Islamic Online University
The New Muslim Course - The First Day
Islamic
Online
University
www.iou.edu.gm
Islamic Online University
The New Muslim Course - The First Day
The New Muslim Course
(The First Day)
By Dr Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips
Prayer (Salah)
Module 3
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Islamic Online University
The New Muslim Course - The First Day
Salaah (Prayer)
Earlier we looked at the preparation for prayer - the ablution, called 'wudhoo.' Now we
will look at the prayer itself. Prayer is the first obligation which you as a new Muslim,
will have to fulfill. But how do we pray? There is a time frame for prayer, and there is a
place for prayer too. For men, this should be in the mosque (masjid). For women, it
could be in the women's section of the mosque, in the Islamic Centre, or in their homes.
Nevertheless, the prayer consists of standing, bowing, prostrating, and sitting. These are
the basic acts of the prayer. There are things which should be said in the various
positions, and we will talk about them in detail in a later lesson. What you need to
know right now is that once you are in the prayer, you shouldnt look around. You should
focus on the ground in front of you, on the point where you will lay your forehead while
prostrating. So whether you are standing, bowing, or sitting down, you should focus on
the point of prostration and you should not be looking around.
If there are people moving around you, ignore them, and focus on the prayer. Dont
check your watch, or do other things either. If there comes a time when not doing
something takes all your attention away from the prayer, like having an itch, then instead
of losing the whole purpose of prayer, just scratch it, and get it out of the way. But be
very careful, and do it only when absolutely necessary; dont spend your whole prayer
scratching away.
You are not allowed to talk while praying either. Your mobile phone should be off before
you pray, or at least on silent. You cant enter into other communications while you are
in communion with God, during your worship. So dont pick up your phone and talk to
people while praying. When you are in prayer, reflect on the glory of God, His greatness.
Thank Him for bringing you into Islam and thank Him for all the other mercies and
blessings in your life.
Seek His guidance; ask Him for forgiveness. You can do this in the various positions of
the prayer, and it would be enough for now. You will learn later about the specific
things that need to be said while standing, bowing, prostrating, and sitting. But for now
it is enough for you to just follow others around you.
As with everything else in Islam, there are the outer actions that we do, and then there
are the inner actions that represent the core of the faith. The Quraan states that the
core of the prayer is the remembrance of God. We pray to remember God and to be
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Islamic Online University
The New Muslim Course - The First Day
conscious of God on a regular basis. In order for the prayer to be of any benefit, this
should form the core of our internal acts.
Perhaps as a new Muslim, you might question the set times, and how the prayer is
performed. It might seem somewhat mechanical to you. Perhaps you may have prayed
before becoming a Muslim during some emotional moment. You may have felt close to
God and you may have decided to pray there and then; and you may feel that the
regular times and prescribed actions of the Islamic prayer dont allow you to feel the
same way about praying.
In fact, such formal prayer is creating a framework for a Muslims life. It is important to
establish this framework right from the beginning. From now on, your whole life will be
built around the prayer. Because if we dont schedule our life around this framework, it
will be set around another framework, be it food, work, or material needs. However, it
is important to remember that our spiritual needs are more important than our physical
needs. You can lose an arm, you can lose a leg, but you are still here. But lose your
spirit and you lose yourself. Just as your physical body has its needs, so does your soul.
The human soul needs to be in communication with God and reflecting on God. Your
actions should be actions pleasing to God.
Once you are conscious of God, you will try to do the right things in your life. And this is
the main purpose of the prayer; to make you a better person. It is training you to speak
well, because the prayer consists of good words that mainly come from the Quraan. It
is also training your body, your limbs, to only do things which are pleasing to God.
The prayer itself is a daily reminder, as we are reminded five times every day to be more
conscious of God, to make the right choices, to do the right things, and to do those
things which are pleasing to God. This is what prayer is all about; to make us better
people, to have better character, to speak well, and to act well.
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