Salah: Difference between revisions

[[File:Praying towards the Ka'aba.JPG|right|thumb|250px|'''Top-left:''' Due to the sphericity of the earth, a prayer in any direction will point towards the sky/outer-space, not Mecca.<BR>'''Top-right:''' People who are located on the opposite 'side' of the earth would have to pray vertically down towards the center of the earth, and would also blaspheme against Allah, because they defecate toward the direction of the Ka'aba when they answer the call of nature. <BR>'''Bottom-left:''' If we use the traditional Muslim method of determining qiblah (i.e. a great circle) this would still be blasphemous because you would be simultaneously praying with your face and backside aimed towards the Ka'aba. <BR>'''Bottom-right:''' There is one point on the opposite 'side' of the earth where any direction for all 360 degrees would be facing 'towards' Mecca and consequently, there would be no one direction that would be the correct one.]]

'''Salāh''' or '''salāt''' (صلاة) is one of the [[Five Pillars of Islam]]. It is the practice of formal [[prayers|prayer]] in [[Islam]], and is compulsory ([[fard]]) for all Muslims. It is a ritual prayer, having prescribed conditions, procedures, and times.  

Most of the Five Pillars are absent from the [[Qur'an]]. Thus it only mentions three daily prayers; salat al-Fajr (dawn prayer),<ref name="2 prayers">"''who believe! let those whom your right hands possess, and the (children) among you who have not come of age ask your permission (before they come to your presence), on three occasions: before morning prayer; the while ye doff your clothes for the noonday heat; and after the late-night prayer: these are your three times of undress: outside those times it is not wrong for you or for them to move about attending to each other: Thus does Allah make clear the Signs to you: for Allah is full of knowledge and wisdom. ''" - {{Quran|24|58}}</ref> salat al-Isha'a (night prayer)<ref name="2 prayers"></ref> and salat al-Wusta (the middle prayer, now al Zuhr).<ref>"''Guard strictly your (habit of) prayers, especially the Middle Prayer; and stand before Allah in a devout (frame of mind). ''" - {{Quran|2|238}}</ref>. It is the [[hadith]] that put the number of daily prayers at five.