Islam Part 2
Saturday, 20 July 2013 • 15:35 • 4 comments
Sultan Mosque
Taken by myself
Taken by myself
Hello everyone, this is Han Yi here!
Today, I'm going to talk about Muslims and their mandatory routines. Starting off, let me introduce the Five Pillars of Islam.
There are Five Pillars of Islam, which is the framework of the Muslim life:
1. Shahadah (Faith),
2. Salah or Salat (Prayer),
3. Zakah (Concern for the needy, welfare contribution),
4. Sawm (Self-purification, fasting) and,
5. Hajj (The pilgrimage to Makkah for those who are able)
Pilgrimage as a noun which means a long journey made to some scared place as an act of religious devotion.
We are going to talk about the second pillar of Islam, Prayer. Prayer is often referred to as “solat” or “sembahyang” which are obligatory prayers performed five times a day, making a direct link between the worshipper and God. By performing solat, the gradation of the performer increases in the eyes of Allah. The correct performance of solat has some prerequisites in the form of cleanliness. (The Muslim Converts’ Association of Singapore, 2001, p. 62).
Thus, the worshipper will have to perform a routine known as the wudu or ablution. Muslims will need to be in a state of wudu in order to perform solat or handle the Holy Qur’an. Not only is solat invalid without the wudu, it is also forbidden.
Wudu is performed in the following manner:
1. The hands are washed up to the wrists
2. The mouth is rinsed and the nose within the nostrils is cleaned with water
3. While washing the face, from the forehead right up to the bottom of the chin, one says one’s niyyah (intention) thus: “I am going wudu for the sake of Allah.”
4. Then the right arm and after that the left arm, are washed up to the elbow.
5. The head is them moistened.
6. The two ears are then moistened.
7. The feet are then washed up to the ankles, first the right foot then the left. Be sure that the water goes in between the toes.
All the above actions will have to be performed 3 times each. Wudu is to be done with clean water, such as running water in a stream or a tap. If there are doubts to the cleanliness of the water, it is to be avoided. Alternatively, one can perform tayammum, a form of purification made with clean dust, earth or sand.
Acts that mollify or spoil the wudu are:
1. Passing wind, urine, faeces or vomit,2. When consciousness is lost through insanity, deep sleep or drowsiness,3. When one touches with the palm of the hand, the private parts of any human being including one’s own.
4. When one’s bare body touches the bare body of a person of the opposite gender
5. Ejaculation and the passage of semen. In such cases, a total purification is needed.
There are five obligatory solat prescribed in a day, at specified timings. A prayer means presenting oneself to God in the state of concentration, focus and physical and mental purity. The time of the prayer are related to the time of the day, and the relative position of the sun.
The timings for prayers are as follows:
There are Five Pillars of Islam, which is the framework of the Muslim life:
1. Shahadah (Faith),
2. Salah or Salat (Prayer),
3. Zakah (Concern for the needy, welfare contribution),
4. Sawm (Self-purification, fasting) and,
5. Hajj (The pilgrimage to Makkah for those who are able)
Pilgrimage as a noun which means a long journey made to some scared place as an act of religious devotion.
We are going to talk about the second pillar of Islam, Prayer. Prayer is often referred to as “solat” or “sembahyang” which are obligatory prayers performed five times a day, making a direct link between the worshipper and God. By performing solat, the gradation of the performer increases in the eyes of Allah. The correct performance of solat has some prerequisites in the form of cleanliness. (The Muslim Converts’ Association of Singapore, 2001, p. 62).
Thus, the worshipper will have to perform a routine known as the wudu or ablution. Muslims will need to be in a state of wudu in order to perform solat or handle the Holy Qur’an. Not only is solat invalid without the wudu, it is also forbidden.
Wudu is performed in the following manner:
1. The hands are washed up to the wrists
2. The mouth is rinsed and the nose within the nostrils is cleaned with water
3. While washing the face, from the forehead right up to the bottom of the chin, one says one’s niyyah (intention) thus: “I am going wudu for the sake of Allah.”
4. Then the right arm and after that the left arm, are washed up to the elbow.
5. The head is them moistened.
6. The two ears are then moistened.
7. The feet are then washed up to the ankles, first the right foot then the left. Be sure that the water goes in between the toes.
All the above actions will have to be performed 3 times each. Wudu is to be done with clean water, such as running water in a stream or a tap. If there are doubts to the cleanliness of the water, it is to be avoided. Alternatively, one can perform tayammum, a form of purification made with clean dust, earth or sand.
Acts that mollify or spoil the wudu are:
1. Passing wind, urine, faeces or vomit,2. When consciousness is lost through insanity, deep sleep or drowsiness,3. When one touches with the palm of the hand, the private parts of any human being including one’s own.
4. When one’s bare body touches the bare body of a person of the opposite gender
5. Ejaculation and the passage of semen. In such cases, a total purification is needed.
There are five obligatory solat prescribed in a day, at specified timings. A prayer means presenting oneself to God in the state of concentration, focus and physical and mental purity. The time of the prayer are related to the time of the day, and the relative position of the sun.
The timings for prayers are as follows:
Name of Solat
|
Units of Prayer
|
Time
|
Salat-ul-Fajr (Subuh)
|
2 raka’ at
|
Between the first light of dawn and sunrise
|
Salat-ul-Zuhr (Zuhur)
|
4 raka’ at
|
After midday
|
Salat-ul-Asr (Asar)
|
4 raka’ at
|
Mid-afternoon
|
Salat-ul-Maghrib (Maghrib)
|
3 raka’ at
|
Sunset
|
Salat-ul-Isha (Ishak)
|
4 raka’ at
|
One and a half hours after sunset
|
Alternatively, you may visit this website this website to check out prayer timings for your country!
A rak’ah in Islam is a term to represent one unit of the solat. In a normal day, a Muslim is expected to offer a minimum of 17 raka’ at as shown in the table.
(I hope you’re not confused heh :D
If you’re a programming student, imagine this:
It is Salat-ul-Asr so,
for (int i = 1; i <= 4; i++)
When you are done with the for loop, that’s one prayer for mid-afternoon.
I’m expecting my classmates to throw stones at me now. )
That is all for this post, tomorrow I will be posting up the routine of one raka’ at of solat! J Have a great weekend ahead!
- Han Yi
References
IslamiCity. (n.d). Understanding Islam and the Muslims. Retrieved from http://www.islamicity.com/
A rak’ah in Islam is a term to represent one unit of the solat. In a normal day, a Muslim is expected to offer a minimum of 17 raka’ at as shown in the table.
(I hope you’re not confused heh :D
If you’re a programming student, imagine this:
It is Salat-ul-Asr so,
for (int i = 1; i <= 4; i++)
When you are done with the for loop, that’s one prayer for mid-afternoon.
I’m expecting my classmates to throw stones at me now. )
That is all for this post, tomorrow I will be posting up the routine of one raka’ at of solat! J Have a great weekend ahead!
- Han Yi
References
IslamiCity. (n.d). Understanding Islam and the Muslims. Retrieved from http://www.islamicity.com/
Reiber, N. (n.d). The Journey By Night
Or Muslims Pray Five Times A Day. Retrieved from http://www.bible.ca/islam/islam-journey.htm
WikiHow. (n.d). How to Perform Wudu. Retrieved from http://www.wikihow.com/Perform-Wudu
The Muslim Converts’ Association of Singapore. (2010). Essence of Islam. Singapore.
WikiHow. (n.d). How to Perform Wudu. Retrieved from http://www.wikihow.com/Perform-Wudu
The Muslim Converts’ Association of Singapore. (2010). Essence of Islam. Singapore.