Talk:Salah

Sections

--- In all honesty, there is not need to place the Shia and Sunni sections together. This gives a false impression that condones division into two sects when it absolutely does not. Perhaps making a separate page for Shia practices and Sunni practices would be better so that the one who actually came to learn about Salat would not be confused?

I moved the page information from namaaz to Salah because Salah is the more proper term and is the term you will find in Islamic texts. Namaaz is a localization of the term salah in numerous languages such as Urdu.

ThaGrind 08:55, 3 Jan 2004 (UTC)

---

Spelling of 'Salat'

Are there any other variation to the english spelling of 'Salat'? The only problem with this spelling, I think, is that in the Malay/Indonesian language, the word salah literally means wrong. Could there be a variation? perhaps Solah or Solat? Thanks you. - Zaim 02:45, 6 Oct 2004 (UTC)

It is an Arabic language word, and the salah spelling is the only one that makes sense in most transliteration conventions. By the way, Spanish language used to have the word azalá for "(Muslim) prayer", which is featured for example in the Cansinos-Assens translation of the Qur'an into Spanish.

I've seen "salat" used as a transliteration" far more than "salah," for whatever it's worth.

• • We've always spelled it "Salaah", the "aa" indicating that the second syllable is long. Zunaid 10:55, 16 November 2005 (UTC)

• The correct way to spell it would be "Sala'". The word only matters in Arabic and not in any other languages (since we're talking about an Arabic word).

In Arabic, "Sala'" is spelled: صلاة. Notice the last letter (Arabic is read right to left): ة.

That last letter is called "Ta Marbuta". That "letter" (techincally it isn't) is NOT pronounced unless there is a word after it. So it would be "Sala'" since there is no word after it.

Examples (Ex. 2 is probably wrong grammatically):

1) Al-bayt sala' The house of prayer

2) Salat ul-bayt Prayer house

Armyrifle 19:23, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

I don't see a point of adding the Urdu word 'salat' as no words from other languages are present. IMHO it should be deleted. 'Salat' is more popularly known as 'namaaz'/نماز in Urdu thus making it further irrelevant. Sumair1 00:42, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

What about words: Salaat, Salaah, Salah ? Verycuriousboy 14:06, 25 November 2008 (UTC)

I suggest using Library of Congress system of transliteration - see Romanization of Arabic since this is the one most in use in the English-speaking world. Ta-marbuta is usually transliterated 'h' (so Salah), but here it's pronounced 't' so suggest transliterating 't', (so Salat).

I'm also proposing the following: 1) salat be spelled with diacritics in the first instance, where the relationship with the Arabic is important, but afterwards without. 2) most references to "prayer" in the article be changed to "salat"Eteb3 (talk) 14:49, 28 March 2009 (UTC)

In fact, the 't' in Salah is NOT pronounced in Arabic. Transliterating it as Salat is akin to writing Ka'ba as Ka'bat. Pausal forms are the standard for transliterations of this kind and using the 't' as the regular pronunciation is a metanalysis of non-Arabic natives. See Hans Wehr's transliteration in his dictionary, for example.

let's avoid using linguistic transliterations with diacritics and stick with using or creating *English* variants. Since English doesn't have vowel length, there is no reason to be fancy. Salah is a perfect and standard form. David80 (talk) 13:06, 24 April 2009 (UTC)

Method of calculation

Would someone like to add (I will try as well) to add a section about the methods of calculation? I know there is ISNA (using 15degrees for Fajr) and some Egyptian one that uses 19.5 both using Sha'afi jurisprudence... there are about 5 main ones in total. What are the differences between schools? What are the differences inside the single school allowed? How do they choose their angle? Let's see if we can answer questions like that. gren 00:42, 31 Mar 2005 (UTC)

if you have ideas start the section here

The way in which prayer times are calculated vary from tradition to tradition.

Some external links follow

[1]

[2]

I would be willing to do it, but I will have time in early 2010. But I think that this would be more appropriate in salat times. Arif Zaman (talk) 09:42, 17 May 2009 (UTC)

Text from duplicate article Islamic prayer, now a redirect

Muslims pray a brief ritualistic prayer service called Salah in Arabic, facing Kaaba in Makka, five times a day (a practice adopted from Zoroastrianism whose adherents too daily offer five diurnal prayers preceded by a confessional intention or niyat). The "call for prayer" is called Adhan or Azaan. There are also many standard duas or supplications, also in Arabic, to be recited at various times, e.g. for one's parents, after salah, before eating. Muslims may also say dua in their own words and languages for any issues they wish to communicate with Allah.

