Method

Salah

Overview

Salah (Arabic: ٱلصَّلَاةُ, romanized: aṣ-Ṣalāh, also spelled Salat), also known as Namaz (Persian: نماز, romanized: namāz), is the practice of formal worship in Islam, consisting of a series of ritual prayers performed at prescribed times daily. These prayers, which consist of units known as rak'ah, include a specific set of physical postures, recitation from the Quran, and prayers from the Sunnah, and are performed while facing the direction towards the Kaaba in Mecca (qibla). The number of rak'ah varies depending on the specific prayer. Variations in practice are observed among adherents of different madhahib (schools of Islamic jurisprudence). The term salah may denote worship in general or specifically refer to the obligatory prayers performed by Muslims five times daily.

The obligatory prayers play an integral role in the Islamic faith, and are regarded as the second and most important, after shahada, of the Five Pillars of Islam for Sunnis, one of the Ancillaries of the Faith for Twelver Shiites, and one of the Seven Pillars for Ismaili Shiites. In addition, supererogatory salah, such as Sunnah prayer and Nafl prayer, may be performed at any time, subject to certain restrictions. Wudu, an act of ritual purification, is required prior to performing salah. Prayers may be conducted individually or in congregation, with certain prayers, such as the Friday and Eid prayers, requiring a collective setting and a khutbah (sermon). Some concessions are made for Muslims who are physically unable to perform the salah in its original form, or are travelling.

In early Islam, the direction of prayer (qibla) according to tradition was toward Bayt al-Maqdis in Jerusalem (Mizrah), before being changed to face the Kaaba, believed by Muslims to be a result of a Quranic verse revelation to Muhammad, the verses 144, 149, and 150 of the al-Baqarah chapter of the Quran, each of which contains a command to "turn your face toward the Sacred Mosque" (fawalli wajhaka shatr al-Masjid il-Haram).

Overview adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0; see the article history for authors).

Possible passages

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x. 11), i.e., I shall give him rule and dominion. In this same sense it is said of God, “who rideth (rokeb) upon the heaven in thy help” (Deut. xxxiii. 26), that is, who rules the heaven; and “Him that rideth (la-rokeb) upon the ʻarabot” (Ps. lxviii. 4), i.e., who rules the ʻarabot, the uppermost, all-encompassing sphere. It has also been repeatedly stated by our Sages that there are seven rekiʻim (firmaments…
Moses Maimonides, The guide for the perplexed
States what Salah is.
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And that which is made Holy by the dedication of men, and given to God, so as to be used onely in his publique service, is called also SACRED, and said to be consecrated, as Temples, and other Houses of Publique Prayer, and their Utensils, Priests, and Ministers, Victimes, Offerings, and the externall matter of Sacraments. Degrees of Sanctity Of Holinesse there be degrees: for of those things that are set apart for…
Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan
States what Salah is.
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This is the most credible of the accounts that are given; yet it is right that one less credible should be mentioned, since it is likewise affirmed. There is a large river in Arabia called Corys, which discharges itself into the Red Sea. From this river it is said that the king of the Arabians, having sewn together a pipe of ox-hides and other skins, reaching in length to the desert, conveyed the water through it…
Herodotus, The Boys' and Girls' Herodotus
Close in meaning to Salah; the term itself is not named.
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Related ideas

Place in the tradition

Part of Meaning of life.

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