The second pillar of Islam is salah. A Muslim must offer five fard prayers a day.
Fard is an Arabic word which means compulsory. The fard prayers are compulsory prayers. No Muslim should avoid them or delay them, without a valid reason.
The five daily prayers have the following rak’ahs.
The five daily prayers have the following rak’ahs.
1 . Fajr : Dawn prayer has two rak’ahs
2. Dhuhr : Afternoon prayer has four rak’ahs
3. Asr : Mid-afternoon prayer has four rak’ahs
4. Maghrib Sunset prayer has three rak’ahs
5. lsha : Night prayer has four rak’ahs
When the time of any of these prayers starts, you will hear the mu’adh-dhin in the masjid call out the adhan.
- A Muslim will then make wudhu and get ready for salah.
- Facing the qiblah, a Muslim makes the intention of the prayer he is going to perform.
- He raises his hands to the level of his ears or his shoulders and says:
- His prayer (salah) has started. His first rak’ah has started.
A rak’ah: what is a rak’ah?
A rak’ah is a set of recitations and movements.
A rak’ah consists of the following things:
Recitation of Surat ai-Fatihah while standing. Recitation of another surah (in the first two rak’ahs)
Ruku’: Bowing (while holding both the knees)
Rising and standing straight from bowing
Sujud: Prostration – done twice (putting hands, forehead and nose, knees and toes on the ground)
You will learn in detail how each part of the rak’ah is done later!