Service

How is prayer a "service"? What does "service" mean here? --Yodakii 08:19, 1 November 2005 (UTC)

Service is NOT the right word. It comes from Roman Catholic Christianity, where the priest "serves" mass. Attending a mass is then attending a service. This has been imported into Protestantism, so that a "service" means a congregation meeting for prayer, hymns, and a sermon. That is completely wrong for salah, which is sometimes peformed in congregation, but possibly more often performed alone. It might be appropriate for Friday gatherings, which are communal. Zora 23:12, 1 November 2005 (UTC)

Sunnah Salah

I've added a new section detailing the different Sunah Salahs. Could people please look through and correct any factual errors that may have slipped in? Also please expand and add Salahs I may have missed. If someone can do tables nicely then please include a table of the Salahs showing number of raka'at for Fard and Sunnah. Also, a section on the times of day salah is NOT permissible is needed, if anyone has this info. Zunaid 11:18, 3 November 2005 (UTC)

Standard Wikiwide spelling of different Salah's names

Would it be possible to come to some sort of consensus on this? Probably not, but we could at least have consistent spelling across Wikipedia articles. Some of the names in this article are different from the actual names under the Salahs' individual articles. Obviously there will be redirects from alternate spellings in search results, but within Wikipedia there should be a standard. Might I suggest: Fajr,Thuhr,Asr,Magrib,Eshaa,Jumu'ah,Witr,Nafl,Taraweeh Feel free to disagree, but for the sake of brevity please write your suggestions in a horizontal list. Zunaid 10:48, 16 November 2005 (UTC)

I suggest: Fajr, Dhuhr, Asr, Maghrib, Isha, Jumu'ah, Witr, Nafl, Taraweeh.

I would also like to suggest standardising names of the other salaat, for example, Salat ul-Haajat instead of Salaat ul-Haajat or Salat ul Haajat or Salat al-Haajat etc... . I'm sure we can come to an agreement. MP (talk) 13:08, 19 March 2006 (UTC)

I think Jum'ah & Salaat would be better . About witr & Nafl , both have an i sound , that is witir & nafil . What do you say . F.a.y.^{تبادله خيال /c} 13:49, 19 March 2006 (UTC)

I agree with you about Salaat. As for your other suggestions, now that I think about it, I can't say either way which spelling to go for. If Arabic is your native tongue, I'll take your word for it. :) MP (talk) 14:14, 19 March 2006 (UTC)

Arabic is not my native tongue , but thats how I have heard it being spoken by arabs . May be I should ask some arabic speaker about it . F.a.y.^{تبادله خيال /c} 15:40, 19 March 2006 (UTC)

I agree with Fajr, Dhuhr, Asr, Maghrib, Isha, Jumu'ah, Witr, Nafl, and Taraweeh. As for Salat, I think it should be salat (note I'm the one who moved it from Salah), but I will settle for Salah. Salaat seems like a very uncommon English translitteration of the word. Note 332,000 results for Salaat, 9.5 million results for Salat, and 14.3 million for Salah. Note that searching for "salaat / salat / salah prayer" yields the same order. Nevertheless, I'm going for salat over salah especially based on what links here, which shows "salat" as the most common reference. joturner 18:06, 19 March 2006 (UTC)

I would say don't translate standing alif with 'aa' since in some systems this represents the letter 9ain (sorry haven't mastered arabic text online yet - if you speak Arabic you know which letter I mean!) Eteb3 (talk) 14:56, 28 March 2009 (UTC)

Rakat table

The article is definitely in need of a table about rakats of fard , sunnah(maukada/ghair moakada) , wajib , nafil . I dont know how to make it , lol . F.a.y.^{تبادله خيال /c} 20:40, 31 December 2005 (UTC)

Waqt?

Why don't translate waqt into time? I think its literal meaning is time, and in this case it's just a quantification of time.Aditthegrat 09:53, 26 February 2006 (UTC)

Cleanup of article

The article could be cleaned up by briefly mentioning the types of optional salat and have 'main article' links shooting off where the prayers can be discussed at length at leisure. If nobody minds, I'd like to have a go at this. MP (talk) 09:45, 11 April 2006 (UTC)

Just found this, which may also be useful: Types of salat. MP (talk) 15:08, 11 April 2006 (UTC)

I've decided to work on my sandbox version of this article. I have a few queries:

• For the list of nafl prayers, should we state, for example, 'Salat al-Tarawih' or just 'Tarawih' and then have a main article link going off to Tarawih ?

• In the main articles for each prayer, at present, there does not seem to be things like, for example, 'Salat al-Fajr', but just 'Fajr' for the definition; should both be included ? This impacts on the first point above ...

MP (talk) 10:57, 12 April 2006 (UTC)

Other Issues may affect Muslims in Space that are not Salat related. grazon 22:50, 27 April 2006 (UTC)

Changes made and changes suggested

I reworded a little in a few spots and largely for the sake of clarity and flow. I moved the section on performing salat up so that it falls before the list of optional prayers, simply because it makes more sense to give the information on the core of the subject first and only then to go into supererogatory prayer information. I'd have done more, but didn't really want to step on anyone's toes. Therefore, suggestions:

• Additions: This article says a lot about "what," but very little about "why." A section on the place of prayer in the lives and belief structure of muslims, about what is said about the importance of prayer in the Qur'an, about where the structure of prayer comes from, and so on, would probably be useful. Also, since much of what is permissable/forbidden/etc. related to prayer is from particular hadith, it would be nice to have more references.

• The section on wudu: This could be significantly shortened, and my own inclination would be to eliminate the portion on the use of sand, or at least the parenthasied part of that section. There is a page on wudu which is more appropriate for getting into these details -- in the interest of readability and relevance here, I think it would be better to mention that it is a ritual cleansing process, the reasons for it being considered integral to the prayer, and to effectively leave it at that.

• Terminology: I changed a little here and there, but overall I feel this article sometimes uses Arabic terms in a such a way as might make it difficult for people unfamiliar with the terms to fully understand what is being said. It might make it more accessible to give the Arabic term and its meaning once and to use the English thereafter, rather than the reverse.

