Salah
Salah (Arabic: صَلَاة, archaically صَلوٰة; romanized: ṣalāh, Arabic pronunciation: [sˤɑˈlæːh]; pl. صَلَاوَات; romanized: ṣalāwāt, Arabic pronunciation: [sˤɑˈlæːwæːt]) also known as namâz (Persian: نماز), is worship performed by Muslims. Facing the qibla (the direction of the Kaaba), Muslims pray first standing and later kneeling or sitting on the ground, reciting prescribed prayers and phrases from the Quran as they bow and prostrate themselves in between.
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| Salah | |
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Muslims doing ruku (bowing) during a prayer at a mosque | |
| Official name | صلاة |
| Also called | Prayer in Islam |
| Observed by | Muslims |
| Type | Islamic |
| Significance | Muslim prayer offered to Allah according to legal jurisprudence |
| Observances | |
| Related to | Tilawa, ruku, sujud |
Salah is composed of prescribed repetitive cycles of bows and prostrations, called rakat (sing. rak'ah). The number of rak'ahs, also known as units of prayer, varies from prayer to prayer. Ritual purity and wudu are prerequisites for performing the prayers. Salah can be performed either in solitude, or collectively (known as jama'ah). Worshippers performing jama'ah line up in parallel rows behind a leader, known as the Imam ("leader"). Special prayers are exclusively performed in congregation; such prayers include the Friday prayer and the Eid prayers, and may be coupled with two sermons each, delivered by the Imam.
The daily obligatory prayers collectively form the second of the five pillars in Islam, observed three or (most commonly) five times every day at prescribed times. These are usually Fajr (observed at dawn), Zuhr (observed at noon), Asr (observed late in the afternoon), Maghrib (observed after sunset), and Isha (observed at dusk).