Answer: Salah, or daily prayer, is first of the ten branches of Islam; Salah is the foundation of a Muslim's practices, reflecting the faith on only one God who deserved to be worshipped. Daily prayer is the best form of remembering God and to thank Him for His unlimited favours bestowed to the humans. It is a ritualistic form of prayer that is prescribed to be performed five times a day by Muslims. Each prayer consists of a sequence of movements and recitations from the Quran, the holy book of God, and is performed facing the Ka’aba in Makkah.
The five daily obligatory prayers are:
1. Fajr - the dawn prayer.
2. Dhuhr - the noon prayer.
3. Asr - the afternoon prayer.
4. Maghrib - the sunset prayer.
5. Isha - the night prayer.
These prayers serve multiple purposes in the life of a Muslim:
- They are a constant reminder of the importance of faith in God and the role that spirituality plays in one's life.
- They offer structured moments throughout the day for spiritual reflection and meditation.
- They foster a sense of community and common identity among Muslims, as they are performed in a similar manner around the world.
Performing Salah involves physical acts of standing, bowing, and prostration which symbolize humility before God. The prayers can be performed individually or in a congregation and offer a way to seek guidance, ask for forgiveness, and express gratitude towards God. For Muslims, Salah is both a demonstration of faith and a disciplined practice to renew one's spiritual vitality.
To learn how to pray the daily prayers, please follow the link: https://findtruth.co.uk/how-to-perform-the-daily-prayers
Answer: The practice of praying five times a day (Salah) is a cornerstone of Islamic faith and worship, prescribed by Allah in the Qur'an and demonstrated by the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). It serves spiritual, moral, and social purposes, as explained below:
1. Cleansing the Soul: The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) likened the five daily prayers to a man bathing in a river five times a day. He said:
"If a man had a river at his door and bathed in it five times a day, would any dirt remain on him?"
The companions replied: "No, O Messenger of Allah, he would be completely clean."
The Prophet said: "The five daily prayers are like that river. Allah erases sins through them."
(Sahih Bukhari, Sahih Muslim)
This analogy emphasizes that Salah purifies the soul from sins and keeps believers spiritually clean and focused on Allah.
2. Connection with Allah: Praying five times a day fosters a continuous connection with Allah, reminding Muslims of their purpose and dependence on Him. It reinforces:
3. Moral Discipline and Focus: Christian writers like Rev. James Muller and Mr. C.M. King have praised this practice, acknowledging its moral and psychological benefits. Mr. C.M. King noted:
"When a man is engaged in worldly affairs or entertainments, he pays no attention to his moral development. Some entertainments, by their nature, make man forget God. The obligation of Muslims to pray five times daily in all conditions reminds them to turn their hearts back to God, removing unhealthy thoughts from their minds."
4. Unity and Equality: When Muslims gather to pray, especially in congregational settings:
5. Humility and Modesty: Salah instills humility as Muslims bow and prostrate before Allah, acknowledging their dependence on Him. This repeated act develops a sense of modesty and mindfulness in daily life.
6. A Divinely Prescribed Act: The obligation of five daily prayers was established during the Night Journey (Isra and Mi'raj) of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), where Allah directly ordained it. Allah says in the Qur'an:
"Indeed, prayer has been decreed upon the believers a decree of specified times."
(Surah An-Nisa, 4:103)
Summary
Muslims pray five times a day because it is a direct command from Allah and a means of spiritual purification, moral discipline, and social harmony. It keeps believers grounded in their faith, connected to Allah, and focused on leading a life of righteousness and humility. The practice serves as a constant reminder of their purpose and accountability to their Creator, enriching their daily lives with peace and guidance.
Answer: Before performing the daily prayers (Salah), there are several requirements and steps that a Muslim must undertake to ensure that their prayer is valid and accepted. These preparations involve both physical and spiritual readiness:
1. Purification of body, clothes and the place: The whole body, clothes worn during prayer and the place of prayer must be clean. This includes being free from impurities such as urine, faeces, blood, and other Najasaat (items considered impure). To learn the impure items, please follow the link: https://findtruth.co.uk/what-are-the-types-of-impure-things
2. Performing Wudu – (Ablution) This is an obligatory act prior to perform daily prayers. If certain conditions apply, such as sexual impurity or post-menstrual state, a full-body purification called “Ghusl” may be required.
3. Covering the 'Awrah’: Men and women must cover their private areas during prayer. For men, this is from the navel to the knees, and for women, it covers the entire body except for the face and hands (and feet according to some interpretations).