You state the problem clearly. Technical (or Arabic) terms should be explained when first used in an article. The meaning is rarely obvious from the context - unless you are an Arabic speaker, or already familiar with the terms.

I'm not as certain that you need to use English terms throughout - so long as the terms you do use are explained, the article would still make sense to new readers. - Paul 03:45, 1 December 2007 (UTC)

• Optional prayers: I won't do it myself, but I really feel that these should be moved off entirely onto a sub-page -- it is very long for the main page.

I'll come back and make some changes if no one has any particular thoughts as to the above. --M. Landers 08:26, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

I m new here. So I don't know much about editing. Could someone compare (using diagrams) the timing of Salat of the different schools of Islam (a circular diagram: http://www.ummah.net/astronomy/saltime/) Verycuriousboy (talk) 14:18, 25 November 2008 (UTC)

Plans for major rewrite

If nobody minds, I would like to have a go at a major rewrite of this article soon. I have been working on my sandbox version, as has Liquesce. Our versions are very different from each other (as well as the current article), so there is scope for huge discussion. I would like to have a go at incorporating Liquesce's and my versions. My plans for the article are described in the talk page of my sandbox version. As has been suggested by a few people here, I also think that the optional prayers section(s) should be made into a new article (I have generalised this notion somewhat - described in the talk page mentioned above). MP (talk) 22:56, 26 June 2006 (UTC)

I've decided to stick my neck out and go for the major rewrite. I've tried to keep as much of the original version as I can, whilst trying to maintain a compromise between the 3 different versions referred to above - in fact, nothing has really been deleted (just added and rejigged) and the main differences are:

• A better classification of salat into 4 types.
• Shortened sections on Nafl and Sunnah salat considerably (with main article links). Didn't have main article links on Fard and Wajib salat, as they are short enough already.
• New (as yet empty) section on 'Purpose of salat' and new sections on 'Preparation for salat', 'Supplications after salat' and 'Invalidation of prayer' (which should be renamed 'Invalidation of salat').
• A few more links (some of the links may be redundant - will explore later).

Comments appreciated. MP (talk) 18:39, 27 June 2006 (UTC)

Keep up the good work - but Maghrib salat?

The page is looking good. Keep up the discussions and if necessary, the debating. This will ensure a high quality, objective page, and will serve as a good tool for Muslims and/or Dawah for non-Muslims on this widely used website.

My question is regarding the times of prayer. You (plural) have stated that it is permissible until Isha to pray Maghrib. Under the Hanafi school, it should be read as quick as possible. But under any school, it is agreed upon the hadith which narrated by Tirmizi, reported by Ibn Abbas that when Angel Jibreel (as) took Muhammad (saw) through the salat on two different days, in order to teach him the times, on the first day he prayed all the salat on the earliest part of their permissble periods, and intentionally on the second day at the end of their respective permissble periods - however, Jibraeel (as) lead Maghrib salat at the same time on both days, indicating that the traditional view of the end of the twilight period (which by definition could be until around the following Fajr) is in fact a very limited period (at least with respect to the other salats' permissible intervals). --The-pessimist 04:05, 8 July 2006 (UTC)

Although this Hadith is 'Sahih' and it is agreed by many scholars that it shows us that delaying Maghrib is Makrooh. However the question then arises as to when does Maghrib end? If someone is unable to pray Maghrib at its earliest time, when can they exactly stop praying Maghrib? The simplest answer is that you can pray Maghrib until Isha, because as it has been stated in Hadith you have given, Maghrib is at the end of twilight, which can be until Fajr in some cases, but this cannot be, you cannot join Fajr with another prayer, and would mean you would be able to pray Maghrib, Isha and Fajr at the same time. So it is common sense to state you can pray it until Isha. I hope my reasoning is correct, if I can find any Hadith about Maghrib I will post them on here. There is a good source of information at this site [3] M2k41 15:24, 8 July 2006 (UTC)

What about Muslims living near the poles?

I highly doubt Muslims living above the Arctic Circle or below the Antarctic Circle (few in number as they may be) are required to only perform ten prayers a year, so what special rules, if any, apply to them? — Ливай 05:52, 24 July 2006 (UTC)

I believe they have to follow the prayer times of nearest place where the sun still sets. But don't quote me on that. M2k41 14:52, 20 August 2006 (UTC)

You're right M2k41 - I can't cite it but Sh. Abdal Hakim Murad (ijaza) has said as much in one of his essays at http://www.masud.co.uk/ISLAM/ahm/default.htm —Preceding unsigned comment added by Eteb3 (talk • contribs) 15:02, 28 March 2009 (UTC)

Salat or prayer ?

The article uses 'salat' and 'prayer' interchangeably. Should we aim for consistency ? I see 3 options:

(1) Use 'salat' throughout.

(2) Use 'prayer' throughout.

(3) Use 'salat' and 'prayer'.

