce the words of prayer correctly (every little thing is important for beginners), what needs to be done before prayer, and what are the differences in addressing the Creator of men and women.
The essence and meaning of the canonical prayer
For beginners, prayer is a difficult science, and it is even more difficult to comprehend it for those who do not fully understand why it is necessary to pray to Allah at least five times a day. Therefore, we decided to start our article with an explanation of the importance of appeals to the Almighty, which even children in the Muslim world understand.
In Islam, there are five pillars on which the religious trend is based. Compliance with these rules determines the preservation of faith in followers and enables religion to develop, gradually expanding the boundaries of its influence. All believers, regardless of gender, must perform five prayers. In many Muslim families, children are also taught this tradition from an early age, but this ritual is not mandatory for them until a certain age.
If you look at the essence of Islam, then prayer is not just an ordinary prayer, but one of the most important stages of worshiping Allah. This process is designed to purify the soul, enlighten the believer, protect him from sin and provide the Muslim with a place in paradise at the time of the Day of Judgment. According to the Qur'an, the Prophet will come in the dark hour and take with him those who have worked daily to glorify Allah. It's believed thatthey will stand out from all the rest by the light emanating from their souls.
Muslims know the story of how Muhammad explained to his followers the need for daily prayers. The Prophet spoke about a river in which people living nearby can bathe five times a day. After such zeal, no dirt will remain on any of the bathers. Thus a parallel was drawn between the purification of the body and the purification of the soul. A similar example is given to believers today, because understanding the importance of prayer for beginners is considered the first step towards gaining a strong and strong faith.
Sometimes women claim that it is not prescribed for them to perform prayer five times a day. However, this opinion is erroneous, and brothers, father or husband should help a Muslim woman to understand this. The fact is that prayer by novice women, like the rest, however, should be carried out as many times as men do. But Muslim women can choose the place of prayer. No one has the right to forbid them to pray in the mosque, but it is still better if women do it at home. It is believed that Muslim women should not appear in mosques where there is no separate entrance for females, as well as a fenced area for appealing to Allah. By their presence, they will distract men from prayer, which is unacceptable according to the rules of Islam. If the mosque has several halls, thus separating men and women, then the latter can visit it without hesitation five times a day. But the Prophet himself instructed Muslim women, explaining that the opportunity to pray at home is a real gift for them. Indeed, by virtue of their nature and physical condition, women do notthey can always leave their loved ones to go to prayer. They may be busy with children, not find a male chaperone, feel unwell, and so on. Therefore, devout Muslim women have an advantage over their men - the opportunity to read the words of prayer at home.
It is important for beginners to understand that the observance of the ritual of turning to Allah must be accurate. If you make mistakes in actions and words, then prayer will not count. Therefore, during prayer, you need to maintain maximum concentration and not be distracted by anything. However, for beginners, before looking for information on how to start a prayer, it is worthwhile to understand that with sufficient zeal, faith and the desire to do everything right, the initial mistakes in the text and actions will not be a reason not to count your prayer. After all, the purity of intentions in the heart and soul is much more important than the exact observance of the ritual. Therefore, beginners should not be afraid to make mistakes, but always strive for the ideal.
More about prayer
The most difficult thing for beginners to remember is not so much the sequence of ritual actions as all the necessary prayers and their features. Therefore, we decided to devote an entire section of the article to this issue.
How to quickly learn to pray? For beginners, this question is the most relevant, it is asked by many who have recently come to Islam. They are advised to first understand that the worship of Allah consists of obligatory and desirable elements.
Fard prayer is considered obligatory for everyone. If a Muslim does not complyhim five times a day, then he cannot count on the blessing of the Almighty. And a woman who neglects this rule deprives the mercy of Allah of her house, husband and children. Therefore, five times a day, the faithful should set aside time to glorify the Creator and the Prophet.