4. Facing the Qiblah: The direction of prayer must be towards the Ka’aba in Makkah, known as the Qiblah. Muslims must orient themselves in this direction during the prayer.
5. Intention (Niyyah): Before beginning the prayer, the individual must make a sincere intention of “Qurbatan ilallah” (Only for the nearness to Allah) in their heart about which prayer they are going to perform. This intention does not need to be spoken aloud but must be made mentally.
6. Timing: Each of the five daily prayers has a specific time window during which it can be performed. These times are based on the position of the sun and include Fajr (dawn), Dhuhr (after midday), Asr (afternoon), Maghrib (immediately after sunset), and Isha (night). Prayers should be performed within their respective time frames. However, according to the authentic Shia and Sunni books of hadiths, Asr prayer can be performed right after the Dhuhr prayer and the Isha prayer can be performed right after performing the Maghrib prayer.
These steps help in preparing a Muslim physically and spiritually to stand before God in prayer, reflecting a state of cleanliness, respect, and sincerity.
Answer: In Islam, there are certain things which are considered to be ritually unclean (Najis). We are commanded by our Lord to stay away from these impure things. There are 9 types of ritually unclean things (najaasat):
Attention:“Everything is deemed to clean except what divine Jurisprudence has decreed to be najis (ritually impure)”
1 & 2. Urine and faeces: of human beings or any animal whose meat is haram to eat and whose blood spurts when its jugular vein is cut, e.g. mice, cats, and dogs etc. except birds.
The urine and faeces of animals whose meat is halal to eat, including birds such as sparrows and pigeons, mammals, such as cattle and sheep, and animals whose meat is not halal to eat but their blood does not spurt when their major veins are cut, such as snakes and scale less fish, as well as the urine and faeces of birds whose meat is not halal, such as crows and parrots, are considered tahir (ritually clean).
Note: The corpse of a martyr who is killed in the way of Allah in the battlefield as well as that of a Muslim which is given three ghusls, is considered as Clean (tahir).
6 &7. Dogs & Pigs: Dogs and pigs are najis and this includes their hair, bones, nails and body fluids.
8.Intoxicating drinks: All alcoholic beverages that are intoxicants, are najis based on obligatory precaution. If an intoxicating object is not a liquid, such as cannabis, opium, or cocaine, it is not considered najis even if it is mixed with water or another liquid and becomes a liquid.
Note: the people of divine books such as Christians, Jews, Zoroastrians, and Sabaeans are considered tahir.
To learn the impure items, please follow the link: https://findtruth.co.uk/what-are-the-types-of-impure-things
Answer: Ritual cleansers known as Mutahhirat are agents that cleanse things that have become ritually impure (najis things). There are nine ritual cleansers:
1. Water: Water makes an impure object pure with five conditions:
1. The water must be pure (unadulterated). It means that unadulterated water such as rose water cannot purify an object that has become ritually impure.
2. The water must be clean. Najis water cannot purify any object that has become ritually impure.
3. The water must not become adulterated when an impure object is washed in it.
4. Any residue of an inherently impure thing (najis al-‘ayn) must not remain on the object, after that object is washed.
5. When washing an object that has become ritually impure with a small amount of water, the runoff water must be separated from the object.
2. Earth: A person the soles of whose feet or shoes, become impure because of coming in contact with something ritually impure on the ground, will be cleansed whenever they walk about ten feet on dry and clean ground if the inherently impure thing (najis al-‘ayn) has disappeared.
Asphalt or bituminous soils do not clean feet or the soles of shoes.
Note: Walking on an asphalt road does not clean feet or soles. Also earth does not purify other parts of our body or clothes.
3. The Sun: It can purify impure earth and immovable things such as buildings, walls, doors, windows, trees etc., under four conditions:
a. the impure object is wet.
b. the impure substance has disappeared.
c. no barrier preventing the sun from shining on it.
d. the impure object becomes dry from the sunshine.
4. Transformation (istihala): An impure object is cleansed if it has changed to something else, such as wood that has been transformed into ashes by incineration, wine that has turned to vinegar, or a dog that had fallen into a field of salt and turned into salt. But if its essence has not changed, like impure wheat turning into flour or impure sugar dissolving in water, it cannot become tahir (pure).
5. Transfer (intiqal): The blood sucked by mosquitoes and other insects from the body of a human or animal that has blood that spurts when a large vein is cut is najis if that blood is still considered human or animal (like the blood that a leech sucks from a human body). If, however, the blood becomes part of the body of that insect, that blood becomes cleansed like the blood of a mosquito. The same rule applies to other impure substances.