Can we agree on one of these options ? Once salat is defined, we should probably use 'prayer' throughout (this being an English encyclopedia), but maybe to avoid boredom, it would be prudent to use both (as is similarly done in Black Stone). MP (talk) 16:52, 23 August 2006 (UTC)

Salat versus prayer poll

• Define salat and use prayer afterwards - this is an English Wikipedia. But we should make sure that the Arabic word (?) salat is defined with all it's connotations. MP (talk) 19:35, 2 September 2006 (UTC)

Prayer means salat or dua. So, I don't think it should always say prayer to mean salat. Of course it can be used sometimes. But prayer can mean supplication (dua), and that is completely different. - MaryA756 15:23, 4 September 2007 (UTC)

Sorry I'm new here and have added the Terminology section before reading this. I agree with Mary A756. Eteb3 (talk) 15:03, 28 March 2009 (UTC)

When is it best to pray salat

In the article, it says:

"it is considered best to pray them exactly at the beginning of their periods, when the call to prayer (adhan) announces the time of prayer."

I believe this is not unanimously agreed upon. For instance, the Prophet is supposed to have delayed the Isha prayers often enough that people believe it is better to delay them and pray later. Similarly, in the afternoon, he is supposed to have delayed the afternoon prayers because of heat. This latter could however be ignored perhaps because this can be considered as an extraordinary circumstance. However, the first point needs to be considered.

In fact, there is a difference. It is best to pray in congregation and if it is concluded that it is best to pray early, then it is indeed only best so long as the congregation is held early in the times. However, if congregation is late then it is considered best to pray in congregation than to pray early.

Performing salat

Regarding the 'Performing salat' section, I propose that the current section be shortened and a main article link to Performing salat be made. Reasons:

• The current section looks too long and cludgy; more specifically, the supplications etc. take up too much space and there is just too much detail.

• There are actually minor variations on how salat is performed in different locations (even in the same country) and these should be documented too. For example, in some places in India, an extra supplication is made after the taslim.

I can see huge potential in creating such a robust article, especially as regards the second point made above. The only problem is that getting reliable sources may be a problem (I don't think that first-hand experience counts as 'reliable'). MP (talk) 19:32, 2 September 2006 (UTC)

history behind the salat

I remember reading in a book on the history of the Arab people that the salat wasn't always 5 times a day, but initially it was only observed twice a day. There isn't anything in this article that even says how the Salat came to be in it's present form.

You are right. I will try to add this history in this article. Szhaider 21:22, 19 November 2006 (UTC)

According to the Quran

According to the Quran

According to the Quran there are 3 daily prayers. These are shown in Sura Hud (Arabic سورة هود) is the 11th chapter of the Qur'an. In 114.ayat, by (A. YUSUF ALİ) translation

And establish regular prayers at the two ends of the day and at the approaches of the night: for those things, that are good remove those that are evil: that is a reminder for the mindful:

(BY M.H. SHAKIR)

And keep up prayer in the two parts of the day and in the first hours of the night; surely good deeds take away evil deeds this is a reminder to the mindful.

I hope this information will be added to this article :) —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Astrolog (talk • contribs) 12:23, 25 January 2007 (UTC).

Jumu'ah

The Jumu'ah page was recently moved to Friday prayer. I'd like to invite editors to comment on the Friday prayer talk page over whether the current location of the article is okay or not. (p.s. please don't comment here, let's keep the discussion in one place.) Zunaid©® 11:05, 29 January 2007 (UTC)

In arabic it is SalaH not Salat

In arabic it is Salah, not salat. Pronouncing the 'Taa-Marbuta' at the end is a common mistake made by non-arabic speaking Muslims of the Indian subcontinent, e.g. Zakat instead of Zakah. See: [4] or [5] Aaliyah Stevens 17:05, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

Eid prayers

Hi, anyone know why the article says (and in bold!!!) that shias do not pray for eid! If nobody minds it should be taken off, because it is absolutely wrong. theomidrezaei

Qur'anic readings

Which verses from the Qur'an are recited during prayer besides the first surah? Is there a set plan for them or can anybody pick whatever he or she likes? -- 77.7.128.245 17:49, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

You can choose any you like. I heard a sheikh say that the verses used in the first rakah shoudl be longer than the verses in the second. But I don't suggest including that level of detail here. Eteb3 (talk) 15:05, 28 March 2009 (UTC)

Salat of Quran

It is a different article. It should not be merged into salah. It has different ideology, concept & contents. "Salat of Quran" is different from "salah".

203.128.22.96 04:00, 18 August 2007 (UTC)

Can you show any reliable sources that discuss this ideology? From looking at the article, it seems to be original research. → AA ^(talk) — 07:54, 18 August 2007 (UTC)

Looks like it's more or less entirely original research to me. I also noticed that all the external links are to Qur'an Alone sites, which makes me think the page could have been created just to push a specific point of view. MezzoMezzo 15:11, 13 September 2007 (UTC)

Quranic References

References are Quranic not only Qur'an Alone sites.

Rana Ammar Mazhar 18:01, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

Quranic Salat

[6] Three Salah / Salat Timings of Quran by Shah Waliullah / Shah Wali Ullah is a reference book on the topic.

200px|thumb|right|Shah Waliullah and Quranic Salat, in Arabic & Urdu translation.

The concept of Quranic Salat Timings has been discussed in Hujjat Allah Al-Baligha (Arabic/Urdu) by Shah Waliullah. He said that there are three Salat timings in fact for Five Salats[7].

See Image:[8], in Arabic & Urdu translation of Hujjat Allah al-Baligha (Arabic/Urdu) by Shah Waliullah.