Sunnah prayer is not considered obligatory, but nevertheless its performance is desirable for those who consider themselves to be true believers. The Qur'an states that special rewards await Muslims for the performance of this prayer. But for beginners, it will still be difficult to do this daily. Therefore, they are advised to perform only the obligatory prayer. For beginner men and women, this will be quite enough, and over time, you can move on to other types of prayers. Thus, faith in Allah will be gradually strengthened, and rituals will gain awareness. In some texts, sunnah prayer is compared to seasoning. We can do without it, but it is she who is able to turn an ordinary dish into something refined and luxurious, giving the dish a unique taste and aroma.
In certain currents of Islam, there is a third type of prayer - witr. It can be described as a night prayer, and it is performed immediately after the obligatory night prayer has already been said. However, beginners may not read this prayer at first. In addition, it should be borne in mind that witr is not recognized by all religious movements of Islam. But if you, in spite of everything, want to perform it, then this will not be a mistake. Beginners should understand that it is impossible to pray to Allah an excessive number of times. Each appeal enlightens you andpromotes blessing in all areas of life.
Components of prayer
Performing prayer correctly… For beginners, this is almost the ultimate dream. If you asked this question, then you are already on the threshold of one of the main sacraments of Islam, which is an indispensable condition for strong faith.
At any time of the day or night, prayer is a strict sequence of words and actions. They are performed according to the established rules, which must be learned before the start of prayer. So, the daily appeal of Allah consists of rak'ahs. They can be explained as a set of actions, including the following steps:
- Reading suras. Prayers must read certain verses from the Koran, and this is done by heart. Even for beginners, it is unacceptable to say the text from the sheet, but the number of verses for them can be reduced.
- Committing a hand. This term refers to one waist bow. A certain prayer may include two, three or four hands. These moments are clearly regulated.
- Sajda. The double prostration is always performed during prayer by men and women, but in some cases the faithful can be exempted from it. For example, seriously ill people or pregnant women who find it difficult to bend over.
Interestingly, Islam is very tolerant of weak believers. If those who can hardly stand on their feet due to weakness caused by diseases come to the mosque for prayer, then a Muslim should sit down. The Prophet also instructed his followers to beattentive during prayer, and for this you do not need to be distracted by infirmities and poor he alth. If in the process of prayer you feel comfortable and calm, then the appeal to Allah will be filled with special meaning.
Conditions for prayer
In order to understand how to pray, novice women and men need to remember five conditions that must always be met before starting prayer. First of all, they are told about them to people who have recently come to Islam. We will also describe each of them in detail. These conditions can be listed as follows:
- observance of the time and number of rak'ahs;
- cleansing and washing;
- choosing the right clothes;
- qibla;
- intention to pray.
It is noteworthy that Muslims learn the features of the above items in early childhood. Therefore, for them, the conditions of prayer are not difficult, but beginners have to spend a lot of time to master this wisdom.
Time
The start of prayer is a very important moment. Each prayer must be read in a strictly defined period of time. This does not always mean our usual understanding of time. After all, Muslims often, when they mention the time of prayer, have in mind a clearly marked interval, calculated taking into account the position of the luminary moving across the sky.
What do beginners need to know? Namaz prayers are said five times a day:
- Fajr. This prayer is the very first of the day. Morning prayer for beginnersexperienced believers are supposed to do it when the dusk of the night has barely begun to dissipate. The prayer itself lasts until the moment the sun rises above the horizon. This prayer includes two rak'ahs.
- Zuhr. The second obligatory prayer begins after the sun has moved from its highest point. Many people talk about this time - "the luminary is leaning towards its zenith." This prayer includes four rak'ahs and is considered quite long. Her time ends at the time of the next prayer.
- Asr. The third prayer refers to the afternoon. Asr also includes four rak'ahs, and the beginning of this prayer is a shadow, the length of which coincides with the length of the object that casts it. The appeal to Allah lasts until the luminary changes its color. The sun should become almost copper and lose its unbearable brilliance. As soon as you can look at him without glasses and other eye protection, you can finish the prayer.