6. Islam: If a disbeliever who is not from the people of any divine book, converts in Islam by testifying that there is no God but Allah, and that Muhammad is the Messenger of God, then his/her body, saliva, nasal mucus, as well as their sweat, will become tahir (cleansed).
7. Consequencing (tab’iyyah): It means that, when a najis thing becomes tahir (cleansed), then another thing associated with it also becomes tahir.
For example, when wine turns into vinegar and becomes tahir, then its container also becomes tahir as a consequence of the wine becoming vinegar. Or if one washes a najis shirt, when the shirt becomes tahir, one’s hands associated with it become tahir too.
8. Removal of an inherently najis substance (najis al-‘ayn): If an animal's body becomes contaminated with something impure, as soon as it is removed, the animal's body is cleansed and there is no need to wash it. The same rule applies to inside the human body, for example, the blood that comes out of the gums is tahir, if it has been expelled with saliva.
9.Disappearance of a Muslim: If someone was sure that the body, clothes or anything belonging to a particular Muslim is impure and one does not see that Muslim for a while and then sees that person treating that which had been known to be impure as if it was pure, then that thing should be considered as cleansed (tahir). This assumption must be conditional upon the knowledge that that Muslim person was aware of the status of the previous impurity and knows about the rules of purity and impurity.
Answer: Muslims must perform a ritual cleansing called Wudu. Prior to prayer, ablution must be performed in a following order:
1. Intend the ablution for the pleasure of God.
2. Wash the face once or twice from the hairline to the chin.
3. Wash both arms once or twice from the elbow to the fingertips, starting with the right.
4. Wipe once the front part of the head with the wet hand.
5. Wipe once the top of the feet of both, starting with the right.
To watch how to do Wudu, please follow the link: https://findtruth.co.uk/how-to-perform-wudhu
Answer: The following nine things invalidate Wudu (ritual ablution):
Janabah (State of Major Impurity Due to Seminal Discharge): If a person experiences ejaculation or intercourse, Wudu is nullified, and Ghusl Janabah (ritual bath) becomes obligatory
Answer: Ghusl becomes obligatory in the following situations:
1. Ghusl al-Janabah (State of Major Ritual Impurity)
You must perform Ghusl when Ejaculation or seminal discharge occurs (whether awake or asleep, e.g., wet dream). Or when you have Sexual intercourse, even without ejaculation.
The Ghusl must be done before performing prayer (Salah), entering in to a Mosque, reciting the Quranic verses that require Wudu, or touching the names of Allah, His Prophet and 12 divine Imams or Quranic script.
2. Ghusl al-Haydh (Menstruation)
When a woman finishes her menstrual cycle, She must perform Ghusl before resuming prayers or fasting.
3. Ghusl al-Nifas (Postpartum Bleeding)
When a woman completes her post-childbirth bleeding (Nifas), she must perform Ghusl before performing acts of worship requiring purity.
4. Ghusl al-Istihadhah (Irregular Vaginal Bleeding)
When A woman experiences medium or heavy Istihadhah bleeding (non-menstrual bleeding), Depending on the level of bleeding, Ghusl may be required before prayers.
5. Ghusl al-Mayyit (Washing of the Deceased)
A deceased Muslim must be washed three times with specific conditions before burial.
6. Ghusl for Touching a Dead Body (Ghusl Mass al-Mayyit)
when a person touches a dead body (after it has become cold and before it has been given Ghusl al-Mayyit), must do Ghusl, before performing prayer.
Answer: Although not obligatory, the following Ghusl are highly recommended (Mustahabb):
✅ Ghusl al-Jumu'ah (Friday Ghusl) – Highly recommended before Jumu'ah prayer.
✅ Ghusl on Eid al-Fitr & Eid al-Adha.
✅ Ghusl on the nights of Qadr (Laylatul Qadr) in Ramadan.
✅ Ghusl before entering the state of Ihram for Hajj or Umrah.
✅ Ghusl for reciting the Quran or for major worship acts.
Answer: There are two valid methods for any type of Ghusl (Wajib or Mustahab) :
1. Tartibi (Sequential) Method:
Step 1: Niyyah (Intention) – Intend to perform Ghusl for the pleasure of Allah. (Qurbatan ilallah)
Step 2: Wash the head and neck first .
Step 3: Wash the right side of the entire body.
Step 4: Wash the left side of the entire body.
2. Irtimasi (Submerging) Method:
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