The numbers of regular daily prayers “Salat” mentioned by their respective names in Arabic in the “Quran” are “Four” as follows:

1- Salat Fajr (صَلَاةِ الْفَجْرِ) (Dawn Prayer), (Sura Al-Nur 24:58).

2- Al-Salat Al-Wusta (الصَّلاَةِ الْوُسْطَى) or (الصَّلاَةَ لِدُلُوكِ الشَّمْسِ إِلَى غَسَقِ اللَّيْلِ ) (or The Middle Prayer), (Sura Al-Baqarah 2:238) and (Sura Al-Isra 17:78).

3- Salat Isha’a (صَلَاةِ الْعِشَاءِ) (Night Prayer), (Sura Al-Nur 24:58).

Note that (الصَّلاَةِ الْوُسْطَى) in (Sura Al-Baqarah 2:238) and (الصَّلاَةَ لِدُلُوكِ الشَّمْسِ إِلَى غَسَقِ اللَّيْلِ ) in (Sura Al-Isra 17:78) are the same “Salat” because these both “Salat” has (ال) common with them indicating that these are the same “Salat” as compared to (صَلَاةِ الْفَجْرِ) and (صَلَاةِ الْعِشَاءِ) which are without (ال) with word (صَلَاةِِ).

(ال) in Arabic is equivalent to the word “The” in English, indicating the importance of the middle prayer.

The following three “Salat” which are not mentioned in “Quran” by their names as a “term” in Arabic are as:

1- Salat Dhuhr (ظهر).

2- Salat Asr (عصر).

3- Salat Maghrib (مغرب).

Although, the words “Dhuhr (ظهر)”, “Asr (عصر)” and “Maghrib (مغرب)” are used in Quran but not as a “Term” defining “Salat”. In Sura Al-Nur 24: 58, the word “noon” is used but not as a “Salat Time” or as a “Salat Al-Dhuhr” but rather than as a “Time of Privacy/Rest Time”. For references and proof of the fact stated above, read the following verses in the Quran in Arabic & English.

حَافِظُواْ عَلَى الصَّلَوَاتِ والصَّلاَةِ الْوُسْطَى وَقُومُواْ لِلّهِ قَانِتِينَ

(Sura Al-Baqarah 2:238).

Guard strictly your (habit of) prayers, especially the Middle Prayer; and stand before Allah in a devout (frame of mind). (Sura Al-Baqarah 2:238).

أَقِمِ الصَّلاَةَ لِدُلُوكِ الشَّمْسِ إِلَى غَسَقِ اللَّيْلِ وَقُرْآنَ الْفَجْرِ إِنَّ قُرْآنَ الْفَجْرِ كَانَ مَشْهُودًا

(Sura Al-Isra 17:78).

Establish regular prayers - at the sun’s decline till the darkness of the night, and the morning prayer and reading: for the prayer and reading in the morning carry their testimony. (Sura Al-Isra 17:78).

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لِيَسْتَأْذِنكُمُ الَّذِينَ مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُكُمْ وَالَّذِينَ لَمْ يَبْلُغُوا الْحُلُمَ مِنكُمْ ثَلَاثَ مَرَّاتٍ مِن قَبْلِ صَلَاةِ الْفَجْرِ وَحِينَ تَضَعُونَ ثِيَابَكُم مِّنَ الظَّهِيرَةِ وَمِن بَعْدِ صَلَاةِ الْعِشَاءِ ثَلَاثُ عَوْرَاتٍ لَّكُمْ لَيْسَ عَلَيْكُمْ وَلَا عَلَيْهِمْ جُنَاحٌ بَعْدَهُنَّ طَوَّافُونَ عَلَيْكُم بَعْضُكُمْ عَلَى بَعْضٍ كَذَلِكَ يُبَيِّنُ اللَّهُ لَكُمُ الْآيَاتِ وَاللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ حَكِيمٌ

(Sura Al-Nur 24: 58.).

O ye who believe! let those whom your right hand possess, and those of you, who have not reached puberty, ask leave of you at three times before coming into your private apartments -before the Morning Prayer (Salat Al-Fajr), and when you lay aside your clothes at noon (in summer) and after the night Prayer (Salat Al-Esha). These are the three times of privacy for you. At other times there is no blame on you nor on them, for some of you have to attend upon others and to move about freely according to need. Thus does Allah make plain to you the Signs; for Allah is All-Knowing, Wise. (Sura Al-Nur 24: 58.)

See also in Urdu

• [9] Balagh Ul Quran

• [10] Aslwat in the Light of Quran

Salat Timings of Quran

Salat Timings of Quran are mentioned in the following verses:

In Quran 11:114, three Salat Times are described at both ends of the day, and at night.

And establish regular prayers at the two ends of the day and at the approaches of the night. (Sura Hud (11), 114. Translation by Yusuf Ali).

"You shall observe the contact prayers at both ends of the daylight, that is, during the adjacent hours of the night". (11:114).

وَأَقِمِ الصَّلاَةَ طَرَفَيِ النَّهَارِ وَزُلَفًا مِّنَ اللَّيْلِ إِنَّ الْحَسَنَاتِ يُذْهِبْنَ السَّيِّئَاتِ ذَلِكَ ذِكْرَى لِلذَّاكِرِينَ

(Sura Hud: 11:114).