- Maghrib. With the onset of sunset comes the time for evening prayers. Muslims do it only after the sun has completely left the sky. Three rak'ahs are included in the prayer, and it ends with the onset of night prayer time.
- Isha. As soon as darkness falls on the earth, Muslims begin to glorify Allah. Prayer should continue until twelve o'clock at night. After this prayer, Muslims can go to sleep and rest until dawn.
It is known that some believers prayed to Allah until morning without a break for sleep. Such people were considered saints, and to their wordsthe rest of the faithful listened.
Classification of ablutions
The words of prayer for beginners (women and men) will not have their power if the Muslim has not performed the obligatory ablution. Ablution must be performed after the violation of purity before each prayer. Starting prayer without following this rule is prohibited and equates to sinful deeds.
Cleansing and washing before turning to Allah are of two types. Each has a lot of its own distinctive features, which are not always easy for a beginner to figure out:
1. Voodoo
This process refers to small purifications and ablutions, but without it, prayer cannot be considered valid. However, if your purity has not been violated, then after one bath, you can perform up to four prayers. We will talk about this a little later. Voodoo involves washing the body in a certain sequence with the pronunciation of special words. During the process, Muslims must be sure that every inch of their body has been washed. This is an extremely important condition for wudu.
The ablution begins with the declaration of intent. A Muslim must mentally declare that he is going to perform wudu before prayer for the glory of Allah. Next, you need to say aloud "Bismillah" and only after that go directly to water procedures. They begin with the washing of the hands to the wrists, and the manipulations must be repeated at least three times. After that, the faithful wash their mouth and nose, for this, water is drawn into the nose three times and then blown out with force. Now you can startface wash. Keep in mind that you need to wash all the protruding parts of the face from ear to ear, reaching the hairline. The next step is the triple washing of the hands up to the elbows and wiping the head with wet palms. In parallel, it is necessary to capture the area of the ears, not forgetting to wash them in the ear canals. The final stage of wudu can be considered washing the feet with the capture of the ankles. After that, the faithful can begin to pray.
For beginners, it is important to consider that wudu is violated in the case of the body's natural needs, sleep, loss of consciousness, and also after touching the genitals.
2. Ghusl
Muslims start much less frequently than small ones. Ghusl lasts longer, and therefore it is not performed before every prayer. This ablution will be necessary after intimacy and any release of seminal fluid. The prayer rules for beginner women indicate that ghusl should be performed after the end of monthly and postpartum bleeding.
Great ablution has its own procedure, but it is quite easy to remember. At the very beginning, a Muslim must declare his intention, and then perform wudu. The final stage is the washing of the whole body from the tips of the toes to the tips of the hair on the head.
In addition to all of the above, you need to remember that during prayer, it is not allowed to have any kind of dirt on the body and clothes of the worshiper. He must also keep clean throughout the day.
Features of choosing clothes for prayer
Naturally, the clothes in which a person begins to pray cannot be dirty. But besides this, it is selected based on certain characteristics. When studying the features of prayer for beginner men, you need to remember that it is recommended to turn to Allah in loose clothing that does not restrict movement. Male persons must cover the body from the waist to the feet, it is also necessary to throw something over the shoulders.
The words of prayer for beginner men are no different from the texts intended for Muslim women. However, they should choose clothes especially carefully. It is important that it covers the entire body, except for the face and palms. If during prayer the edge of the robe accidentally opens some part of the body, the woman is advised to calmly correct everything, without being distracted from the prayer and without stopping it.
Clothes for prayer are pre-cleaned of any organic contaminants, but dust or paint are acceptable. Remember that dirt that gets on you in the process of work, for example, is not an obstacle to performing daily prayer.
Direction of prayer
Every Muslim should be able to calculate qibla. This term means a direction that is sacred in Islam. We are talking about Mecca, which is considered the true home of Allah. Therefore, all the mosques in the world are built in the direction of this place and the Kaaba - the main shrine of the Muslim world.