"You shall observe the Salat (Contact Prayers) at the ends of the day, and zulufann min al-layl." (11:114).

فَاصْبِرْ عَلَى مَا يَقُولُونَ وَسَبِّحْ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّكَ قَبْلَ طُلُوعِ الشَّمْسِ وَقَبْلَ غُرُوبِهَا وَمِنْ آنَاءِ اللَّيْلِ فَسَبِّحْ وَأَطْرَافَ النَّهَارِ لَعَلَّكَ تَرْضَى

(Sura Taha: 20:130).

Therefore, be patient in the face of their utterances, and praise and glorify your Lord before sunrise and before sunset. And during the night glorify Him, as well as at both ends of the day, that you may be happy. (20:130).

فَاصْبِرْ عَلَى مَا يَقُولُونَ وَسَبِّحْ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّكَ قَبْلَ طُلُوعِ الشَّمْسِ وَقَبْلَ الْغُرُوبِ

(Sura Qaf: 50:39).

وَمِنَ اللَّيْلِ فَسَبِّحْهُ وَأَدْبَارَ السُّجُودِ

(Sura Qaf: 50:40).

Therefore, be patient in the face of their utterances, and praise and glorify your Lord before sunrise, and before sunset. (50:39). During the night you shall meditate on His name, and after prostrating. (50:40).

أَقِمِ الصَّلاَةَ لِدُلُوكِ الشَّمْسِ إِلَى غَسَقِ اللَّيْلِ وَقُرْآنَ الْفَجْرِ إِنَّ قُرْآنَ الْفَجْرِ كَانَ مَشْهُودًا

(Sura Al-Isra 17:78).

Establish regular prayers - at the sun's decline till the darkness of the night, and the morning prayer and reading: for the prayer and reading in the morning carry their testimony. (Sura Al-Isra 17:78).

Further "Verily, Prayers are enjoined upon the Believers at times assigned in a written document.” (Quran 4:103/4:104 in some translations).

"O you who believe, when the Salat is announced on Friday, you shall hasten to the commemoration of God, and drop all business. This is better for you, if you only knew. Once the prayer is completed, you may spread through the land to seek God's bounties, and continue to remember God frequently, that you may succeed." (62:9-10).

And neither speak thy Prayer aloud nor speak it in a low tone but seek a middle course between. (Sura Al-Isra (17) verse 110 Translation by Yusuf Ali).

For the usage of the word "Esha" (evening) see: 12:16; 79:46.

The times of Dawn & Evening Prayers are defined above. The middle or Salat Al-Wusta can be observed from the moment the sun begins its descend from its highest point in the sky (duluk al shams) until the darkness of the night (ghasaq al-layl) starts to set in, which is at sunset.

"You shall observe the Salat (Contact Prayer) from when the sun declines from its highest point up till the 'ghasaq al-layl' (the darkness of the night)." (17:78).

"You shall observe the contact prayer when the sun goes down until the darkness of the night. You shall also observe the Quran at dawn. Reading the Quran at dawn is witnessed." (17:78). salah means pryer in muslim The Verse 38:32 implies that the time of the Middle prayer ends with sunset.

The Fajr (Dawn) Prayer starts when the first thin ray of light is observed in the sky.

"The white thread of light becomes distinguishable from the dark thread of night at dawn." (2:187).

The time for the dawn prayer is also given in the Quran with the words.

" …….. and at dawn as the stars fade away." (52:49).

The Dawn prayer ends at the first “taraf” (terminal) of the day which is sunrise (11:114).

From the above cited verses Quran Alone group says that there are Three Salat Timings in the Quran. Whereas Ahle Hadith group proves from the same cited verses that there are Five Salat Timings.

Reading External Links

• [11].

• [12].

• [13].

• [14] The Realities of our Daily Prayers

• [15] Salaat Prayer According to the Quran

• [16] Three Salat Authorised In the Quran

• [17] What Is Salat?

• [18] SALAT = REACHING-OUT

• [19] Salat of Quran

• [20] Salat Timings of Quran

• [21] Salat Asr

Salat Asr (Al-Wusta) and Quran

Al-Salat (Salah) Al-Wusta, or the Middle Prayer, is mentioned in Quran as follows:

حَافِظُواْ عَلَى الصَّلَوَاتِ والصَّلاَةِ الْوُسْطَى وَقُومُواْ لِلّهِ قَانِتِينَ

(2:238)

It is to be noted that the Asr daily prayer is not mentioned by name in the Qur'an at 2:238 as claimed at [1] but the middle prayer (Al-Wusta: الصَّلاَةِ الْوُسْطَى).

The Asr daily prayer is mentioned in the following Hadith along with many others as:

Yahya related to me from Malik from Zayd ibn Aslam from al-Qaqa ibn Hakim that Abu Yunus, the mawla of A'isha, umm al-muminin said, "Aisha ordered to write out a Qur'an for her. She said to him, 'When you reach this ayat, let me know, 'Guard the prayer carefully and the middle prayer and stand obedient to Allah.' When I reached it I told her, and she dictated to me, 'Guard the prayers carefully and the middle prayer and the asr prayer and stand obedient to Allah.' Aisha said, 'I heard it from the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.'" (Al-Muwatta, Hadith No. 8.8.26).