Before starting the prayer, you need to turn around to face in this direction. Beginners quite often experience some difficulties in this matter, although in practice everything is very simple and understandable. If in yourthere is a mosque in the city, then you can always turn to face it during prayer. This will be the easiest and most correct way out of the situation.
Many advise you to buy a modern gadget that will always show you the qibla. Such watches with a built-in identifier are in great demand in Muslim countries, and they can also be found on the Internet. With such a device, anywhere in the world you will know the right direction as accurately as possible.
I would like to note that in the case of a choice between refusing to pray due to ignorance of the correct direction and performing it with some violations, one should tend to choose the first one. Even the Prophet himself said that it is permissible to pray on the road or in a foreign land without observing all the conditions. Such a prayer will certainly be counted, but such a measure is rather an exception confirming the general rule.
Niyat
The intention with which you plan to pray is no less important than all the conditions we have already listed. Thus, a Muslim tunes in to prayer, thinks about it and selects the prayer texts necessary for reading. Niyat can be said mentally, in a whisper or out loud. This nuance does not matter, but the most important thing in the intention is to completely surrender to prayer, focus on it and reject all worldly problems.
In today's world it is quite difficult to forget about all things, but only the one who can put everything aside for the joy of communion with Allah is worthy of blessing and prosperity.
Prayer for beginner women: how to learn quickly
We have already specified that in general the prayer process of Muslims of different sexes is identical. However, there are some differences that you need to be aware of. How to learn to pray? For novice women, close men will be excellent mentors. They are responsible for them before Allah, and therefore they must patiently teach their wife or relative all the rules of communication with the Creator. But if there are none nearby, then any training source of information will do. We will describe the prayer process briefly.
Intending to pray, a woman must comply with all the conditions described above and stand on the mat for prayer. If you don't have a special rug, any clean piece of cloth will do. It is important that it be so clean that you can eat on it, like on a tablecloth.
The next step is niyat, then the praying woman should say the introductory takbir, while raising her hands to chest level and turning them with her palms open outward. Then the woman is instructed to fold her arms over her chest, but at the same time they cannot be clamped into the lock. The palms should cover one another, the right is always on top of the left. In this position, the surah Al-Fatiha is read. We present its text below. Further, it would be good to read some more sura, but if you are a beginner, then you may well limit yourself to these words.
The waist bow is performed shallowly, while the hands are supposed to lie freely on the knees, and the eyes should be turned to the feet. The next will be a bow to the ground. It is performed in a specialway. The woman is ordered to kneel so that the big toes rest on the ground. Then she needs to rest her elbows on the floor and turn her hands palms down. At the same time, the head is tilted so that the nose and forehead touch the prayer rug. All these manipulations are performed with the words “Allahu Akbar.”
The second and subsequent rakahs are performed in the same way. At the end of the prayer, after two earthly prostrations, the woman should remain in a sitting position on the floor, resting her heels on the ground and then moving to one side. In this position, the dua "Attahiyyat" is read. Her text is shown in the photo below.
Prayer by men
Male persons should remember that at the beginning of the prayer they need to raise their hands with palms turned outward to the level of their ears. When reading the sura, men's hands fall to the level of the navel and fold in a special way. The right hand should cover the left with the little finger and thumb. The lock thus obtained is usually placed exactly opposite the navel.
The waist bow is supposed to be done as deep as possible, and the final dua is read while sitting on the mat with emphasis on the heels.
Deeds and actions that are a violation of prayer
Beginners don't realize how many actions can disrupt the prayer and make it useless. For example, during prayer it is forbidden to laugh and talk loudly, and such actions will nullify wudu. But Muslims of both sexes are allowed to smile during prayer and ablution.
If you sigh or make othersounds, then break the prayer. But involuntary sounds such as coughing, for example, will not be an obstacle to prayer.
Muslims are forbidden to weep over worldly matters during prayer. If your tears are not related to Allah, then they are empty and sinful.
In no case should you perform various small actions without special need. It is believed that in a situation where a person looking at you from the side thinks that you are not praying due to a series of erratic movements, prayer is considered violated.