Non-Quranic Salat

The two Salat which are not mentioned in Quran by their names as a “term” are as:

1- Salat Dhuhr (ظهر)

2- Salat Asr (عصر)

The words “Dhuhr (ظهر)” and “Asr (عصر)” are used in Quran but not as a “Term” defining “Salat”. In Sura Al-Nur 24: 58, the word “noon” is used but not as a “Salat Time” or as a “Salat Al-Dhuhr” but rather than as a “Time of Privacy/Rest Time”.

O ye who believe! let those whom your right hand possess, and those of you, who have not reached puberty, ask leave of you at three times before coming into your private apartments -before the Morning Prayer (Salat Al-Fajr), and when you lay aside your clothes at noon (in summer) and after the night Prayer (Salat Al-Esha). These are the three times of privacy for you. At other times there is no blame on you nor on them, for some of you have to attend upon others and to move about freely according to need. Thus does Allah make plain to you the Signs; for Allah is All-Knowing, Wise. (Sura Al-Nur 24: 58.).

The numbers of Salat mentioned by their respective names in the Quran are three as follows:

1- Salat Al-Fajr (Dawn Prayer), (Sura Al-Nur 24:58).

2- Salat Al-Esha (Night Prayer), (Sura Al-Nur 24:58).

3- Al-Salat Al-Wusta (The Middle Prayer), (Sura Al-Baqarah 2:238).

Four Salat in One Salat

أَقِمِ الصَّلاَةَ لِدُلُوكِ الشَّمْسِ إِلَى غَسَقِ اللَّيْلِ وَقُرْآنَ الْفَجْرِ إِنَّ قُرْآنَ الْفَجْرِ كَانَ مَشْهُودًا

(Sura Al-Isra 17:78).

Perform AsSalât (Iqamât-as-Salât) from mid-day till the darkness of the night (i.e. the Zuhr, 'Asr, Maghrib, and 'Ishâ' prayers), and recite the Qur'ân in the early dawn (i.e. the morning prayer). Verily, the recitation of the Qur'ân in the early dawn is ever witnessed (attended by the angels in charge of mankind of the day and the night). (Mohsin Khan, Al-Isra 17:78). [22].

Establish regular prayers (that is more than one)- at the sun's decline till the darkness of the night, and the morning prayer and reading: for the prayer and reading in the morning carry their testimony. (Yusuf Ali, Sura Al-Isra 17:78).

Keep up prayer (single salat) from the declining of the sun till the darkness of the night and the morning recitation; surely the morning recitation is witnessed. (M. H. Shakir).

Establish thou the prayer (single salat) from the declination of the sun to the darkening of the night, and the Recitation at the dawn; verily the Recitation at the dawn is ever borne witness to. (Daryabadi).

Establish salat( single salat) from the time the sun declines until the darkening of the night, and also the recitation at dawn. The dawn recitation is certainly witnessed. (Aisha Bewley). [23].

From the above cited verse of the Holy Quran, one group (sunni) says that there are Four Salat Timings in this single Salat

(الصَّلاَةَ لِدُلُوكِ الشَّمْسِ إِلَى غَسَقِ اللَّيْلِ )

(along with fifth morning prayer). Whereas Quran Alone group proves from the same cited verses that this

(الصَّلاَةَ لِدُلُوكِ الشَّمْسِ إِلَى غَسَقِ اللَّيْلِ ) is one single Salat.

Salat in Hadith

The Ahadith prevail over the Qur'an; as for example, when the Qur'an refers to three daily prayers (suras 11:114; 17:78-79; 30:17-18 and possibly 24:58), while the five daily prayers stipulated by the later Ahadith have been adopted by Muslims.[24].

Contact Prayers in Biblical Passages

Contact Prayers in Biblical passages are striking.

"And as soon as the lad was gone, David arose out of a place toward the south, and fell on his face to the ground, and bowed himself three times: and they kissed one another, and wept one with another, until David exceeded." (1 Samuel 20:41).

"As for me, I will call upon God; and the Lord shall save me. Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice." (Psalms 55:16-17) (PS: crying aloud apparently means praying with passion).

"Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did afortime." (Daniel 6:10).

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This section is unnecessary and incorrect. The first quote is not about bowing to God. The second quote mentions three "Salah", not five. The third quote has the same problem as the second. I'm deleting this section. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Konchog Namdag (talk • contribs) 10:33, 18 March 2009 (UTC)

More articles

There is an article (which used to be called 'prayer times') which I have renamed salat times. It still needs a lot of work. Should there also be a new article on Salat according to the Madhhab similar to Wudu according to the four Madhhab (this latter of which should probably be renamed - cut out the 4) ? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Mpatel (talk • contribs) 15:03, 26 October 2007 (UTC)

Jargon

I have added the {{Cleanup-jargon}} template to the article, because the article contains a lot of jargon. This makes it very hard to read for outsiders, for people who are not well versed in Islamic terminology. This begins in #Preparation, although the terms are explained somewhat there. An example, from #Witr: "Witr is performed after the salah of isha'a. Some Muslims consider Witr wajib while others consider it optional. However, Witr is most commonly offered with three raka'ah. ... To end prayers for the night after Isha'a, the odd numbered raka'ah must have the niyyah of "Wajib-ul-Lail", which is mandatory to "close" one's salat for that day." Generally, the only way to find out what a term means is by clicking the wikilink. Obviously it is great that there are wikilinks and that we have so many articles on this topic, but if there is no other way than to click the link, we run the risk of providing too little context and information to the reader. Aecis^Brievenbus 10:07, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

PLEASE make this article readable. It is not supposed to be instruction on how to perform prayers, it is to explain about these prayers. When every other word prevents you from understanding what is meant to be said, the article as an encyclopaedic article fails miserably. Please explain words like ablution, supplication .. Etymology is not the most important thing, it is an after thought.. given such relevance prevents people from reaching the parts that are informative. GerardM (talk) 08:55, 27 July 2008 (UTC)

Agreed this reads as instructions TO members of the religion (which is fine but not the purpose of an Encyclopaedic article), and it not particularly well written regardless. I will try to edit in the near future. collounsbury (talk) 12:26, 28 October 2008 (UTC).

Agreed. I hope to make some changes along the lines of the changes I did to the first article earlier today. Any comments? Eteb3 (talk) 15:08, 28 March 2009 (UTC)

I agree, I can't follow this article at all. I have to memorize dozens of words I've never heard before, because after being explained once they become used regularily, though the word is something fairly easily translated. "Prayer", "sunrise prayer", "voluntary prayer", "ritual ablution"... Why can't these English words be used, apart from the introduction of the translation? -- AvatarMN (talk) 09:39, 14 June 2009 (UTC)

Asr in the Evening?

I changed Asr to read afternoon, and not evening, as evening is often is often indicative of the time right before or after dinner, which is very subjective by country, but is usually 18:00 to 22:00.Brinerustle (talk) 09:17, 6 September 2008 (UTC)

Zuhr?

The articale speaks of Dhuhr and Zuhr. Can this be unified? Is it the same? The linked article does not explicitly state Zuhr as possible transscription (just starting with z. --90.152.233.4 (talk) 20:47, 10 November 2008 (UTC)

I think this is something for the whole wikiproject Islam. I strongly suggest using the Library of Congress system of transliteration, and transliterating from Arabic not from Urdu, Persian or Turkish. See Romanization of Arabic That would mean ظ at the beginning becomes Z with a dot beneath (anyone know the asci?) Eteb3 (talk) 15:16, 28 March 2009 (UTC)

Sunnah before Maghrib

Can somebody provide evidence for 4 raka'ah sunnah before Maghrib? Which school is this from and what is the evidence for the school. This is the first time I have heard of it. Thank you. M2k41 (talk) 18:41, 15 January 2009 (UTC)

Salat according to quran

Doesn't the concept of Salat have a wider context according to the quran and the hadiths? As in practicing ones religion? Faro0485 (talk) 22:59, 9 April 2009 (UTC)

Reciting intention for prayer "in the heart"

The words '...in the heart' are unnecessary and suggest the article is more lenient to a specific school or creed (Aqidah) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Huss4in (talk • contribs) 18:40, 7 May 2009 (UTC)

Time taken

I would be interested to learn how much time in a day it takes the faithful to perform these prayers and associated activities. Does the time that needs to be set aside vary from area to area? Have there been any studies as to the effects of having to rise very early and go to bed quite late (in some areas)? Albatross2147 (talk) 00:48, 15 July 2009 (UTC)

Extensive copyedit

I have just spent around two hours completely reworking this article, including compressing the information given in the last few sections. (Quranic salat, salat timings et. al.) For those who do not wish to go through the article, these are the changes:

• Extensive use of Arabic script replaced with transliteration, translation or Quranic citations.
• Full extracts of Quran replaced with preferable citation forms.
• Quranic salat section largely edited to be succinct, with citations.
• Prayer at mosque/Prayer in congregation sections integrated.
• Most important deed in islam/purpose sections integrated.

The extensive re-write of the Quranic Salat, Salat Timings of Quran, Salat asr and Quran, Non Quranic Salat and Four Salat in One Salat seemed to contain the views of one group or person. They were extremely repetitive and quoted the same verses of the same Surahs. I have carefully gone through and ensure that the coherent arguments were summarized correctly, and they appear th way they do now.

No doubt there will be objections to these edits, please leave them on my talk page or on this talk page, or edit it yourself. Josh 02:34, 27 August 2009 (UTC)

fard and wajib

"Salah may be classified into four categories of obligation: fard, wajib, sunnah and nafl."

Fard and wajib seem to be synonymous both by how they are described in the article and wajib redirects to fard where it is stated they are the same. Are they in fact somehow different, or are there just three categories, or is there a fourth category that was left out? Шизомби (talk) 18:35, 17 November 2009 (UTC)

Consistency of spelling

The title says "Salah", while the lead section says "Salat". No explanation is given of the variant spelling and the two are used interchangeably. Regardless of which people think is "correct", the article should really settle on one or the other, the same way we settle on one dialect of English in an article. Failing that, the variation should at least be mentioned and explained. Hairy Dude (talk) 14:35, 2 April 2010 (UTC)

Shia prayer on stone

Worth mentioning that Shia's pray on a stone that is made from a natural material as they believe they should pray Salat on a natural Material not unlike the Maaliki Madhaab who also beleive in resting your head on a natural material in soojood. these stones are from the holy place of Karbala where the Prophet's grandson Hussein was killed.